Nana Kagga (also known as Nana Kagga-Hill or Nana Hill or Nana Macpherson) is a Ugandan filmmaker, scriptwriter and actress.[1] She wrote and directed the 2012 film The Life and was a writer and executive producer of Beneath the Lies – The Series.[2][3] She has written Mukisa, My Sister's Keeper with Clive Nshiime, Pieces of Me] and many more. She is the co-owner of Savannah MOON, a leading and award winning production company in Uganda.
Nana Kagga Macpherson | |
|---|---|
 Kagga interviewed by RealTVfilms in 2008 | |
| Born | Nana Kagale Kagga 6 April 1977 |
| Alma mater | University of Birmingham, UK |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | Best Actress in a Feature Film, 2022 |
Life and background
editKagga was born in Nairobi, Kenya to Ugandan parents, one an engineer. Kagga is a Muganda and part of the traditional ruling clan of the Baganda tribe, the Bambejja (princesses). Kagga is the third of six children of both her parents. At the time of her birth, her parents were in exile during the regime of President Idi Amin. Kagga grew up primarily in Uganda in a well-to-do family. In addition to her father and maternal grandfather, four of her siblings are also engineers. Kagga resides in Kampala, Uganda with her 3 children. She is fluent in English and Luganda.
Education
editKagga completed her Primary education at Kampala Parents School. She then joined Gayaza High School, one of the most prestigious girl's schools in Uganda, for her O-Levels. She then did her A-Levels at Red Maids School, Bristol, the oldest Girls' School in the UK. Kagga then joined the University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK where she attained a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering. Kagga was an excellent all-round student who excelled in sciences, arts and sports. During her summer holidays, she would return to Uganda and was a presenter for Jam Agenda on WBS, a popular Ugandan TV show.[4]
Career
editEngineering
editFollowing her graduation, Kagga moved to Florida, United States, then New Mexico, United States. In New Mexico, she worked at Laguna Industries as a Process Engineer in Laguna working on US Military contracts.[5]
Hollywood (as Nana Hill)
editKagga decided to move to pursue her acting and presenting in Los Angeles and enjoyed some success. Kagga was cast in a number of films including Cowboys and Indians, A Good Day to Be Black and Sexy (Segment 'Reprise'), He's Just Not That into You, Star Trek, CSI: NY – Boo, Life, Runway Stars. In US Theatre, Kagga was cast as Mercy in the play, Butterflies of Uganda by Darren Dahms which was nominated for an NAACP award. Kagga appeared in several music videos by P!nk, Amy Winehouse, Sting, Lenny Kravitz.[6] Kagga also appeared in several TV ads including for KFC, Coors Light, Pepsi, DSW, Microsoft, APPLE, Tylenol, DOVE.[7] While in L.A, Kagga also owned a vintage and resale store on Santa Monica Blvd called A Vintage Affair.
In Uganda
editKagga moved back to Uganda in late 2009 and set up a business, Savannah MOON Ltd. Savannah MOON under the brand, Savannah MOON Productions produced a full-length feature film, The Life[8] which was shown on M-NET, a TV Series Beneath The Lies – The Series,[9] which is currently being shown on Urban TV and digitally distributed by MTN Uganda. Savannah MOON has also co-produced several short and Feature films in addition to TV series.
Nana has created an initiative, You are Limitless (YAL), which aims to motivate, guide and encourage Africans, especially the youth to achieve their full potential. Kagga also works as a Petroleum Engineer for one of the large Oil & Gas companies operating in Uganda. She was one of the judges for Miss Uganda 2018.[10]
Filmography
editAs an actress
editFilm
edit| Year | Film | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Nalwawo | Nanta | Emokor Eric | Produced at Savannah MOON Productions, Geoffix Films, Spectacle Media |
| 2022 | Pieces of Me | Indigo Gray Namukasa | Nsubuga Nicholas | Produced by Savannah MOON Productions |
| 2009 | Star Trek | Enterprise Crew Member | J. J. Abrams | Paramount Pictures |
| He's Just Not That into You | Party Guest | Ken Kwapis | Universal Pictures | |
| 2008 | A Good Day to Be Black and Sexy (Segment Reprise) | Candi | Dennis Dortch | Magnolia Pictures |
| 2007 | Collision | Independent film | ||
| Hitch-hike | Independent film | |||
| Cowboys and Indians | Indian | Short film |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Prestige | Jazmine | TV series produced by Ava Juliet Productions for Pearl Magic Prime | |
| 2014 | Beneath the Lies – The Series | Attorney General | Joseph Katsha Kyasi | TV series, Savannah MOON Productions |
| 2008 | Runway Stars | Angel | Web series | |
| Life (NBC TV series) | Pretty Black Girl | TV series, NBC | ||
| 2007 | CSI: NY – Boo | Josephine Delacroix | Joe Dante | TV series, CBS |
| 2006 | BET Stars | BET |
Theater
edit| Year | Title | Role | Director | Theater | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Butterflies of Uganda[11] | Mercy[12] | Darren Dahms | Mercy | Greenway Theater September–October 2008 |
As a crew member
edit| Year | Film/TV series | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Kasozi Heights (Feature film) | Co-Director, Casting Director, Assistant, Script Editor, Acting Coach | Emokor Eric | Produced by Ceekay Films |
