Tosh Gitonga, born David Gitonga is a veteran film actor who has played a crucial role in pushing the Kenya film to an international level. He’s the man behind one of the most celebrated Kenyan films dubbed “Nairobi Half-Life”, a 2012 drama film.
Currently, he has raised the bar too high as he managed to secure a spot on Netflix with his latest release “Volume” a Kenyan TV Series which premiered on Netflix On 20th December 2023.
In our feature, we tell the career journey of David Gitonga known by his stage name Tosh. From making tea for the director to being one of the most successful film directors in Kenya.
Tosh Gitonga Age and Place of Birth
He was born and raised in Nanyuki in 1981, September.
Educational Background
He started his schooling at Moi Nyeri Complex. After that, he moved to Njiiri High School where he did his KCSE in 1999 before moving to Kenya Institute of Management where he graduated with a Diploma in Marketing in 2002.
Career
Growing up all he knew was that the 8-5 job was not one of his options and when he reached of age he tried to ensure that he chose a career that wouldn’t set him behind the desk for hours.
Surprisingly the career path he took was not in the film industry but in the marketing industry. After graduating he joined his aunt who was already in film and she had just returned from the United States where she worked as a producer for Hollywood.
Under his aunt, he worked as an intern and this is where his passion for creating films started. The first project he was part of was “Dangerous Affairs” released in 2002 featuring Nini Wacera as the main actor. According to him, the job was a bit challenging but he felt like diving deeper day in and day out.
However, despite his current status, the beginning was not as smooth as one would think. The recognized director started as a personal assistant to the director doing manual jobs like doing script photocopies for the actors and making tea for the director.
It took him almost 10 years for him to earn a promotion from PA to assistant director. With experience, he was elevated to the position of director and turned out to be a beast in what he does.
As a director, he has been behind some of the biggest projects including The First Grader, Africa Mon Amour, Transit, Nairobi half-life, The White Maasai, and now Volume.
Nairobi Half-life was one of the projects that received massive acceptance from the audience and this brought him to the limelight. He also got the chance to work with Tom Tykwer, a veteran German director.
“Volume” which is his latest release has set the standards a bit higher as it has made it to Netflix. The project was a collaboration between Primary Pictures and Tusker, spending Ksh 17 million.
Tosh Gitonga Girlfriend
Tosh has maintained his love life so personally and much is not known about his love life.
Net Worth
Being one of the best directors in the country he is among the richest in the film industry with an estimated net worth of above Ksh 20 million.