Femi Odugbemi is a Nigerian writer, filmmaker and television producer.
Femi is well known in the Ugandan film industry.
He has been the chief jury member of the popular Uganda Film Festival (UFF) three times.
Femi has been creating content in Nigeria and across the continent for almost 30 years.
A graduate of Cinematography from Montana State University, Femi has been an Oscar voting member since 2018 and an Emmy voting member since last year.
Femi also had the privilege of being one of the few filmmakers on the continent to be elected to both the International Academy of Film and Television.
He is the founding producer of TINSEL, Africa’s longest-running television soap opera, with over 3,500 episodes.
Femi has also created popular drama series such as ‘Battleground’, ‘BRETHREN’ and ‘MOVEMENT’, and is currently producing ‘COVENANT’ which can be seen on DSTV’s channel.
Femi is Academy Director, Founder of Multichoice Talent Factory, 4-time Chief Jury member of the prestigious Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Awards (AMVCA) and Jury member of the Johannesburg International Film Festival in South Africa.
Femi was the Pioneer Academy Director (2018-2022) of the Multichoice Talent Factory in West Africa and currently facilitates training for NYU Abu Dhabi, the Pan-Atlantic University, and several other institutions across the continent.
ChimpReports interviewed Femi about the Ugandan film industry ahead of the Ugandan Film Festival in June 2023.
excerpt:
CR: What do you think of Uganda’s film industry?
FO: Over the past ten years, I have had the opportunity to participate on several Ugandan Film Festival juries. It has given me the opportunity to see the rise and rise of Ugandan indigenous films and filmmakers. global brand.
The industry transformation around product quality is really exciting.
Names like Matt Bish, Jayant Maru, Kudzu Isaac, Nisha Kalema, Isaac Namwana from Ramon Films, Rehema
Nanfuka, Mariam Ndagire, and many others are endearing across Africa for their work.
Ugandan films have also been nominated for Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards and other international awards.
And of course, we are living in a golden age of opportunity and growth for Ugandan storytellers and filmmakers as cable stations and international streaming platforms are also eyeing Ugandan stories, films and TV series. can be said.
It is very fulfilling for me as it means that the work of UCC and its mission to create and sustain the Ugandan Film Festival over the past decade has been successful and rewarding.
CR: How did you support Ugandan films?
FO: For the past ten years, I have been an international voice for the Ugandan film industry.
I have always encouraged the many international film festivals I am involved with to select Ugandan films.
Of course, while working on the AMVCA Awards, I encouraged them to invite films and filmmakers from Uganda. I was particularly reminded of movies like Jayant Maru’s ‘KY3’ and Nisha Kalema’s ‘Veronica’s Wish’.
It also encouraged Ugandan top filmmakers to be selected as judges for AMVCA and other awards events.
My support for the Ugandan industry is justified and I feel it is important to raise awareness of the great emerging jobs and showcase the growth and amazing stories that come from this beautiful country.
CR: You have worked closely with UCC as a juror at three film festivals in Uganda. To what extent has UCC changed the Ugandan film industry?
FO: UCC’s support for the film industry has been essential to the growth of the film industry. First, that the government takes their creative talents and their films seriously and believes that the country is good enough to consider their talents to be important economic assets that can contribute to Uganda’s economy. I let the filmmakers know.
Of course, the Uganda Film Festival itself is a huge platform for recognizing excellence and rewarding outstanding talent in order to improve the average quality of the product.
It also means that the film industry is merit-driven. Making quality movies motivates everyone.
With that comes an opportunity for the best filmmakers to work together and co-produce projects that can represent Uganda even more strongly internationally.
And of course, now many people come to Uganda and know about Ugandan cinema. This is thanks to the UFF and the films shown here.
But most importantly, UCC interventions are creating training and development opportunities. This is critical to sustaining industry success and building a legacy of excellence in the long run.
UCC has done a commendable job and invested heavily to sustain these initiatives for ten years. My heartfelt congratulations to the leadership and team for their tireless efforts to achieve this success.
CR: What do you think the Ugandan film industry will look like in the next five years?
FO: I see an exciting future for Ugandan cinema and filmmakers. The creative energy and pool of highly talented writers, storytellers, directors and producers is enormous.
As such, content will continue to be the economic engine of the emerging creative economy.
Storytelling is the new gold, and Uganda’s rich heritage, culture, and beautiful locations will emerge as an international draw for filmmaking.
The future of Uganda’s industry also depends on technology. Especially distribution technology. A significant number of telcos and mobile operators across Africa are beginning to see the penetration of smartphones in many rural areas as an opportunity to stream entertainment content.
This creates an opportunity for educational programming and entertainment content that provides a new ecosystem for filmmakers.
Of course, we also need to understand how the future of filmmaking everywhere will be impacted by new virtual technologies like artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, CospLay and more.
The future is exciting. Because it moves us all into the imagination economy. But the driving force will remain the storytelling and cultural narrative of our heritage. That is where Uganda will always have a competitive advantage.
CR: What issues do you think need to be addressed to further strengthen the Ugandan film industry?
FO: Of course, like all industries, the film industry here needs to step up training and development, especially in positions with specialized skills such as production design, cinematography, sound, animation and color grading. I have.
We need greater opportunities and access to funding.
Governments and financial institutions should create bespoke financing packages to support the film industry and create policies to promote Uganda internationally to attract projects to Uganda.
These include tax exemptions, moratoriums on loans, import tariff exemptions on equipment resources, and co-production agreements with other film-friendly countries to expand access to audiences. That includes, of course, investing in technology access points to ensure the film reaches audiences. in fact.
Streaming is the most viable distribution channel for African filmmakers, but it requires cheaper data and faster speeds.
