Your special interests in Kenya - Filming

Kenya has always been a popular location for film production. Hollywood has a long standing affair with Kenya that dates back to the 1930’s. Many classic adventure films were shot on location in Kenya, including The Snows of Kilimanjaro starring Gregory Peck, King Solom

on’s Mineswith Stewart Granger and Mogambo featuring Clark Gable and Ava Gardner.

Joy Adamson’s book Born Free was made into a hit movie filmed entirely on location in Kenya. George Adamson was to later take the trained lions that were used in the film and rehabilitate them into the wild.

The film’s stars Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers went on to form a charity The Born Free Foundation which continues to support conservation work in Kenya.

Hollywood’s greatest tribute to Kenya came with 1985’s Out of Africa. Adapted from Karen Blixen’s classic book, the film told the story of her life in colonial Kenya, with Meryl Streep in the lead role and Robert Redford playing her lover, Denys Finch Hatton.

With stunning cinematography and a rich music score by John Barry, the film brought Kenya to life for audiences all over the world. A major box office hit, Out of Africa went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

In 1989, Kenya was the location for the filming of Bob Rafelson’s historical drama Mountains of the Moon. This epic film won great critical acclaim for its vivid retelling of the conquest of the Nile, and the great adventure of the Burton and Speke expedition. Filmed in diverse locations including Lamu, Hell’s Gate and Lake Turkana, the film shows Kenya at its best.

Kenya has since served as location for several Hollywood blockbusters, including the sequel to Tomb Raider.

In 2002 Nowhere in Africa a German language film about Jewish refugees struggling to create a new life in wartime Kenya was shot on location in Baringo, Bogoria and Mt Kenya. The film was a major success, winning over 14 international awards, including the 2003 Academy Award for Best Foreign language film.

The 2005 box-office hit The Constant Gardener was also filmed on location in Loiyangalani, a small town located on the southeastern coast of Lake Turkana.

Kenya is a great destination for television wildlife productions. Many award winning wildlife series have been shot on location in Kenya by BBC Natural History, Discovery, Survival and other production houses. The Maasai Mara continues to be the backdrop for BBC’s popular Big Cat Diary, following the lives of the reserves predators.

Maasai Mara, Kenya’s world famous game reserve, was named one of the new Seventh Wonders of the World in a poll conducted by ABC Television’s Good Morning America, and a broadcast on US morning television took this spectacle into millions of American homes, live from the Mara.

Kenya hit the top of US TV ratings with the arrival of Survivor Africa. The third series of the hit game show was filmed entirely on location in Shaba Reserve in Kenya.  For the producers, Kenya offered the perfect combination of beautiful locale, stunning wildlife and plenty of opportunity for adventure.

Subsequent productions have included the German film ‘Nowhere in Africa’ which won 14 international awards including the Academy Award for best picture, and was filmed on location in Nairobi, Mt Kenya and the Baringo/ Bogoria region.

Ngong Hills

Academy Award Best Picture winner “Out of Africa” put Ngong Hills in Kenya on top of the list of World’s 10 Most Romantic Movie Locations. The movie was filmed on location at the Ngong Hills.

Adapted from Karen Blixen’s classic book, the film told the story of her life in colonial Kenya, with Meryl Streep in the lead role and Robert Redford playing her lover, Denys Finch Hatton.

With stunning cinematography and a rich music score by John Barry, the film brought Kenya to life for audiences all over the world. A major box office hit, Out of Africa went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Ngong Hills is located 22 kilometers southwest of Nairobi. The area around the Ngong hills was part of a major settlement farm run by Karen Blixen. Visitors can enjoy a good hike up the hills, which have a walking trail and enjoy a clear view of the Nairobi city, the Great Rift Valley and Nairobi National Park.

World renowned Kenyan athletes are known to train at Ngong hills before major meets.