Founded in 2009 by wife & husband team Maia Lekow & Christopher King, Circle & Square Productions is a film & music company based in Nairobi, Kenya.

We believe that artful, long-form storytelling has the power to transform society by triggering important conversations that hold a mirror to our world and break down barriers, compelling us to reflect and imagine what is possible.

MAIA LEKOW

Maia Lekow is an award-winning Kenyan director, producer, composer, sound recordist, and touring musician whose multidisciplinary approach fosters intimate and emotionally resonant storytelling. Working together with husband and creative partner Christopher King, the duo tell deeply personal, multi-layered stories exploring identity, culture, resilience, and powerful female protagonists.  Their first feature documentary, The Letter (2019), was Kenya's official submission to the 93rd Academy Awards. Their second feature, How to Build a Library, premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, won the Golden Alexander Award at Thessaloniki (Newcomers Section), and was hailed "a must-see" by Black Girl Nerds.  The film will make its US broadcast premiere on PBS POV in August 2026. 

As a musician, Maia has toured with her band Maia & the Big Sky and also released albums solo as Maia von Lekow. She was named a goodwill ambassador for UNHCR on World Refugee Day 2013 and received an African Movie Academy Award for her song 'Uko Wapi'. Maia has composed original scores for both The Letter and How to Build a Library, alongside award-winning co-composers Ken Myhr and Katya Mihailova.

CHRISTOPHER KING

Christopher King is an award-winning director, editor, cinematographer, and video artist originally from Melbourne, Australia. Chris has called Kenya home since 2007 where he co-founded Circle & Square Productions with wife and creative partner Maia Lekow. With a visual style rooted in patience and intimacy, Christopher's work captures the immediacy of real life while interrogating the legacies of history and power. Chris & Maia's debut feature, The Letter (2019), premiered at IDFA and won the African Union Peace Prize at FESPACO. Their second feature, How to Build a Library, premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and screened at more than 70 film festivals across 6 continents in its first year. Praised by Screen Daily as "one hell of a protest story", the film is currently rolling out to broadcasters around the world, starting with PBS POV in the USA on August 24th, 2026.