UGANDA FILM FESTIVAL

THE UGANDA FILM FESTIVAL (UFF) 2025 INFOPACK
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
The Uganda Film Festival (UFF) is an initiative established by the Uganda Communications Commission in 2013 to promote the local film industry, generate a market for local content to international markets, and facilitate international trade and investment in the film industry in Uganda. A comprehensive bold, artistic, progressive, and creative fourteen-day Festival for filmmakers, storytellers, film lovers, enthusiasts, distributors, and audiences with workshops, forums, masterclasses, film screenings in cinemas, regional outreaches, voting for viewers' choice films and the award gala night ceremony where outstanding films are awarded cash and non-cash prizes from around the globe.

This Uganda Film Festival will return to its 12th Year between 26th May – 6th June 2025.
The Theme of UFF 2025 is “Local Stories, Global Impact”.

MISSION
Uganda Film Festival’s mission is to provide a platform for content creators from all backgrounds to present their work to an appreciative audience and offer an opportunity for their art to be recognized.

VISION
Uganda Film Festival strives to highlight the importance of storytelling and points of view of diverse cultures from around Uganda. The Commission is dedicated to exhibiting stories that foster hope, create emotion, inspire action, and shine a spotlight on the voiceless across the country.
The Uganda Film Festival team is focused on building the event into an international destination for artists, experts, and industry professionals, bringing attention to our community, culture, creativity, and the art of Uganda.

OBJECTIVES
a)To stimulate, popularise, and give a spotlight to the young Uganda Film and video industry.
b)To build capacity in the film and video industry through training
c)To give opportunity for Ugandan Filmmakers to showcase their work to local and international audiences.
d)To promote business linkages and development of the film industry through the festival.
e)To create a forum to encourage linkages between local and international film producers, distributors, and exhibitors through creating a Uganda film and video market within the festival.
f)To promote in general, the Uganda creative industry by giving opportunities to local creators of film and video works as well as music in the creative industry in Uganda to support the film industry through performances during the festival.

PROGRAM
The film festival will feature the following activities:
a)Screening of Films
The Commission in partnership with Cinemas, and TV stations will screen nominated films submitted to the festival. This is intended for audience building and popularizing local content.

b)Training, Workshops, and Forums.
Experts with broad knowledge and experience in the film industry will be invited to carry out training and make keynote addresses on identified topics. Participation will be through the registration of stakeholders through Uganda Communications' social media platforms and websites. The workshops will be held at the Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology (UICT) and UCC head offices in Bugolobi. A schedule for the planned workshops and forums will be communicated in due time before the planned dates in May 2025.

c)Regional outreaches
The festival is a national event, and all regions of Uganda will be interested in participating in the different activities.

d)Uganda Film Festival Awards
The festival will climax with an Awards Gala night on 6th June 2025 at Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology- Nakawa where awards will be given to recognize outstanding performances in different categories of individuals and films.

CATEGORIES OF THE OFFICIAL COMPETITION ARE AS FOLLOWS
Depending on the categories, the time length of competing films shall be:

Feature Films: Minimum length of 60 minutes.
Short Films: length between 15 and 35minutes
Documentary: Minimum length of 35minutes
Animation: length between 3 and 35minutes
Television Drama/Series: (02 episodes) of length between 1 and 35minutes
Student Film: Either feature film, short film, documentary, or animation time length.

AWARD CATEGORIES:
The following are the awards for competition for this year:

1.Best Cinematography in feature film
This award is given to a film that has excelled in the general composition of scenes; the lighting of the set or location; the choice of cameras, lenses, filters, and film stock; the camera angle and movements.

This includes techniques such as the general composition of a scene; the lighting of the set or location; the choice of cameras, lenses, filters, and film stock; the camera angle and movements; and the integration of any special effects.

2.Best Costume Design in feature film
This award is given to a film that has excelled in the process of creating ideas and then designs for how characters look/ visual appearance of the actor/actress such as clothes, shoes, hats, purses, canes, parasols, jewelry, wigs, etc. in a particular film.

This includes creating an organized flair and appearance for characters in the productions that contributes to the fullness of the artistic, visual world which is unique to a particular film or cinematic production.

3. Best Production Design in feature film
This award is given to a film that has excelled in the intersection of art, architecture, and narrative, using space, lines, shapes, colors, and patterns to form a distinct visual language to elevate on-screen stories.

