{"id":58735,"date":"2020-09-08T10:24:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-08T08:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/par-le-quartier-et-pour-le-quartier-le-phenomene-wakaliwood\/"},"modified":"2021-03-09T18:01:00","modified_gmt":"2021-03-09T17:01:00","slug":"by-the-neighborhood-and-for-the-neighborhood-the-wakaliwood-phenomenon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/by-the-neighborhood-and-for-the-neighborhood-the-wakaliwood-phenomenon\/","title":{"rendered":"By the neighborhood and for the neighborhood: the Wakaliwood phenomenon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Deep in the belly of Kampala, the nation\u2019s capital but also physically the largest city in Uganda, we hear a rumbling. With a cathartic intensity owed to a home-grown, chaotic and rebellious underground: the Nyege Nyege<\/a> musical platform and its rowdy festival; the success of a band like Nihiloxica<\/a>, recently signed to Crammed Discs<\/a> and championed by Aphex Twin\u2026 The world over, all eyes are on Kampala right now. But the first to put the spotlight on their city were neither the ravers, nor globetrotting musicians in search of enlightenment. They are more punk, and much crazier. Kampala shines brightly today thanks to a former group of kids from the slums passionate about kung fu, Chuck Norris and Para-SF commandos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around fifteen years ago, Isaac Godfrey Geoffrey “IGG” Nabwana, originally from Wakalinga, a destitute district in Kampala, dived deep into the “7th Art”. He was totally broke, totally self-taught, nearly thirty years old, and began to start shooting a few videos for local musicians, before embarking on creating his true masterpieces: action feature films. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isaac is vividly passionate about action movies from North America and Hong Kong. He cites his idols as being Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Lee, Bud Spencer and Jackie Chan. His objective is simple: to take over and bring down the global film industry with the entirety of his weight, solidly entrenched \u2013 but armed and ready for action \u2013 from his Kampala slums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
In the center, director Isaac Nabwana in full action mode. (c) Wakaliwood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
200 dollars for a happy apocalypse<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

In order to conquer the global cinema industry, he followed a basic rule from free-market economics: before going international, you must first conquer the domestic market. Easy: he created Ramon Film Productions<\/a> (RFP) \u2013 in honour of his grandmothers Ra<\/em>chel and Mon<\/em>ica, who raised and protected him from the Ugandan civil war, a guerrilla war that raged from 1981 to 1986 \u2013 going on to then shooting his first films right in the middle of the neighborhood. The actors and extras of the RFP-produced movies are his neighbors and the children of Wakalinga. Sets made up from waste materials \u2013 using a bunch of metal tubes or frying pans to simulate a rocket launcher, monstrously low-tech special FX, black market distribution, hand-painted posters\u2026 the true heights of creativity. With Mumbai’s Bollywood and Nigeria’s Nollywood, the small Ugandan district quickly became known as Wakaliwood<\/a> and fostered an outdoor filming studio experience for truly DIY action movies. The films are performed by the neighborhood and for the neighborhood, loaded with Ugandan kung fu, drug dealing gangs \u2013 the recurring Tiger Mafia \u2013 alongside supervillains drowning in pools of fake blood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Who Killed Captain Alex<\/em><\/a> to Bad Black<\/em><\/a> via the latest in-house production of Crazy World<\/em><\/a>, Isaac’s films have become true cult hits in the suburbs of Kampala: “all the kids in the neighborhood became Martial Arts fans,”<\/em> explains Alan Ssali Hofmanis aka “Supa Commando”, a New Yorker who moved to Wakaliwood after watching the first fifty seconds of the Who Killed Captain Alex<\/em> trailer. The first Mzungu<\/em> (“Westerner”) turned movie star in Uganda, Alan has been at the heart of the Wakaliwood adventure for almost a decade now: \u201c<\/em>Who Killed Captain Alex cost just two hundred dollars back then.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Isaac Nabwana and side-kick Alan “Supa Commando”. (c) Wakaliwood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe then built a Supa Choppa, a fake helicopter,\u201d<\/em> adds filmmaker Isaac Nabwana. \u201cWe would shoot whenever we had enough space on our hard drives. Today we have better gear, but things are still the same: we kill everyone equally! We always work with the same proximity and intimacy. However, we feel that we are reaching a limit with the DVD format, the medium with which Wakaliwood developed itself through a lot. Online streaming will take over shortly, and we’ll be ready for it!”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs for the rest of it, what has really changed is the way the world looks at us now!”<\/em> responds Alan “Supa Commando”. Here is the big difference. Our films have been screened all over the world, and celebrated at a number of festivals. The world knows Wakaliwood now. We have fans from Brazil to Norway, it’s amazing!”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n