Kenyan filmmaker Vincho Nchogu has challenged non-governmental organisations over the use of poverty-focused images in development campaigns, warning that portraying Africans mainly through suffering and deprivation can deepen negative views of the continent.
Nchogu said filmmakers working on NGO projects must pay greater attention to the dignity of the people featured, especially when productions made for development purposes end up being shown to audiences outside Africa.
Speaking during a Radio Generation interview on Friday, the independent filmmaker said her work on NGO productions changed the way she viewed the images being created and circulated about African communities.
She questioned the practice of featuring visibly poor children as a way of showing the need for aid, arguing that development stories can make a strong case for support without presenting people in ways that take away their dignity.
Nchogu said she also discovered that the reach of such productions can go far beyond what filmmakers initially expect.
She recalled producing films for NGOs that she believed were meant for internal documentation, only to later find that some had been broadcast on television in the United States.
The experience, she said, made her more aware of how filmmakers can unknowingly help build an international picture of Africa that centres on poverty, suffering and lack.
Her concerns also extend to the way development projects are planned, particularly where communities that are supposed to benefit from them may not have been properly consulted.
Nchogu recalled travelling to Uganda to film a cooking stove project that had been described to her as a success because it had helped women reduce their reliance on firewood.
But when she arrived in the community, she found the stove unused. Residents also privately raised concerns about the project that were different from the account she had received in Kampala.
The experience left her questioning whether development solutions are always based on the actual needs and views of the people they are intended to help.
She said projects should therefore be judged not only by the intentions of the organisations behind them or the stories used to attract funding, but also by whether they solve problems identified by the communities themselves.
Nchogu clarified that her criticism should not be taken as an attack on NGOs, noting that many organisations continue to play an important role in supporting communities.
Instead, she called for closer examination of how development money is used, whether projects deliver the promised results and whether people are being used as subjects in fundraising campaigns.
Her concerns are also reflected in her feature directorial debut, One Woman One Bra, a Kenya-Nigeria production that explores identity, land ownership, women's autonomy and the role of international NGOs in rural communities.
The film premiered at the 2025 Venice International Film Festival through the Biennale College Cinema programme before later screening at the BFI London Film Festival.
Nchogu's comments come as Kenya's film industry continues to build its presence locally and internationally. The Kenya Film Commission identifies production, distribution, cinematography, animation, screenwriting, post-production, festivals and other creative services as part of the sector, which is increasingly seen as a source of jobs, investment and economic growth.
The Commission has also been working to strengthen professional standards, improve market access and expand distribution opportunities for local filmmakers while supporting film hubs, funding programmes and training in emerging technologies.
Women filmmakers have also gained a wider platform in the sector. In March 2026, the Kenya Film Commission said it had received more than 700 entries for the Women in Film Awards, which recognised women working in directing, producing, cinematography, editing, animation and digital content.
Nchogu's concerns therefore place the question of how Africa is represented at the centre of a growing conversation within Kenya's film industry, particularly over who controls African stories, how communities are portrayed and whether development narratives can be told without reducing people to images of poverty.