Uganda festival pushes collaboration and capacity-building
At the Uganda Film Festival, manager Ruth Kanyanya urged filmmakers to network through festivals and invest in capacity-building so film can scale as an economic driver — a reminder that festivals remain key for branded-content talent discovery and co-productions. The call for sustainable career pathways mirrors global industry conversations about collaboration. (x.com)
The regulator speaking at the festival is Ruth Kibuuka, Manager of Content Development at the Uganda Communications Commission, who has publicly pushed for stronger industry structures and policy support. (thetowerpost.com)) The 12th Uganda Film Festival ran from May 26 to June 6, 2025 under the UCC banner, marking the latest full edition of the event. (chimpreports.com)) Organizers reported a record 363 submissions for the 2025 festival, with increased entries coming from outside Kampala such as Gulu and Jinja. (mulengeranews.com)) UCC announced a 27-category awards slate at the festival launch press event on April 14, 2025, expanding formal recognition lanes for short films, documentaries and TV productions. (observer.ug)) MultiChoice Uganda partnered with UCC to roll out regional competitions and filmmaker workshops across three regions as part of the UFF build-up, linking festival selection to training opportunities. (gatewaynews.co.ug)) The International Trade Centre’s “Opportunities Are Here” programme offers tailored mentoring, networking and export-readiness support to young Ugandan filmmakers, and broader ITC/EU collaborations have targeted skills development for market access. (intracen.org)) UCC hosted a post-festival thanksgiving breakfast that explicitly thanked sponsors, partners and workshop contributors, signaling an emphasis on public–private funding relationships. (chimpreports.com)) Local NGOs such as the Film Impact Movement run ongoing capacity-building initiatives aimed at translating festival visibility into sustained production businesses for emerging creators. (filmimpactmovement.org))
