Ugandan Film Industry Faced By Challenges of Quality And Distribution

Images of love gone sour, political intrigue, war and torture are some of the themes that run in some of Uganda’s films, but the industry is faced with a lot of challenges in the areas of quality and distribution, APA observes here.

But as the curtains rise for the “Kina Uganda” - the popular name for Ugandan produced films - these concerns are being seen as the obstacles to the development of the film industry in the country.

Ashraf Simwogerere, a local film maker says that the potential of the film industry in Uganda is also hampered by lack of professionalism. He says that the scenario is made even worse by the fact that most of the films are acted in local languages, making the distribution and marketing even more difficult.

Simwogerere, who wrote and produced ‘Murder in the City’, says Ugandan films have good story lines but are poorly produced.

Some film buffs say that Uganda does not lack the artistic talent. However they say this talent often fails due to poor infrastructure and the government’s lack of interest on the matter.

Mariam Ndagire, who is a scriptwriter and artist who has just released the film ‘Down This Road I Walk’, says that the film industry in Uganda has a great potential because of the high demand for local content.

She expressed optimism that “Kina Uganda” can outmatch the Nigerian films if the production is tightened. She says that the Nigerian movies have very similar predictable plots accompanied by bad production and poor quality audio.

She suggests that Ugandan films be woven around simple and easily relatable stories to attract the audience.

Nigeria movies are currently the most popular films cutting across the Ugandan audience.

Source African Press Agency

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