International film CALL ME QUEEN made its highly anticipated Kenyan debut at the 2026 NBO Film Festival at Prestige Cinema, Ngong Road (17 October, 2026) ahead of its theatrical release across East Africa on 30 October, 2026 followed by an online release via YAKWETU™ from 13 November 2026.
The red carpet premiere welcomed German producer Gian Piero Ringel, director Emily Atef and lead RwandanFrench actress Eliane Umuhire, alongside Kenyan actors: Nice Githinji, Helen Keli, Peter Kawa, Michelle Tiren and Lwanda Jawar Kotengo, among the film’s 150+ Kenyan cast and crew members.
Directed by award-winning German-born French-Iranian filmmaker Emily Atef, CALL ME QUEEN stars Eliane Umuhire as Queen Achungo, alongside Irish actress Denise Gough, with Charlie Carrick, Dominic West, Laurent Lafitte and Danny Sapani. The Kenyan cast includes Michelle Tiren, Nice Githinji, Lwanda Jawar, Helen Keli, Peter Kawa and Eddie Kimani, bringing together an international ensemble for a story firmly rooted in Kenya’s history and social realities.
Set in Nairobi during the 1990s, against the backdrop of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, CALL ME QUEEN follows Queen, a Rwandan refugee and single mother living in Korogocho, whose determination to provide for her children, leads her to become a housekeeper for Anna, an international journalist living in an affluent Nairobi suburb. What begins as an employer–employee relationship, develops into an unexpected friendship between two women from vastly different worlds, challenging their perspectives on privilege, inequality and the value of human life.
When Queen discovers she is HIV-positive, her personal struggle becomes part of a wider fight for access to life-saving medication, at a time when treatment remains beyond the reach of millions. As Queen and Anna confront the inequalities shaping access to healthcare, the film examines the intersection of poverty, pharmaceutical patents, race and political responsibility, while highlighting the resilience of individuals and communities determined to fight for change.
Speaking about the film, director Emily Atef describes Queen as
The undisputed heroine of the film. A woman whose resilience and natural leadership emerge, as her personal struggle grows into a fight for her community. Her strength, humour, fearlessness and innate intelligence is what makes her a born leader. Queen and the people around her, take control of their own struggle, and fight for change on their own terms.”
Inspired by true events, the screenplay is based on veteran foreign correspondent Lara Santoro’s novel MERCY. It was written by Atef, alongside Kenyan-Ghanaian screenwriter Hawa Essuman, German filmmaker Josune Hahnheiser and British writer Jeannine Dominy. The production brings together international filmmaking talent, and a largely female Kenyan cast and crew, placing local experiences at the centre of a story with global relevance.
Distributed across East Africa by Crimson Multimedia, and by YAKWETU™, CALL ME QUEEN opens in cinemas across Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda on 30 October 2026, followed by an online release via YAKWETU™. Audiences can look forward to experiencing this powerful story of friendship, resilience and the fight for a more equitable world.
Trushna Buddhdev-Patel, Managing Director of Crimson Multimedia and Co-Founder of YAKWETU™ says, “
This film deserves to be watched widely, we have therefore pushed for a release across East Africa’s cinemas, and also Online via YAKWETU™ where cinemas cannot reach the audience.”
The film is an international production by Ringel Film, Les Films Pelléas, Cowboy Films and Streetcar Productions, in co-production with Zischlermann Filmproduktion, Construction Film and Ascent Films. It is dedicated to the memory of Appie Matere, the visionary Kenyan film and television producer, who collaborated with Ascent Films as a producer on the project before her passing. The distributors invite partnerships for impact screenings, focused on HIV/AIDS prevention, testing & treatment, equal access to healthcare, women’s empowerment and social justice.
With its compelling performances and intimate portrayal of two women whose lives become intertwined, CALL ME QUEEN revisits a defining period in Kenya’s history, while raising questions about dignity, equality and access to life-saving treatment that remain relevant today. The film offers audiences an opportunity to engage with a Kenyan story, told through an international lens, bringing renewed attention to the people and communities whose struggles have shaped the fight for healthcare justice.
In Memory of Appie Matere – a visionary Kenyan film and TV Producer whose lasting contribution to the industry continues to be felt. Before her passing, she collaborated with Ascent Films as a Producer on CALL ME QUEEN.
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