Feature: Mathew Nabwiso talks film, career, and family

Work is good. We are pushing on.

What has been the driving force behind your work?

My driving force is passion. I love film, and nothing is as fulfilling as earning a living from something you love.

Is filming something you've had an interest in since childhood?

I got interested in drama when I was in high school at Namasagali College. We all know Namasagali College is one of those schools that promoted drama a lot. The school always had shows at the national theatre. Father Grimes always promoted the arts. Anything to do with acting, miming, et cetera. He used to promote a lot of extracurricular activities. So, my joining Namasagali College got me interested in doing drama. When I left Namasagali, I joined the church. I was a choir director.

On one of the occasions, I was given a challenge to act as God, and this was at a point where people had never seen anyone act as God in a movie or film. Forget about movies today where you see Morgan Freeman acting as God. It was a huge challenge for me. So, when I did act as God in the middle of the play, we could see people who were not themselves cry because, for a minute, they thought they were in heaven.

So, when I had my first opportunity, there was a film director who was coming from Amsterdam, and he was working on a featured film. So, I auditioned and got the lead role, and that was my first film, which was called Battle of the Souls.

Before the hostel, I had done another film called Good Catholic Girl, which won me my first international award in the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards, which happen in Lagos.

You have been in the film and movie industry for over ten years; do you see any growth?

There’s a lot of growth compared to when I started 15 years ago. When I joined 15 years ago, the most I would do as an actor was act in one movie or two. If you are too lucky, you would act in like 3 of them a year, and the most you would make was sh150,000 or sh100,000, so you would make like sh450,000 a year. Today, the story has changed; people actually act for a living. Today, you will find that there are so many commissioned projects, like the current show I am doing, Sanyu. People are on payroll, and they expect a salary at the end of the month. Today, for the first time, filmmakers can walk into a bank and apply for a loan. People can now buy cars, build houses, and start businesses with money from acting. So, for me, that is growth.

What do you think needs to be done to precipitate growth in the industry?

Of course, one of the things that needs to be done is training. Most of us filmmakers are self-taught. I never went to film school, but I have made films that have won international awards. If there was an opportunity for people to get training, it would be good. Some schools here teach film, but only for crew. it’s hard to find a school teaching acting most schools focus on crew work/ behind the scenes people. There is a need for training. There is also a challenge with funding. If you want to make a good film, you need good funds. We need funding opportunities for us to be able to work on films that can compete internationally.

What role do you think the authorities (the government in this case) can play in the industry’s growth?

The government needs to give us a film commission. That is the first thing that needs to be done. Today, as actors and actresses, we don’t know whether we fall under the Ministry of gender, ICT or under, the government parastatal UCC. There is no organisation. Secondly, we have seen organisations like UCC support film with a festival that has helped filmmakers win some money they can use to buy the necessary equipment, like cameras. We need more of these.

The government should be able to give filmmakers access to culture sites and game parks, public roads etc at no cost. Plus give filmmakers a right to use public places for filming. I was once arrested and taken to police for filming in a public place. Even when I had police permission. By the time I had to show my evidence of permission I had already lost the day for filming and lost money.

The times I have tried to get access to game parks to the film, I was charged yet on the contrary, am actually doing publicity for the country and promoting tourism, in which case I should be paid.

I have talked to a number of people about your drama series on Pearl Magic Sanyu, and there’s a feeling among some that the show has been overmilked. Do you have anything new in store for the audience?

For someone to say the show is tired, you need to have actual proof. Sanyu is the most watched show in Uganda and is among the top 5 most watched shows on DStv and Showmax across the continent. If you check Sanyu on Imdb, it's at 9.5 out of 10. So, if the ratings are still high, it is wrong to say it is tired. We are telling a simple Ugandan story. If you watched the episodes this week, the feedback I am getting is that they have become unpredictable. I think it is doing well. But we have new things coming up. We have just released a new film called When You Become Me, which is about people with disabilities. We have a lot more in store.

Multichoice has invested hugely in Ugandan content; what do you think needs to be done to attract more players to invest in the sector?

I think Multichoice has invested because they know you can actually invest and make a profit. That happens everywhere in the world. When you go to Nigeria, it’s happening; in South Africa, it’s happening. Most people in Uganda haven’t yet gotten it, but we believe they will with time.

Uganda has quite a number of untold stories; what has stopped filmmakers from exploiting them?

All these stories can be told, but the biggest challenge is always funding. I am looking at telling an Eddy Kenzo story. I may invest something like Sh200m or Sh159m, but who will buy this story? When telling stories, you need to be very strategic. We need to gauge whether we’ll get a return on our investment.

How do you rate Ugandan local talent (actors and actresses, in particular)?

I think Ugandan actors and actresses are doing great. I think when you look at the East African region, Uganda has the best actors and script writers. They are really doing a good job.

Let’s talk family. I understand you are a father to four beautiful children; would you let any of them join the movie industry?

Yes, I would. All four of them have been part of my projects. My youngest daughter has acted in Sanyu as Sanyu and Oscar’s baby. My second boy acts in Sanyu as Kule. My first daughter has acted in a film called Prickly Roses. So, they all love it, and they are already in the industry.

Besides directing moves and drama plays, what else are you involved in?

I am a businessman. I do a couple of other things. I have a lot to do with agriculture and a little bit of real estate. Most of what I do is film.