Allan Manzi began his film career as a runner at the 2011 Maisha Film Lab and trained at Kwetu Film Institute in Rwanda. He earned a Master’s degree in Film and Television from Sacred Heart University in New York. While in film school, his film Meet Mario won Best Short Film at the 2014 Hoboken International Film Festival, and Father Must Die was nominated for Best Short Film at the ZAAFA African movie academy awards. After graduating, Manzi worked for over four years at NBC Universal on Emmy Award-winning shows like Maury and Master of None. In 2017, he established his production company, MANZI MEDIA.
That same year, he directed his first Ugandan short film, Rehema, which was nominated at the 38th Durban International Film Festival and won the “Best short film” award at the Uganda Film Festival. He created his first TV series, Kyaddala, airing on NBS TV, and has directed other films, documentaries, and commercials. Manzi has also taught filmmaking at institutions like Kampala Film School. During the COVID-19 lockdown, he created the TV series JDC JuniorsDrama Club with Nisha Kalema. The show was later commissioned by Multichoice Africa, earned a nomination for Best Original African Drama Series at the AMVCAs, and won Best TV Series at the 2023 Uganda Film Festival. The second season of JDC wrapped and is streaming on Showmax. Manzi is now in production on a docu-series titled KAMPALA NIGHTLIFE.