SURVEY OF CONTENT AND AUDIENCES OF VIDEO HALLS IN UGANDA 2005

© 2006 Katerina Marshfield & Michiel van Oosterhout

SURVEY OF CONTENT AND AUDIENCES

OF VIDEO HALLS IN UGANDA 2005

photo by van Oosterhout


2

Survey of Content and Audiences of Video Halls in Uganda 2005 Report updated: July 2006 Authors of research: Katerina Marshfield, Michiel van Oosterhout Photography and graphics: Michiel van Oosterhout (digital signature “MvO”) Katerina Marshfield (digital signature “KM”) Jed Stern (digital signature “JS”) Assistant Researchers: Mohammed Bagonza Benon Tibanyendera Contact address Katerina Marshfield Rebenring 6 38106 Braunschweig Germany Tel. +49 1776 5383 766 Tel. +256 772 858 714 [email protected]

Michiel van Oosterhout Makamba Road

Lungujja P.O.BOX 26674 Kampala Uganda Tel. +256 782 440954

[email protected] Research funded by Embassy of the United States of America, Public Affairs Section, Kampala Uganda Grant: SUG500-05G-0018


3

Contents Introduction to research and methodology 5 Uganda’s “kibandas” - Background Information on Video Halls 9 Research areas 17 Kampala Masaka Nakasongola Gulu Lira Busia Sesse Islands Index of researched video halls 37 Popular Vee Jays - Story Interpretors 39 Conclusion 40 Appendix I - Quantitative Analysis in Graphs 42 Tables 1-2 : organisation of video halls Tables 3-4: ethnic and religious background of video hall owners and operators Tables 5-8: professional/ educational background of audience interviewees, their consumer behaviour Tables 9-19: audience consumer preferences Appendix II – Photogalleries 67 Kampala Masaka Nakasongola Gulu Lira Busia Sesse Islands VJs Research Team


4

Appendix III – References to Press Articles van Oosterhout, M.: “Pearls of Entertainment” in 2005 Catalogue of the Amakula Kampala International Film Festival. van Oosterhout, M.: “Competition for Rambo and Jackie Chan” in Missie Interactie, October 2006. (Dutch magazine). Tibanyendera, B. : Clam 2005. (French art magazine).


5

INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY Why research into “Bibandas”/ VHs In Uganda there is a network of over 1000 video halls. In Luganda, the official language of the capital city and the central region, as well as the most widely spoken business language in Uganda, they are popularly known as “Bibandas1”. They function as local cinemas and general audiovisual entertainment venues for grassroot communities. The main purpose of our research into the content and audiences of bibandas/ video halls (further referred to as VHs) in Uganda was to identify and analyze what is being shown to who and under which circumstances, in order to assess the potential of VHs as quality information and education venues and to design a contingency plan to develop them. The audiences that the current VHs cater for are mainly young people who have limited or no access to regular means of audio-visual communication, such as cinema and television. The video halls are often the only affordable source of audio-visual input for many a young Ugandan. The original video hall concept has been simple and economic. A structure is build and then it is equipped with wooden benches, one, two or more television screens and a video recorder. With the advancement of electronic and television technology many VHs also offer DSTV broadcast and use DVD players instead of VHS players. VH shows attract many people because of their low entrance fee. One show consisting of music introduction and one or two films costs between 300 to 500 Uganda Shillings, which is the equivalent of ten eurocent. Considering that the grassroots in Uganda often live on less than two dollars per day, this is the only alternative to Western style cinemas (available only in Kampala), which can charge between 5-7 USD per a show. On average, the VHs can seat between one hundred to five hundred viewers. Normally, there are four to seven shows a day. The first shows generally attract less viewers than later – evening shows. Such ‘prime time’ shows easily fill up the VHs to their full capacity. Since watching the English Premier Football League and Champions League has become very popular in Uganda, VHs have also started screening soccer. Some VHs even build separate structures for the screening of soccer games only. In many VHs however, a game of soccer and a Nigerian film can be shown at the same time in the same room but on two separate screen. The decision on which sounds is turned on then depends on the size of the audiences. Generally the soccer game audiences always wins.

1 “Kibanda” literary means a place made of planks of wood. “Bibanda” is the plural form of “kibanda”.


6

There are different classes of halls. The cheapest are made out of papyrus reeds. These are mostly found on the outskirts of town. The next step up are wooden or brick/ stone structured. Many halls still do not conform to the safety measures issued by the Union of Video Hall Owners and Operators Association in 2003. Electric wiring often hangs loosely connected and unprotected above the viewers. They are often situated in overcrowded neighbourhoods and slummy areas such as Kisenyi, Bwaise, Kawempe and Mulago. However, some VHs such as ‘Touch of Class’ in Luzira and ‘Model Entertainment Centre’ in Ggaba resemble in structure Western style cinemas: offering large flat TV screens often built directly into walls, comfortable seating, basic air conditioning facilities and sound proof foam insulation on the walls to keep noise inside. The presence of a video hall in an area can be easily identified from a distance by the amplified sounds of music and translated sounds tracks blurring out from loudspeakers placed on the outside to attract customers.

Research areas

Map 1: Researched areas in Uganda in 2005 Research conducted from 16.5. till 16.6.2006. Karamoja district pending due to insecurity: Research to be conducted in Nov/Dec 2006.

This report earmarks research areas in five different categories: namely urban areas (Kampala), rural areas (Masaka, Nakasongola), conflict areas (Gulu, Lira,


7

Karamoja2), border areas (Busia) and fishing communities (Ssese islands, Nakasongola). The assumption for selecting these areas was that the needs of VH audiences vary depending on their livelihoods, lifestyles and general social living conditions rather than on geographic variables. For example: In the eastern border town of Busia child trafficking, drug abuse and prostitution is rife. In the northern towns of Gulu and Lira people’s lives have been shaped by the threatening conflict with the Lord Resistance Army (LRA). On Sesse islands on Lake Victoria, HIV/AIDS seems to be of main concern. The melting pot of Kampala, the biggest urban center of Uganda, displays an array of challenges of an African modern city, such as street children, unemployment, drug abuse and substandard living conditions. This research does not investigate these problems in depth, but considers their understanding to be an important foundation for drawing a meaningful and effective use of video halls as distribution centers of information and education and entertainment in the future.

