On 26th December, 2021, while you and I were busy unwrapping Christmas gifts, a Ugandan production was making history. ‘The girl in the yellow jumper’, a Ugandan story, shot in Uganda by Ugandans, made its Netflix debut. A pinch me moment that had the internet buzzing.
“The Girl In The Yellow Jumper sets a powerful first of telling uniquely Ugandan experiences with a solid & engaging plot line,” NTV journalist Raymond Mujuni tweeted upon watching the movie.
The production, which tells the story of a man who is taken hostage but is eventually able to escape, only to get back home with an unbelievable tale to narrate, adds Loukman Ali, the filmmaker behind it, on the list of the great talent putting African stories on the global screen.
On why this has taken a while to happen, especially to a country with lots of great story tellers and equally compelling stories, Ali thinks it’s because filmmaking is a scary business.
“It’s very difficult and like any other thing, you have to form your skill and try to arm yourself with all the knowledge available,” he tells Satisfashion UG. This particular film was shot in 2019, however, it has taken all this while for a global streaming platform to take notice.
“I’m excited that the movie is on Netflix. But I’m also a little bit worried that it’s my old movie. So, people that don’t know me might judge my capabilities on that,” the multi-hyphenate says.
Loukman Ali opens up to Satisfashion UG about his passion for telling stories, what getting on Netflix means to Uganda, and why he’s not about to slow down,
You’ve never been shy about your love for storytelling..
That’s true! I think as human beings we’ve always been storytellers. This is why movie making is so difficult although everyone thinks that they can do it. This is also because as human beings, it’s our nature. We just love telling stories and we do it naturally.
Your parents tell you stories, you tell your friends at school stories. Like we all do this. So, for me, I’ve always enjoyed being that boy who tells people stories instead of reading them. I knew I wanted to be a filmmaker as early as 8 years old. I wanted to make movies. I didn’t really know that I would be a director or whatever. I thought I was going to be an actor mostly, but then, the world pushed me to this other side. It’s really been a process for me and not like I’m an expert in storytelling, I am just learning it as I go.
Do you remember the first time you picked up a camera to shoot?
I think I must have been around 20, because before, it wasn’t really like a realm of possibilities because cameras are so expensive. Like all that stuff is so expensive. So, when I was below the age of 21, my dream was to do 3D animation. It seemed like a dream that could come true easily. I had a computer and I could create things by myself in my room. Indeed that dream came true way earlier than I thought. Then I got my first camera at 21.
All of a sudden, my childhood dream became a possibility. It started looking like, I could become a person that makes stories. At that point, of course, I didn’t know what the rules meant. I didn’t know what a director is, who is watching. I was just a guy with a camera that shoots small videos. So, that’s the genesis of the whole thing.
I made my very first short film a week after buying my first camera. So, I didn’t wait at all. The movie is called Monday, it’s on YouTube.
I read somewhere that you did a bit of music videos too..
That’s a little bit untrue because I wasn’t necessary into music videos. The only reason I got into music videos was because I was a huge fan of Maddox Sematimba. I had heard his song Namagembe when I was like 10 years old and became a huge fan. He sounds like Reggae Isaac and Bob Marley, people I grew up listening to.
When I contacted him and said I make videos, and could make one for him, he said yes. That was my first time doing a music video. It was because of him, I was so passionate about his craft. From then on, all the music videos I have done, I’ve done for either friends who are musicians or people that have songs that speak to me. It’s a passion thing and not commercially motivated.
Take me through your thought process as you create a movie..
Sometimes, I can have a whole movie based on just one line. Like, I’m there walking, I’m thinking and imagining or I enter someone’s car and they ask, where do you want to be buried?
And I think, hmm! That seems interesting. I could potentially turn that into a film so I start from there. The driver, where are they from? The passengers, where are they from? Where are they headed? What are they running from? Why are they here now? So, I bring up all these questions and that’s generally how the whole of storyline is birthed.
How long does it take you to write script?
It takes me a very long time because I’m not a competent writer. I’m kind of a beginner. This whole thing is new to me so, it takes me longer than it would take an average person. It can take me around six months, sometimes less, maybe a month or even a year, it depends.
How do you put together the cast?
The thing about Uganda is we are such a small industry, they’re not that many actors. Because we don’t have that many people, sometimes you write a script knowing that the main actor is going to be this one, although most times I want to work with new talent. However, most Ugandans don’t try hard. Everything is a joke to them.
