Upclose. Rhonnie Nkalubo Abraham is an award winning filmmaker and actor known for films, The virgin, August and TV series, Half London and Chapters. He went to Kawanda Secondary School and later Kyambogo University and was also one of the first students of the Mariam Ndagire Film and Performing Art Centre. He caught up with Promise Twinamukye and talked about film and life.
Do you have a nickname?
Ron, it has not changed over time from my childhood so some people still call me Ron.
First thing I do in the morning
I wake up, go through the mails through my phone and freshen up. At times I pray.
First thing I do when get to work
I always switch on the computer and watch news on internet. I always find myself watching Sports, ESPN UK. So I normally watch a lot of sports news before I rush through the channels. I rarely watch mainstream news so I just pick on a few things I like and follow. I then get back to writing and editing things I have on my watch.
My earliest childhood memory
Back in nursery school, we went to PE where we were always forced to strip down to the underwear. There was this one girl (I will withhold her name for security purposes) who wasn’t removing her dress. When we realized that she had forgotten her pantie at home, we laughed our lungs out and almost got kicked out of the PE session.
My first best friend
He is also a film maker, Osman Matovu Makubage, the one who did TV series Destiny and Ensisikano Ye’bizibu.
My first kiss
I will keep that to myself.
My childhood hero
Diego Armando Maradona. My dad used to work with National Council of Sports so there was a lot of sports activity around my family while I was growing up. I used to play a bit of football and from there was nicknamed Maradona. When I grew up, I felt like he was hero because he was a star.
The first book I read
There is a gentleman who passed on late last year (God bless his soul). He gave me my first book – My book of Bible stories. It had very beautiful stories. He would come around and narrate different things that we read from that book (my friends and I). It has almost all the bible stories.
My first job
It was acting in Bakayimbira Dramactors at Pride Theater. I was in my Primary Seven vacation. The first play I acted in was Batubanja, a story about street kids.
Rhonnie Nkalubo Abraham is an award winning filmmaker and actor known for films
My first salary
From my first job, I used to earn Shs2, 500 every week. The first thing I would do after receiving my salary was to go to Pride Kef and buy an egg roll every Monday.
My current job
I am a film maker. I cannot ask for more because it is a creative job. I like it because it’s never the same, one time I am creating something and another time, I am meeting new people. I can actually be whatever I want to be. When I am making a film, I can choose a mood depending on what I want to create.
If I want to make people happy, or even myself, I create a good scenario. When want to go savage, I kill people in the film. What I do not like though, is how everyone thinks they can do it better and they literally comment about anything.
Mathias Walukaga sang a song that says ‘omanyi guno omulimu gwaffe ogutalimu interview’. Everyone thinks they can just wake up and create, so they have an opinion on what you do. That is until they actually step in your shoes and get to see things from your point of view.
Why film?
Having done fine art, I used to create images but felt a need to add more life to them. After acting with Bakayimbira Dramactors and being part of their earlier TV dramas such as Kigenya Agenya, I had the opportunity to create all the fictitious characters and situations I’ve always developed in my mind.
Most memorable experience
When I acted in my first film, I did a role where my father stabs me and throws me in a tank. I was home when they were showing that episode. Everyone who watched that scene cried including me. I was crying thinking I am dead.
Biggest regret
I have no regret in life. I am a positive and born again fellow so I really do not feel like I regret anything in life because I believe God has much more ahead for me than what has already happened to me.
