The Ololokwe Movie Company was founded as the first feature-length collaboration between filmmakers Debra Aroko and Gabriel de Wolff, who share a commitment to storytelling that highlights nature, culture, and adventure. Their partnership began when Gabriel volunteered to shoot aerials for Debra’s documentary Searching for Amani, leading to an ongoing creative collaboration. Since then, they have worked together on multiple projects, refining a shared approach to immersive, visually compelling storytelling. With Chasing the Lion currently in post-production, their partnership continues to grow, with plans to take on more projects that align with their vision and expertise.
Debra Aroko
Debra Aroko is a Kenyan filmmaker and producer with a deep passion for telling stories that capture the nuanced realities of the various communities that exist within her continent. She is also the Co-director and Impact Producer of the feature-length documentary “Searching For Amani”. Her debut feature film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2024, and won the ‘Best New Directors’ award. Debra serves as the Africa Manager for the Video Consortium, and as the project manager and producer at the Solutions Storytelling Project Africa, overseeing the production of 19 short documentary films from across the African continent. A number of the films that she produced during the program have been acquired by major publications like AJ+ and Scientific American.
Gabriel Jackson
Gabriel Jackson is a British filmmaker and adventurer specialising in narratives centred around conservation, cultural identity, and the great outdoors. Gabriel lived in the UK for several years, working on a variety of short projects, finding success in creating music videos for alternative British artists.
Gabriel moved to Kenya in 2020, and has since found a great deal of satisfaction exploring the vast range of stories in Kenya's vibrant landscape. He is now a proficient Swahili speaker, and has worked with several conservancies, NGO's and lodges to promote positive action in the space of conservation.
He has been working on the Ololokwe Movie Company’s current work in progress, Chasing the Lion, for almost four years. This film will be Gabriel's feature length directorial debut, after 10 years of honing his skills in filmmaking.
