Moving around Makerere Kavule, you'll see a huge billboard with familiar faces with a catchy phrase, 'Koodi ba dear.' This is no ordinary billboard. This is actually a project to bring you Ugandan movies in a whole new look.
Uganda's long serving born again pastor, Pastor Jackson Ssenyonga of the Christian Life Church located in Makerere Kavule, which is also the home for Top television and Top radio is set to invest over 2bn shillings in a campaign he said would revive the "stagnant" Ugandan movie industry.
The move according to Ssenyonga is aimed at identifying, supporting and standadizing local talent in Uganda so as to be able not only to tell a Ugandan story to Ugandans,but as well creating more job opportunities for Ugandans.
The campaign produced by Top TV dubbed ‘Koodi ba dear,’ is a local programming of Ugandan local movie series that revolve around Ugandan cultures,traditions coordinated with day to day happenings in different parts of the Country.
While addressing journalists at Christian Life Church alias ‘Home of P5‘ located in Makerere Kavule, a Kampala suburb, Ssenyonga cited that local talent in Uganda hasn’t been given attention,a reason Top media has come up with a huge campaign to help those with talent utilize it to market Uganda, earn a living and as well develop the economy and the entertainment and film industry in Uganda.
Ssenyonga stressed that TV in Uganda has become boring, only filled with political programs and a lot more that in most cases do not even benefit the viewers.
“TV programming has become very boring in Uganda,if it’s not news stories, accidents been telecast,then it has to be politics and this kind of programming is of no benefit to the viewers and members of the public.
Broadcasters are not full filling one of UCC’s guidelines that clearly states that TV has to consist of 70% local programming thus you find most of the stations relaying only foreign programs including Nigerian, Bollywood movies,Opera and Philippian soaps and series among others but not our own Ugandan movies.”
When asked about the cost of production, Ssenyonga said that though it’s one of the biggest challenges faced by TV programming and most especially local talent production,Top TV has put in over Shs2.3billion this year alone to come up with quality productions.
