Adui, Small Gods and Damalie Shine at Uganda Film Festival Award

KAMPALA, August 29, 2026 – Uganda’s film industry celebrated yet another milestone of excellence last week, with the successful completion of the 13th Uganda Film Festival, where local films Adui, You May Kiss the Bride Goodbye, Small Gods and Damalie stole the show.

Adui had the most dominant showing, winning Best Screenplay, Best Film in an Indigenous Language, Best Cinematography and Best Post-Production/Editing. The film’s success across writing, language, cinematography and editing suggests a production that was judged strong, not only for its story but for how that story was executed on screen.

You May Kiss the Bride Goodbye also collected four awards, including Best Feature Film and Best Director for Drake Makanga, alongside Best Costume Design and Best Make-Up. Small Gods matched that tally, winning Best Actress for Florence Mariserena, Best Supporting Actor, Best Rising Star and Best Original Soundtrack. Damalie dominated the television categories, winning Best TV Drama Series, as well as acting awards for Derrick Baka, Rukia Nalubega and Austin Jjemba Musoke.

The results came at the end of a festival that was considerably broader than the awards ceremony itself. Held under the theme “Transformation: The Power of Local Stories,” the festival combined screenings with professional training, industry engagements and efforts to connect filmmakers with audiences. UCC, the organisers, reported 299 local film submissions for the 2025/26 cycle.

The festival has come to be known as a skills training hub, and the UFF 2026 edition was not an exception. During the regional film competition and subsequent training programmes, film enthusiasts were trained in areas such as casting, directing, screenwriting, funding and distribution. More than 50 Ugandan films were also screened during the run-up to the awards gala night, giving audiences an opportunity to engage with local productions and participate in the Viewer’s Choice selection.

Other notable winners included Michael Wawuyo Jr., Best Actor for The Unforgivable; Simon Agola, Best Sound Design for the same film; Diana Kahunde, Best Actress in a TV Drama Series for Choices; and No/Needa, Best Regional Film for Central Uganda. Waka Waka won the Viewer’s Choice award.

The festival also looked backwards even as it considered the future. Andrew Benon Kibuuka, actor, playwright, director and co-founder of Bakayimbira Drama Actors, received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Uganda’s performing arts. MultiChoice Uganda, a CANAL+ Company, was named Festival Champion.

Representing ICT and National Guidance Minister Rt. Hon. Justine Kasule Lumumba, the Minister of State for Local Government, Hon. Justine Nameere, said Government increasingly views film as an economic and cultural sector rather than simply entertainment. She called for stronger support for local productions while urging filmmakers to maintain professional standards, respect copyright, protect children and preserve Uganda’s cultural identity.

On his part, Hon Nyombi Thembo, the UCC Executive Director, advised filmmakers to take advantage of technology to advance their craft, hastening to add, however, that it must be combined with talent, professionalism, business skills and creative storytelling.

The festival’s awards offered more than a list of winners. They showed an industry in which writing, indigenous-language storytelling, acting, technical production and television are developing alongside one another.

For UCC, which has organised the festival since 2013, that progress is central to the exercise: to move Uganda’s film industry from having stories worth telling to having the skills, audiences and professional standards needed to make those stories commercially and culturally competitive, not just locally but internationally.

FULL LIST OF WINNERS