Awards

Gitonga (2020) 

Banff Film Festival (2020) - Official Selection
Kendal Mountain Film Festival (2020) - Official Selection
Pan-African Kisima Film Awards (2020) - Winner, Best Documentary

Gitonga is Joe's award-winning debut feature film - the beautiful and emotional story of Gitonga Wandai, a Kenyan hiker on a mission to inspire his son, his nation and the world to follow their hearts and dreams.

The film premiered to 1.4 million people in Kenya and headlined at international festivals including Banff Mountain Book & Film Festival and Kendal Mountain Film Festival. It won Best Documentary at the Pan-African Kisima Film Awards (2020). 

Gitonga was described as ‘life-enhancing’ by UK film critic Neil Norman, ‘a film full of optimism that needs to be seen’ by Baz Bamigboye (Daily Mail), and was praised for its “warmth and emotional openness” by Peter Bradshaw (The Guardian). Within Kenya, the Daily Nation described it as 'a heartwarming tale that reads like a novel' and the Kenya Film Commission exclaimed that 'every second of the film oozes inspiration'.

Watch the full film and play your part in the Gitonga Everest 2022 Project at www.gitonga.org