Ugandan (The)

  • Ugandan (The)
Genre : Thriller
Type : Fiction
Original title :
Principal country concerned : Column : Cinema/tv
Year of production : 2013
Format : Feature
Running time : 75 (in minutes)

The film chronicles several intertwined and complicated relationships that result from Idi Amin's 1972 expulsion of Asians from Uganda.  Raman, an Indian survivor of Amin's regime, is blackmailed by his Ugandan girlfriend (Becky) who wants a share of his father's estate, to which he had assumed ownership. Drama unfolds when his daughter falls in love with Becky's brother. The challenges of inter-racial relationships in a country polarized by deep mistrust on all sides come to the surface.

During the 8-year rule of Idi Amin Dada, Uganda was faced by economic decline, social disintegration, and massive human rights violations. In 1978, the International Commission of Jurists estimated that more than 100,000 Ugandans had been murdered during Amin's reign of terror; some estimates place the figure much higher. The Ugandan focuses on Raman, an Indian survivor during Idi Amin's regime, who is blackmailed by his girlfriend, Becky, when he claims his father's property.

A film by Patrick Sekyaya

2013, Uganda, Drama, 75 min, English

starring Patrick sekyaya, Arfaan Ahmed, Edlyn Sabrina, Halima Namakula and Dora Mwima



Written & Directed by Patrick Sekyaya

Produced by Alvin Kasule

Summary for official catalogues


In this riveting story of lies, love and xenophobia, we get a peak into the legacy of Idi Amin's Uganda and the challenges of inter-racial relationships in a country where polarization has created a deep mistrust on all sides.The Ugandan took top honors at this year's Silicon Valley African Film Festival, and stars the director as well as Halima Namakula and Dora Mwima.  Forrest Whitaker (who played Idi Amin in Last King of Scotland), Van Vickers of Nollywood, and Ghyslaine Tchouaga (Miss Africa USA) will all be in attendance at the premiere in Boston, which was chosen to host the premiere in part because of its large Ugandan expat population. The Kampala premiere will occur in early 2013.

 

The film is noteworthy for its specifically Ugandan take (that is, uniquely taking place in Uganda and produced/directed by Ugandans, even as Ugandan-ness itself is interrogated in the film) on the expulsions of Indians in 1972, and takes its place in a small but important filmic body dealing with the era, from an array of interesting perspectives.

 

Partners

  • Arterial network
  • Media, Sports and Entertainment Group (MSE)
  • Gens de la Caraïbe
  • Groupe 30 Afrique
  • Alliance Française VANUATU
  • PACIFIC ARTS ALLIANCE
  • FURTHER ARTS
  • Zimbabwe : Culture Fund Of Zimbabwe Trust
  • RDC : Groupe TACCEMS
  • Rwanda : Positive Production
  • Togo : Kadam Kadam
  • Niger : ONG Culture Art Humanité
  • Collectif 2004 Images
  • Africultures Burkina-Faso
  • Bénincultures / Editions Plurielles
  • Africiné
  • Afrilivres

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