Producer Nathan Magoola and writer Lucky Lora Atwiine selected for SeriesLab Programme 2024 by Red Sea Labs.
Introduction:
Nathan Magoola is a prolific filmmaker, publicist, director, and producer from Uganda who has carved his niche in the international film and television arena. Although born in Jinja, Uganda, in 1978, his filmmaking journey started after he had begun studies in coding at St. Paul College in Minnesota, USA, in 2001. He moved back home to Uganda in 2009, driven by his passion for storytelling. He afterward founded his production company, Ntice Mediaworks, which grew into a significant player within Uganda's film industry, producing feature films, shorts, documentaries, and promotional content. Throughout the years, she has performed numerous significant projects, which she named, such as, for example, the short film Reflection, performed in relation to the Olafur Eliasson exhibition at the Tate Modern in London; the film feature Felistas Fable concerning the Gothenburg Film Festival and Walk with Me, which showed at the Rotterdam Film Festival(ACCR).
The impact of Magoola has stretched from film and television drama. He produced Prestige, a popular TV series that follows the lives of two sisters in the advertising industry. Prestige ran on Pearl Magic Prime and did several episodes with high production quality and in-depth storylines. Success for Prestige followed with his most recent, entitled Beloved, a drama series that again showcased the determination of Magoola to push the Ugandan television scene.
His latest project, Switch-which he created along with co-writer Lucky Lola Atwine-is one of the recent projects receiving international attention. It has just been selected by Red Sea Labs for the SeriesLab program, further sealing Magoola's resolve to tell stories that strike a chord not only at home but also around the world. Along with Lucky, he hopes to bring honest African stories to the fore, expanding the fabric of traditional TV storytelling and reflecting the layered realities of African life.
The SeriesLab Programme: Developing New Voices in Television Storytelling
Selection to the SeriesLab programme seals yet another important milestone in the career of Magoola. Devised by Red Sea Labs in strategic partnership with Film Independent, the programme was specially crafted to nurture emerging talent in television storytelling. This structure will provide a training space that will finally allow writers and creators to perfect their craft, gain the necessary competencies, and ultimately prepare themselves for pitching on an international level. In this vein, the multi-faced training of SeriesLab includes online and residential sessions, thus offering the participants guidance from renowned television writers and showrunners, together with expertise within the industry.
A highlight of the program is a two-week trip to Los Angeles, where they attend a series of workshops and participate in the Film Independent Forum, meeting and interacting with leading professionals in the international TV industry. For Nathan and Lucky, this becomes an opportunity not only to fine-tune Switch but also to position themselves before potential collaborators and investors.
The program will involve a pitching event at the Red Sea Souk, in conjunction with the Red Sea International Film Festival, where they get a chance to pitch their projects in front of a very diversified audience of producers, broadcasters, and industry partners. This is an opportunity to pitch Switch on this prestigious platform, showing the potential of his work for global impact, telling stories that ring with audiences outside his home country(BroadcastPro ME).
The Vision Behind Switch: Genuine African Narratives
Switch carries an authentication of values that have come to define Nathan Magoola's work: authenticity, cultural resonance, and a commitment to storytelling that challenges conventional narratives. Though details about the project remain tight-lipped, Magoola and Atwine want to introduce the world to another narrative-discerningly capturing African experiences in many ways. Their way is to create multidimensional characters and plots that would allow viewers glimpses into African life beyond the stereotypes normally seen through mainstream media.
This commitment to genuine storytelling is what makes Magoola's selection for the SeriesLab program so apt. His works are often plunged deep into weighty themes about African societies, taking elements from personal experiences and nuances in culture that make stories hit at both a specific and universal level. The way Magoola constructs his narrative, juxtaposed with Lucky's imaginative point of view, fills their series with layers and dimensions that make Switch an excellent and highly anticipated project among the SeriesLab entries.
Nathan Magoola's Journey: The dawn of a legacy entwined with creativity and commitment.
Magoola has had a diversified filmmaking career and focuses on bringing untold African stories to the screen. His work covers various aspects of life and most of the time brings underrepresented communities, raising conversation topics at societal levels. The ability of storytelling emanates from his understanding of cultural and social dynamics, enabling him to create characters and narratives that can identify and resonate with diversified audiences.
Another manifestation of his commitment to quality storytelling is by advocating for the Ugandan film industry. He speaks against the difficulties filmmakers go through, which range from a lack of access to funds and an absence of skilled writers and technical personnel. He thus remains optimistic in regard to the future of the industry given such obstacles. He believes in the importance of collaboration and the need to focus on the writing quality since it is the root of good storytelling.
Lucky Lola Atwine: Collaboration with Creative Genius
Lucky Lola Atwine is a co-writer with Nathan on Switch. She brings another dimension to Nathan's vision. Together they make a formidable creative team that has driven them to tell stories that convincingly speak to African experiences and, at the same time, push back against mainstreaming tropes. Together, their work epitomizes the beauty of collaboration that can take place during the creation process. Switch captures this joint effort of two creatives passionate about showcasing diverse perspectives on screen.
SeriesLab: Where Ideas on the Future of Television Storytelling Originate
The SeriesLab program at Red Sea Labs stands tall in its support for the forthcoming writers and creators of the world. With mentorship classes from professional writers, showrunners, and industry experts alike, they pass on the skills necessary for them to adapt their work into an international format. In collaboration with Film Independent, this becomes even more enriching with participants like Magoola and Atwine receiving critical tools and industry connections.
According to Shivani Pandya Malhotra, the managing director of the Red Sea Film Foundation, talent development should start right from education to mentorship. The program aligns with his vision as Magoola hopes to have refinement in his craft while telling African stories on a global platform. On one hand, this is a holistic approach that supports him as a storyteller but generally contributes to a movement of inclusive storytelling across the Global Media Landscape.
A Bright Future for Switch and African Storytelling
To this effect, the selection of Nathan Magoola into SeriesLab presages a great future ahead for him, his works, and African storytelling on the global stage. His selection into the program evidenced an increasing awareness of diverse narratives as a shaper of the media landscape. With Switch, Producer Nathan Magoola and Writer Lucky Atwine are ready to take the world through the uniqueness that characterizes Africa, breaking the rules and engendering understanding.
Essentially, Nathan Magoola's journey is one of praising creativity, cultural genuity, and storytelling. His selection for SeriesLab, along with Lucky Lola Atwine, begins a new era in African television: thought-provoking stories with real-life experiences that captivate and inspire an international audience. Together, they are representative of what is achieved when passionate, authentic storytelling makes strides in bridging gaps within cultures and bringing new perspectives to the screen.