This includes the visual style of the story, which is the design of sets, location choices, costumes, graphics, props, lighting, camera angles, and special effects.

4.Best Make-up in feature film
This award is given to a film that has excelled in using any materials for cosmetic purposes on actors, and actresses as an aid in taking on the appearance appropriate to the characters they play.

This category includes the application of makeup to the actors on a movie set to bring the characters to life. They also apply special effects makeup using prosthetics and masks.

5.Best Original Soundtrack
This award is given to a film that has excelled with an original piece of music that is written and tailored for a specific film to guide and enhance the emotion and mood.

6.Best Sound Design in feature film
This award is given to a film that has excelled in the craft of combining every piece of audio in a film—including dialogue, sound effects, ambiance, score, and soundtrack—to create the film's soundscape.

This includes the manipulation of previously composed or recorded audio such as sound effects and dialogue. It may also involve the composition or manipulation of audio or sound to create a desired effect or mood.

7.Best Screenplay in feature film
This award is given to a film whose written version/script expresses the movement, actions, and dialogue of characters and describes the film’s plot, and theme.

This includes original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing including the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated.

8.Best Student Film
This award is given to a film where the Producer is a student enrolled in an accredited educational institution and who is enrolled in a filmmaking or television class at such accredited educational institution, either on the undergraduate or graduate level and where the primary purpose of such film is learning.

This includes works in the categories of feature film, animation, short films, and documentaries done by students except post-graduate students.

9.Best Animation
This Award is given to a short, feature, documentary that has excelled in the process of turning two-dimensional (2D) and Three-dimensional (3D) still images into moving/motion images.

This includes the technique of photographing successive drawings, paintings, or illustrations photographed frame by frame (stop-frame cinematography) or in positions of puppets or models to create an illusion of movement when the film is shown as a sequence.

10.Best Short Film
This Award is given to a film with lengths between 15 and 35 minutes and has excelled in creativity, cinematography, script, casting, production, sound, and post-production among others but must not include animation, TV dramas, and documentaries.

This includes works of fiction motion pictures not long enough to be considered a full-length feature film.

11.Best Feature Film
This award is given to a film with a minimum length of 60 minutes that has excelled in creativity, script, production, cinematography, sound, set design, make-up, and post-production among others.

This includes fiction or nonfiction motion pictures with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole film to fill a program.

12.People’s Choice Award
This award is given to a feature film, short film, TV Drama series, or documentary that has been voted online by the general public and fans.

This is an award given after the viewer’s choice through voting.
13.Best Actor in feature film
This award is given to a male individual in a leading role who has delivered the most outstanding performance in a feature film.

This award will be given to the outstanding male (s) actor (s) in the Feature Film category.

14.Best Actress in feature film
This award is given to a female individual in a leading role who has delivered the most outstanding performance in a feature film.

This award will be given to the outstanding female (s) actress (s) in the Feature Film category.

15.Best Documentary
This award is given to a non-fictional motion picture intended to document reality, and factual events for education, instruction, or historical recording.
This includes a non-fictional (factual) treatment or analytical film (motion pictures) to document some aspect of reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record.
16.Best East African Feature Film
This award is given to a film with a minimum length of 60 minutes that has excelled in creativity, script, production, cinematography, sound, set design, make-up, and post-production among others produced in Rwanda, Kenya, DRC, South Sudan, Burundi and Tanzania.

This award category focuses strictly on Feature films produced in East Africa including Rwanda, Kenya, Congo, Southern Sudan, Burundi, and Tanzania.

17.Best Feature Film Editing
Best post-production/editing in feature film
This award is given to a film/individual (Film Editor) whose final stage in feature filmmaking where footage is cut, music, sound, and visual effects have excelled in a finished motion picture.

This category includes the complete film editing, color correction, and the addition of music and sound into the film.

18.Best TV Drama/Series
This award is given to the best drama television series that has an outstanding performance in Script, acting, cinematography, lighting, editing, sound, set design, and make-up among others in two submitted episodes.

This category includes a group of program episodes intended for television broadcast or transmission with a common series title, with or without a predetermined number of episodes, and shall include a miniseries and a pilot episode produced for an intended television series. This category allows the latest 2 of the new season’s episodes.

