THE FILM INCOME ACCELERATOR 2025

On Saturday, July 5th, I had the pleasure of attending the Film Income Accelerator, a pitch finale event that concluded a powerful 4-week workshop designed to turn creative film projects into market-ready, fundable ventures.

Organized by Bweru Films in collaboration with Quantum Dynamics (a marketing and advertising consultancy), and supported by Opportunities Are Here (funded by International Trade Centre and European Union), the program mentored 15 selected creatives on how to develop, package, and pitch their projects for funding, partnerships, and distribution. Mentorship was done by industry professionals like Pamela Keryeko

Out of the full cohort, five standout creatives were selected to pitch their projects to a live audience and a professional jury. Here are the finalists and their remarkable concepts:

• Amisha Mukasa – A Little Wide Lie
  A TV drama series following an ambitious intern who lies her way into a job at a film production company by claiming to be a cinematographer. She must now survive a maze of challenges to protect the lie that landed her the gig.
• Akram Kamya – Kwencha Camp
  An animated series set in a military-style camp where parents send disobedient children for discipline, until the children begin uncovering secrets hidden beneath the surface.
• Irene Kulabako – Bukwo
  A gripping TV drama about a national park ranger who unknowingly falls in love with the daughter of a poacher, leading to a dramatic clash between duty, love, and justice.
• Gilbert Asiimwe – The Talking Cane
  This powerful drama explores the harsh culture of corporal punishment in schools, focusing on a teacher whose life changes after a tragic incident forces him to rethink his entire approach to discipline.
• Royal K – Tawi
  An enchanting animated fantasy series about a shy, introverted girl who avoids the outside world until one day she ventures out and discovers an ancient talking tree that reveals lost histories of her community.

  THE JUDGES PANEL

The panel of respected and experienced judges offered in-depth, no-holds-barred critiques to each finalist, a necessary dose of professional insight meant to refine and elevate the projects.

• Kennedy Kihire – Producer, Director & Distributor, KihiRay Pictures
• Joe Tugaineyo – Director, Screenwriter & Curator, Ngalabi Short Film Festival
• Davidson Mugume – Producer & Lecturer, Stone Age Pictures
• Edris Ssegawa Matu – Producer & Writer, NTV Uganda (nicknamed the “Simon Cowell” of the panel)
• Heddwyn Kyambadde – Director & Producer, Bweru Films

As I sat in the audience beside fellow creatives, Lloyd Lutara and Geoffrey Kasozi, we couldn’t help but reflect on how critical initiatives like this are to the future of Uganda’s film industry. Many creatives possess extraordinary ideas but lack the skills or confidence to present their work in ways that attract real backing.

We often encounter filmmakers who cannot confidently answer key business questions:

• Who is your target audience?
• What’s your distribution plan?
• How will this project generate income?
• What’s your marketing strategy?

These are the questions funders and partners want answered, and yet many of us end up self-funding because we don’t know how to build pitch decks or present commercially viable cases for our stories.

The Film Income Accelerator fills this gap. It’s not just about creative brilliance, but about pairing that brilliance with the business acumen needed to thrive in today’s competitive content marketplace.

I hope to see this initiative grow and return annually, reaching more storytellers who are ready to learn, refine, and rise.

Congratulations to Lesham Kenogo who was a lovely host, the organisers, the mentors, the judges, and most importantly, the bold participants who stood on that stage and shared their visions with the world.