If there are nights local filmmakers look out for throughout the year, it should be the finale gala of the Uganda Film Festival and the iKon Awards night. Both nights are a celebration of Ugandan film and are valued differently. The iKon Awards are, for instance, loved for the glamour and pampering that comes with them; you know our filmmakers do not only enjoy dressing up, they also enjoy being treated like royalty. Then there is Uganda Film Festival’s gala night, which most love for the money that comes with winning.
Most of the time, the films in these awards are the same, with just a few standouts not getting nominated because of technicalities that should not exist in the first place. For instance, Uganda Film Festival does not nominate films supported by the Content Development Support Programme, which is the reason films such as Karamoja, Unheard were never nominated for the film festival gala.
In the same breath, the iKon Awards do not nominate or award films produced by Sauti Plus, who are also producers of the awards. Thus, films such as When You Become Me and Sabotage or Kyaddala may be a big deal but have never been celebrated at iKon Awards. But the rest of the films these festivals deal with are relatively the same. For instance, many winners at the Saturday edition of the iKon Awards were also winners at the last edition of the Uganda Film Festival, much as there were a few surprises in there. And a little at lasts. At last, Sanyu won a Best TV drama award, one that had eluded them for the time the show was on air competing for eyeballs with Prestige, Beloved, then JDC and later Damalie. Sanyu has never missed a nomination for the Best TV Drama and the subsequent acting nominations, and yet the best that had ever come out of all that was Allan Kutos Katongole’s win for Best Actor in a TV Drama. Sanyu has lost all its nominations to other TV shows such as Prestige, most of the times to JDC and Damalie.
Last chances
This was the last chance for the show that ended last year to walk out with something and it counted. Abby Mukiibi also walked away with the Best Actor’s award in a TV drama while Diana Nabatanzi from the children drama JDC took home Best Actress in a TV Drama, which was a shocker because she beat out competition from Nana Kagga and Doreen Mirembe, both strong convincing characters from Damalie. Makula had a close domination of the night but it was not a stretch. The film won four of the categories they were nominated for, Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Production Design.
Maria, one of the big contenders at the festival won three awards, including Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for Pelly Peninah Nampanga and Nana Kagga respectively. Soccer Heart upset many with wins for Best Cinematography and Best Actor. Abby Mukiibi also received a Lifetime Achievement Award which was also a surprise of sorts, considering his most notable and renowned works and influence are in theatre rather than film.
Besides the winners though, the iKon Awards this time may have put their foot down with the production; they were not as flawless and smooth as they have always been. The awards dragged on and seemed to go on longer than many planned.
The highlight of the night, however, was the launch of Uganda’s first producers guild whose intentions include improving welfare and creating opportunities for the industry.
