Kalasha Awards
Kalasha Film & TV Awards is an annual accolade presented by Kenya Film Commission with a goal to recognize and celebrate achievers in Kenya's TV and film industry. Entries into the award ceremony are films and TV series that have been aired on Kenyan television stations. The inaugural awards were held in 2010 at the Crowne Plaza in Upper Hill, Nairobi and subsequent awards are held yearly at the last quarter of the year at the same venue. The awards represent the five original branches of film making: directors, actors, writers, producers and technicians. However, the Academy organizers will advise on whether or not to include more categories as long as they sufficiently represent the entire film industry.
Nominations and voting process
An academy, consisting of a jury of experts drawn from the industry oversees the nomination and final judging process. 30 per cent of the vote in Kalasha Awards is decided through a public vote while the jury decides on 70 per cent of the categories including the technical ones.The Academy members are also tasked with advising the awards organisers on how to put out calls for entries and come up with a shortlist of nominees from the submissions received each year.
Categories
Awards
Television categories
- Best TV Drama
- Best TV Comedy
- Best Lead Actor in TV drama
- Best Lead Actress in a TV drama
- Best Supporting Actor in TV drama
- Best Supporting Actress in TV drama
- Best Performance in TV Comedy
- Best Host in TV Show
- Best TV Documentary
Film categories
- Best Lead Actor in a film
- Best Lead Actress in a film
- Best Supporting Actor in a film
- Best Supporting Actress in a film
- Best Documentary
- Best Feature
- Best Short Film
- Best Director
- Best Sound Designer
- Best Original Score
- Best Editor
- Best Lighting Technician
- Best Special Effects
- Best Original Screen Play
- Best Director of Photography
- Best Production Designer
- Best Local Language Film
Special accolades
- Beast Feature by a student
- Best Documentary by a student
- Best Diaspora Production
- Best Animation Production
- Best Feature East
Kalasha Award for Best Lead Actress in Drama
| Year | Actress | TV series | Ref |
| 2009 | Jackline Nyamide | Papa Shirandula | |
| 2010 | Elizabeth Wanjiru | Mother-in-Law | |
| 2011 | Nice Githinji | Changing Times | |
| 2012 | Lucy Nyagah | Lies that Bind | |
| 2014 | Mkamzee Mwatela | Mali | |
| 2015 | Ambrose Riziki | Pendo | |
| 2016 | - | ||
| 2017 | Catherine Kamau | Sue na Jonnie | |
| 2018 | Diana Mulwa | My Two Wives | |
| 2019 | Nyce Wanjeri | Ithaga Riene | |
| 2020 | Yasmin Said | Maria | |
| 2021 | Sarah Hassan | Crime and Justice |