To Chief Emmanuel Mbulu Award Selection Committee,

I am Nikissi Serumaga and am submitting this letter to be considered for your bursary.

I am a third year documentary film student at York University, born in Toronto and come from a very politically charged family background in Uganda. With this background and as a filmmaker, I identify quite strongly with the use of art as a political tool, not necessarily for or against a political ideology or party but for the amelioration and thoughtful education of a people. With a grandfather who was a Ugandan playwright, politician and political activist against Idi Amin, and sons who carry on his legacy through newspaper, television and radio, I have seen this use of art to question the status quo in practice.

The personal background from which I approach this topic come is an ongoing investigation of the polularisation of African Cinema. In a global setting dominated not only by American cinema but media as well, there appears to be a cultural re-­genesis which is finally leaving the exclusively underground arena. Nollywood has grown to a $500 million industry in just under 30 years and has turned the often questionable production quality into a fan-­base that has roots in majority of the countries and in countries off the continent. It is now time for any person with artistic inclinations to make sure we celebrate and document these moments, be it in your own country or from a Pan-­Africanist stand point.

This year in my documentary course, I intend to do exactly that through my documentary “Ugandanisation” which discusses the re-­appropriation of western culture through cinema and how it has ironically created avenues for the exploitation of local content in Uganda’s capital city.

Through my degree and with the help of my seasoned professors, we will explore storytelling Ugandan society that has never been cinematically documented before: small, shack-­like cinemas in Uganda where a “VJ” or live translator commentates and translates the entire English language film into the local language. Through an ingenious combination of shacks, bed sheets, projectors and relentless entrepreneurialism, “Ugananisation” will investigate cinema in Uganda as the live translators excite the lively and diverse audiences through the plumes of smoke and pie-­eyed denizens in the ghettos of the capital. With outdated Hollywood films, and the unrelenting power of the kung-­fu punch, these cinema halls have actually provided avenues of exhibition of Nigerian and local Ugandan content. Thus, through our exploration of a VJ, select audience members and the community surrounding it, we will come to see the influence of the Western reach and how a mode through which a country can redefine its cultural, collective image.

Barbara Evans, our course instructor has approved this project and with a fully prepared crew from York University, I am eager, as a young Ugandan/Mozambican woman, to explore the storytellers who are already creating and perpetuating culture in my country. We no longer live in a time where we need an outside to come and analyse our culture, habits and people, we can tell these stories ourselves and re-­define our own visual and cultural representations to what makes us feel accurately represented. As a proud African, we are now in the technological age where large and oppressive budgets are not the norm. My crew and myself plan to take full advantage of this and reveal this story in December this year.

As students who are more than capable and with the full support of the Film department, myself and my team are looking to Chief Emmanuel Mbulu Award to assist us in our endeavor to complete this ambitious and worth school project. Executed with skill, guidance and support “Ugandanisation” promises to be a unique film that, especially in a multicultural city such a Toronto, one would be proud to be a supporter, or have any involvement in it. With this fund we will be able to fill the gaps in our budget that will actually make it possible for us to produce this documentary for our course in a timely and professional manner. Thus far we have secured equipment and accommodation thus the majority of our budget is the cost of three flights from Toronto to Uganda, roughly $6,000. We are supporting our film with the aid of crowd-­funding sites such as IndieGoGo but cannot rely on them fully. Furthermore it will give the award a tangible and visually stimulating piece that they can put their name on, with absolute pride.

I have excelled in academics and practical commitment to the York University film sets for the last three years; I have 1st Assistant Directed a micro budget film at the school; I have directed my own piece in first year as well as edited 2 films and done location and post-­production sound for others; I presented a lecture in my first year a third year production management class; as a photographer I have worked in Uganda as a photojournalist (including being a photojournalist for the funeral of a Ugandan ex-­president); I was invited to and am a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society in recognition of my efforts and achievements; successfully switching from Anthropology to the Film Program I have shown enthusiasm and flexibility within a cohesive team in over a dozen York sets.

Now, as I undertake an ambitious documentary project in Uganda as a part of my documentary program, I ask you to consider my application, the vast benefits it potentially holds for myself and my crew and what it would mean for York University to truly support their students through a rare artistic endeavor. Though I know that your focus is on the Nigerian community I hope that you still take this application into consideration: The only other award offered to artistic projects led by students of African descent has since been removed from the list of scholarships and awards and I really do believe that this project needs to be made, that African filmmakers need to tell their stories and I want to start that now, not after I graduate.

Please find  my personal resume, a short paragraph about my crew members and a budget for the film in the tabs above. 
Sincerely,
Nikissi Serumaga
T: 647 898 7929 | E: nserumaga@gmail.com