Take 1; Where is filmmaking going....
Wow, wow what a day, what a day. The festival keeps getting busier and busier each day and the crowds are now swollen enough for me to finally get off publicity’s case. As I write this I am swamped and when I sleep I may probably go out for 10 hours straight. I have spent the entire day darting from one event to other because at every turn there was something interesting that I did not want to miss out on. For that I have exhausted limbs and a half-functioning brain to show but today was good day.

Where is filmmaking going? That seemed to be the day’s central theme. For one there was this East Africa filmmakers’ discussion in the CICP. Frankly speaking, I have never gotten the point of these discussions but it is good to see filmmakers sharing ideas on how to improve their trade. It was interesting though to hear the accounts on the status of the industry in the different countries but I am still left with the question; what do these discussions achieve?

I had a most interesting encounter over lunch. I met a young filmmaker at my table with whom I had an engaging discussion about the festival and the film industry. In principle we agreed on many things, like the progress of the industry and of the several things that still had to done but when I let on that I was the festival blogger the tide changed. He expressed strong dissatisfaction for what he termed as blatant over criticism of the Uganda films.

I was a bit surprised to actually meet someone who had read my entries but I was also taken aback that all of sudden everything over which we’d been in agreement had suddenly melted away because I had made it public, so I asked him a question, “how did he expect filmmaking to grow, if people who are not burdened with knowing the filmmakers personally could not speak the truth? What then becomes the point of the festival if interactions with audience do not yield any critiquing?”

To this he had not come back but our conversation unearthed a burning concern that had been itching inside me during some of these interactions. I have an unfortunate habit of being a bit of voyeur. I like to be a fly on a wall observing people and one thing that has constantly stood out about Uganda artists across the board is their disdain for criticism.

There were all these discussions about where filmmaking in East Africa is going but not even once was the role of film critics mentioned. There was talk of distribution guilds, actors guilds, producers guilds and all sort of guilds and not even one single mention about critics, which got me thinking; where and when do filmmakers in Uganda interact with their audiences and who do they make their films for if the only opinions they seem to care about are their own and those of their fellow film makers. The industry is growing fast but as filmmakers continue discussing where it is heading, are they leaving some room for honesty, both to themselves and to their audiences?

Take 2: .....who moved my cheese?
One of the places I dislike most in this world is Europe. I’ve never been there myself but I have met many people who have and from all those accounts, Europe is not place I want to visit. It is a cold place that is ghastly unsuited to the warm African heart but every day when I’m listening to BBC, there is a story about people dying trying to get there, or their hazardous conditions whence there, then I wonder to myself, what is it these people are running to so desperately from; do they really understand what they’re getting themselves into?

Enter Suuna Goloba, a Ugandan that lived in the Netherland. He cleaned toilets, fought with dogs and went through so many undignified situations that he decided to make a film warning his fellow Africans still at home to stay there, thus Surprise in Europe. The documentary, which is set to become a mini-series (forgot to ask where it will be showing), tells of experiences of Africans living in Europe, the hardships and whether it is worth everything they forewent back at home.

A number of strong issues were raised in this film but there are a number of concerns I had over its efficacy. The immigrant problem is fast growing into one of the biggest global crises. Developing nations lose many a good brain, while receiving governments are hoisted upon responsibilities they are reluctant to take on.

Xenophobia has become such a big issue globally but no one seems wont to address it significantly. My question with this film is, their target audience is Africans fighting to leave; how do they intend to reach them, and if it develops into a series, where will it be showing? The majority of Africans desperate to leave live in disparate conditions and they do not hang around cinemas or have access to pay TV which are the only markets that can afford to pay for rights. Isn’t the show’s message wasted if it is only shown to Bourgeois African?

Take 3; Visionary Histories
Six days into the festival, how is the theme being brought to life? I have watched a lot of the country focus movies but little of the classics showing in the Kino hut so I decided to set camp there today. Unfortunately, I missed Maisha Film Lab’s five years celebration but managed to catch the last of their showcase movies, The Trip by James Gayo. It was an interesting short piece with solid writing and passable acting so I was impressed.

There was a little cocktail after the showcase but I skipped it to catch “Malcom X”, the Spike Lee movie based on the life and death of Malcolm X because I found more relevant to the theme. It is a compelling tale about a man who dedicated his life to fighting for the civil liberties that are taken for granted today. Fifty years plus after his death and the global movement for Black dignity, how far we come and how far do we still have to go? That is some food for thought.
*written by Edgar Kangere.