Methodology update UPDATE OF QUESTIONNAIRE I After the survey of 17 video halls in Kampala City the questionnaire I was updated to accommodate following points:

• 1.11 Why did you open this video hall? To find out about the motivations of the video hall owners/operators in investing in the video hall business.

• Some more complex questions were given multiple choice answers, such as 2.4. population density around the specific video hall (high/medium/low).

• 2.5 Do people living in proximity of the video hall mind having it

around? Aimed at attitudes and popularity of individual video halls – important for including particular video halls in future programming projects.

• 2.6 What sanitation facilities (urinal, access to toilet) does this video hall have?

To establish its suitability to be used in future projects.

2 The research in Karamoja district has been delayed for security reasons and will be conducted between November and December 2006.


8

• 3.5 Nigerian and Indian films were added to the genres available to audiences, as they were recognised as separate genres, and were sometimes summed up as love stories.

• 3.6 How much do you charge for entrance?

To establish the average income generated.

• 3.7.1 If you had access to quality Ugandan films, how much would you charge and 3.7.2 what would they have to be about?

To establish demand on the market and audience preferences.

• 3.8 Do you offer DSTV screenings? How do you use them? To establish access to foreign television and access to variety of programmes and their use.

• Under 4.3.a category of “parents with children” was added to the audiences, as it was found out that many children come to video halls from a very small age as babies. Most video hall owners are aware of the fact that children are not allowed to enter their premises without guidance.

• Under 4.5, what type of audiences visit your video halls, the

subcategory “street children” was added in “others”.

• 5.2 was rephrased in such a way as to elicit information about the consumption of illegal substances inside video halls without making the owner an accomplice of such activities.

• Sub-question 5.4 was rephrased to accommodate the concept of a daily

customer, i.e. member as opposed to occasional “customer”. Though regular customers do not pay a flat fee or enjoy any special benefits, they are referred to as “members”.

• 6.3 Do you show music or other programmes between shows?

To establish how common is additional programming between shows. During the break even children and women will occasionally slip in places where they are otherwise not allowed. Such breaks would be ideal for educational messages that rely heavily on sound as the sound levels are on maximum during this time to attract audiences.

• Questions 7.2., 7.3. and 8.1. and 8.2 were refined to elicit specific information on how the Union of the Video Hall owners and Operators and the Government of Uganda could support the video hall industry.


9

UPDATE OF QUESTIONNAIRE II Questionnaire II was adapted from a questionnaire that was used to establish genre preferences and the understanding of the concept “documentary film”, in a small-scale survey during the Amakula Film Festival in the Slums 20043. UGANDA’S “KIBANDAS”: BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON VIDEO HALLS

General Trends CONTENT DIVERSIFICATION ACROSS AREAS INVESTIGATED

As at the time of the research there was no diversification taking place in the content shown in video halls: i.e. what is seen (and liked) in Kampala is what the rest of the video halls in the country get to see. It is the video libraries in Kampala (mainly focusing on the enormous audiences in Kampala – 400 video halls daily showing films to an estimated 50 000 and more people) which determine the content.

VIDEO HALL SPECIFIC EXPRESSIONS • “Customers” are viewers who visit video halls occasionally. • “Members” are viewers who come to video halls every day. They do not

have any special benefits. • “Jamu!” – an exclamation in Luganda, meaning “take it out”, through

which audiences express their dismay at the quality of content of video tapes shown to them.

• “VJ” – an interpreter of foreign films, Interpretations of films are

recorded in a studio on the same sound track with the original audio. Sometimes special life performances take place. The word “VJ” was coined in parallel to “DJ”. Every VJ specialises in the interpretation of different genres and has his own specific audience of fans.

3 Marshfield, Katerina (2006): “Perception of film genres by video hall audiences in Uganda in 2004.” an excerpt from a PhD study in progress about TV and radio story telling in Uganda.


10

ROLE OF MUSIC VIDEOS DURING VIDEO HALL SCREENINGS

Music videos – foreign as well as local play a vital role in attracting customers to shows. They are played before and between shows. They are known as the “crowd pullers”.

LOCAL CONTENT AND (AFRICAN) PRODUCTIONS Local (African) productions apart from Nigerian, Ghanaian and some Kenyan films are very scarce. They are not only hard to get but the operators and owners are concerned about copyright issues. Most interviewees expressed their willingness to pay more money to see local productions. The noted high demand for Ugandan (or East African) productions by the interviewees, clearly indicates a potentially big market to be exploited by Ugandan filmmakers. The release of the first Nigerian/Ugandan film co-production ‘Roses in the rain’ which premiered in Kampala at the end of April 2006, is probably the start of a whole range of Ugandan movies. The fact that most interviewees were willing to pay more entrance fee if a Ugandan production would be shown in future, should be an incentive for Ugandan (and East African) filmmakers to explore this avenue with more zeal. With the support of the Video Hall Association (UVOA), which has easy access to all the video halls in the country, home grown films can be safely promoted. All that is required is to bring all the different stakeholders together and plan the way forward in a structured way. Charging a higher fee and protecting the film makers copyright would mean that more Ugandan productions would find their way to the video halls. However, the implementation of a new copyright law still remains a challenge. The fact that video halls are considered to be ‘bad places’ for youngsters because of pornographic films is definitely debatable. This research found little proof of blue movies being shown on a big scale. Partly this is because video hall operators/owners were reluctant to talk about it. After interviewing a video hall operator in Nakasongola town, who said that he didn’t play any blue movies, later on in a more private atmosphere he conceded that once in a while he plays a blue movie to an audience of fifteen people after midnight. The small percentage of video halls that did show blue movies all stated that they were allowed by the authorities to show them at a late hour of the day. The fact that only fifteen people show up, means that this genre is just not very popular. So focusing too much on the video halls as places that show


11

indecent films is an overstatement. Furthermore it is debatable if the authorities have to forbid grown up people to watch these kind of movies. When it comes to action packed (violent) movies this research did find out that some pretty disturbing films are seen by very young people. For that reason it is advisable to think of an age labeling system. In certain video halls children were watching films that have semi nude scenes in them and lots of killing and shooting. A more sensitive approach to what children can see is necessary. The fact that films especially for children are hardly available is something that should be considered by UVOA and the string of video libraries in Kampala. They should put more effort into getting suitable films and be much more conscious about what they show their children. Again this is a matter of organization and finding the right distribution channels. The statistics in this report speak for themselves. They will give the reader a clear picture regarding many different aspects of the video hall phenomenon. If government ministries or NGO’s have a message to convey to young people the video halls are definitely a good starting point to bring their educational message across. Given that renting video halls and copying videotapes is very inexpensive a large audience could be attracted without having to invest too much money.

