It is with great pleasure that Zuka Foundation would like to announce
that the Audience's Favourite Film for 3rd Annual Zuka Students Film
Festival, is,
The Boxer, by Michael Ilako, of Mohammed Amin Foundation, Kenya.
The Filmmaker also won himself a Scroll from Zuka and a cash prize
of One Million Uganda Shillings. The prize is a contribution towards his
next film project. This means they will get the money upon submitting a
script and budget for their next project. This contribution was made
possible through the generous support of VeFJO e.V in Germany, in
Partnership with Zuka Foundation.
In second place was Christmas Turkey by Washiwala Reagan
(Youth and Film Uganda - A project under Maisha Film Lab)
In third place was Wololo by Catherine Muema of Mohammed Amin Foundation, Kenya.
The Most Thematic Film award went to "Choices" - Directed by Berry Muga of Kibera Film School in Kenya.
NON STUDENT FILMS
We also had awards for non Student Films. And the winners were:
1. Best Picture - "The City blade Runner" - Director: Hillary Musinguzi (Uganda)
2. Best up and Coming Film - "The Source" - Director: Ali Musoke (Uganda)
*For the Student filmmakers, the purpose of these awards is to
encourage young talent to make more films, while for the independent filmmakers, we recognise and appreciate their work. Last year's student
winner, Emmanuel Kawooya, screened the trailer of his upcoming film. He
was the proud winner of the One million Uganda Shillings cash prize that
was given away in 2011.
The Zuka Students Film Festival is organized by Zuka Foundation and its partners. The
cash prize is made possible through the generous contributions of VeFJO
e.V, a German based organization that supports young talent in East
Africa. Other partners included, Amakula Cultural Foundation, Bayimba Cultural Foundation, Goethe-Zentrum Kampala, Alliance Française Kampala, Maisha Film Lab, Docskool in Nepal, Kampala Film School and our individual partners.
Zuka is an annual showcase of some of the young film-making
talent in East Africa. This year, we also featured films from Rwanda,
Singapore and Bangladesh. Zuka would also like to thank in a special
way, Kshitiz Adhiraj, Jeremy Chua and Mostofa sarwar Farooki for
offering invaluable support in making this year's event the success that
it was. This year's Festival Director was Chris
Kayonga.
Zuka is committed to continuing along the path of
growth as we grow along with East Africa's film scene. Our goal, is to
"Tell stories to inspire generations."
Showing posts with label MADE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MADE. Show all posts
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Hours Away: The Box Office: A Crowd's Worth
Hours Away from the 3rd Annual Students Film festival here at ZUKA in the midst of the hubbub of last minute touches to the artifice that is a film festival, we have pause to reflect on the event and the campaign of which the event is a part of.
The aim of the campaign in very simple, to promote film because however debatable the claim is, we see film as a medium for increasing access to knowledge and opportunity especially for the youth.
Film is not taken in isolation as we have discovered in the last few years of putting this event together, the cultural industries given their proximity to everyday people have limited barriers to entry as oppossed to other spheres of socio-economic activity.
This campaign is happening in the context of a worldwide economic downturn that is affecting the high end the movie industry, namely Hollywood, with box office receipts in steady decline.
The reasons for this are debatable as are the remedies proposed.
What this context provides is that filmmakers must create value,over and above consumer products whose fall in demand is evident. It calls into question, conventional definitions of "entertainment". Entertainment value is derived from a variety of sources depending on the audience, however, self esteem building, thought provoking,calls to action as packaged into a film or video nourish the spirit as much as they entertain. So perhaps its time to look at entertainment as a a means to convey these virtues.
The aim of the campaign in very simple, to promote film because however debatable the claim is, we see film as a medium for increasing access to knowledge and opportunity especially for the youth.
Film is not taken in isolation as we have discovered in the last few years of putting this event together, the cultural industries given their proximity to everyday people have limited barriers to entry as oppossed to other spheres of socio-economic activity.
This campaign is happening in the context of a worldwide economic downturn that is affecting the high end the movie industry, namely Hollywood, with box office receipts in steady decline.
The reasons for this are debatable as are the remedies proposed.
