Unseen Nairobi
Film, Food & A View.
Keep scrolling to discover what’s on!
THE PEOPLE SHALL
2025 | 60min. | A Film by Nick Wambugu & Mark Maina | Swahili, English with English subtitles
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When Kenya’s Gen Z took to the streets to reject the 2024 Finance Bill, their phones, creativity, and courage ignited a movement that forced the President to back down, forever changing how protest is done in the country. From screens to streets, a generation redefined resistance and turned hashtags into history."
*Please note that as we are a small, cultural space our tickets are non refundable & cannot be exchanged for another date. So if you decide you can’t come at the last minute, we suggest donating or reselling your ticket! Make a friend happy with a gift of cinema.
MATABELELAND
2025 | 75min. | A Film by Nyasha Kadandara | Languages: English, Ndebele, Setswana and Shona
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Chris has always believed his family is cursed ever since his father’s brutal murder in 1983 when President Robert Mugabe orchestrated the massacre of over 20,000 people in Matabeleland. Nearly four decades later, Chris, an immigrant in neighbouring Botswana, is struggling to support his massive family as he grapples with unpaid wages from his job, leaving him stretched thin and often absent. His girlfriend, Dumi, loves him but warns that their relationship can only continue if he finally commits to marriage.
A political shift brings hope, and Chris meets Shari, a woman who conducts exhumations so he can finally rebury his father in the right place. As Chris embarks on a journey to honour his father’s memory, he faces a profound question: will this reburial grant him the closure he has sought for so long, or will it force him to confront the consequences of his own choices?
*Please note that as we are a small, cultural space our tickets are non refundable & cannot be exchanged for another date. So if you decide you can’t come at the last minute, we suggest donating or reselling your ticket! Make a friend happy with a gift of cinema.
How To Build a Library
2025 | 1hr 43min. | A Film by Maia Lekow & Chris King | English & Swahili
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Two intrepid Nairobi women decide to transform what used to be a whites-only library until 1958 into a vibrant cultural hub. Along the way, they must navigate local politics, raise millions for the rebuild, and confront the lingering ghosts of Kenya’s colonial past.
*Please note that as we are a small, cultural space our tickets are non refundable & cannot be exchanged for another date. So if you decide you can’t come at the last minute, we suggest donating or reselling your ticket! Make a friend happy with a gift of cinema.
COMING SOON
KHARTOUM
2025 | 80min. | A Film by Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy, Timeea M. Ahmed & Phil Cox | Arabic with English subtitles
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In 2022, four Sudanese filmmakers, along with a British director-writer, began filming the lives and dreams of five very different citizens in Khartoum:
Street boy LOKAIN (12) and his best friend WILSON (11) embark on a mission in Khartoum’s rubbish dumps to buy two beautiful shirts.
KHADMALLAH (28) a single mum and tea vendor engages her daily clientele in gossip and cardamom coffee whilst studying math to start her dream business.
JAWAD (30) is a Sufi Rastafarian resistance volunteer who rides a motorcycle and protests for a civilian government against the military.
Civil servant MAJDI (45) escapes office life by racing pigeons with his son.
When filming started, the Sudanese were faced with a military leadership that had brought down the previous civilian government. Soon, however, war broke out between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, displacing over ten million people.
The filmmakers and participants escaped to East Africa but continued their innovative cinematic storytelling, combining animation, green screen reconstructions, and documentary ‘dreamscapes’ to tell their stories.
Filmed on location with donated iPhones, the four emerging Sudanese filmmakers (Anas Saeed, Rawia Al Hag, Brahim Snoopy and Timeea M. Ahmed) capture the stark realism of one of Africa's great cities as it is consumed by turmoil and war.
*Please note that as we are a small, cultural space our tickets are non refundable & cannot be exchanged for another date. So if you decide you can’t come at the last minute, we suggest donating or reselling your ticket! Make a friend happy with a gift of cinema.
COMING SOON
PUT YOUR SOUL ON YOUR HAND AND WALK
2025 | 112min. | A Film by Sepideh Farsi | English & Arabic
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Put your soul on your hand and walk is my response, as a filmmaker, to the ongoing massacre of Palestinians. A miracle happened when I met Fatem Hassona. She became my eyes in Gaza, where she resisted while documenting the war, and I became a link between her and the world, from her "Gaza prison," as she named it. We maintained this line of life for almost a year. The bits of sound and pixel that we exchanged became the film that you see.
The killing of Fatma on April 16th, 2025, due to an Israeli raid on her house, changes its meaning forever.
*Please note that as we are a small, cultural space our tickets are non refundable & cannot be exchanged for another date. So if you decide you can’t come at the last minute, we suggest donating or reselling your ticket! Make a friend happy with a gift of cinema.
MINI MORNINGS AT UNSEEN
From fantastical adventures to hilarious animations, come and join us for a fun morning! Every Sunday from 10am.
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Our Mini Mornings gives smaller kids the chance to experience films on the big screen in a child friendly environment, with soft lighting and lowered film volume. Mini Mornings are run every Sunday morning at 10am. Suitable for ages 2+
The ticket price is 650 KSH per child and includes fresh juice and a homemade snack. All children must be under the supervision of an adult. The screening is free for the accompanying adults.
UNSEEN GEMS FILMCLUB
Next Gems: January
Join us for monthly themes and film discussions and discover the best film that you haven’t seen yet. Voting for the three film contenders via our Instagram page or Whatsapp Group.
Hosted by Unseen Nairobi with introductions & discussions led by friend, film lecturer & novelist, Matthew Daintrey-Hall.
Check out the GEMS archive on Letterboxd
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We don't want price to be a barrier to seeing and talking about great films, so pay what you can afford to join our Film Club each month!
Booking fee (supports a cheapy seaty)
550KSh
Subsidised fee (Cheapy Seaty) -
100KSh
MOVIE QUIZ NIGHT
Next Quiz Night - December 21st 2025
Join Mugambi Nthiga & Naddya Adhiambo Oluoch-Olunya for our legendary Movie Quiz Night at Unseen’s rooftop.
Join with your team or fly solo to compete as the ultimate movie trivia champion!
You can guarantee lots of laughs and friendly competition. Tickets are free but booking is essential.