| 2023 | Goolo (Feature film) | Exec. Producer, Script Writer/Editor, Casting Director, Art Director | Geoffrey Kasozi | Produced by Savannah MOON, Commissioned by Maisha Magic Movies |
| 2022 | Mukisa (Feature film) | Exec. Director, Script-writer, Casting Director, Production/ Set Designer | Geoffrey Kasozi | Produced by Savannah MOON, Commissioned by Maisha Magic Movies |
| 2022 | My Sister's Keeper (Feature film) | Director, Exec. Producer, Script-writer, Casting Director, Set Designer | Nana Kagga | Produced by Savannah MOON, Commissioned by Maisha Magic Movies |
| 2022 | Pieces of Me (Feature film) | Actor, Script-writer, Casting Director, Exec. Producer, Set Designer | Nsubuga Nicholas | Produced by Savannah MOON, Commissioned by Maisha Magic Movies |
| 2022 | Nalwawo (Feature film) | Actor, Creator, scriptwriter, producer | Emokor Eric | Produced by Savannah MOON, Geoffix99 Films, Spectacle Media |
| 2021 | Empaabi (Feature film) | Co-Director, Casting Director, Exec. Producer | Geoffrey Kasozi, Nana Kagga | Produced by Savannah MOON, Geoffix99 Films, Spectrum Uganda Media |
| 2020 | Embeera (Short film) | Director, Script-writer, Casting Director, Exec. Producer | Nana Kagga | Produced by Savannah MOON, Geoffix99 Films |
| 2020 | Ubuntu (Short film) | Director, Script-writer, Casting Director, Exec. Producer | Nana Kagga | Produced by Savannah MOON, Geoffix99 Films |
| 2019 | Mela (TV/ Web series) | Creator, Scriptwriter, Director | Maria Corrazon, Nana Kagga | Produced by Savannah MOON |
| 2019 | The Quarry (Short film) | Casting Director, Exec. Producer | Eddie Kagutuzi | Produced by Savannah MOON, Baby Plantains production, Balkon Films |
| 2018 | Reflections[13] (TV Series pilot episodes) | Creator, scriptwriter, director | TV series starring Cleopatra Koheirwe, Gladys Oyenbot, Housen Mushema | |
| 2016 | The Last Breath (Short film) | Executive producer, Casting Director | Jordan Braise Ndawula | Produced by Savannah MOON, Kampala Film School , Balkon films |
| 2014 | Beneath The Lies – The Series[14] | Creator, scriptwriter, Executive Producer | Produced by Kinetic Management Group, 40-Plus Productions, Savannah MOON | |
| How We See It | Host, director, producer | Ugandan talk show | ||
| 2012 | The Life (Feature film) | Director, producer | Nana Kagga | Produced by Savannah MOON . |
Awards
edit| Awards & Nominations | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref |
| 2023 | Uganda Film Festival Awards 2023 | Best Actress in a Feature film | Pieces of Me | Nominated | |
| Best Screen-play | Nominated | ||||
| Best Feature Film (as Producer) | Mukisa | Won | |||
| Best Production Design | Won | ||||
| Best Film in indigenous language (as Producer) | Nominated | ||||
| Viewer's Choice (as Producer) | Nominated | ||||
| Best Costume Design | Nominated | ||||
| Best Screen-play | Nominated | ||||
| 2022 | Uganda Film Festival Awards 2022 | Best Actress in a Feature Film | Nalwawo | Won | [15] |
| Best Indigenous Film | Won | ||||
| 2021 | Uganda Film Festival Awards 2021 | Best Actress in a TV Drama | Prestige | Won | [16] |
References
edit- ^ "Star Profile: Nana Kagga An All Round Dreamer Changing The Face Of Television". Chano 8. Roy Ruva. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- ^ "Nana Kagga parades boo". Kampala Sun. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
- ^ "New star studded TV series to hit screens in 8 weeks". Satisfaction Ug. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
- ^ Baranga, Samson (27 September 2012). "Kagga, the engineer with a passion for film". The Observer. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
- ^ "Caught between the arts and sciences". Daily Monitor. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
- ^ "Interview with Nana Kagga of 'The Life'". Mawado. 9 March 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
- ^ ""If You Give Yourself Permission to Dream, You Will Be Amazed at What You Can Achieve" Nana Kagga-Macpherson #AfricanWomanOfTheWeek". Bugisi Ruux. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ "THE LIFE Official Movie Trailer, Directed by Nana Hill Kagga". Ugandan Diaspora. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
- ^ "Beneath The Lies' Nana Kaggwa Fit to Burst". Chimpreports. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "Five Miss Uganda beauty pageant judges unveiled". Uganda Online. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- ^ "'Butterflies of Uganda' debuts at Greenway Court Theatre". NICOLE KRISTAL. Backstage. Retrieved 4 September 2007.
- ^ "Butterflies of Uganda". Backstage. Retrieved 19 September 2007.
- ^ "Nana Kagga: Her experience in the Ugandan film industry". Jump. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
- ^ "Don't Miss!! "Beneath the Lies" TV series, Created by Nana Kagga Macpherson, Premieres Dec 17th, Urban TV". Ugandan Diaspora News. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- ^ "Who won award at Uganda Film Festival?". The New Vision. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ Jjingo, Ernest. "Nana Kagga, Samuel Kizito win in film awards". The Observer. Retrieved 6 June 2022.