Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The iKon Awards are back for the second edition to recognise and reward exceptional players in Uganda’s Film and Television ecosystem who embody the spirit of creativity, innovation and enterprise.
With the 2024 nominees being announced on Friday 26th January, we look at some of the Ugandan films released in 2023 that either might or might not make it to the coveted list:
The Kitara Chronicles. Written by Doreen Mirembe, Nkuusi Rapheal and directed by Yiga Sadat, the film is a captivating adventure set around the mythology of the Batembuzi (demi-gods) of Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom. Starring Kitata Wilson Mayende as King Bukuku, Nakigozi Jenniffer as Nangonzi, Kabajjema Frank as Ndahura and more, this is one of the movies we expect to feature on the iKon nominee list – after being nominated for the Ousmane Sembene Award for Best Film in an African Language at the 2023 African Movie Academy Awards (AMAAs) in Nigeria.
The film also won the Best Makeup and the Viewers’ Choice Awards during the 2023 Uganda Film Festival.
Maid of Honor. In his second credit as director following 2022’s Atonement, Patrick Lorimo writes and produces this murder mystery about a maid of honour being murdered on the eve of her sister’s wedding. The film is a rollercoaster of intrigue brought to life by a stellar cast of some of Uganda’s most iconic actors including Fauziah Nakiboneka, Sam Bagenda, Baati Ntambi Katende and Matthew Kavuma.
A Ugandan spin on the classic ‘whodunnit’ genre – and one we expect to get a mention among the iKon nominees.
The Fallen Advocate. Kevin Johns Nabukenya – who wrote and directed Men in Suits (2021) and The Wave (2022) – works his charm yet again with this legal thriller about a lawyer thrown into the murky world of shady schemes, sex and betrayal starring Fernando Kamugisha, Nakato Jauharah, Dushime Gemin and Herbert Montez Kafrika.
Other films we hope to see nominated include Hadijah Nakanjako and Meddy Sserwadda’s The Passenger, Polly Kamukama’s Unheard, Luzinda Charles’s Ganyana and many more.