What happens when research meets creativity?
For the team behind Himiza Narratives Limited, the answer is a powerful new way of telling stories about work, purpose and the aspirations of Africa’s youth.
Himiza Narratives is one of the winning teams selected through the CAPSI Youth Project, an initiative supporting young African creatives to transform research on “The Nonprofit Sector’s Contribution to Dignified and Fulfilling Work for African Youth” into engaging and accessible content.
Their winning creative project, Beyond the Uniform (Zaidi ya Sare), is a five-part short documentary series that explores what dignified and fulfilling work means to young Africans, looking beyond income and professional status to themes of purpose, mentorship, creativity and community.
At the centre of the project is a talented team of young Kenyan creatives bringing their filmmaking expertise and unique perspectives to the research.
Meet the Team
Bill Jonnes Afwani
Project Lead | Executive Producer
Leading the Beyond the Uniform project is award-winning Kenyan filmmaker Bill Jonnes Afwani, co-founder of Himiza Narratives. Afwani has built an impressive career across film and television. He produced 18Hours, which won Best Movie at the 2018 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, before making his directorial debut with the feature film Safari, which premiered at the 2022 CineKid Film Festival in Amsterdam and is now streaming on Netflix. His work also includes directing and producing Agonda and Chinga for M-Net Africa, with both productions now available on Showmax. More recently, Afwani’s feature film project Kileo won Best East African Film at the 2025 Zanzibar International Film Festival and is being distributed by Rushlake Media.
Beyond his work on screen, Afwani is passionate about developing the next generation of African creatives. He mentors young filmmakers and thespians through the Kenya National Drama and Film Festival. As Project Lead and Executive Producer, he brings both creative leadership and industry experience to Beyond the Uniform.
Rashid Hunt Juma
Cinematographer
Based in Mombasa, Rashid Hunt Juma, professionally known as Rashid Hunt, is a Director of Photography whose work combines cinematic storytelling with social impact. With more than six years of experience in the film industry, Rashid has worked on award-winning productions including On Time, Ufanisi, Makena, Mapito and Wavuvi Sitini.
His work has explored important social issues including gender-based violence, mental health and climate change, which gives him a strong foundation for telling human-centred stories. As cinematographer for Beyond the Uniform, Rashid will help translate the experiences of the documentary’s participants into an intimate visual experience. Through his lens, audiences will be invited not only to hear about dignified and fulfilling work, but to see the people, places and experiences behind it.
Grace Adhiambo
Post-Production Producer
With almost a decade of experience in the creative industry, Grace Adhiambo brings extensive filmmaking, writing and editing experience to the Himiza Narratives team. A graduate of the Africa Digital Media Institute (ADMI), Grace has written for Netflix and Showmax, directed award-winning short films and led media training programmes in Somalia.
Her experience spans television, documentaries and commercial productions, where she has taken on roles including Head Writer, Script Editor and Director. Grace was also recognised by the British Council and completed a residency at Manchester’s School of Digital Arts.
Outside of film production, she works as a photographer for Punchline Comedy Club, demonstrating her versatility across film, photography and live events. As Post-Production Producer, Grace will play an important role in shaping the final stories and ensuring that the documentary series connects research, narrative and audience.
Ivy Manjari
Creative Producer & Manager
Ivy Manjari brings a combination of creative production, project management and people skills to the team. A graduate of Maseno University, Ivy has contributed to several Kenyan productions, including the Mali Ya Mungu series pilot and Kileo, a film funded by the Kenya Film Commission. She has also worked as Script Supervisor on M-Net Africa’s Agonda and Jasiri on Showmax.
Known for her attention to detail and ability to foster strong working relationships, Ivy plays an important role in creating the collaborative environment needed to bring a production of this scale together.
As Creative Producer and Manager, she will help coordinate the creative and production process, ensuring that the vision for Beyond the Uniform is translated successfully from concept to screen.
Young Creatives, African Stories
Together, the team represents a new generation of African storytellers who are using their creative skills to engage with important questions facing the continent.
Their work demonstrates one of the central ideas behind the CAPSI Youth Project: young people are not simply audiences for research, they can also be interpreters, creators and producers of knowledge.
Through Beyond the Uniform, the team will explore the experiences of young people working in Kenya’s nonprofit and creative sectors, pairing them with older mentors who have travelled similar paths.
The result will be an intergenerational conversation about how work is changing, what remains important and where young Africans find purpose and dignity.
From Research to the Screen
The Himiza Narratives team will use documentary storytelling to make CAPSI’s research accessible to audiences beyond academia.
The five-part series will combine authentic dialogue in Swahili and English, documentary realism and cinematic storytelling, while incorporating research insights and visual infographics into each episode.
The films will be distributed digitally through YouTube and social media, followed by community screenings and policy dialogues in collaboration with CAPSI.
Through the #ZaidiYaSare campaign, young Africans will also be encouraged to share their own experiences of work, purpose and fulfilment.
For Himiza Narratives, this is more than a filmmaking opportunity. It is an opportunity to demonstrate how African research can be transformed into stories that speak directly to the people whose lives and experiences the research seeks to understand.
The Story Behind the Story
At a time when young Africans are navigating unemployment, entrepreneurship, creative careers, community work and changing expectations about what constitutes a successful career, Beyond the Uniform invites audiences to look deeper. Behind every profession is a person. Behind every job is a story. And beyond every uniform is a young African seeking dignity, purpose, belonging and an opportunity to contribute. Meet the team bringing those stories to life.
