Kenya's One Woman, One Bra Heads to Oscars

NAIROBI: The Kenya One Woman One Bra 2027 Oscars campaign is now official. Last week the Kenya Film Commission named Vincho Nchogu’s debut feature as the country’s official selection in the Best International Film category, with the awards ceremony scheduled for 14 March 2027.

A unanimous pick from three submissions

The Kenya-Nigeria co-production was selected unanimously by the Kenya Oscars Selection Committee ahead of ‘Kikuyu Land’ and ‘Tides’. It is Kenya’s tenth submission since the country’s first entry in 2012 with Nairobi Half Life.

The story of Star

Set in the Maasai community of Loita, the film follows Star, a 38-year-old woman who does not know her parents or where she comes from. As her village begins distributing title deeds, she must prove her connection to the land or raise enough money to keep her home. She then finds a book about the Maasai with a childhood photograph of her on the cover, which pushes her to investigate her past. The film runs 80 minutes and is in Swahili and English. The cast includes Sarah Karei, Norng’aruani Kipuker and Amos Leuka.

Nchogu wrote the screenplay, and the film is her feature directorial debut. She has said she wanted to explore womanhood without the titles society attaches to it, asking whether a woman who is not a mother, a wife or a daughter can simply stand by herself. Nigeria’s Josh Olaoluwa produced.

Festival acclaim and a home release

International festivals have already embraced it. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival as part of Biennale College. It then won the audience award in the narrative category at Tribeca and the Best First Feature award at the BFI London Film Festival. It has also screened in South Korea.

The home release matters for the Oscar race. The film was scheduled to open at Prestige and Diamond cinemas in Nairobi on 11 September. Films selected for the Academy Awards must have a mandated theatrical run in their country of origin, and the film is also about to screen at the NBO Film Festival.

The road to the Academy Awards

The Film Commission’s statement pointed to the film’s roots in the Maasai community, its performances and its landscapes, describing it as a story that carries Kenya’s voice and culture beyond its borders.

Selection is only the first step, though. The International Feature category is approaching 90 entries so far, so Kenya faces a crowded field before any shortlist is announced.

Whatever happens in March, the choice puts a first-time woman director and a story from Loita in front of the Academy’s voters.