Originally from Rwanda, Mitch Kalisa arrived in the UK as a child via Uganda. He first explored his passion for film through acting, later moving into painting and sculpture before landing on directing as his primary creative output.

Kalisa uses his own experiences to underpin his cinematic pursuit of breaking convention and boundaries and telling rich stories from diverse, unheard voices. He focuses on complex and often challenging tales, giving them a visceral character and performance-driven platform. His film Play it Safe recently premiered at and won the grand jury prize at SXSW.