Museveni rebate pledge ignites hope and despair in film industry
Saturday October 15 2016
A promotional poster for the film Queen of Katwe, a real-life tale of triumph over adversity; and right, Phiona Mutesi, whose life on which the story is based, poses on arrival for the premiere of the movie in Hollywood, California on September 20, 2016. PHOTO | AFP
The promise by President Yoweri Museveni to refund all tax money levied on the Walt Disney Company for the production of Queen of Katwe appears to have ignited hope for a formal incentive system to support similar future projects.
But a fresh jostling for power within the film fraternity, pitting the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) against the Uganda Federation of Movie Industry (UFMI), is threatening these opportunities.
Days after President Museveni said the government will return all the money Uganda Revenue Authority charged Disney — about $500,000 — a section of the film fraternity gathered under the auspices of UCC and hastily formed an interim committee to form a national association that would bring all persons working in the film industry under one umbrella.
“There are so many small associations and your voice cannot be heard from very many sources. That is why an umbrella association is necessary to unify your voices and push together for your demands,” said Abdu-Salaam Waiswa, a UCC official.
According to UFMI, which has registered up to 150 film groups comprising over 2,500 members, any viable association requires not only a thoughtful process but the involvement of key bodies with legal mandates like the Ministry of Gender and the Uganda Registration Services Bureau.
“It is one thing to form an association and pick its leadership; it is another to see through its implementation because you will get somewhere and someone will ask whether you have the mandate to do what you are doing. That will create difficulties because some people will begin accusing others of frustrating them,” said Bonny M. Kasujja, director in charge of collective management at UFMI.
“It is necessary that we build consensus and it is not difficult, by the way. Everybody wants to see this industry take off. Even government, which previously did not realise the economic benefits, has since woken up. Everyone is keen to contribute and so it does not help to undermine or sideline anybody,” added Mr Kasujja.
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