Harry Rowe Bursary
To the Harry Rowe Bursary 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. This year in my documentary course, I intend to do much the same through my documentary “Ugandanisation” which discuss the re-appropriation of western culture through cinema in Uganda’s capital city.
As students who are more than capable and with the full support of the Film department, myself and my team are looking to Harry Rowe Bursary 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.
Through my degree and with the help of my seasoned professors, we will explore an aspect of cinematic engagement and Ugandan society that has never been cinematically documented before which is 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, “Ugandanisation” 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 begin to 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 to bring back the York a side of the world often unexplored in cinema and unknown to many in Canada. The potential discussions it promises outside of the theatre with regards to cultures merging, re-appropriation, assimilation, community identities, education, resourcefulness and ingenuity are valuable conversations that coincide with the clearly multicultural and thoughtful atmosphere provided at the University, whether the student is from Canada, Africa or elsewhere.
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.
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