SXSW Review: 'Once Upon a Time in Uganda' Pays Tribute to the Home of Da Best of Da Best Movies
Welcome to Uganda, where it literally takes a village to make a film. Hidden in the slums of Wakaliga is the cinematic gem Ramon Film Productions, “like our Hollywood, but better.” Co-directed by Cathryne Czubek and Hugo Perez, Once Upon a Time in Uganda gives recognition to a community with the passion and resourcefulness to tell exactly the story they want to. At the heart of it all is self taught director-producer-writer-cinematographer-editor Isaac Godfrey Geoffrey Nabwana, also credited as Nabwana IGG. Nabwana built mud bricks to finance his first movie camera, and over the past decade has finished dozens of films with budgets averaging around $200. While his auteurist trademarks feature commandoes and kung fu, what makes his films so memorable is sheer undaunted ambition.
Heavily influenced by action classics like Rambo, Chuck Norris, and Bruce Lee, Wakaliwood is a celebration of genre. But the bombastic wall- to- wall action of Who Killed Captain Alex? and near- Shakespearean absurdist epic of Bad Black don’t need Hollywood stars or technology to blow you away. The trailers cut for both films garnered huge Youtube viewership, though rarely led to outsiders getting their hands on the full features themselves. One individual who did continue to seek out Nabwana’s work was Alan Hofmanis- a film festival programmer looking for a new sense of purpose. Attracted to the genuine excitement of the films, he left New York to connect with Nabwana and ultimately became a business partner and best friend. Hofmanis’s involvement is for the sake of publicity, to open up Ramon Film Productions to some outside legitimacy by way of Fantastic Fest and TIFF, and to play the punching bag white ‘muzungu’ doctor- turned- commando. The documentary provides a satisfactory explanation of how and why a white American appears in Wakaliwood productions, thankfully quieting any suspicions of a white savior complex. Hofmanis is a convenient, willing participant who has good naturedly assumed a role in a story already planned by Nabwana.
The tone that Nabwana establishes is entirely unique, and he prides himself for producing a narrative different from others’ ideas of what African film ‘should’ be. When picturing the film industry of a third-world nation with a tumultuous colonial history, dramatic Mafia shootouts and a child kung fu prodigy named Wesley Snipes don’t necessarily spring to mind. Despite having lived through the horrors of Idi Amin’s rule of Uganda, Nabwana says he chooses to lean into hyperviolence for the sake of comedy. It’s subversively escapist, and cares nothing for colonized aesthetics ideals. His vision is complimented by Video Joker “VJ” Emmie, who translates and hypes the action on screen. His exuberant live commentary punctuates each scene with quotable laugh out loud moments, as one would experience viewing the film in a Ugandan video hall.
Once Upon a Time in Uganda isn’t an exact making- of documentary, but its finest moments are when it takes the time to marvel at the elements of Wakaliwood that make it matter. The film shines when its focusing on the act of creation; the prop masters, the actors, the costumers giving behind the scenes glimpses into Bad Black and their upcoming feature, Eaten Alive in Uganda, which has soared to the top of my most-anticipated list. Machine guns, squibs, camera rigs, miniature models, and an entire helicopter are all scrapped together out of spare parts, and wielded with immense pride before a green screen. And while Wakaliwood can do American film, America could never do Wakaliwood. The unpolished backdrop of the ghetto is evident always, in dirt roads and canals of raw sewage. Nabwana’s films never pretend to be anything other than the product of a deeply impoverished community, representing an existence that only he is able to accurately capture. This film is a continuation of the feelings that Nabwana’s works generate, which is that every act of filmmaking is miraculous.
The documentary’s only issue is when it becomes too self aware and puts all of its resources into staging. The film bends over backwards to recreate some of Nabwana’s set pieces, while lacking his playful humor and kinetic energy. After it establishes the subjects and the challenges facing Wakaliwood, it falls back on needless drama and internal conflict to keep the ball rolling. It’s obvious when documentarians don’t know how to get out of the way and try too hard to get footage, and in this case such meddling interrupts the very thing that the film promised. It’s further thrown off kilter when it departs from Uganda to follow Hofmanis back home after an argument. Hofmanis is given too much time to make himself the main character, despite his intention to have the world pay attention to Wakaliwood. All the time devoted to oversharing about his past breakups and his parents takes away from what’s relevant to the story. It would have done better to stay concerned with Nabwana’s struggle to be recognized as a serious filmmaker, not his temporary falling out with Hofmanis. It successfully frames Nabwana as a creator deeply concerned with his legacy, but can’t figure out how to remain invested in his efforts to pass along a craft to the next generation. The film only touches momentarily on the frustration he feels from accumulating worldwide recognition without ever seeing any financial gain. No one had seriously approached Wakaliwood to offer funding of any kind, but the makers of the documentary can’t seem to pursue that thread. Had they kept the faith in Wakaliwood to tell its own brilliant story, they could have succeeded in making Nabwana the rightful centerpiece of the doc.
Forgiving its narrative drawbacks, the film is a heartening reminder that anything is possible with enough imagination and persistence. It’s less essential than its subject matter, but still a worthwhile pursuit for those hungry for more Wakaliwood content. The doc does a sufficient job of separating Nabwana’s films from the ‘so bad it’s good’ pile, affirming they are indeed unironically entertaining. Their unrestrained action and hilarity are universal, and there is a glimmer of hope that through this documentary profile, they’ll make their way to more screens around the world, surely to lift the spirits of all who witness. Especially in times like these, the positivity we deserve is VJ Emmie shouting, "MOVIE MOVIE MOVIE, MOVIE!"
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