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.
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