Voline Ogutu

Get to know the creative powerhouse, Voline Ogutu. Featured on CNN Africa's The Art of Filmmaking, she excels in writing and directing.

Voline's 2019 Netflix thriller 40 Sticks captivated audiences worldwide and earned her a Best Screenplay nomination and six awards from the African Movie Academy. Additionally, it secured nine wins at the Kenya Film Commission's Kalasha Film & TV Awards. Voline's short film Anyango and the Ogre emerged victorious in Netflix/UNESCO's 2022 film competition and is streaming on Netflix’s African Folktales Reimagined series.

Her formidable writing is complemented by her directorial prowess, as evidenced by award-winning shorts like Seed, which screened at the European Film Festival. Voline's feature films Orphan and Hospital or the South African pay television channel M-Net, as well as the popular continental streamer Showmax, have become regional favorites. Her first horror feature, The Witch from Chaka, which she wrote, directed, and produced, is in post-production.

In episodic television writing, Voline's creativity knows no bounds, spanning emotionally charged dramas like How to Find a Husband and Sumu la Penzi, rib-tickling comedies like Waliobaki and Varshita, as well as an episode of the anthology series Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire for Disney+. In 2022, Voline won the Best Writer (TV Series) at Kenya’s Women In Film Awards. Her international collaborations include the hit Australian puppet show The Professors and the groundbreaking Netflix original animated series Supa Team 4.

As a distinguished alumna of the International Writer's Lab, Realness Institute, and Berlinale Durban Talents (Berlin International Film Festival) IWL is excited for how Voline's storytelling savvy will elevate global narratives.