Uganda: Ucc Awards Northern Uganda's Best Filmmakers

Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has crowned winners and runners-up of the Regional Short Film Competition, Northern Uganda edition.

The competition which kicked off at Acholi Inn Hotel in Gulu City on May 8, 2023, is in UCC's commemoration of 10 years of the Uganda Film Festival (UGF).

The Odong brothers (Ojok Odong and Okello Odongo) were crowned winners for the Northern region for their film titled "Home" which showcases the beautiful places to visit in the region.

The two brothers received an award and a token of cash prize of Shs2 million for their film.

Ojok and Okello Odong are some of the pioneer filmmakers in the region and their careers have seen them work in film, theatre, TV and documentary projects all across East Africa.

For this year's Regional Short Film Competition, they made "Home" film with collaborations from Signature Films and Benchmark Film. Currently, they are developing their debut features to be shot later this year and next year respectively.

Francis Ageta, who came second with his film titled "The Pride" was given Shs1 million and a certificate.

Meanwhile, Susan Akumu was the second runner-up with her film "Dero".

Speaking at the award ceremony, William Nyombi Thembo, the director Industry Affairs and Content Development at UCC said he was impressed by the creativity showcased by film makers in the Northern region.

"I can see a lot of creativity, I can see a lot of work being done on sound. It's really impressive. I think we have started the journey." Thembo said.

Ruth Kanyana, one of the competition's judges said that looking back to 10 years, Uganda's film industry has built capacity building, and congratulated the Northern region for the work well done.

"Many of the films showcased can qualify to get the award. What that speaks is that the industry is growing, the quality is growing and we know that for the next 5-10 years or so, we shall have fantastic films that can compete at local and international levels," Kanyana said.

This competition will take place across four regions of the country. It will be hosted in Mbale, Gulu, Mbarara, and Masaka.

As part of the partnership between UCC and Next Media, the regional competitions will get live coverage on NBS Television.

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