19.Best Actor in a TV Drama
This award is given to an outstanding male in a leading role who has excelled in a drama series acting role.

This award will be given to the outstanding male (s) character (s) in the TV Drama category.

20.Best Actress in a TV Drama
This award is given to an outstanding female in a leading role who has excelled in a drama series acting role.

This award will be given to the outstanding female (s) character (s) in the TV Drama category.

21.LifeTime Achievement Award
This award is given to individuals who have demonstrated notable singular or multiple achievements in the development, promotion, and marketing of the film industry in Uganda.

This award will be given to an outstanding person or group in the promotion of the film industry in Uganda and in the Diaspora.

22.Best Director for a feature film
This award goes to an individual who oversees, manages, and directs all the artistic, and creative elements and components of a feature film that has excelled in creativity, script, production, cinematography, sound, set design, make-up, and post-production among others.

This award will be given to an individual who controls the film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay/script while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of that vision.

23.Best Supporting Actress in feature film
This award is given to an outstanding individual (Female) who performs a role in a feature film below that of a leading actor who represents a major character in a film.

This award will be given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role below that of the leading actress(s).
24.Best Supporting Actor in feature film
This award is given to an outstanding individual (Male) who performs a role in a feature film below that of a leading actor who represents a major character in a film.

This award will be given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role below that of the leading actor(s).

25.Best Supporting Actor in a TV Drama series
This award is given to an outstanding individual (Male) who performs a role in a TV drama series below that of a leading actor who represents a major character in a TV drama series.

26.Best Supporting Actress in a TV Drama Series
This award is given to an outstanding individual (Female) who performs a role in a TV drama series below that of a leading actor who represents a major character in a TV drama series.

27.Best Regional Film
This award is given to Regional winning feature films, short films, TV drama series, or Documentaries that have excelled in creativity, script, production, cinematography, sound, set design, make-up, and post-production among others.

28.Best Film (Indigenous Language)
This award is given to a feature film with predominately non-English dialogue (70%) in the Uganda indigenous language with subtitles. The film should also excel in in creativity, script, production, cinematography, sound, set design, make-up, and post-production among others.

This award will be given to feature films that deliver a dialog of up to 70% of the total film in a local indigenous language with subtitles to strengthen the heritage and cultural identity of our communities.

29.Best Feature Film (International)
This award is given to a film with a minimum length of 60 minutes that has excelled in creativity, script, production, cinematography, sound, set design, make-up, and post-production among others produced outside Africa.

CRITERIA FOR SUBMISSION OF FILMS
All films submitted should comply with the following.

Submission should be done online link using https://filmfreeway.com/UGANDAFILMFESTIVAL-1
The submission deadline is 31st January 2025.

3.1 Submission Requirements
a)The film(s) submitted to the festival should have been produced after June 2024 and must not have been featured in any of the previous Uganda film festivals.

b)Films from outside East Africa but within Africa will be accepted at the festival at a fee of 15 Dollars.

c)Films from any country other than East Africa will be accepted at the festival at a fee of 15 Dollars.

d)By virtue of submission of your film through Film Freeway to Uganda Film Festival, it will be consent to the festival terms and conditions as laid out in this information pack.

e)All films MUST submit names, contacts, and emails of their main Cast and Crew members from the production especially per the film categories. Failure to submit the required information may result in disqualification from the festival.

f)You will be required and must submit publicity materials including, but not limited to filmmaker biography, trailers, images, posters, clips, and an electronic press kit.

g)Films in languages other than English shall have SUBTITLES or dubbed in the English language or will lead to disqualification.

h)Films can only be withdrawn from the competition after official communication to the organisers and not after the Jury process has commenced.Withdraw of films without prior communication will lead to disqualification in the next edition since the film will already have been previewed by the Jury team.

3.2 Eligibility of Films
To be eligible for consideration, all films must meet the following requirements:
Feature Films: Minimum length of 60 minutes.
Short Films: length between 15 and 35minutes
Documentary: Minimum length of 35minutes
Animation: length between 3 and 35minutes
Television Drama/Series: (02 episodes) of length between 1 and 35minutes
Student films: all students except Postgraduate film works are accepted for submission in the student category for competition.

