By Our Reporter
Amakula International Film Festival is back. Heralded as Uganda’s premier festival, it is returning for its 12th edition which is scheduled for March 15th to 17th this year at the Uganda Museum in Kampala.
According to the organisers, this year’s festival boasts a diverse pool of films which include 19 shorts, seven documentaries and nine features – representing 17 nationalities which make up the selection this year, with majority of the films coming from across the African continent.
“We are proud to announce that the number of Ugandan films participating at Amakula has continued to increase over the years with this year’s section boasting a total of 19 local films which shall be screening – and ultimately competing – alongside some of the best independent films from across the world at the moment,” the organisers said in a press statement.
This year’s programme has been divided into two sections – The Day Section (Midday-7pm) and Evening Section (7pm-Midnight) to be hosted in the Museum Exhibition Hall and Museum Gardens, respectively. The Day Section will be open to the public free of charge and will mainly feature short/documentary film screenings and panel discussions, while the Evening Section will be marked by a Drive-in cinema experience where the feature films in selection will be screened. Audiences will part with UGX10,000 each to access the drive-in.
During the festival, the best films will also be honored in four categories – Best Short, Best Documentary, Best Student Film and Best Feature – with the ultimate winners to be unveiled by an independent three-member panel of film experts.
This year’s edition marks four years since Bayimba Foundation, a leading local arts charity, took over charge of the festival with the goal of repositioning the annual cinema showcase as a major platform for film and cultural development in Uganda.
