Describe the main features of the measure/initiative:
Amakula International Film Festival was founded in April 2004 to fill in a gap in the arts and cultural sector in Uganda. It aimed to enlarge peoples’ horizons and contribute to the development of critical voice in society as well as to raise the state of the local film industry by exposing (local) films to a much broader audience and advancing the work of local film makers, inspiring new audiences and contributing to a dialogue between film makers and their audiences
The overall goal is to contribute to a vibrant film industry in Uganda and East Africa that is locally rooted, Africa-focused, creatively open, professionally-led, nationally encouraged, regionally enhanced and internationally acknowledged. Through Strategic interventions like :
1- Broaden access to and develop audiences for local film productions
2- Support and present quality local film production and circulation
3- Promote local film industry development and investment
4- Provide professional networking opportunities to the local film making community
5- Strengthen Amakula brand and ensure that Amakula is sustained by relevant locally rooted organisations that work in partnership in an effective and transparent manner
These interventions are approached wtih :
- Screening of films from both local and international stakeholders including Awards of Best Feature, Documentary, Short and Student Film.
- Offering support to filmmakers
- Networking platform to strengthen the film community
- Forging partnerships for exchange and collaborations within the global film community
Website of the measure/initiative, if available:
What are the results achieved so far through the implementation of the measure/initiative?:
Amakula (International Film Festival) is a curatorial driven international film festival determined to seek out world cinema from every corner of the world, including less prominent cultures, while maintaining a special focus on African cinema and making special efforts to seek out the best productions in the Eastern African region.
Within the past four years, the Festival has expanded the horizons for audiences as well as of filmmakers, both in terms of strong thematic content as well as cinematic techniques including a wide range of genres, from fiction to documentary, animation, experimental film, video art, short and long. Striving to be accessible to a wide group of people by presenting itself in various localities.
By developing clear artistic and independent standards, the festival has stimulated the film industry, while trying to be inclusive, and supporting upcoming local filmmakers to reach this standard.
Through its fair and balanced jury members, the festival has Awarded the best of the latest categories in film production that has built trust and encouraged further production of content and collaborations.