Lost Note, a new Kenyan coming-of-age musical drama directed by Hanigun Kwenya, is set to premiere at Prestige Cinema in Nairobi on 13 November 2026. The film follows Leila, a young singer whose life is disrupted by the sudden death of her father. While dealing with grief, she must also navigate university life, her ambitions in music and the expectations surrounding the person she is supposed to become. Her father’s final voice note becomes a powerful emotional thread as she tries to make sense of his death and her changing relationship with the people around her. The film combines drama, music and a personal story about grief, identity and the things people sometimes leave unsaid.
At the centre of Lost Note is Leila, a young woman who finds herself increasingly disconnected from the people and experiences that once gave her a sense of stability. Her father’s death forces her to confront emotions that she may not have been prepared to handle while also dealing with the demands of university and her musical ambitions. The final voice note he leaves behind becomes more than a simple message because it represents the words she may never have the opportunity to hear from him in person. This gives the film its central emotional question and connects Leila’s personal grief to her broader journey of self-discovery. As she searches for meaning in what remains, music becomes one of the ways she processes feelings that she cannot always express directly.
For director Hanigun Kwenya, the story has a strong personal connection. Kwenya, whose directing credits include the Maisha Magic telenovelas Salem and Shanga, drew on his own experience of losing his father when developing the film. He has spoken about the regret of not being able to say goodbye and the questions that can remain after someone close dies unexpectedly. His memory of his father trying to reach him became an important starting point for Lost Note. That personal experience gives the film’s central idea a direct connection to the director’s own life, particularly the uncertainty surrounding words that are never heard.
Kwenya has described the film as being about the words people do not get to hear, the voices they lose and the voices they eventually need to find within themselves. This idea gives Lost Note a broader focus beyond the death of Leila’s father. The story explores how grief can affect a young person’s sense of identity while they are already facing important decisions about education, relationships and the future. It also considers how people continue conversations with those they have lost through memory and the meaning they attach to what remains. For Leila, that process is closely connected to the voice note and to the music she creates as she attempts to understand her emotions.
Music plays a central role in the film rather than simply providing background entertainment. Lost Note features six original songs that were written and composed at Paza Studios and performed by members of the cast. The production describes music as one of the ways Leila processes emotions that she cannot always articulate through ordinary conversation. This approach connects the film’s musical elements directly to its coming-of-age story and gives Leila another means of expressing her grief and uncertainty. The original songs are therefore an important part of the film’s storytelling, with the performances helping to communicate aspects of Leila’s journey.
The film brings together a cast that includes both established Kenyan performers and a newcomer. Georgina Gachanja, known for Sarabi, and Ellah Maina, known for Sincerely Daisy, are among the actors appearing in Lost Note. The cast also includes Owen Nyasato, Benson Ochungo Obiero, Sam Psenjen, Felistus Nzula and Peter Kawa, alongside newcomer Worship Shekinah. The performers bring experience from Kenyan television and film projects, including Volume, Nawi, County 49, Uradi and Anam’s Wake. Their involvement gives the production a cast with experience across different areas of Kenya’s growing screen industry.
Lost Note is being produced under Lislo Films, with Tecla Joan serving as the writer and Wanjiku Mutua as producer. Joan is known for Kito, while Mutua is associated with The Date. Their roles place the film within a creative team that combines writing and production experience in Kenyan screen storytelling. The collaboration with Kwenya gives the project a clear creative direction built around a young protagonist, an emotionally difficult family experience and original music. Together, the creative team has developed a film that uses Leila’s personal story to explore broader questions about growing up, loss and identity.
The film also forms part of a wider group of faith-focused projects supported through the Entertainment and Media Hubs Program. The programme was launched in 2025 by Africa No Filter in partnership with CcHub Creative Economy Practice and supports selected filmmakers and content creators from Kenya and Nigeria. Its focus includes gender-equitable and faith-focused stories that aim to contribute to improved health and livelihoods for adolescent girls and young women. Lost Note’s inclusion in this wider slate places the film within a broader effort to support African storytellers working on socially relevant themes. The programme also highlights the growing role of film and other creative industries in addressing issues that affect young people and communities.
Other Kenyan filmmakers have also participated in the programme and related initiatives. Daudi Anguka was among the 2026 cohort with his upcoming Mombasa-set feature Utata, showing the range of Kenyan stories being developed through the initiative. The programme has also backed Likarion Wainaina’s Anam’s Wake, which premiered in July. These projects demonstrate the variety of stories emerging from Kenya’s independent film sector while sharing a connection to initiatives designed to support local creators. Lost Note adds a coming-of-age musical drama to that wider group of Kenyan productions.
The November premiere gives Kenyan audiences an opportunity to experience a story that combines familiar pressures of young adulthood with the deeply personal experience of bereavement. Leila is not only dealing with the loss of her father but also trying to understand who she is and what she wants while facing expectations from the world around her. Her music provides a way to explore those conflicts when ordinary words are not enough. The final voice note adds another layer by keeping her father’s presence connected to the story even after his death. These elements make grief, communication and personal identity central themes of the film.
Lost Note is ultimately a story about growing up while carrying the weight of an unexpected loss. Through Leila’s experience, the film explores how a young person can become disconnected from familiar sources of support and then search for a new understanding of herself. Hanigun Kwenya’s personal connection to the story adds emotional significance to a film built around the question of what happens when someone’s final words remain unheard. With six original songs, a Kenyan cast and a creative team led by Kwenya, Tecla Joan and Wanjiku Mutua, the production brings music and drama together in its exploration of grief and identity. With its premiere scheduled for 13 November 2026 at Prestige Cinema in Nairobi, Lost Note is set to introduce audiences to a Kenyan coming-of-age story shaped by loss, music and the search for meaning.