Demand for Educational Content

Throughout this research it became clear that the content (program/film genres) available in video halls constitutes, first and foremost, Nigerian films and action packed films. Secondly other genres like martial arts, science fiction, love stories, adventure, war movies, comedy, music programs and occasionally blue movies (with pornographic content). This might seem an enormous variety but they are mainly focused on entertainment. Besides that these films are mostly outdated (many films are from the eighties and nineties). Even though the results were slightly different in the seven researched regions in Uganda (Kampala, Ssese Islands, Busia, Masaka, Gulu, Lira, Nakasongola), there was a clear indication that most interviewees were demanding a more educational component in the programs they watch in video halls. The fact that Nigerian movies, surpassing even the very popular action packed films, were genuinely considered to be educational, was proof for that. Of course one can argue about the perception that Nigerian movies are educational. But most interviewees clearly stated that this was the only genre whereby they felt that they learnt something useful to their lives. Therefore it


12

was not surprising that the demand for more educational films was quite substantial. The only problem however was (and still is) that such programs are hardly available in Uganda at the moment. Only occasionally an NGO or government ministry hakes an educational video tape that is passed onto a very limited selection of video halls. Besides stimulating local content, more educational productions from all over the world could also be successful. The video halls in Kampala that were involved in the Amakula Kampala International Film Festival editions of 2004, 2005 and 2006 got to see documentary productions from all over the world. In a small research done after these shows it became clear that people were not acquainted with this particular genre. This didn’t deter them from coming in big numbers and clearly stating afterwards that they liked these films because ‘they were about real life’. Films about Gacaca courts in Rwanda, the plight of African women and Sudanese refugees settling in the US brought about discussions amongst viewers. They seem to be a welcome change to the usual Rambo or Jet Lee films, which are so common in the video halls. This research can be seen as a starting point for promoting the screening of local films in the video halls as well as for bringing ‘real life’ productions from all over the world. Through “tailor-made programming” for specific audiences, video halls can widen the horizons of their audiences. For example showing a film about the successful peace process in Mozambique to an audience in Lira and Gulu town, still plagued by rebel insurgency, could bring hope and besides that practical tools of how to deal with such complicated human misery. There is little need to sensitize the audiences about the benefits of watching educational programmes, because the premises of video halls already seem to be considered as extensions of the viewer’s living rooms. They are places, where viewers socialize, discuss current and stylistic issues and discover other mysteries of life through film.

“Little evils” in the Industry

Even though there are many complaints about the content shown in the video halls as being unbalanced exposure and very harmful for the healthy development of particularly vulnerable audiences such as youth and children, this is mainly due to the inaccessibility of more educational programs and to some extent the unorganized manner in which video hall operators work and the lack of sensitizing them on moral issues. That such has not happened yet has to do with different circumstances according to this research. First and foremost it became clear that since its emergence in the eighties the video hall industry was hardly organized.


13

Secondly government institutions were more focused on trying to fight the “little evils” within the industry instead of supporting their development. In addition to that NGO’s have not yet considered the video halls to be a tool in their goals to structurally convey their message through films that can be shown in the video halls. With the emergence of the Video Hall Owners and Operators Association (UVOA) in 2003, mainly driven by the demand from government to regulate the industry once and for all, finally the realization to use video halls to their maximum potential has become a real possibility. Even though some of the areas researched have not yet been well sensitized by UVOA, others have definitely seen progress. UVOA’s participation in a cultural/educational film program in Kampala during the Amakula Kampala International Film Festival in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and the French Film Festival in 2004 and 2005 has set an example of how the video halls can be used successfully as educational and information venues. Much has to be done however. Even though interviewees were careful in their complaints about the services offered by the video halls, a lot can be improved. Lack of safety precautions, lack of ventilation, lack of strict control on who enters the video hall (for example young kids watching violent movies and sometimes even blue movies) and lack of moral responsibility by video hall owners (allowing drug users in and allow thieves to use it as a hideout) are the biggest threat to the survival of the video halls.

Venues for education This research paper is the first in-depth survey into the “culture of video halls”. But more extensive research is needed targeting phenomena such as the role of the local authorities and the government in improving the industry as well as the role of the so-called “video libraries”. As such this paper gives a first glimpse into how and under which circumstances the video halls operate, and how they can be improved to serve as venues of education as well as information.


14


Video hall as a lucrative business Kampala is the video hall capital of Uganda. With more than four hundred video halls spread all over the city and with an average attendance rate of 198 customers per day, it can be estimated that video halls cater for over 79.000 customers per day. Considering that the entrance fee ranges between 200 to 300 UGS per show the video hall industry generates over 15.800.000 UGS each day in Kampala only. Multiply that by 350 days and the outcome is 5,5 billion UGX (approx. 2,7 million euro) on a yearly basis. Since two years ago, the video halls have also been paying tax and an annual license fee of between sixty thousand Ugandan shilling (thirty euro) and hundred and twenty thousand shilling (sixty euro), depending on their size. In most cases the owners of video halls see the exploitation of video halls as an additional income. For the operators, however, it is often their only job and they depend on them for their livelihood. Video halls - immoral places? For years now the video halls have been under severe scrutiny. Debating pornography in the Ugandan Parliament (October 2005) the video halls were clearly mentioned as places where blue movies were being ‘promoted’. Given that there is almost 100% consensus in Parliament that blue movies are ‘bad’, certainly because children are being, or run the risk of being exposed to it, the moment a new law regarding pornography is being enacted this will have consequences for the video hall industry. At this moment there is no law in Uganda by which pornographic material can be banned or forbidden, even though there are by-laws that give local legislators the power to make far


