From Wakaliwood to Hollywood

Mr Nabwana, you have become famous for your violent movies. Which film are you currently working on?

We're very busy, I've just been in the studio putting the finishing touches to the soundtrack for the film ‘Eaten Alive’, a horror film inspired by a story about cannibals in Uganda. The film will soon be released in cinemas here and we shot it almost eight years ago. In the meantime, I had lost part of the film and changed the story a bit. Now it's finished. Then I'll be able to take it out of the computer and work on the next project. I always have so little storage space.

Do you know who watches your films? For example, I saw that ‘Who Killed Captain Alex’ has over 9.7 million views on YouTube.

There are fans of my work everywhere. French, Germans, Israelis, Americans, Spaniards and Swedes have contacted me. I also get regular visitors. Recently someone from Belarus was here, he was dealing with the government and was escorted here at night in an army convoy. We were trembling and asking ourselves: what have we done?

"Wakaliwood is now a kind of tourist centre, people come here, play along and get killed in the film"

You've even been described as the Quentin Tarantino of Uganda and have worked with artists from all over the world. What has that done for you?

It has encouraged me to do what I do and to keep going. Wakaliwood is now a kind of tourist centre, people come here, play along and get killed in the film. Afterwards, they write their names on the Wall of Fame.

Have you already received offers for a big international production?

There is no big contract, but I am currently shooting two films, one in collaboration with the Lausanne Art Museum in Switzerland and one with the Renaissance Society in Chicago. The film for the American festival will be called ‘If Uganda was America’. For the Swiss, I'm working on a film called ‘Rolex Time’.

Like the watch?

Here in Uganda it's not a watch, but a meal, a kind of omelette wrap, a well-known street food dish. That's why I call the project ‘Rolex Time’, because we have something in common with Switzerland.

And do you now have bigger budgets for your films?

I can now shoot with around a thousand dollars per film instead of 200 as I used to. Life here has changed a bit since the pandemic; like almost everything else, transport has become very expensive. At the same time, everything takes longer. I used to shoot several films a day, but that's no longer possible because I can no longer transport everyone as cheaply and efficiently as before. We have a budget of 30,000 euros for the film that I am producing together with the Swiss. That's not a lot, but it works.

"For me, there is only violence in a film if the stars don't die"

Your actors used to work for you for free. Can you now pay them?

I don't have a budget for fees, but I pay for their transport and food, and they share in the film's income. We don't want to distribute the films as DVDs like we used to because everyone is staring at their phones. We are trying to set up online platforms and see if we can sell USB sticks.

Has Wakaliga, your neighbourhood, benefited from your fame?

I have a feeling it has, because people come and consume here. There are currently five Israelis living here. They stay in hotels and buy bottles of water in the shops.

Have the Ugandan authorities, who criticised you a few years ago for the violence in your films, changed their attitude?

It is mainly the Ugandan diaspora that has criticised me. These people who think that I don't represent the country well and would like me to make an educational film about malaria or some other disease. I told them that I don't educate people, I entertain them. What I can do easily and without a big budget is action, action comedies. Contrary to what they say, my films are not violent. For me, there is only violence in a film if the stars don't die. That gives children the impression that you never die, and that can have devastating consequences. But my film stars die and come back. For me, that's the solution to the equation.

"My dream is to train the new generation, start a film school, nurture talent and support them"

So you're not thinking of making films in other genres, such as a romantic movie?

I don't think I would ever tell a love story. I don't think I'm the type for it. I don't think love stories can be translated internationally. German love is different from Ugandan love. But a punch is a punch everywhere. Action films speak an international language.

How are you viewed in your neighbourhood of Wakaliga?

People respect me because they have seen that I host people from all over the world. I belong to the people, Wakaliwood belongs to them. The people in my neighbourhood are particularly proud of the big helicopter I had built for a film. The authorities have even named a street after my film production, it's called Wakaliwood Lane. That was a tribute to what we had achieved.

You have told many journalists that you founded Wakaliwood because it was your dream to make an action film. What is your dream today?

My dream is to train the new generation, to set up a film school, promote talent and support them. We have a big problem with unemployment in Uganda. If we could make filmmaking a lucrative profession, that would be another big dream.

 _{Interview by Cécile Calla}