By Hussein Kiganda
Ugandan top male actor Patriq Nkakalukanyi is not backing off his “we need more” campaign, which he initiated in June 2022, at the Uganda Film Festival award gala.
The actor raised his voice at producers, directors, and all those in charge of film in Uganda, for failing to provide enough support to the film industry, especially to the actors.
Speaking to actors and filmmakers on January 24, 2023, during the Film Club session at The National Theatre, Nkakalukanyi blasted actors for not being organized and hating on one another.
“Why we are disorganized and disunited? I hear there are Luganda and English actors! And downtown and uptown! We are in the same industry and are all actors, why should we hate one another?
The actor urged fellow actors to work together to promote their talents and the industry. He suggested that actors should join groups with common goals, make Saccos, and attend Twitter spaces and free masterclass sessions to add something to their careers as actors.
Adding onto his advice, actor Mulshid Mugabire suggested that unity would be achieved if Ugandan actors embraced their local languages and stopped faking accents from other countries.
“The only way to avoid this language issue is by speaking our own mother tongues. Nigerians made it because their actors spoke the language that the locals understood. Sometimes you find an actor trying to force the English accent yet they can boldly express themselves in their mother tongue,” said Mugabire.
Mugabire noted that using local languages in movies would connect them to the local audience and their stories would relate to the daily lives of the locals.
