Ugandan films nominated at international festivals

A scene from Bala Bala Sese

2016 is already registering lots of success for film, as you may know, Joseph Ken Ssebagala’s House Arrest is vying for the biggest award at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCAs) – Best Film Overall against the likes of Ayanda and Tell me a sweet something among others.
But before the country even gets over all this, last week, more good news came trickling in with the nomination of Boda Boda Theives and Bala Bala Sese are up for the biggest award at the Luxor African Film Festival (LAFF) in Egypt.
Boda Boda Theives had a good year being nominated for the Best Feature Film at the Durban International Film Festival, Nigeria’s Africa International Film Festival, Berlinale Internationale Film Festival and of course picked a nomination of the Best Actor at the African Academy Film Festival.
Directed by Donald Mugisha, the film scooped two awards at the 2015 Uganda Film Festival though its competition, Bala Bala Theives was highly overlooked in all categories of the Ugandan showpiece.
Bala Bala Sese stars celebrity couple Michael Kasaija and Natasha Sinayobye  and it’s a story about lovers that go through deceit, greed and betrayal while trying to stay together.
The film boosts of good cinematography, sound and the Kasaijas were both amazing, but like Boda Boda Theives, they will have to compete with Lamb, an Ethiopian film that gained a lot of positive international reviews last year.
If one of the two films wins, they will walk away with $4,000 (about Shs13.8m) as the prize money.
In the other categories at LAFF, two more local short films White Faces (Robert Katogo) and Kai: The Vendor (Robert Nyanzi) will too compete for the Best Short Film prize.
The LAFF are organised by the Independent Shabab Foundation, an NGO in Egypt under the auspice of the country’s Ministry of Culture and aim at promoting screening of African movies in the North African Country.
Besides LAFF, Kennedy Kihire’s Drawn Together is nominated for the Best Short Film at the Cameroon International Film Festival (CAMIFF) and will face off with films like Nigerian Tope Oshin’s Ireti, HUM!! by Nabe Deone (CAMEROON) and United Kingdom’s Andrew Oldbury’s War.
The CAMIFF is due in Cameroon this April.