Technological innovation and the diversification of audiovisual storytelling circuits in Kenya

Abstract

Through a selection of case studies this article demonstrates how technological innovation in Kenya is instrumental in an emerging diversification in the production and the distribution of local audiovisual narratives. The article thus adds a new perspective to the literature on technological innovation and related evolutions in African film industries, which so far has focused largely on technology's democratizing effects, particularly with the emergence of popular cinema. I posit that, more than being part of a democratizing process in movie-making, technology makes a greater diversity in audiovisual narratives and new means of dissemination possible. However, other factors – economic, social, societal, demographic – influence the outcome and the mid-to-long term sustainability of new circuits of audiovisual storytelling. In other words, technology can facilitate but cannot in itself ‘establish’ diversification.