Kenya-Nigeria Co-Production ‘One Woman One Bra’ Sets Kenyan Premiere in September After International Festival Run (EXCLUSIVE)

After a year on the international festival circuit, Kenyan-Nigerian co-production One Woman One Bra is finally coming home, with its official Kenyan premiere set for 10 September followed by a seven-day run at Prestige Cinema and Anga Cinema Diamond Plaza. But before its premiere in Nairobi, the film will first return to where its journey began in Loita.

Speaking exclusively to Sinema Focus, the film’s writer and director Vincho Nchogu described the homecoming as a “blessing”, especially as it coincides with the Venice Film Festival, where One Woman One Bra premiered a year ago.

“The first people to watch the film will be the people of Nkosesia village in Loita, where it was filmed,” Nchogu said, revealing that the Loita screenings will take place at two venues on 7 September, ahead of its Nairobi premiere.

“I’m excited but also full of anxiety. We made this film under a lot of pressure in a village that welcomed us, and I’m so proud of how the film has performed so far,” she said. “For me, the most important audience is the Loita audience and then the Kenyan audience in general because we’re trying to figure out how to make entertainment that Kenyans feel represents them, and most importantly, that they can fully support, not for the sake of it, but because it’s a fantastic film.”

One Woman One Bra, which marks Nchogu’s feature directorial debut, was developed through Venice’s Biennale College Cinema and produced by Nchogu’s Nigerian collaborator Josh Olaoluwa, with Muhammad Atta Ahmed, known for Beyoncé’s Black Is King, as cinematographer.

Described as a comedy-drama, the film follows Star, an unmarried woman in the village of Sayit, whose fight to secure her home amid land reforms leads her on a search for identity, kinship and belonging that pits her against her own community.

It stars Sarah Karei (Sarah), Irungu Mutu (Power), Norng’aruani Kipuker, Amos Leuka, Boniface Saitabau and Davina Leonard (Poacher).

Soon after its Venice premiere, One Woman One Bra screened at the BFI London Film Festival, where it won the Sutherland Award for Best First Feature. At the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival, where it had its North American premiere, lead actress Sarah Karei received a Special Jury Mention in the Viewpoints competition, while the film also won the Audience Award. At the Festival de Cine Africano de Tarifa (FCAT), it won the ACERCA Award for Spanish Cooperation. Most recently, in August, it won the Discovery Excellence Award at the Seoul International Women’s Film Festival in South Korea.

Watch the trailer for One Woman One Bra below.

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