Under the leadership of self-taught writer/director/editor/producer/SFX guru Nabwana Isaac Godfrey Geoffrey (known as Nabwana IGG) and his company Ramon Film Productions-named after his grandmothers Rachel and Monica, who raised and protected him through Uganda’s civil war-Wakaliwood makes movies for less than $200 US apiece. It’s just another night for the most unlikely of all cinema success stories: Wakaliwood, the DIY action film studio from the slums of Uganda that took over the Internet and made it plausible for anyone in the world to become an East African kung fu movie commando. Nearby, children are keeping themselves entertained with a bloody decapitated prop head. On the shooting break, a group of “cannibals” huddle around a laptop I’d brought with me, watching John Wayne in Rio Bravo, their first exposure to the Duke. Later, the Ugandans sip hot water with lemongrass while we mzungus drink Nescafé. They spread out, trapping their unlucky catch in a huge hunting net. This time the cannibals are on motorcycle, racing downhill through a forest. After a limber punch-up and some supernatural combat involving an amputated hand, the mzungu breaks free and the pursuit continues. They corral, form a circle as the terrified intruder is forced to go one-on-one with a new arrival-a robed cannibal priest who adopts a kung fu battle stance. He’s being chased through the jungle by over a dozen screaming, chanting Ugandans, children included, in full cannibal regalia-banana leaf skirts, necklaces of bones, remnants of goat’s blood. A man with a movie camera shouts, “Action!” Two hand-built light grids pull power from a faltering generator, shining their beams on a bearded, wild-eyed, undernourished mzungu 1 1 A Central/East African term for white person. It’s disarmingly dark, because there is no electricity here. Continued abuse of our services will cause your IP address to be blocked indefinitely.Nighttime in the village of Kaliti, Uganda. Please fill out the CAPTCHA below and then click the button to indicate that you agree to these terms. If you wish to be unblocked, you must agree that you will take immediate steps to rectify this issue. If you do not understand what is causing this behavior, please contact us here. If you promise to stop (by clicking the Agree button below), we'll unblock your connection for now, but we will immediately re-block it if we detect additional bad behavior. ![]()
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