Isaac Godfrey Geoffrey Nabwana, popularly known as Nabwana I.G.G., is a Ugandan filmmaker and

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

. Nabwana, the founder of the film studio

Wakaliwood Wakaliwood, also known as Ramon Film Productions, is a film studio based in Wakaliga, a slum in Uganda's capital of Kampala. Its founder and director is Isaac Godfrey Geoffrey Nabwana, a.k.a. Nabwana I.G.G., who has been called Uganda's Quentin ...

, is best known for the gratuitous violence in his films. Nabwana started to gain fame after uploading a trailer for his film '' Who Killed Captain Alex?'' on YouTube in 2010 and later the actual film in 2015. The film has gained a

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

status and as of April 2024, sits at 9.4+ million views on YouTube.

Personal life

Nabwana was born in Uganda during the regime of Idi Amin in 1973. During the Ugandan Bush War, he and his brother were reportedly chased by an

attack helicopter An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their heavy armament they ...

. This inspired the helicopter scene in '' Who Killed Captain Alex?''.

Career

As he had never been in a theatre, he relied mostly on his brothers and friends' descriptions of films that were just released theatrically. He went for a course in computer repair, but was forced to drop out after the first month due to lack of funds. Therefore, he started to learn filmmaking and its aspects in a self learning methods with his own trial-and-error experiences with cameras and editing equipment. At the age of 32, he began filmmaking as a profession. In 2005, Nabwana founded Ramon Film Productions: the name derived from his grandmothers, Rachel and Monica, which is later known as

. His film production is based in his home where he began to produce and shoot music videos since 2009. Ramon Production has involved over 44 feature films. Some of the popular films produced by Ramon Productions are '' Who Killed Captain Alex?'', ''

Bad Black ''Bad Black'' is a 2016 Ugandan action-comedy film written, produced, and directed by Isaac Godfrey Geoffrey Nabwana (IGG), by Wakaliwood, an ultra low-budget studio in Kampala, Uganda. Plot A man named Swaaz, shortened for Schwarzenegger, robs ...

'', and ''Tebaatusasula''. The film ''Who Killed Captain Alex'' is known as the first action-packed film in Ugandan cinema. After releasing '' Who Killed Captain Alex?'' in 2010, it quickly became internationally recognized and popular. The movie attracted super fans from around the world. With over 9 million views on YouTube, it is Nabwana's most popular film and it turned him into a minor celebrity. Alan Hofmanis, a film festival director based in New York City, saw the film and became known as a super fan; he subsequently traveled to Uganda, met Nabwana and asked to produce a documentary on Ramon Film Productions. Hofmanis has since moved to Uganda to help promote Wakaliwood cinema worldwide and is now an executive producer and actor at

. He was also given a starring role in Nabwana's 2016 film ''

'' and has been called "the first Mzungu Ugandan action movie star." According to IMDb, Nabwana has won 6 awards from various film festivals.

Filmmaking style and themes

Nabwana shoots his films in Luganda, the language of the Baganda, Uganda's largest ethnic group. Nabwana is known for his action and violence mixed in with comedy in his films. He takes the action in his films to new extremes which mainly consists of gun fighting to Kung-fu and

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

. Additionally, Nabwana's films feature a 'Video Joker' (or VJ for short), who will translate dialogue and insert their own jokes and commentary over the movie. These traits have appeared in all of Nabwana's films.

Filmography

References

{{authority control Living people Ugandan film directors Ugandan film producers 1973 births People from Kampala