What this context provides is that filmmakers must create value,over and above consumer products whose fall in demand is evident. It calls into question, conventional definitions of "entertainment". Entertainment value is derived from a variety of sources depending on the audience, however, self esteem building, thought provoking,calls to action as packaged into a film or video nourish the spirit as much as they entertain. So perhaps its time to look at entertainment as a a means to convey these virtues.
Thursday, July 05, 2012
What is Cooler than a Million?
Following the news that ZUKU had pumped 1 Million USD into the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) over 10 years, we got to thinking amidst the champagne toasts. What is cooler than a million?
We reckon the objective of a film festival such as ZIFF is to expose a growing number of film makers in the region to the world. That is to distributers, technicians, producers, broadcasters of international repute not to mention audiences.
It would be cool if some of this money went towards facilitating skills and knowledge transfers through co productions for instance. Productions commissioned by ZIFF produced by crews from all over the world including East Africa to be broadcast on the ZUKU platform, with ZIFF retaining the rights to the broadcast so as to recoup its seed investment thereby sustaining the ecosystem of film and tv regionally and outernationally. Its important that East African slots on such a production crew are competed for and not just handed out, ZIFF jury selections can be a guide.
Cooler still would be training seminars and all manner of support for would be festival directors in the region with the objective being to create a feeder system or tier of platforms for film making talent . So for instance a festival selection at say ZUKA automatically qualifies one to ZIFF. The competition at one prepares the filmmaker for the next stage, a consistency in quality of content will result.
For this to work, the partner film festivals and in particular the teams that organise them ought to be trained to run the festivals to a standard that complements ZIFF, still these smaller festivals must retain their creative autonomy and remain authentic to the communities in which they are situated. The diversity of jury selections from festivals across the region will sustain ZIFF and more importantly the community of film lovers across the region.
Positively ice age would be, school tours across the region to expose the work of filmmakers in the region to a wider regional audience which will attract financial backing from investors in the region eager to reach the same audience. These school tours would include screenings and appearances by renowned film makers to share experiences with the next generation.
Cool?
We reckon the objective of a film festival such as ZIFF is to expose a growing number of film makers in the region to the world. That is to distributers, technicians, producers, broadcasters of international repute not to mention audiences.
It would be cool if some of this money went towards facilitating skills and knowledge transfers through co productions for instance. Productions commissioned by ZIFF produced by crews from all over the world including East Africa to be broadcast on the ZUKU platform, with ZIFF retaining the rights to the broadcast so as to recoup its seed investment thereby sustaining the ecosystem of film and tv regionally and outernationally. Its important that East African slots on such a production crew are competed for and not just handed out, ZIFF jury selections can be a guide.
Cooler still would be training seminars and all manner of support for would be festival directors in the region with the objective being to create a feeder system or tier of platforms for film making talent . So for instance a festival selection at say ZUKA automatically qualifies one to ZIFF. The competition at one prepares the filmmaker for the next stage, a consistency in quality of content will result.
For this to work, the partner film festivals and in particular the teams that organise them ought to be trained to run the festivals to a standard that complements ZIFF, still these smaller festivals must retain their creative autonomy and remain authentic to the communities in which they are situated. The diversity of jury selections from festivals across the region will sustain ZIFF and more importantly the community of film lovers across the region.
Positively ice age would be, school tours across the region to expose the work of filmmakers in the region to a wider regional audience which will attract financial backing from investors in the region eager to reach the same audience. These school tours would include screenings and appearances by renowned film makers to share experiences with the next generation.
Cool?
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Legacy v Largesse
Things left behind, as a consequence of a life well lived , or not ,the best laid plans of predecessors, ancestors in a word, legacy, is foremost in the mind.
Events are moving a pace festival planning and all, we are accepting film submissions, dead line is set for August1, for more info send an email to zukafilmfestival@gmail.com.
So to Brazil where event planners are are wrestling with the concept of legacy. After the event, Olympics or World Cup what next? Will it be an extinction level event, like say , Athens 2004 or South Africa 2010
Events planning is not what it used to be, especially for those planning events funded by tax payers.To account for that largesse and appease the baying mob events planners in Brazil have to solve long standing social problems like widespread poverty, shortage of housing, youth unemployment,girl child education and still throw the greatest party in living memory. And you thought you had a lot of work to do.
