By Hussein Kiganda
Ugandan filmmakers have promised to support the New Vision Film Awards whose winners will be announced this Friday, June 17, in The Beat pull-out.
The vice-president of the Film Club Uganda, Godfrey Musinguzi, told New Vision on Tuesday, June 14, that filmmakers have waited for a long time to see media houses embrace film and are happy about the initiative.
“It’s good that media houses have started appreciating film. I am hopeful that the awards will benefit the industry as long as we are given coverage and our stories are featured on several Vision Group platforms,” he said.
Musinguzi said although they expected the awards committee to invite film submissions from filmmakers and screening of those nominated, they are hopeful that this will be done in the next edition.
“We hoped that the committee would invite our submissions and screen the movies on your platforms, rather than using the survey method, because people cannot vote for movies that they have not watched. But since it’s the first edition, we appreciate it and hope for better results in other editions,” he said.
Musinguzi promised to talk to other filmmakers about the awards and asked to have a debate about them after the announcement of the winners.
He further asked Vision Group to put up a show that discusses Ugandan movies and the awards.
The New Vision Film Awards winners will be given certificates and hosted on all Vision Group platforms.
Vision Group is also working on a documentary following the filmmakers’ “we need more” protest at the Uganda Film Festival Awards Gala that was organised by the Uganda Communications Commission at the Institute of Information and Communications Technology in Nakawa, Kampala on June 3.
