Mariam Ndagire, Steve Ayeny Thompson battle for supremacy at East African movie awards
Loukman Ali’s The Girl In The Yellow Jumper was also nominated in the same category, but American director Morroco Omari was presented as its director, sidelining Loukman
Mariam Ndagire performing at Rema's Banyabo concert in 2017
NewVision Reporter
@NewVision
Two Ugandans have been nominated in the Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Awards that will take place in May.
Mariam Ndagire with her movie My Husband’s Wife and Steve Ayeny Thompson’s Beautiful Ashes were nominated in the Best East African Movie category.
Loukman Ali’s The Girl In The Yellow Jumper was also nominated in the same category, but American director Morroco Omari was presented as its director, sidelining Loukman.
It is a tight category for Ugandans who will have to gather efforts to bring the award home since three of the Ugandan projects are versing those from Kenya and Tanzania. Ugandans will have to decide which one of the three they would love to lift, or else it will slip through their hands.
My Husband’s Wife won three accolades; Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Ugandan Feature in the Pearl International Film Festival in 2021, and won another in the 2021 Janzi Awards.
Steve Ayeny Thompson is another huge name on the list. He has won a number of national and international accolades.
With his movie The Ring, he won Best East African Feature Film in the Riverwood Academy Awards in 2015, Best Film Director in the Pearl International Film Festival Awards in 2016 and here he comes with Beautiful Ashes.
The Girl In The Yellow Jumper is streaming on Netflix and this is a great deal for it and the directors. Such a big platform is a boost for this award.
Kenya’s Sarah Hassan is a scare for Ugandans due to her success in the film industry. Hassan as an individual has already got two movies on Netflix. With her movie, Just In Time, the Kenyan star appears to be a threat on the same nomination list with Ugandans.
Other movies on the same list are A Grand Little Lie by Denise Kibisu and Ngubuine and Ugonwya ya Kifo, by Raphael Emmanuel from Tanzania.
It is, however, unfortunate that Ugandan movie Stain by Morris Mugisha, which won Joan Agaba the accolade for Best Actress in Leading Role in the Africa Movie Academy Awards in 2021, was not nominated.
Loukman Ali’s other projects like 16 Rounds and Blind Date were also not nominated.
Agaba and Loukman say it was because they never submitted their work to the awards panel.
In an interview with The Kampala Sun, Loukman wondered why his name was not mentioned as the director of The Girls ln The Yellow Jumper.