For the seventh edition, the chosen festival director, Ronnie Nkambo, did a superb job as far as giving the show a new face was concerned; there were well-scheduled film screenings throughout the week, the public was constantly updated about synopses of programmed films, and information on the jury and workshops was readily available.
Yes, there were still glitches; for instance, veteran actress Joanita Bewulira Wandera, a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement and Best Actress awards, said she could not believe she was a nominee because she never received a formal invitation to the event.
Still, it was a night filmmakers were glad to overlook the shortcomings and celebrate their art.
One of the winners of the night, Sylvia Bamusiime for her documentary Omweso, said she feels like the festival carries more weight than many others that exist because besides having the vision for the industry, they love what they are doing.
“I was here for the screening on one of the days and it was nice that people were actually in the auditorium watching,” she said.
The big winner of the night was Rain, a film by David Mugerwa that took home the overall Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Production Design and Supporting Actress.
It is a film about a girl who leaves the village for the city with a dream of making it in the music industry, only for her life to take a different turn.
With a cast that includes Eleanor and Mathew Nabwiso, Bewulira, Fun Factory’s Richard Tuwangye, Phillip Luswata and Michael Wawuyo Jr, among others, Rain is one of the few Ugandan films with a tight screenplay writing style that left no character undefined or problem unresolved.
“It’s key for a screenplay wright to create scenarios and later manage to resolve all of them as the film ends,” noted Polly Kamukama, one of the jury members for the festival.
Faithful by Richard Nondo also enjoyed some success, picking gongs for Best Special Effects and Make Up, as well as Best Actor and Actress for Felix Bwanika and Aganza Sanyu Kisaka, respectively.
Other winners included Volongoto Mu Mukwano, Love Faces, The Last Breath and Omweso that took home the Best Documentary Film accolade.
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