The late Rodney King had legacy on his mind in his final moments at poolside.He had just published his memoir even though events over took him so to speak, admittedly not for the first time.Its safe to say raging against mortality aside, justifying one's existence not withstanding, there is more to life than partying and frolicking and also more to a film festival than what meets the eye.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Meet the Golden Scroll Winner
"AND THE WINNER IS...." ( Zuka 2012). from NEN316.tv on Vimeo.
Below is the abridged version of the interview with Ema for those unable to download the video. Note the question and responses that follow are paraphrased.
Who are you?
My name is Ema Kawooya, a student at Kampala University Film School and I am an aspiring professional filmmaker equally adept at script writing as I am with editing and directing.
Where does your passion for film come from?
Ever since I can remember, I have loved movies and have always been fascinated by how they are made.
Tell us about the film you made....
It is called Just Roll It and I directed it. It is about everyday life in Kampala and in particular that staple food of the inner city dweller, the chapati egg roll better known as Rolex.
Interesting choice of subject.....
Amidst the hustle and bustle of everyday life, certain things go unnoticed and yet they have come to define the way of life here.The Rolex is but one such example.
How did you get it made?
It was a school project and the University made sure I had everything I needed to make it happen.
Why is it a documentary?
I majored in documentary film making at film school.
How did you learn about ZUKA?
On the internet.
What was it like to win?
Surprised and overjoyed all at once.
What next?
I am working on a documentary about funeral rites among Baganda, a tribe in Uganda. This project is funded by the grant from ZUKA and VefJo.ev.
What role do you play in the bigger picture that is the Uganda film industry?
I am establishing myself in a nascent industry, looking to gain then exploit my first mover advantage.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Ground Swell of Investors @Idea Auction
An idea auction that's what it is.The "it" in question is the crowd funding phenomenon. Crowd funding is a legacy of Web 2.0, a product of the age of social media. Put simply, any one with an idea, pitches it to the world wide online community, in the form of a video, then depending on how persuasive the pitch is and how many people see it via email, facebook, twitter... people will contribute money via credit card to see this idea through to fruition.
The Zuka campaign is ongoing, feel free to check it out and share the link with a friend or two , to think this fundraising platform has been around since 2008.The small entrepreneur with internet access can now attract investment from around the world. Almost like floating one's enterprise on the stock exchange except your funders are not strictly speaking investors because they don't have a controlling interest in your enterprise but rather wish you well. Ideally they do not expect a monetary return on their contribution.
Here are some choice posts to help you navigate your way to start up money for that new project of yours.
On how to design your pitch consider this
On getting funders to contribute to your campaign consider this
On What to do when its all over
contd.
The Zuka campaign is ongoing, feel free to check it out and share the link with a friend or two , to think this fundraising platform has been around since 2008.The small entrepreneur with internet access can now attract investment from around the world. Almost like floating one's enterprise on the stock exchange except your funders are not strictly speaking investors because they don't have a controlling interest in your enterprise but rather wish you well. Ideally they do not expect a monetary return on their contribution.
Here are some choice posts to help you navigate your way to start up money for that new project of yours.
On how to design your pitch consider this
On getting funders to contribute to your campaign consider this
On What to do when its all over
contd.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
MADE : The Case Studies
African Writers Series is another initiative that is worth celebrating, going through its anthology, at of all places the public library on Buganda Rd., offered insight into this institution that brought to life so many memorable characters from all walks of African life. Its success appears to be result of drawing on the talents of a number of young writers with independence on the mind, owing perhaps to the post colonial era, from different parts of Africa brought together by a love of the written word by a lover of the medium
These two initiatives and another one closer to home, the Kakuto SACCO,are instructive I find. Cooperatives and Savings association are nothing new and because they champion collective action based on individual responsibility, they are a means to grass root development and hence the fuss about them.
This post is about social entrepreneurship and some successful stories worth a read.
In that vein, step forward.Shahidul Alam fed up with the portrayal of his country in the Western media, he decided to start Pathshala.
Femi Kuti wonders will we ever unite which leads one to ask what will this look like?
The Ndere group bears the DNA of what collective purpose might look like and how it would work or perhaps Kibera Youth Reform, doing organic farming in the slums.
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