Uganda’s film industry is growing. Here’s a report on how the democratization of filmmaking technology is helping the nation’s aspiring film artists make their own stories:
This is great news, because for every quality picture like General Idi Amin Dada and The Last King of Scotland, there’s always an Amin! The Rise and Fall (guilty pleasure though it may be) to tip the scales of movies about the country back down. Not to mention the fact that there simply have to be other stories about Uganda to be told than just sordid recountings of Amin’s grotesque rule. And, if Hollywood proves less than interested in these stories, it’s good to see the power to tell them taking shape from within.
It’s also great news on the lighter side, because–well, see for yourself. Here’s the trailer for Uganda’s “first action movie,” which I confess, quickened my pulse more than the trailers for many of our current homegrown blockbusters:
Sure, Bollywood doesn’t have anything to worry about just yet—but can there be any doubt that Who Killed Captain Alex will one day be seen by some mid-level Tinseltown executive as the next Slumdog Millionaire? (Or at least the next Birdemic?) Thanks as always to Hollywood Nostradamus, the friend who alerted me in the past to this Steven Seagal series and these unforgettable commercials starring Charles Bronson, for forwarding news of this release.