Why Uganda Tourism Players Should Invest In Film Industry?
Nigeria, which is Africa’s giant in the movie business, reaps over USD 3 billion from the industry. It’s also among the Top 5 global earners in the film business. The money is generated from the box office, local market, and tourism fuelled by films. That is what is missing in Uganda’s tourism industry.
Uganda seems to be rich in stories, and physical features for shooting locations, and actually, we also have the talent. So, what is the real problem? Unlike Uganda, South Africa offers tax holidays, and waivers, and even reimburses money when a filmmaker spends more than a million dollars on film production in South Africa.
Foreign filmmakers are encouraged to hire local South African talent in their production. This is not the case for Uganda, which still lags in harnessing opportunities. “Seven Days at Entebbe was shot in Malta because it gave the production company tax waivers and an airport that resembled the old Entebbe Airport. We missed seeing our local attire, aerial view of Lake Victoria, and scenes of Entebbe.
Most of these scenes would have turned into tourism spots,” Mr. Kagwa, who sits on the Uganda Oscars selection committee, told Daily Monitor. Someone may underestimate the power of film but the facts will prove you wrong.
According to some reports, the Queen of Katwe movie increased the number of foreign tourists in the slum areas of Katwe and Kampala as a whole. The movie was screened on the Disney Channel with an average of 1.23 million viewers. The Disney Facebook page has over 30 million followers, not forgetting the rest of the social media platforms. Actor David Oyelowo has over a million followers on social media while Lupita Nyong’o has over 5 million followers on Facebook and Twitter combined. That means Uganda was exposed to the rest of the world, and this did not only happen once (during its theatrical time) but also afterward because movies continue to be viewed even after their Cinema time.
With shooting locations such as River Nile where the Hollywood movie “African Queen” was shot, Queen Elizabeth National Park with a good Savannah climate for action movies, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, and Lake Bunyonyi which inspired some features in Black Panther, and many others, Uganda’s physical, cultural and social features hold big potential for film investment.
The film Last King of Scotland increased awareness (knowledge) about Uganda more than anything else as it attracted Hollywood and world cameras to Uganda. The actor Forest Whitaker won an Oscar for the film, making it even more popular.
The film did not only bring Hollywood stars such as Kelly Washington and James McAvoy to Uganda, but it also boosted Uganda’s tourism appeal abroad. One of Uganda’s most famous locally produced movies, “Who Killed Captain Alex” got over 2 million views on YouTube just for its trailer. Imagine it was shot in one of the best tourist sites around the country! Investing in the film industry to promote tourism is way cheaper than direct advertising by the Uganda Tourism Board.
An average Ugandan movie goes for USD 15,000, which is over 60 million Ugandan shillings, and on average it reaches at least 2 million Ugandans. A simple advert on television can cost up to Shs 400 million depending on the time it runs.
The former stays for many years (if not forever) but the latter might be forgotten a month after it has stopped running. So, how can this be done?
- Reduce taxes on high-quality film materials such as cameras for private investors to afford them. This will promote quality in the film industry, restore confidence in the Ugandan film fan base, and increase its viewing.
- Sponsor film writers, producers, and directors to produce films that show the beauty (physical) and culture of Uganda directly by injecting money not only into the film-making business but also into the distribution process.
- Take advantage of Uganda having a famous decision-maker in Hollywood. Tendo Nagenda is the Vice President of Production in the biggest production house in the world but has only managed to lobby one movie out of Uganda - Queen of Katwe.
By Martin Kabagambe