15

reaching decisions in their own constituency. Given the fact that local legislators are hardly checked by members of parliament or anybody else for that matter there is much room to bribe local officials and continue illegal practices. Kampala is at this moment in time the real battleground between the ones that love the video halls (mainly youth) and the people that say that they are a threat to the welfare of Ugandan children and youth. Especially the moral authorities in Uganda, the churches, are winning more and more ground when it comes to fighting what they call indecency (be it homosexuality, pornography, use of condoms). Even though all respondents vehemently stated that they don’t show any blue movies, not so long ago they were clearly doing it. This tag is not so easily removed, even though they try, via UVOA, to clean up their act. The reasons given for the popularity of Nigerian films and love stories indicates that many people are looking for sensitizing film material through which they can learn about human behavior. The reason given for looking at ‘action packed’ or ‘martial arts’ films are often to educate themselves about how to defend themselves for possible dangers. Given the poor and slum like circumstances in which many of the video hall goers are living, without having adequate protection from the authorities (the police and security LC’s), these films serve not only as entertainment but also as lessons in simple survival. Translations in Luganda The translation/vee-jay culture is most visible in Kampala. The more then twenty translators mentioned in this research report serve a variety of people. Some translators make it an art in itself to add their own humor to the content of the film. This means that they don’t stick to the real storyline. Sometimes this is so because the vee-jays themselves have received limited education and can, as a matter of fact, not translate the foreign films accurately. They make up for their lack of accurate translation skills by pleasing their audiences with typical Ugandan humor. Around Makerere University, however, more serious translators are very popular because they stick to the official dialogues in the film. The popularity of a translator depends on the sophistication of his/ her audience. Most translations are done in Luganda. Implementing new rules for video halls When it comes to implementing the new rules and regulation set up by UVOA, things look to be changing. Only one video hall owner in Kampala says that he


16

allows children of ten years into his video hall, the other twelve, another fifteen and the others the official age of eighteen. It is clear that the rules and regulations are not yet completely implemented. There are different reasons for that. One is that to make the new rules effective the video halls need to be monitored. To a certain extent this is happening by UVOA (through Operation Quality Video – a team of UVOA and the authorities), but not enough to really ascertain that video hall owners/operators are working according to the rules and regulations. A string of video halls have been closed down in July 2005 by this Operation because of not implementing the new rules.


17

RESEARCH AREAS

Kampala Looking at audiences that come to the video halls in Kampala, a wide variety of people are making use of the service video halls offer. When it is market day farmers who are waiting for their payment before going back to the village go into the video halls to pass time. School children mainly come in the weekends or holidays. Again it is clear that these video halls know about the new rules and they partly answer according to the rules, simply because they don’t want to jeopardize their income and think they can still get away with ‘dodging’ the authorities. In reality the rules and regulations also haven’t completely been understood as the only option to follow. Another problem is that the owners/operators themselves are too much looking at this issue from a ‘narrow minded’ business perspective. Even though they don’t say it outright, refusing certain groups is considered to be a loss of income. Sensitizing them about new options of getting different audiences inside seems not to happen enough. The owners/operators don’t really like to talk about the categories idlers, street children and unemployed people. Again they presumably don’t want to talk about it because these groups do bring in money for the video halls. Besides that, one has to take into account that somebody might one day be employed, the other day be unemployed and the third day categorized as an idler who is playing cards with friends. The latter category is often indiscriminately picked up by the police in disputable heavy handed sweep ups. Street children do work, so they could be considered to be casual workers. Clear is that casual workers, manual workers, students and school children, farmers and even white collar workers make up the majority of video hall goers in Kampala. All with their own tastes. In general school children and street children like action packed and martial arts. Those above the age of 17 enjoy Nigerian movies, love stories with all the other categories being much less loved. The small percentage of girls visiting video halls, on average, like Nigerian movies and love stories. Compared to the smaller towns in Uganda, girls and women are more visible in the video halls in Kampala (a quarter of the surveyed customers were women). Although the numbers are still small, the emergence of Nigerian movies in the latter part of the 1990’s has stimulated girls to come to the video halls. The ratio is still predominantly male orientated but given that there is clear advertisement for a screening that women like, they do come in larger numbers. During a screening of an educational documentary (as part of the Amakula Kampala International Film Festival) in a video hall in Ntinda more then a third of the audience was women. This screening was advertised with a few posters in the neighborhood and the subsequent mouth-to-mouth advertisement did the rest, the owner explained. Owners/operators do consider women as a possible audience by screening


18

Nigerian movies and love stories. The main reason why women don’t come is that they, much more then men, have to plan an outing to a video hall because of all their domestic duties. It is not true that they don’t want to come to video halls; it is simply a case of informing them properly. The social position of women in Ugandan society also plays a role. Husbands have a big say in what their spouses are allowed to do. There are men who simply forbid their wife to go to a video hall. Another important factor considering video halls is that they serve a social function in the lives of many youngsters. Video halls are a perfect ‘hideout’ for the social pressures from home. Besides that, given the fact that most customers are young and at their most experimentally open phase in life, a whole new world opens up to them by going to video halls. Looking at the statistics gathered there are three categories of films that are mainly loved in Kampala. ‘Action packed’ tops the ranking, immediately followed by ‘Nigerian films’ and ‘love stories’ (often also Nigerian films’). Even though the content is often very much outdated, they do get a pretty good picture of how life is in the outside world. Knowing that two thirds of the customers are ‘regulars’ - those who come almost every day - you can say that these video halls are more then just places for watching movies. Customers hang around and absorb the sub culture that they are surrounded with. This also includes the more negative factors like the chewing of marungi (khat), smoking of banghi (marihuana) and drinking alcohol. Many are however able to resist getting involved in taking drugs. It is mostly a small hardcore group of people doing this. And subsequently giving the video halls the bad reputation it still has. All of the video hall owners/operators interviewed in Kampala say that if they catch someone with one of the mentioned legal and illegal drugs they will remove them from the video hall. Outside and around some of the video halls in Kampala local beer, strong liquor, cigarettes and marunji are quite freely consumed. Banghi however is consumed to a lesser extent or otherwise more secretly. It is clear that for some customers there is a correlation between watching films and taking these substances. Besides the fact that, indeed, some blue movies are shown, overall the content shown in video halls in Kampala is not as indecent as some people might think. Clearly ‘action packed’ movies are full of violence, but looking at the average films shown on national television (UBC, the former UTV) or on one of the commercial broadcasters (WBS, ITV, Pulse TV) it can hardly be said that the video hall owners are the only ones that promote what is called indecency or violence. When it comes to educational films or NGO-messaging through film most video halls in Kampala hardly get targeted. Given the easy access to a whole network


