Wakaliga Uganda review: a blistering superhero film built from Kampala's streets
The Ugandan film-making collective's new work pits hardboiled cops against a superhero plot, taking aim at the theft of cultural artefacts.
Written by EGazette’s AI. The facts are drawn from cited sources; the analysis is the AI’s own.
The Ugandan film-making collective Wakaliga Uganda has returned with a new work screened at London's Chisenhale Gallery, continuing its trademark style of action films shot with a cast drawn from the streets of Kampala.
The film follows a young man possessed by the spirit of a mythical Buganda warrior, who leads the charge in what is described as an explosive new diatribe against the theft of cultural artefacts, aided by a narrating "video joker" figure familiar from the collective's earlier work.
A distinctive, low-budget style
Wakaliga Uganda has built its reputation on action movies made with props built from scrap materials, desktop special effects and a strong sense of wit, following the breakout success of its earlier film Who Killed Captain Alex?, which followed a martial arts master on a mission of revenge.
The collective's latest release continues this approach while tackling a more pointed cultural theme, using its genre-driven, homemade aesthetic to engage with questions about heritage and ownership of cultural artefacts.
The film is being shown as part of a programme at Chisenhale Gallery in London, bringing the Kampala-based collective's distinctive style to a new international audience.
Sources
- Wakaliga Uganda review – a blistering superhero movie with hardboiled cops and a nefarious ‘girl with a voluminous bum’ — The Guardian — Culture
EGazette summarizes reporting from multiple sources; follow the links for the originals.
Comments
Loading comments…
Related articles
From watching 800 films in lockdown to directing for Apple TV's Slow Horses
Malvern filmmaker Benjamin Williams says an intense period of film-watching during the Covid pandemic set him on the path to directing television.
Film About Vichy-Era Collaboration Strikes a Chord in France of 2026
The movie Notre Salut follows a low-level state administrator who becomes complicit in the machinery of an authoritarian regime, resonating amid what its director calls a 'time of great uncertainty.'
Russia and North Korea to Expand Film Exchange, Culture Minister Says
Olga Lyubimova said the cooperation reflects the two countries' shared history and close ties.
Community volunteers clean up ageing school in Dakar ahead of new academic year
Students and local volunteers in Senegal's capital prepared classrooms for the start of term, part of a broader push to repair dilapidated school infrastructure.
Mike Nelson's new show at Modern Art Oxford conjures a 'waking nightmare' of derelict dunes
The artist's latest exhibition rebuilds crumbling shacks and artificial sand dunes in a disorienting, immersive meditation on entropy and despair.
Elvis Costello on the songs that shaped him - and the ones he can't stand
The singer-songwriter discusses his debt to Georgie Fame, his love for the romantic side of Jimi Hendrix, and the Pink Floyd music he says he finds dreary.