Devil's Chest is a 2017 Ugandan war film about the Lord's Resistance Army insurgency in northern Uganda. It was written, produced and directed by Hassan Mageye and stars Hasifah Nande Nakitende and Samuel Rogers Masaaba in the lead roles. It premiered in Gulu in October 2017 and in Kampala in May 2019.[1][2]
| Devil’s Chest | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Hassan Mageye |
| Written by | Hassan Mageye |
| Produced by | Hassan Mageye |
| Starring |
|
Production companies | New Cinema Productions Sanyuka Efrican Ent. |
Release dates | |
| Country | Uganda |
| Languages | English, Swahili |
Summary
editDuring the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda, a village woman is forced to be a wife of the rebel leader Joseph Kony, the man who killed her husband. She becomes a soldier and fights for her freedom.[3]
Reception
editThe film was well received in Uganda and across Africa for its story, acting and direction.[4] It received the most nominations (nine) at the 5th Uganda Film Festival Awards in 2017 and won four awards including Best Feature Film and Best Director.[5][6] It was also nominated at the 2018 Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards (AMVCA) awards for Best Movie East African and Best Overall Movie.[7] Some of the technical, story and action aspects of the film were however criticised. Collins Kakwezi of Amakula Film Festival called the film a botched project citing that the action scenes were lacking and that the rebel leader, Joseph Kony was portrayed as a kind man through actor Samuel Rogers Masaaba.[8]
Awards
edit| Awards & Nominations | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Award | Category | Received by | Result | Ref |
| 2017 | Uganda Film Festival Awards | Best Script (Screenplay) | Hassan Mageye | Nominated | [9][10] |
| Best Costume and Production Design | Hassan Mageye | Nominated | |||
| Best Cinematography | Hassan Mageye | Won | |||
| Best Sound | Hassan Mageye | Won | |||
| Best Editing and Post Production | Hassan Mageye | Won | |||
| Best Actress | Hasifah Nande Nakitende | Nominated | |||
| Best Actor in a Feature Film | Samuel Rogers Masaaba | Nominated | |||
| Best Director | Hassan Mageye | Won | |||
| Best Feature Film | Hassan Mageye | Won | |||
| 2018 | Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards | Best Movie East Africa | Nominated | ||
| Best Overall Movie | Nominated | ||||
| Amakula Film Festival | Best Feature Film | Nominated | |||
References
edit- ^ "Devil's Chest: Kony movie premieres this May". The Edge. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ "Devil's Chest Movie To Premiere Over The Weekend". How We. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ Labeja, Peter. "New Kony Movie Premieres in Gulu". Uganda Radio Network. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ "Warlord's fighters become film stars as Ugandan cinema booms". Stripes. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ Ssejjombwe, Isaac. "The 'Devil's chest' takes most of it at Uganda Film Festival". Sqoop. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ Kaggwa, Andrew. "Devil's Chest film the toast of Uganda Film Festival awards". The Observer. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ Kabuye, Kalungi. "Uganda gets record number of nominations in 'Africa's Oscars'". New Vision. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ "Devil's chest; a botched action attempt". Amakula Film Festival. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ "OFFICIAL NOMINEES LIST FOR THE UGANDA FILM FESTIVAL 2017" (PDF). Uganda Film Festival (UFF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ Zahid, Fayzan. "FULL LIST: 2017 Uganda Film Festival Award Winners". Chimpreports. Retrieved 4 October 2020.