19

of little ‘cinema’s’ throughout the city, this is quite peculiar. This is partly also to blame on the video hall owners/operators themselves. They are not pursuing this segment of possible films that might educate their audience. They don’t look beyond what the video libraries in town are providing. Again, video hall owners are too much focused on earning money and educative films don’t seem to fit into that mindset. The number of NGO’s that make use of video halls to get their message across is also minimal. Only half of the video hall owners interviewed could remember one single NGO film shown in their video hall in many years.

photo by Katerina Marshfield CLICK HERE for Photo gallery – Kampala District: 45 images


20

What government can do to promote video halls in Kampala?

(quotations by video hall owners)

*Should give us loans. *As translators we are educators, they should pay us to go to the villages.

*Invest more in the video hall industry to create jobs. *Stimulate young people in acting.

*Make a new copyright law.

*Should create a censoring board. *Should not threaten us to break down the video hall.

*Allow fewer video halls, the existing ones should be helped to organize themselves better. *Reduce taxes on video tapes.

*They should help with security measures to check for weapons.

*They should help so we can make our own productions. *Should stop police and KCC harassment.

*Should help with getting investors. *Police should stop interfering with our work.

*They should stop thinking that video halls are places for idlers and thieves.

*They should admit that we are part of building this nation. *They should acknowledge that we are creating jobs.

*We want to be respected as normal business people are. *They should acknowledge that we are a source of income to them.

*They should recognize us as an industry.

*They should sensitize Local Counselors (LC’s) and local police. *Officials should show proper documentation when they come and check us.

*We pay license and tax, still we don’t feel secure that we can keep on operating. *They should promote a dialogue between the local authorities and the video halls.

*They should realize that video halls are also educational.

*There should be a legalized flow of tapes. *They should control the mushrooming of even more video halls which kills the business.

*They should help in setting up permanent structures. *They should provide Ugandan made films.

*They should promote the video halls positively.

*They should advise us in finding educational films. *They should consider us to be serious business men and not hooligans.

*Government cannot do anything for us.


21

Masaka District (Masaka Town, Nyendo, Kinoni, Lukaya, Kyabakuza)

In Masaka town there is a sub-association of the Kampala based Union of Video Hall Owners and Operators Association (UVOA) which has recently been established. Masaka town has six video halls, all of them situated in business/residential areas. In nearby Nyendo, a town where many people working in Masaka Town reside, there are more video halls. It is clearly a poorer area, and there are ten video halls very closely situated to each other. Competition is rife and it has brought the entrance fee of a film down from two hundred (ten eurocent) to one hundred shilling (five eurocent). In the outskirt town of Kyabakuza there are another two active video halls. Most halls in Masaka and Nyendo (also Lukaya) are quite well organized. Most structures are made of stone and are kept clean. From the exterior these video halls look attractive with artwork of international soccer players, musicians and film stars. The operators/owners are all vehement about not allowing smokers (be it cigarettes or marihuana) inside. Visiting ten halls in total the conclusion in Masaka area is that inside the video hall there is no visible use of any of these substances. In Kampala it is more visible that these things happen around the video halls. But talking with people who live around the video halls, this practice is clearly happening on a small and a semi secretive scale. Children as young as ten years enter the video halls. Even though most owners/operators, according to regulations by LC’s and police, are not allowed to. However this issue is more complicated as it seems, because authorities don’t really mind children going to video halls during holidays or weekends. Obviously video halls are tolerated as centers for cheap entertainment for the youth. Although the relationship video hall owners versus authorities has become better there are still several complaints about representatives of those same authorities looking for bribes. Even though the video hall owners pay tax they still do not feel really accepted as respected businessmen. It is clear that they look forward for that recognition. The chairman of the sub-association is still sensitizing his colleagues to become part of UVOA and part of the self regulating exercise that started one and a half year ago. Some are actively part of that process, others are still reluctant because they fear that regulation might hurt their business or even cause them to stop running a video hall all together. Clearly, from the point of view of UVOA, more sensitization is necessary in this area. But what is also clear that most video hall owners do realize that the regulating process is inevitable. Just a few owners think that by not associating with UVOA they can escape the effects of regulation. Many customers/video hall owners consider the video halls to be partly educational. Most of them find Nigerian movies, and even love stories, to be


22

VERY educational. These are also the film genres that attract women and elderly people. Even so, the content of the video halls is still strongly focused on a young male audience. Ngo driven videos are seldom distributed. It is also clear that street children find refuse in the video halls. But when it comes to bad behavior the audience itself does most of the regulating when there are stubborn clients. At such a moment the film is stopped by the video hall operator and the audience then presses the ‘culprit’ to stop his stubborn behavior. In some halls marunji chewing is tolerated and those who do chew are designated their own corner in the video hall. Suggesting special educative programming both owners and customers were reacting positively. Although many also suggested that these films shouldn’t be too technically instructive because that is considered to be boring to watch. When it comes to blue movies the authorities allow the video hall owners to show these late in the evening and then only one evening a week.

