Amakula, Uganda's Film Festival
Checking out the Scene at Kampala's Fifth International Festival
May 12, 2008
“..show films from all over the world that tell us things about the incredible diversity of this life.” – Amakula Website, ‘Festival Vision’
With an impressive line-up of African and international entries including Poland, Germany, America, Morocco and the Congo, there is no shortage of diversity at this festival.
The nice thing is that the majority of screenings and events take place around the National Theatre, making it easy to wander between the main screening room, seminars in the Green Room and a cold beer at the bar in-between. The atmosphere is quiet for an international film festival, but Amakula is still young and quiet doesn’t mean empty; depending on what’s playing the main cinema can be full to bursting. Die-hard fans arrive early and sit the length of the day whilst a tide of comers-and-goers pick their way through the programme which is available online as well as published in the national paper.
One of the most interesting aspects of the festival is the ‘focus’ shorts. Each country in East Africa, such as Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania present a run of around five short films usually centring on a specific theme. It allows budding movie makers from each country to showcase bite-sized pieces of work. Perhaps the pick of this year’s festival was a Kenyan entry: The Key by Marie Milli, a simple but outstandingly presented story about missing what is right before your eyes.
Another nice touch is that, after most screenings of contemporary work, the film-makers and directors come on stage and take questions from the audience. It really feeds the creative atmosphere and you get the sense that many people sitting in the audience this year will be presenting their own work next year.
The festival is also diverse in its genres, playing old-school classics such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Weine/Germany) and The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming/America), alongside cutting-edge, award-winning docu-dramas such as War Dance (Sean Fine & Andrea Nix/America) and Stone Silence (Krysztof Kopczynski/Poland) which respectively explore the abuse of children in the Northern Ugandan troubles and the stoning to death of a woman for adultery in Afghanistan.
As well as watching the screenings, festival-goers are encouraged to get interactive with talks and seminars on a diverse range of subjects from developing the movie industry in East Africa to the rape of women in the Congo.
Kampala itself is a city worth visiting and there are plenty of things to do between viewings, although it is lacking a central Tourist Information centre. It’s easy to get transport in the form of a bus or moto from the National Theatre and armed with a copy of the Lonely Plant’s guide to East Africa, you’ll easily be able to get to the main attractions. There is also an impressive craft market in the grounds of the theatre where you can buy traditional African art.
All in all, it’s an event worth exploring and supporting. There’s huge potential for Amakula to continue to develope into something quite spectacular and at present it has the kind of intimate atmosphere movie buffs will lap-up. You know you are in the presence of fellow enthusiasts. In addition, the range of entries from African countries gives a very real and unique insight into this vast continent. Well worth a look.
