Actor Nisha Kalema receives a certificate from UCC boss Nyombi Thembo
The local film industry made significant strides at the beginning of the 2020s. There were two high-budget films that were yet to premiere, Loukman Ali’s The Girl in the Yellow Jumper and Doreen Mirembe’s Kafa Coh. But Covid-19 happened.
Both films were scheduled to premiere in 2020, but with social order disrupted, both premieres were called off indefinitely. The Girl in the Yellow Jumper was acquired by Netflix a year later, becoming the first local film on the platform.
Kafa Coh later premiered in 2022, spending a week at the cinema, becoming one of the few films to do that. But during the pandemic, as many people were home, the idea to have original Ugandan content on premier pay TV service providers became one of the main objectives.
Pearl Magic had been created a few years before, but it was licensing most of its content; with the launch of Pearl Magic Prime, more commissioned shows were introduced.
The production was better, and so was the acting and writing; the rollout gave Ugandans shows such as Mama and Me, The Kojja, and reality shows such as Date My Family and My Wedding, but the big attractions were two telenovela dramas, Sanyu and Prestige.
As Mathew Nabwiso, the director of Sanyu, would later say, when they started making content for M-Net, it was the first time many Ugandan filmmakers were surviving as working filmmakers; it was the first time many of them were paying their bills for making films.
It was the first time filmmakers were not using their savings to embark on the journey of telling stories, which made the art, for a time, a real business.
The marriage between the industry and MultiChoice was made in heaven, though it was one-sided. DSTv was all filmmakers had and without them in the picture, the industry was in trouble.
ICT Minister Chris Baryomunsi and Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Kadaga hand over a Shs15m dummy cheque to the cast of Makula, which won Best Feature Film. Photos | Andrew Kaggwa
This was sooner or later. The pay TV business across the world has been struggling, and in 2023, things became worse as streaming services started to dominate the market. Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime have become major competitors to traditional pay TV.
These services have added ad tiers and are becoming more like pay TV by offering bundled distribution and sports. For a country such as Uganda, piracy did not help the situation as it further decreased the demand for both mainstream free-to-air and pay TV. With the help of accessible high-speed Internet, streaming services, some of which are illegal, have become increasingly popular in Uganda.
This means many can access the latest series, sports specials, and films by simply subscribing to the Internet. In South Africa, where there is better Internet infrastructure, it has been reported that DSTV lost more than 1.1 million subscribers across its Premium, Compact Plus, Compact, and Commercial (hotel/restaurant/tavern) customers over the last four years. With pay TV struggling in South Africa, the effects were felt in East Africa and, of course, Uganda. Unlike in the past years, when, for instance, many local telenovelas and feature films were commissioned, the industry saw a decline in local content production.
For instance, while appearing on an X (formerly Twitter) space on Monday, talent coach and film enthusiast Benda Douglas noted that it is hard counting more than 10 films that were premiered or exhibited at the Uganda Film Festival in 2024. "Very few films came out last year; there were a few premieres or exhibitions," Douglas stated.
Doreen Mirembe Best Actress in a TV drama for her role in Damalie.
However, besides the few films that did come out, there is still a lot to celebrate out of 2024. For instance, Sabotage, directed by Mathew Nabwiso last year, grossed Shs15m in one week, another first for the industry. Written by Louis Muhereza, Sabotage examines the complexities of a career-driven woman's life as she navigates romance and unforeseen difficulties. It delves into the intersection of culture and traditional values, with women's sexual and reproductive health rights at the centre of it.
The big deal with Sabotage was beyond the money made but the boldness to actually announce the box office collections; it is something the art industry generally avoids. The industr y also welcome d more younger talents, many of whom are open to collaborations and breaking traditional barriers with the way they fund their projects. For instance, the 2023 film, I Eat What I Like, made rounds with both the Ngalabi Short Film and the Matatu Film Stage, which travelled across Uganda and Africa.
I Eat What I Like started a crowdfunding campaign, and it seems it yielded results. Besides such campaigns though, other funding opportunities did arise such as Opportunities Are Here, and so did the Content Development Support by the Uganda Communication Commission (UCC).
Michael Wawuyo Snr took home the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The programme by UCC successfully selected projects for the second cohort, which included projects such as Janani, which premiered at the end of the year, and Slum Bomber, which is still in post-production. As 2025 rolls out, we anticipate that the year will not be as silent since many independent projects are on the way and are expected to make a significant impact on the industry.
