Cast: Patriq Nkakalukanyi, Ronah Ninsiima, Cosmas Serubogo
Director: Morris Mugisha
Showing at Century Cinemax
The last time Ugandans were this excited about a local film and the Oscars was in 2019, then, Kony Order From Above had been duly selected by Uganda’s Academy Selection Committee and later withdrawn.
But the film still had a seven-day cinematic run, a rare one for a Ugandan film. Since then, even when the committee has continued to receive entries, they have not selected a film to represent Uganda for the Best international Film Category until this year.
According to a source in the committee, this year, they received only three entries and Tembele stood out.
The film follows a story of a trash collector, Tembele, who alongside his wife go through life in ways they did not expect when they are forced to deal with grief. Co-written by Ronah Ninsiima, also the lead actress in the drama, she notes the story was greatly influenced by her brother who at one time lost a child and had to deal with it.
It is a story that talks about many things that encompass grief, manhood, culture, trust and above it all, mental health.
This is Morris Mugisha’s second feature film, following the critically acclaimed Stain. This film performed well at this year’s Uganda Film Festival taking both Best Actor and Supporting Actor awards for both Nkakalukanyi and Serubogo. It was also the Best Feature Film at the festival.
Because of the topics this film tackles and of course their quality in ensemble performance, cinematography and costuming, their selection for the academy is not that surprising.
The film is still showing at the cinema.
–Andrew Kaggwa
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