A few words about your artistic career
My professional journey began in 2018 when I won a fully paid one-year film training scholarship with Multichoice Talent Factory. During graduation, the Academy awarded me a paid internship trip to Nollywood in Nigeria.
How long have you been an artist?
My desire to tell stories began 6 years ago when I was studying for my bachelor's degree in information technology.
Why did you apply for this scholarship? How will the scholarship support you?
I intend to make a documentary film about creative people in quarantine, to understand how they survive during the confinement caused by the virus in Uganda.
What are your concrete artistic objectives after this residency?
To encourage filmmakers in difficulty and remind them that they are not forgotten and that they are taken care of;
Reach out to the government and policy-makers in Uganda and urge them to consider providing relief to the creative sector, which they have long ignored.
What did you achieve during this creative residency? What is the result (work created)? Who was involved in the creative process?
I produced a one-hour documentary film about forty artists in the Ugandan film industry. My creative process involved making prior calls to the artists to ask if we could visit them in their homes and talk to them. Once they agreed to meet us, we went to their homes and had a chat with them. Among the people we visited were scriptwriters, producers, directors, make-up artists, VJs, directors of photography, actors, photographers, editors, theatres and a few friends who knew Faizol Semambo.
How do you think these activities help us to think about the world today, in relation to the COVID-19 crisis, and/or about building for the future?
The Ugandan film industry has always had a challenge when it comes to documenting creators and their work, and I believe that in 50 years' time, when the industry is in a better position, these videos will be a reflection of the past and a guide for the future. They will allow the next generation to know what happened to creators during the Covid19 crisis. Reaching out to artists has warmed their hearts. We have awakened their spirits to love, care and watch out for each other and to be their brothers' keeper. Many people will be inspired by what artists have done in response to the Covid19 crisis.
How did you feel during the residency? And afterwards?
When I started production, this documentary was a platform to take stock of the creators and find out how they were faring and surviving during the lockdown. When I finished the production, I realised that this was an extraordinary opportunity to bear witness to the creators in Uganda, to follow what they are doing and to encourage them in times of crisis. The industry needs to capture the stories of the many creative artists. I realised that their stories had never been shared or told.
[(Creatives Under Quarantine
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