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.

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