Mariam Ndagire is no coward. Even with the current political situation in the country, she went ahead to release her movie which focuses on controversies surrounding kingdoms in Uganda.

The three-hour long movie doesn't cite any kingdom in particular but hints on people who fight to become kings yet they don't belong to the royal family and those who sway kings into wrongdoing for their hidden agendas.

The kingdom in the movie is called Budondo, which is a popular town in Busoga kingdom but all the names used in the movie are from Buganda.

Hearts; In Peaces premiered at the National Theatre on Friday and it was a red carpet affair. Guests started arriving at 5p.m. and shared a light moment with actors before proceeding for a cocktail behind the theatre building. The movie screening started at 8p.m. with a full house and the audience applauded every brilliant scene.

Abbey Mukiibi put up a wonderful performance, acting the king whose palace is the centre of all action. However, debutant actress Laura Kahunde deserves equal praise for her outstanding role as the ever-suffering pretty girl who every man wants to take advantage of, including the king himself.

The premiere was graced by politicians and Mengo officials and when invited to give a speech, Buganda's Prince Wasajja thanked Ndagire for making a film which "will help us restore our pride and cultures." Ndagire, however, insists her movie is not necessarily taunting anybody.

"We all know these things have been happening, but the problem is that if you make a movie and it coincides with a situation, everybody is bound to say you're taunting someone," she said, "I started making this movie a year ago even before those riots but I must say the story is related to the kingdoms here."

The movie continued to show on Saturday and Sunday at the theatre and Ndagire promised it will be available to the public on DVD in November.