Actor perform during the closing and award ceremony of the 2013 Slum Film Festival in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, Sept. 9, 2013. Founded in 2011 in Nairobi, the Slum Film Festival is a community-based annual film event featuring stories from, by, and about people living in urban slums. (Xinhua/Meng Chenguang)

NAIROBI, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- A film festival will roll out in Nairobi on Monday featuring 2,600 entries from 120 countries, many about slum lives or shot by slum communities.

Organizers of the annual Slum Film Festival, now in its seventh year, said on Sunday that the films will be screened in two of Kenya's largest slums, Kibera and Mathare.

George Karanja, the Director of the Film Festival, said the bulk of African entries were received from Nigeria, Cameroon and Kenya, which will be screened alongside non-African films from the United States, India, Pakistan and others.

The community-based film event features stories by, and about people living in urban slums globally.

The highlight of this year's event is the award-cum-closing ceremony set for October 6 and which will be graced by influential players in the film industry, both local and foreign.

He said winners from nominated entries in over 10 categories ranging from best African film, best international film, best cinematography, best director to best sound, will be awarded during on the gala night.

The festival aims to offer a platform for films from slum communities to reach broader audiences as well as promoting dialogue about life in slums by using stories from such communities.

"The festival demonstrates that slums are also a home for very talented, creative and culturally active artists," said Karanja.

Spanish Ambassador to Kenya, Javier Garcia de Viedma, said the embassy, a key sponsor of the festival, will continue supporting the festival as it has a positive impact on people living in slums.

"Some big cities around the world started as slums and telling the slum story helps authorities understand the situation in slums and consequently make the right decisions," he said.