A scene from the film Bobi Wine: The People’s President. Photo | Courtesy
Tomorrow morning, to be exact, at 3am, the 96 Academy Awards ceremony will premiere. In Uganda, there is only one way people can watch the awards: through one of those DStv channels.
This may be the second time Ugandans are interested in the Academy Awards, but it is the first time they are truly invested. For the first time in history, a Ugandan is nominated—not just a Ugandan story such as Queen of Katwe or The Last King of Scotland, but a Ugandan story told by a Ugandan director.
Bobi Wine: The People’s President is up for one Academy Award in the category of Best Documentary Film. Directed by Moses Bwayo, Christopher Sharp, and John Battsek, the film follows the life of artiste-turned-politician Robert Kyagulanyi as he navigates a music career while taking on a political role as the face of Uganda’s opposition.
In fact, the film picks up after Bobi Wine wins the parliamentary by-election in 2017, when he was considered a longshot when he announced his candidature.
The story is that he had asked for different party endorsements in vain and somehow came in as an independent candidate. What makes this film, which was primarily framed by Bwayo, unique is how they manage to capture events in real time. From Kamwokya to Gulu, the cameras followed the singer and told a great deal of his challenges.
As stars gather later today, Bobi Wine will be an exceptional figure, attending an awards show where a film about him stands as many chances of winning. But, what makes the moment special is the fact that the film does not seem to exist in the past. Bobi Wine is still the head and face of Uganda’s opposition, and Museveni, who is carved out as the nemesis in the film, is still the Ugandan president.
Much as the documentary has mostly talked about Bobi Wine, it was mostly shot by Bwayo; he was arrested in the course of making the film.
In the past, Bwayo has been close to Uganda’s filmmaking society, though being part of this production has taken him from a regular filmmaker from Bududa to an Oscar-nominated director.
When the nomination happened, Bwayo had not learnt that it took a filmmaker nominated against him to learn about the nomination. This is what Bwayo had to say about the nomination then: “We are absolutely delighted that the Academy has recognised Bobi Wine: The People’s President. Bobi and Barbie have been under house arrest as recently as this week, making this nomination a timely reminder of the continued fight for democracy around the world. This film and this nomination have the power to influence the future of Uganda and the 44 million people living under the current regime.”
Bwayo is based in Los Angeles and chances are, whatever happens on tomorrow (Monday) morning, his life as a filmmaker will change for the better. Even those who despise the local industry in Uganda will celebrate his victory, and regrettably, the reverse will also be true.
