The magazine of the photo-essay
October 2020 back issue
WakaliwoodA movies factory inside a slum
“A free, really high quality photo-essay magazine. Fabulous!” Stephen Fry. British actor, writer and film maker
Wakaliwood is the dream of a young man that came real. Twenty years ago, Isaac Nabwana was a young student with a very deep passion for cinema. In his mind he wanted to create the first movies factory in the country, Uganda, at that time in the middle of a bloody civil war. He made it. Inside the slum of Wakaliga, one of poorest areas of the capital, Kampala, the director Nabwana realized in ten years, dozens of movies with low budgets. The first success was in 2010 when, with a budget of only 200 dollars, he made “Who killed Captain Alex?”, the first Ugandan movie with an international visibility and success, thanks to his YouTube channel. Called “the Quentin Tarantino of Uganda”, Nabwana creates simple stories with a mix of action, good messages and ironic sense of humor. Wakaliwood is not only a movies factory, but also an artistic and social experiment: working as actors, many teenagers from underdeveloped parts of the country, keep clear of alcohol and drugs. They spend the week training in martial arts, creating equipment to use on set and playing under the watch of the slum's residents.
by Erberto Zani
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