Ugandan clinches best actor award at Zanzibar film festival

A NEW film dramatising the excesses of past security agencies in Uganda has won the Best Actor Award at the 14th Annual Zanzibar International Film Festival.

Okuyo Atiku Prince won the 2011 Best Actor Award for his role as James in the film titled State Research Bureau, at the Zanzibar International Film Festival held at The Old Fort in Stonetown from July 18- 26, 2011.

State Research Bureau delves into the period just before 1986 when the National Security Agency (NASA) was in operation in Uganda. And very much like the State Research Bureau it was responsible for the disappearance of many Ugandans.

The film, shot mainly in Jinja, was inspired by the tales of real life survivors of the era. It takes a close look at the goings on in the regime’s “safe houses,” before 1986.

Hotel California

In the film, a family tries to flee the troubled country and are intercepted along the way. They meet face to face with the notorious Captain Yusuf (Roger Masaba) — the main character — who runs one of these units in Kampala, which he prefers to call SRB.

Yusuf is a ruthless, bloodthirsty and lustful commander who lost his family to the same agency in the 1970’s.

He prefers calling his headquarters Hotel California where he abducts, rapes women, tortures and kills people. He extorts money from relatives of the abductees in order to free them.

His bosses cannot contain him, which gives him more power to continue doing what he loves to do — kill!

Idi Amin Dada, who ruled Uganda from 1971 to 1979 was accused of various atrocities and gross economic mismanagement. When he came to power he disbanded the Ugandan General Service Unit, an intelligence agency created by the previous government and replaced it with SRB.

The SRB headquarters in Nakasero became the scene of torture and executions during his reign. SRB was employed to uncover subversives and other imagined enemies of the state.

Among the cast are Phillip (Nabwiso Mathew), Faith (Cleopatra Koheirwe), Julius (Odeke Peter), and Maj. Steven (Mugisha Roger), among others.

The feature film premiered at Wonder World Auditorium, Didi’s World in Kansanga, Kampala in January. It was then screened at the Uganda National Theatre between June and July.

Promoting actors

While the gunshots, costumes, lighting and sound are of superior quality, some scenes in State Research Bureau seem to take longer than they should.