photo by van Oosterhout CLICK HERE for Photo gallery – Masaka District: 8 images


23

Nakasongola District (Nakasongola town, Migera, Kakooge town, Kibugenda, Zengebe, Lwampanga) Nakasongola town has two functioning video halls. One of them is made out of stone and the other out of wood. A major problem for the video halls here is the power supply. They heavily depend on a generator. Even though the operators are complaining about the high costs of petrol the power cuts also bring more people to the video halls. Both video halls start around 19.00 hrs but are flexible enough to open earlier when the demand is high enough. Blue movies are forbidden by the authorities but a small group of people do want to see them and are sometimes catered for after 24.00 hrs at night. Just to get an insight in the costs of running a video hall the following. For a video hall owner in Nakasongola he first has to go to Kampala for his translated films. This costs 4500 Ush (2200 Ush = 1 euro) to get to Kampala and five thousand to get back to Nakasongola with a shared taxi. Besides that he spends about fifteen hundred Ush for traveling within Kampala. Renting an old translated film usually costs fifteen hundred Ush but a newly translated film can cost between three and four thousand Ush, which is rented out for one week. On average the video hall owners in Nakasongola district hire ten to twenty video’s a week. If they keep them longer there is a penalty. To show one film using a generator half a liter of petrol is necessary (some generators need even 1 liter each film – 1 liter costs two thousand Ush). So each week an investment of approximately forty thousand Ush is necessary. By charging two hundred Ush entrance fee in a week they need to get at least two hundred customers. On average the video halls here get between fifty to seventyfive customers each day. In a week that would mean approximately four hundred customers x two hundred Ush = eighty thousand Ush. The video halls in Nakasongola district (a district where drought is persistent) are not as fancy as the ones in Masaka, Kampala or other bigger towns in Uganda. There are no entertaining painted images of film stars or pop stars on the outside walls. Mostly the structures are recognizable by the DSTV satellite dish and the loudspeakers outside (something which is officially forbidden). Most of the video halls have DSTV. Clearly soccer matches have increased the income of the video halls. But the costs of DSTV are also high and two months of the year there is hardly any soccer (however World Cup and Euro Cup make up for that). Soccer matches cost five hundred Ush but games between the big three Arsenal – Chelsea – Man U sometimes bring the price up to a thousand Ush. Mostly video halls are situated in towns along the highways of Uganda. However in Nakasongola district the fishing communities along the shore of Lake Kyoga all have one video hall. Two landing sites have a strong stone structure and one


24

has a papyrus reed structure. Usually just one film is played in the evening. The number of customers is less then in Nakasongola town. More films could be played but then the customers should be willing to pay more then two hundred Ush which they won’t. Because the landing sites have no access to the power grid the video halls depend solely on a generator, which is expensive. A culture of translating and setting up a video library with translated tapes has not yet sprung up in Nakasongola district. Besides tapping into soccer matches as an extra income generating exercise the option of special programs for women, children and people older then 35 is not yet explored by most video hall owners. It is clear that social/cultural aspects are partly the reason why these groups only come to the video halls in small numbers. First of all the video halls don’t have a good reputation amongst parents who consider these places as having a bad influence on their children. Husbands are reluctant to allow their wives to go and see a movie. Nigerian movies or love stories are an exception. Sometimes they go to see those films as a couple. But again this is partly because men hope that their women learn about their presumed bad behavior. Men complain about their women as trying witchcraft type of actions to influence their spouse actions. With other words men (but also women) consider these films instructive to learn about how to relate to one another in a marriage (in the Nigerian films witchcraft is mostly portrayed as a self destructive exercise). The effects of a patriarchal society are clearly noticeable in the demography of video hall customers. Changing this might not be very easy, because men might consider this will affect their current position in Ugandan society. On the road to Kampala, Wobulenzi is a busy highway town where video halls have the typical Kampala outlook. The structures are not very well but there is clearly more life around these halls. Marunji chewing is openly done and the behavior of customers is less subdued then in Nakasongola district. Clearly small towns and villages with video halls are easier monitored by the authorities and one obeys better to the rules. In a town like Wobulenzi there is more of a laisser faire atmosphere around the video halls. Still something has changed there since UVOA started operating. The use of any kind of drug is much less and there is more stringent control on children visiting the halls. The UVOA chairman of Wobulenzi, Mose, is checking the video halls regularly to see if the rules are obeyed. The more lose atmosphere is noticeable by the ‘cool’ behavior of boys and sometimes girls who are dressed scantily according to Ugandan conservative standards.


25

photo by van Oosterhout CLICK HERE for Photo gallery – Nakasongola District: 2 images Gulu District Gulu is one of the most problematic towns in Uganda. Nineteen years of rebel insurgency (Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebellion) has left this place very scarred. Ninety five percent of the population lives in refugee camps under terrible conditions. More then twenty five thousand boys and girls have been abducted by the LRA and are used as soldiers and sex slaves by the LRA leadership. Many thousands have been brutally maimed and lost limbs, or had their noses and ears cut of. Many thousands have lost their lives in this conflict. These internally displaced people are constantly afraid of attacks by the LRA and helplessly waiting for handouts by the World Food Program (WFP). Throughout this troublesome period there have been video halls in Gulu. This research focused on video halls in Gulu Town and Lacor, a small town six miles away from the center of Gulu. Three video halls can be found in the center of Gulu town and the others are situated around the Pece stadium. The only one known to be situated in one of the refugees camps was not functioning at the moment this research took place. The video halls in the slum like area of Pece are typically made out of wood and other cheap materials. Pece has seen a strong growth since the rebel insurgence started in 1986. Many


26

people that live here came there to escape from the continuous threat to their villages posed by the rebels. In Pece they feel relatively safe. Most people in Gulu town can tell you a personal story of being grabbed by the rebels, or were just about able to escape from them in time. Looking at the figures, in contrast to most other parts of the country, action packed and war movies are not so very popular over here. Nigerian films and music videos (on Sunday morning some video halls have a special music program) take first and second place amongst young people that go to the video halls. Clearly people want to escape from the atrocities that are daily taken place around them. And those that do watch action packed, war or martial arts films cite that they think they can learn how to defend themselves or how to avoid getting caught by rebels. One of the video halls in town is like a little cinema. They used to have a projector but since the bulb (which is very expensive to buy) broke they screen their movies on a TV set. Nigerian movies are immensely popular in Gulu and Lacor. In one of the three existing video libraries in town one third of all movies are Nigerian. Considering that these films only started coming at the end of the nineties their growth has been enormous. For that reason it is also not very surprising that many customers would like to see Ugandan productions. Most people were willing to pay more if at least it would be for a local production. When it comes to educational films operators/owners and customers mention Nigerian films as educational. According to them those films teach about good manners in a relationship, they teach about the problems that African people face. They also teach about Christian values, it teaches people about the bad sides of witchcraft and it teaches about the personal situation of African people. Besides the Nigerian movies a few films are mentioned as educational that have been shown in the video halls: Sarafina (a South African production), a film about aids provided by a hospital (about the life and work of Ugandan aids activist and musician Philip Lutaaya who died of Aids), Yellow Card, Shaka Zulu, The Gods must be crazy, let Abouna study (one of the few local films made by a filmmaker from Lira), a film about the commuting children in Gulu (given by NGO Noah’s Ark). Every video hall could however name only one or two educational films shown during their existence. They all complain that educational films are not available in the video libraries and that NGO’s are not providing them. Like in Lira admission is quite strict. Only on weekends and holidays children and school children are allowed into the video halls is the official answer of video hall operators and owners. In Gulu they have a ticketing system. Anyone entering gets a little cardboard card (or as many as they pay for) which is collected after the show has started. At the time of the research children were hanging around the video halls but were refused. The moment the research


