By BAMUTURAKI MUSINGUZI

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Sisters Nana Kagga and Meme Kagga won big at the just concluded 10th edition of the Uganda Film Festival.

Their production, Mukisa, scooped the coveted Best Feature Film award, including four other accolades.

Produced by Savannah Moon Productions in 2022, Mukisa also won the Best Director (Geoffrey Kasozi), Best Lead Actress in Feature Film (Tracy Kababito), Best Post-production/Editing (Paul Katumwa), and Best Production Designer (Nana Kagga) awards.

Mukisa revolves around a woman called Mukisa, who loses her husband in a car accident and refuses to marry his brother-in-law. She embarks on her journey of becoming a beautician in the small village where she has lived all her life.

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Mukisa sells off a portion of her late husband’s land and gets funds to open up a salon in an environment where local women view makeup as something that only women of questionable morals use.

“Winning four awards was a validation of the hard work and dedication that my team put toward writing and producing authentic Ugandan stories that are relatable and beautifully shot,” Nana told The East African.

The other film that was well feted at the gala night was The Passenger by Usama Mukwaya, Meddy Sserwadda and Hadijah Nakanjako, which won four awards — Best Film in Indigenous Language, Best Lead Actor in a Feature Film (Katangole Henry Nathan), Best Cinematography (Izaek Ekuka), and Best Sound Design (Isiko Abubaker).

Released in 2023, The Passenger is about a young man Musa (played by Katangole Henry Nathan), who tries to deliver a mysterious package to the city on a bus, but another passenger thinks he is a killer carrying a mutilated body or bomb and is determined to stop him.

This year’s panel of judges was headed by Femi Odugbemi — an award-winning writer, producer/director and photographer — from Nigeria who has held the role for a number of years now.

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The June 2 gala night was a culmination of a week of film screenings, workshops and forums.