PWANI CELEBRITY AWARD S 2015-SNEAKPEAK

For ages now, we've all been watching and marveling at the nature of Awards' Events overseas. Year after year, we are treated to amazing surprises by the organizers' way of doing things. Technology; state-of-the-art. Layout-breathtaking. Marketing-on point. Turn-out; beyond expectation. Everything is planned for and naturally falls into place. Sad part is that the perfection of such events seem to be demoralizing us Kenyans. We think so little of ourselves as if we can't match the standards (well, actually we really can't match them but who died from trying?)
This year, our very own Pwani Celebrity Awards will be making bold and daring steps to try and set standards for Awards' Ceremonies within Kenya and East Africa as a whole, With that in mind, the following are some adjustments that are currently being made to make the show stand-out from all that we've been seeing happen around:
 

          Introduction of a New Category
Yes boys and girls, you read that correctly. Pwani Celebrity Awards 2015 will be introducing a new category to celebrate some important people in society who mostly go unmentioned. The category shall be called CORPORATE AWARDS, and in it, we shall be rewarding entrepreneurs and various companies performing well in the Coastal region. An unknown fact to most people is that we are not just awarding these people for the sake of it, but to appreciate and encourage them to continue in what they are doing to the industry. We've seen some companies come out to create and organize events in which local artists perform. We've also seen some companies come out to sponsor local talents within the region, hence we thought it wise to reward where we think is appropriate (of course your votes still decide the winner)

     Involvement of the Government
This may sound weird but remains unique. For the first time in history, we will be involving the government in our awards! (can I get an Amen for that) And by government, we're strictly talking about the Coastal region. Our  main aim is to award the best performing county within the region, because we are aware of the impact this has in the entertainment industry. To site an example, consider the state of security in Lamu. Think about its impact to the entertainment industry. Is it even possible to go to night clubs? No? What about concerts? Is it possible to hold them in an area prone to bombings and terrorist attacks? Hell now way! Now think of the amount of revenue they loose in one fiscal year-low returns from the transport industry and not forgetting income from beverages which are mostly consumed at night (and let it be clear that Pwani Celebrity Awards is not in any way advocating for alcohol consumption, all we are saying is that there has to be a better way,)
With that in mind, this is how we shall be rewarding the government for what they are doing for us: our team of experts shall be analyzing a County's funds allocation against expenditure for the past one year, taking into account the County's total income verses residents' per capita income.

From that, the best performing county shall be awarded as an encouragement for the good work and also serve as a challenge to the others to put more effort.

       Introduction of Advanced Technology
From the experience we had last year with our fans complaining about poor sound system among many other things, we can proudly inform you that we have heavily invested in technology that we believe will surpass the expectations of many.
To start with, there has been an overhaul of the entire voting system. Voting shall now be easy for everyone and not limited only for certain web browsers and mobile applications. Online portals being monitored by credible entities shall be released soon for the public. With this kind of system, we expect utmost discretion of the voting patterns.

 This will discourage a scenario where loosing artists pull-out of the race out of shame as witnessed last year.
In the spirit of keeping up with the overseas' standards, we plan on going digital with our stage undertakings, meaning, there will be very minimal (if not non) talking by parties on stage, instead, we let the machines do the work.

As for the sound system, we have imported a Yamaha Audio Console CL5 top of the range audio control for world class music quality. The machine is one of a kind, first time to be used in Mombasa, and second time to be used in Kenya and this side east of the Sahara, after Safaricom's Groove Party 2014. (You can google that by the way).


       Interaction with fans
After last year's dissatisfaction by our fans on failure to involve them in the whole process, there has been a general feeling that some adjustments be made on how we do things. This year, we plan it to be as interactive as possible. Our fans will be the ones to suggest voting categories and individuals they think fit for every category.
We shall create our own Youtube channel soon, in which we shall be interviewing artists with the likelihood of being nominated and voted in various categories. Get fans to know them, what they do apart from what we know among many others
A WhatsApp number for Pwani Celebrity Awards 2015 will also be launched soon for fans to share ideas with the organizers on what they expect.
An official Twitter handle and hashtag that will be used all through till the evnd of the event will also be launched soon,


As stated earlier, these are just some of the adjustments being made to make the show what it ought to be.
Stay tuned for more updates.
Regards,
CEO.

Special Feature-The Film Industry

As you may know by now, the whole idea behind Pwani Celebrity Awards is simply identifying and rewarding local talent along the Coastal region that mostly go unnoticed. However, that does not mean that we are blind to matters affecting the country as a whole, and thus today, we would like to focus our attention on the Kenyan Film Industry; the far we have come from, the progress we have made along the way and where we are headed to.

For sure, Kenya is a blessed state, with captivating scenery for video shootings, talented actors and actresses and many other factors capable of taking this industry to the ever illusive next level. We have more than once seen the developed world use our resources, from actors, land and brains to there success. We have more than once seen the high and mighty visiting our country and leave singing songs of praise about its beauty. We have more than once seen our neighboring countries which have very less to offer compared to us, do better than us. Even with all these advantages on our side, the Kenyan Film Industry still lugs in a sorry state. Where could the problem be?

According to a survey done way back in 2013, key players in the industry, and of course members of the public who engaged to try forge a way forward cited airplay as the main problem facing the budding industry. It also came to light that local investors do not want to put the money into local productions, levies and licences required for a production cost a lot and so on and so forth. But has anyone ever taken there time to ask why?

Before we start pointing fingers to the government and the Kenyan Film Commission for failing to regulate content, are the producers clean themselves? I mean, if I were an investor in the Tv industry, I wouldn't want anything less than the best played on my station. No one likes to watch sub-standard plays on Tv when they can opt for quality production from West Africa, which by the way has the Film Industry as their second major revenue earner, after the Oil Industry. Just in case you are not aware, quality production=airplay, airplay=more viewership, more viewership=investors; basic math. No matter how bitter the truth may sound, someone has to say it; the production of local content is wanting!

At this point, it's also important to appreciate the government's effort along the journey, Kenya now boasts of 45% of local content being played on local Tv. The number is capable of going up to the promised 60% if we continue going in the same trend.

As we gear up for the much hyped Pwani Celebrity Awards 2015, we would like to encourage our producers along the coast for the good work they are doing, and we urge them to push even harder; less complaints and hard work is all that we ask for.

Star Profile-The Controversial Sandra

Good morning beautiful people! On our star profile today, we present you one of Mombasa's most controversial yet beautiful model Sandra Shantel. Sandra is arguably the most successful models we have around, rumored to be the highest paid in the region. You may know her in Prezzo's video My City My Town (ft. Cannibal).

Shantel rose to fame way back in 2013 when she won the The Face Of Pulse crown, and has never looked back since then, going ahead to endorse several notable brands within Kenya and around Africa (for her professional interest, we shall withhold the brand information).

Since her birth to the industry, Shantel has been at the forefront in celebrating beauty, diversity and lengthening the limits of being a model, with her main objective being to inspire every young girl with the passion for the runway to achieve their dreams, clearly evident from her posts.

Despite her success, Shantel has had her fair share of criticism from wannabe bloggers from the region who clearly don't know how to differentiate between sensationalism and hate, and also fail to appreciate the far Sandra has taken the industry.

We here at Pwani Celebrity Awards celebrate the far she has gone, and may she go even further. Her success is our succes.