27

team left one of the video halls in Pece area children were however entering. In the video halls in the center of Gulu town children are definitely refused. In the video halls around Pece this is not so obvious. One video hall is opposite a school and even though the operators say children are not allowed this is not really true say some of the interviewees. Just as in many other places in Uganda it all depends on different factors. Risks are taken because the authorities are not implementing the rules and regulations rigorously. As in other video halls around the country the new rules and regulations haven’t sunk in yet. Again from a business perspective children are customers who bring in money and for that reason are beneficial to the operator/owner. Like in Lira all films shown are in English. There are no translations in Luo available. Most customers would like films to be translated in Luo as most of them are hardly speaking any Luganda (as for now films are only translated into Luganda in Uganda). ‘Let Abouny study’ is an example of a local production that was very popular. Nobody seems to be able to give a clear answer why others haven’t ventured in making local films if this one was so popular. Somebody once tried to make a Luo translation of an American film but it was not a great success because the translation was technically not very well done. Nobody seems to have tried it again, even though the demand according to this research was overwhelming and there is a clear market for them. If Ugandan production would be available the interviewed customers say that they should be about the history and culture of Uganda. Besides that many of them request films that focus on themes that deal with their specific problems. The interviewed people might not live in one of the many camps themselves, they have many family members staying there. Themes that are mentioned are films that educate children how to behave, about Christian values, about HIV, dramas about pregnancies, disadvantages of drugs (citing the hard life in the IDP camps), films about war, film about how people should live in a community, about women emancipation, about the war in the north. None of these themes are catered for in the current programming. Only two video halls have a DS TV connection. A great number of guesthouses and hotels however have DSTV. In there you can watch an array of programs. Again international soccer matches are very popular. But besides that BBC World, CNN and Discovery Channel are very popular. The audience in these places mainly consists of local and international NGO workers, business people and the better off in Gulu town. Ordinary people don’t have the money to go there, because admission is on the presumption that you will take a drink.


28


CLICK HERE for Photo gallery - Gulu District: 8 images

Why do audiences like Nigerian films or Love stories?

(As mentioned by the video hall customers)

*Love stories are educative, they tell you about the background of love. *They teach you how you can abstain from men and resist.

*You learn how to protect yourself. *You learn how to escape a problem.

*Love stories educate about the way of life.

*You learn how to solve a problem. *It teaches you how to make love.

*It teaches you how to keep yourself from criminals. *Nigerian films promote the own culture.


29

*It teaches you how to handle people & relate to them.

*It teaches you about economic manipulation of the modern world. *You learn about self discipline. *you learn about family affairs.

*It teaches you on anger control and about love. *It teaches me how to get friends.

*It teaches you how to deal with a child. *It teaches you how to handle problems.

*To learn about love and how to practice it with your husband. *It teaches how to live under different conditions.

*You learn how you can get in love with somebody.

*You learn not to mistreat your child and you learn about culture and love. *It teaches about behavior of other people and how if you follow advice you

can succeed in the world. *They teach how married woman should love a husband and take care of him.

*Men learn not to run to other women.

*It teaches ladies how to behave in marriage and not to use witchcraft. *They teach us to behave in warm unity in a relationship.

*It teaches you to concentrate on education & learn new life styles. Lira District Lira town in Northern Uganda has also been under siege by the LRA rebellion. Around Lira town there are numerous internally displaced camps for refugees. For the moment the situation has become slightly better. Government announced recently that is was about to dismantle the camps and send the refugees back to their villages. There are sixteen video halls in Lira town itself. They are mainly situated around the area of the taxi park, where there are also workshops where casual laborers and manual workers have their workplace. The other video halls are centered around the highway to Kampala where there are also workshops. All video halls that have been researched are made out of wood except for one on the road to Kampala, which is made out of stone. The latter is a real good example for the others. Inside there are six fans hanging on the ceiling bringing some cool air into the video hall. The wooden video halls lack fans and are not very well maintained, to say the least. Despite this lack they are well visited. Already in the early afternoon attendance is much higher compared to the attendance rate of video halls in Kampala and Masaka.


30

In comparison to the video halls in the southern districts of Uganda it is clear that the video halls in Lira town are more prone to adhere to the rules set by local authorities. Even though they are allowed to start operating earlier in the day there are hardly any signs that school going children visit the video halls on the scale in which that happens in towns like Kampala and Masaka. The operators genuinely seem to be more serious about implementing rules. Besides that they seem to be morally more educated and can reason by themselves that it is not right to allow children inside at school hours. Definitely after school is finished children do come. But local authorities are not too strict in their own rules that only people above eighteen should enter the video halls. When it comes to the content of films shown there is no difference with the type of films shown in Lira compared to other towns in Uganda. Most films shown are from the eighties and nineties with much emphasis on the genres ‘action packed’, ‘martial arts’ and again ‘Nigerian movies’ which are very much loved by a wide audience and can sometimes generate a slightly higher entrance fee. The audiences in Lira however have no access to translated films. A professor in Lira has made one film ‘Let Abounya study’, which is in Luo language. It is a hugely popular film in Lira and Gulu and is repeatedly shown and attracts large audiences. There has been one attempt thus far to make a translation in Luo of a foreign film. It was however a bad translation and was not very successful. Ever since, nobody tried to translate a film. However, there is a great need for translated films. There is however a Muganda video hall owner in Lira town who has the equipment to do translations. Because of non existence of translations, films with more dialogue (love stories, detective films, science fiction ((Matrix etc)) ) are not very popular because most visitors simply don’t understand them. There is also clearly a need for films that educate especially children. Because Lira is a war area and is constantly threatened by a possible insurgence of LRA rebels films with themes like war are desired for. Other themes like defilement, women emancipation, battling HIV/Aids are linked to the existence of Internally Displaced Camps where these problems are prevalent. Much more then in the southern region of Uganda video hall operators and the audience are requesting for educational films. They complain that the films that are available are outdated and they show great eagerness to have access to more recent films. Drugs are strictly forbidden in the video halls in Lira, even cigarette smoking. There is one exception. The chewing of marungi is clearly not considered to be an offense. None of the video halls seem to have a problem with it. They all state that it just keeps people awake and that it enhances their sexual ability. There is clearly a culture of marungi chewing in Lira. Outside some of the video