For example, on audition stage some people will be sending you TikTok videos miming voices – it’s a bit discouraging sometimes. Most people think I take pleasure in working with only people I have worked with, but it’s not true. Most of the people that come to work with me don’t try hard enough.
Our film industry is quite underfunded, how do you get around that?
I was raised in a family where you just get up and do things yourself. This is why I do a lot of things myself. Like, I’m the one filming, directing, doing storyboards, editing, writing and all these things. It’s always because I wanted someone else to give me a hand, and they either turned me down or they didn’t have time to come through.
That’s the same approach many of us use. The industry is not just underfunded, it’s not funded at all. There’s no funding at all. I think most of us that are in the industry just do things ourselves. Let’s do it, the day it works out, we will enjoy the benefits. I guess the government is there waiting for us to benefit and it will come to collect.
You’ve shared in an interview how you have many times spent days on end without sleep. How far do you go sacrificing for your art?
There was a time I spent four days without sleep because I had a lot of things I had to take care of. Things that most people cannot even imagine. Are you aware that a human being’s spinal cord can vibrate? It is actually possible, you start shaking uncontrollably. Also, you can go to bed and fail to sleep because your brain is so tired.
I wouldn’t say I have sacrificed a lot, but I’m the type of person that genuinely doesn’t settle for mediocrity. I also recognize my own mediocrity and like I see my work and I’m like, okay, that’s not good. This is not working, I can do better.
It’s very important especially in art, especially here in Uganda where people will just like all these nice things on Facebook. I don’t even know why, but most of them know that their project is not that good, but people are over praising it. If you’re not careful, you can fall for it, and end up not improving thinking you’re the best. I am the type of guy who will do whatever it takes to make sure my work gets better. I’m my biggest critic.
The Girl With The Yellow Jumper is on Netflix. Are you excited?
Absolutely, yes and no, (laughs). It’s my very first feature film, which I started working on in 2019. It was supposed to come out in 2020 and then COVID happened. I’ve done two other movies between then and now. So, you can imagine if you’ve done two movies that are way better than the movie that got picked by Netflix. To you, it is a new movie, however to me, it’s an old movie that I could have done better.
I’m excited that the movie is on Netflix, but I’m also a little bit worried that it’s my old movie. So, people that don’t know me might judge my capabilities on that.
Or, it might spark interest to want to see more of what you have..
I hope! In Uganda, the negativity outweighs the positivity sometimes. It wouldn’t shock me for people to come to me saying, “we told you”. I’m not saying this to mean that the it is not a good film. It is a decent film, but it’s not the best movie you’ve ever seen. That’s my level of excitement!
Do you feel any pressure to kind of outdo yourself?
I think I would feel the pressure, if outdoing myself was not my goal in the beginning. But from the beginning, I’ve always been like that. I’ve always wanted to do better work. I’ve always wanted to do work that can compete with work done by billionaires. I want to make a movie that can compete with Marvel without a fraction of their budget.
With such a mindset, Netflix liking one of your work doesn’t really mean that much because what are they going to say that I have not heard? I have already struggled with trying to make the projects so, them coming to tell me, they like a project I did in 2019. Yet, I’m here thinking I can do better than that. I’m excited we are on Netflix, I am not down playing it, I know it’s a big deal which means a lot for everyone in the industry. But, that does not affect how I do things, because my goal is still the same; I’m trying to create the best movies. That’s all.
Any actor, producer or editor you dream to work with..
Yeah! I’m a huge fan of Quentin Terentino. I like Leonardo DiCaprio, but I don’t see how our paths would even cross. That would be amazing though.
Your next project is Damba. How is production going so far?
In fact, what’s happening is that I’m still writing Damba. We are still in pre-production trying to get things ready. Damba is a continuation of 16 Rounds.
At the end of it all, what’s your aspiration?
My ultimate goal is; I want to get to a point where my movies are just as good or better than the movies done globally. A point where you don’t refer to my work as ‘Ugandan movies’. I want to get to a point where we make movies and people know there is another movie coming. When there is no drop in quality and no excuses. No things like, ‘we don’t have money’, ‘We are Africans’, ‘We are poor’. That’s my goal.
Lastly, why has it taken us so long to get here?
I’m thinking it’s because this a very scary industry and like they say in Luganda, you have to “Kwesiba biri”. It’s very difficult, and like any other thing, you have to form your skill and try to arm yourself with all the knowledge available. People should stop expecting others to lend them a hand. I get a lot of messages, “I’m interested in making movies. Can you help me?” That’s not how it works, you have to help yourself. Believe in yourself. Invest in yourself. Before anyone else believes in you, do it.
