Felix Masi
Felix Masi is an award-winning Kenyan-born documentary photographer and filmmaker, and former photojournalist.
In 2005, he relinquished his position as a newspaper photojournalist to concentrate on documenting social issues, coinciding with his selection for the U.S. Department of State-sponsored International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) alongside participants from worldwide. Currently based in Washington DC, Masi collaborates with international non-profits to document humanitarian work and development, as well as his personal long-term project, "African Women Rising," in Africa.
Recently, Felix has worked in Kenya, South Africa, Angola, Uganda, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi, Republic of Congo Brazzaville, and Tanzania, among others. A recipient of several international awards in photojournalism and film, Masi participated in the Save and Protect the Planet project produced in Portugal, Switzerland, and New York. He also collaborated on a 2010 World Cup project in South Africa with the World Press Photo Foundation. Furthermore, he directed an award-winning short film, "Hands of Love," through support from Adobe Youth Voices and Listen Up! Masi covered a White House African Youth Summit participant for Interface Media Group (IMG).
His commitment to the grandmothers and orphans in Kenya, and the work he had already begun documenting their lives, was instrumental in the award-winning film "A Grandmother's Tribe," for which he served as local production coordinator, advisor, and photographer. Masi's series on daily life in Kinshasa, dubbed "Made in Kinshasa," earned him a World Bank award in 2013 for small business in conflict zones and was among the winning global stories named top best 100, 2014-2015 winners in the Other Hundred Entrepreneurship.
Masi's documentary series "Made in Kinshasa" was showcased in Arlington, Virginia, from February to September during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Masi's documentary films , African Women Rising and Finding Solace, Finding Strength, garnered a notable distinction, winning 4 international awards, 4 honorable mentions, nominations and 14th selection on FilmFreeway and making his work among the most selected.
