Loi Awat

Loi Awat is a film and television writer and stop-motion animator from Nairobi, Kenya. Her interest in filmmaking began at the age of 14 while in Pangani Girls Secondary School, where she completed her first screenplay; this was read by several students, who encouraged her to complete it and further, to pursue a career in writing. After high school, Loi continued writing speculative screenplays and when she enrolled in Daystar University for a Bachelor of Arts in Communication (with a specialization in Electronic Media), embarked on independent film production. While still in university, Loi was involved in the production of several independent and student film productions. Most notable is her solo production of the first African music video to be done entirely in stop-motion animation; the music video for Rain On My Lips by Pepe Haze & Steph McKee was released online in September 2011 and has since been aired on television in Burundi. Loi's career as a television writer begun during her final-year in university when she joined Buni Media as an intern writer on The XYZ Show, a popular political satire puppet show. She also worked with Kenyan video production company Trizone Production as a writer for a TV drama series funded by LVCT Health, an organization working towards HIV prevention in Kenya. During this time Loi was also one of the initial writers and developers of a new television series titled Mama Duka, produced by Nairobi-based Zebra Production. Upon her graduation from Daystar, Loi became a full-time writer of The XYZ Show and in the same year, the show was awarded the Best African Series award at the Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards in Nigeria. In the following year (2014), she continued to write for the second season of Mama Duka, which won the Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Award for Best Swahili Language in that year. In 2015, Loi became the script editor of Mama Duka and continues to work at Buni Media not only as a writer for The XYZ Show, but also as Grants Manager of the organization. While working on these television projects, Loi has continued to pursue her interest in independent filmmaking and stop-motion animation. In 2014, she embarked on the production of a stop-motion animated short film titled Relief, which she also co-wrote and co-directed. The film is in post-production. In 2016, Loi co-founded a health and wellness company called Yoga Dance(TM) in Nairobi. Loi continues to work as a screenwriter and grants manager at Buni Media, while managing Yoga Dance(TM) with her partner.