On October 24, 2025, Bigger Motion announced its official launch as a Pan-African film distribution company during the NBO Film Festival, which ran from October 17 to 27, 2025, in Nairobi, Kenya.
Bigger Motion evolved from the distribution wing of LBx Africa, the Nairobi production company founded by Sam Soko and Bramwel Iro, with a library that includes “Softie” (Sundance, 2020) and “Free Money” (TIFF, 2022). The new entity will handle acquisition and distribution of African titles across multiple channels, including cinemas, regional festivals, streaming platforms, broadcast television, in-flight entertainment, and impact pathways.
The presser frames impact as core to the model, with screenings designed for classrooms, cultural spaces, and community discussions. Per Chloe Genga, named Head of Distribution and Impact at Bigger Motion: “Visibility without access isn’t enough… We’re building a distribution ecosystem that brings African cinema home, into Cinemas, festivals, living rooms, classrooms, and community spaces, so these stories can spark connection, pride, and change where they matter most.”
Bigger Motion operates with a six-person core team comprising Genga, Jotham Njoroge (Finance), Lucky Mwachi (Communications), Mbuvi Muthama (Festival Coordinator), and directors Iro and Soko.
The company’s launch slate at NBO Film Festival includes four feature titles:
- “Shadow Scholars” (U.K., BFI London Film Festival, 2024) — director Eloise King
- “Khartoum” (Sudan, Sundance Film Festival, 2025) — directors Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy Ahmad, Timeea Mohamed Ahmed
- “How to Build a Library” (Kenya, Sundance Film Festival, 2025) — directors Maia Lekow, Christopher King
- “Matabeleland” (Zimbabwe/Kenya/Canada, CPH: DOX, 2025) — director Nyasha Kadandara
Following the October 2025 launch, information on distribution timelines or release strategies for each title is forthcoming. Ongoing, the company plans to expand partnerships and develop new access initiatives across the continent, and, of course, add to its release slate.
The distribution gap within African markets is a well-documented worry. Akoroko tracking from Sundance through Toronto 2025, covering seven major festivals between January and September, shows that most deals for African films increasingly cluster around a few nodes: French and Swiss theatrical buyers, MUBI for streaming, MAD Solutions and Film Clinic Indie in MENA, and FilmOne in Nigeria, with Moses Babatope’s year-old Nile Group earning its wings. Beyond these, acquisitions are rare, and many films remain confined to the festival circuit.
The launch of Bigger Motion joins a growing group of efforts responding to that access gap, experimenting with new models. From the Berlinale’s Toolbox Distribution Academy and Marrakech’s Atlas Distribution Meetings to the partnership between Ghana’s Black Star International Film Festival, Côte d’Ivoire’s Majestic Cinemas, and Babatope’s Nile, the conversation is moving beyond production support to circulation and market access.
The next test for Bigger Motion lies in implementation, in building the mechanisms that can move films beyond festivals and into consistent circulation across African markets, starting with the first four films.