How Enos Olik moved from music to film

Enos Olik has smoothly transitioned from music video directing to film. His love for music started in 2009, when he was a member of a three-man band, Aziza Muzik, later becoming one of the most sought-after music video directors in Kenya.

Now, he is determined to create an equally strong legacy with TV directing, a journey that saw him helm Showmax’s music drama series Famous in 2021. In 2024, he’s back with a new project, Jiji, the Showmax Original youth drama series that takes him to the very heart of Nairobi’s neighbourhood of Jericho, where four high school girls fight to escape the grip of a local kingpin.

He said Sauti Sol’s music video ‘Nishike’  cemented his career “That video was a game-changer for me. It was bold, fresh, and it got people talking. It really put my name out there and showed the industry that I had something unique to offer. Plus, working with Sauti Sol was an absolute blast, having come from the same high school and eventually doing music together. “

Olik wanted to do more than music video directing “I knew I wanted to tell bigger stories. Music videos were my playground, where I learned the ropes. TV directing and making films felt like the next natural step. So yes, in the back of my mind, I always knew I’d end up here.”

Famous was his big TV directing project before Jiji.

“Famous taught me a lot. I learned the importance of character depth and pacing, which I brought to Jiji to ensure that we developed a story that keeps everyone on the edge of their seats. Naturally, we grow from every work we do and with Jiji, it’s more about approaching an ascending step in terms of storytelling.”

Jiji’s soundtrack is composed of a mixture of Kenyan hip hop of sub-genres like urbantone, gengetone and kapuka, and Kenyan RnB from new or less well-known artists like Davaji, Trap Zabini and Clinchy.