Bugaba Cyrus Clinton. Photo/Courtesy
If you watched the famous TV show Prestige, you definitely remember the character of Mutumba. Brought to life by Cyrus Clinton Bugaba, Mutumba was a toast of the show, the punchlines, one liners and always confused gaze.
But then Prestige ended. When shows end, it becomes hard following up what happens to the stars of the show, some usually go back into regular employment while a few stay around the film industry in different ways.
After Prestige ended, Bugaba ended up doing stage plays such as My Fair Lady, a play where he was supposed to be the lead but was the supporting cast.
He later teamed up with rapper and content creator Wonder JR, whom he had shared the screen with on Prestige and the two have set the Internet on fire. But on the artistic side of things, Bugaba has continued working with Yenze Theatre Conservatoire and also took part in the Acting Arena, where his solo as a mentally challenged youth whose frustrations have been bottled up in a liquor bottle won the first edition of the shows.
On Friday, at Arena Mall’s based Century Cinemax, Bugaba premiered his production debut, a short film called Nedda.
Nedda is a short film that follows a story of a young man who loses his mind in the middle of the night after hearing a buzz of a mosquito. More like man vs a mosquito. But there is a background to the story. It all starts when a man who lives in a makeshift charcoal shack loses his pregnant sister.
Bugaba Cyrus Clinton. Photo/Courtesy
He learns that she died because she had developed malaria and did not find out in time. Her death both devastates him and also gets to him mentally; he is paranoid when he hears a mosquito buzz.
On the particular night the film takes place, he wakes up and starts fighting the buzz without knowing where it actually comes from.
Sometimes, he swings like he is a superhero going for war and other times he smirks at the screen like he has seen his evil twin. This is probably one of those clues, the man is not okay; he later finds a way around the mosquito after making a mess and noise for all his neighbours. What Bugaba achieves with Nedda is a comic and yet informative piece of art.
He manages to entertain and confuse his audience in equal measures but he does not preach to them. Starring in his own production, of course his theatre training pays off with a convincing performance and the make-up work from Esther Nakaziba elevates his performance.
Speaking at the premiere, he says the story was inspired by a plastic collector he met when he was visiting his father in Kasangati. “I listened to his story and it is like his life had turned upside down since he lost a friend to malaria,” he says.
After the conversation, he saw the need to elevate the story using the tools in his possession. The film is directed by Daugh Mulumba, who was also a director on Prestige, while some of the actors range from those he has worked with on theatre and others from Prestige.
The minister of Kampala, Minsa Kabanda, also the guest of honour noted that they are willing to work with creatives and support their visions. She, however, also used the platform to announce her political ambitions as a Kampala Woman MP.
Bugaba says they are going to embark on taking Nedda to communities and later schools before turning the short film into a fully blown feature film.