3.3 Other Terms and Conditions
Participation in the festival implies acceptance of the terms and conditions of the Uganda Film Festival.

All selected films may be screened or broadcast in the selected Platforms at the discretion of the festival organizing committee.

There are NO SUBMISSION fees for film(s) from Uganda in the UFF edition. Films from countries other than East African countries within Africa will have to pay a fee of 7 Dollars and outside Africa at a fee of 15 Dollars on the filmfreeway website.

The film(s) submitted in their INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE should have ENGLISH subtitles.

3.4 FILM SUBMISSION FORMATS

FORMAT
Entries are accepted in the following formats:

Internet Link (URL) for submission
Submit your film via https://filmfreeway.com/UGANDAFILMFESTIVAL-1

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Video Format Requirements:
Accepted File formats: MPEG-4 digital file.
Resolution: HD material 1920x1080px

You are required to thoroughly test your film before submission to the festival.

3.5 The following shall not be accepted at the festival:
Trailers as a substitute for your film.
Rough Cuts/ Work-in-progress.
Adverts.
Films that don’t meet the minimum broadcasting standards.
Films without marketing materials (Trailer, Poster)
Any film submitted without detailed information on cast and crew (actors, actresses, cinematographers, makeup artists, costume designer, producer, editors, directors, sound crew, Scriptwriter, music/soundtrack composer, production designer etc. will be considered an incomplete submission.

3.6 Return of Materials
Any material submitted will not be returned but will instead be stored in the Uganda Film Festival Archives by UCC.

3.7 Selection of Films
The selected films for screening and those nominated for the competing categories will be publicized towards the festival dates.

If you have not heard from the festival organizers by then it means your film has not been selected.

3.8 Film screening schedule The scheduling of film screenings is at the sole discretion of the UFF organizers.
Films for screening must be classified by the Uganda Media Council.

3.9 Jury Nomination
The chosen jury members will represent a diverse and well-rounded group of individuals with expertise in various film industries, ensuring a fair and insightful evaluation of the films from different perspectives. The selected members hail from American regions including Hollywood, Europe, Asia, West Africa, South Africa, and East Africa, and include Ugandan local film experts.

Geographic Diversity:
The inclusion of jury members from different regions is crucial to capturing a broad spectrum of cultural perspectives and cinematic preferences. The jury from the American region brings insights into the Western film industry, while those from West, South, and East Africa provide unique perspectives on storytelling, culture, and filmmaking techniques prevalent in their respective regions. This geographic diversity ensures a balanced and comprehensive evaluation of films from various backgrounds.

Cross-Cultural Understanding:
Members from West, South, and East Africa offer a deep understanding of the diverse cultures and narratives prevalent in their regions. This cultural expertise is invaluable in appreciating the nuances and storytelling traditions specific to African cinema. Their presence on the jury will contribute to a fair assessment that goes beyond a Western-centric viewpoint.

Local Expertise:
Ugandan local film experts' inclusion in the jury guarantees a local dialect evaluation of films produced within the community hosting the festival. These individuals have a profound understanding of the local film industry, its challenges, and its unique strengths. Their insights will be instrumental in recognizing films that resonate with the local audience and contribute to the cultural fabric of the community.

Professional Background:
Each selected jury member possesses a distinguished professional background in the film industry, with proven expertise in various aspects such as directing, producing, screenwriting, and critiquing. Their combined experience ensures a well-informed assessment of the films, contributing to the festival's reputation for hosting high-quality cinematic content.

Each of the selected jury members brings different expertise to the selection process, including marketing, promotion, and distribution; financing of films; producing for film and television; branding; and collaborations.

The diverse composition of our jury ensures a fair and comprehensive evaluation of films from different regions and cultural backgrounds. We believe that the selected members bring a wealth of experience and expertise that aligns with the festival's commitment to celebrating a wide array of cinematic voices. We are confident that their collective insights will contribute significantly to the success and credibility of the Uganda Film Festival initiative.

4.0Uganda Film Festival Program

Date Activities
1st October 2024 Call for film submissions and awareness programmes
31st December 2024 End of film submissions
28th February 2025 List of nominated films
February, March, April & May 2025 Publicity of nominated films for screening and screening schedule
26th May – 5th June 2025 Screenings, Workshops, and Forums
6th June 2025 Awards Gala night (Closing Ceremony)