31

halls people freely chew it. A few miles from town there are small marungi plantations that supply it to Lira and beyond. The phenomenon of Nigerian films is also visible in Lira. There are two video halls that specialize in Nigerian films. However others at least on a daily basis show 1 Nigerian film. The demand for Ugandan films is also there. According to questionnaire II (for the audience) Nigerian films are the most popular films. Asked if they would be willing to see Ugandan films and pay a little extra to be able to watch them the audience overwhelmingly said yes. Mainly they want films that focus on Uganda in general. Secondly they want to see films about what affect them personally in the north. Most interviewed people go to the video hall each day. It is clearly a place for socializing and meeting friends besides watching a movie. In comparison to Kampala where the audience has much more access to TV at home, in Lira town that is very minimal. This is one of the main reasons why the numbers of video hall goers is higher in Lira. Most of these regular visitors limit themselves to just one specific video hall to go and watch film.


CLICK HERE for Photo gallery - Lira District: 18 images


32

Busia District Busia District ranks among the poorest regions in Uganda just after Rakai District. Together with Rakai District it is an area with the lowest income per head. Both of them are highly affected by their proximity to the borders with Kenya and Tanzania respectively. Busia town, where the research was conducted is a crossing between Uganda and Kenya and it is the main stop-over for international businessmen and truck drivers who wait here to declare their goods. Due to the lack of variety of leisure facilities these men spend their free time and money either in bars or video halls. These in turn attract the sex trade, including underage women, children and boys, who are often managed by pimps. Hence, local video halls are often used as meeting points for sex workers of all ages and their clients. Underage prostitutes receive between 200 to 500 shillings for their services. Oe interviewer told us that he would even pay a 1000 UGX if he was given a cup of good tea as well. The main products shown here are films translated into Luganda, which originate from the major video libraries in Kampala. As a result the area suffers from high prevalence of child parents and sexual exploitation of children. Thanks to NGO organisations like BUKOF (Busia Compassionate Friends) this problem is being tackled. Smuggling is another “survival” activity of the youth, who often get caught, beaten or shot at by the SRPS (Special Revenue Protection Services) soldiers. The video halls in this area are concentrated along the main highstreet, Jinja Road and the taxi park area. As a result the areas where they are located function as general gathering places and attract other little businesses such as kikumi-kikumi refreshments, hawkers etc. The main clientele of Busia video halls are small and medium businessmen teenagers and prostitutes. Is a multilingual melting pot that is satisfied with films translated into Luganda. Most of the video halls operate within substandard buildings apart from the Evergreen Cinema Vision and the Kasubi Photo Rama, which are located on the same square next to Jinja Road (photos to be found in the photo gallery). The former has the largest screen in town painted on the wall and a projector and is run by an Indian Asian management. The latter operates in a traditional style hut and is run by a Musoga, they are in fierce competition with each other.


33

Most of the interviewees were daily customers, who were interested in Nigerian films, action movies and soccer. The majority was keen to see more local productions.

photo by Katerina Marshfield CLICK HERE for Photo gallery - Busia District: 32 images


34

SESSE ISLANDS

Map 2: Researched Video halls in Kalangala Disctrict, Sesse Islands. Total number: 12 Landing sites: 1-9 1. Kyagalanyi landing site, Bugala Island, “Real Video Hall” 2. Nakatiba landing site, Bugala Island, “Real Video Club” and “Kings Video Club. 3. Muweena landing site, Bugala Island, “Serena Video Club”. Tel. 0772 981124, Michael


35

4. Kachanga landing site, Buwuvu Island, “KB Kachanga”. 5. Misonzi landing site, Lulamba Island, “no name Misonzi video hall”, Happy Video Center. 6. Kitobo landing site, Kitobo Island, “Wutanda video hall”, “Titanic video hall”. 7. Ntuwa landing site, Bunjazi Island, “No-name Ntuwa video hall” 8. Mukaka landing site, Byovu Island, “Mukaka video club”. 9. Kaazi landing site, Bugaba Island, “Kapoyera Video Club”. We visited 9 landing sites and 12 video halls. The Sesse islands population consists of mainly nomadic fishing communities, i.e. men and a small number of families, widowed mothers of fishermen, prostitutes and ambitious small businessmen. As these islands often serve as a refuge for rejected or desperate people such as child mothers, HIV positive people who were stigmatised on the mainland, people looking for a quick source of income and because the local health facilities are very limited, it is estimated4 that over half of the inhabitants are HIV positive. As the local saying goes “some fish for sex”: the main established trades on the islands are fishing and prostitution. As such the main clients of VHs shows are fishermen and their night companions. The children of sex workers also take refuge there as they have nowhere to sleep while their mothers work at home at night. Many video hall owners are aware of this and sometimes let such children watch their sows for free. Two of the VHs we visited on the islands were not operational due to a breakdown of screening equipment. This was mainly due to harsh weather conditions. Despite the efforts of many NGOs to promote agricultural activities on the islands, the majority of the Sesse islands population still follows fish. According to the locals the fishing business is becoming more and more difficult as the numbers of fishermen are too high and the wholesale price of fish too low. As reported their small catch is often destined for one of the 15 fish processing plants that export their product. By the nature of the business local fishing communities are rather mobile and dissolve easily. The presence of video halls on landing sites reflects the nomadic status of the settlements: the more video halls to be found on a landing site – the more stable or prosperous the community. Many video hall owners run other small businesses on the side, such as barber shop, hostel, teaching, trading with clothes and poultry husbandry. Most of them are fishermen during the day and video hall operators in the mornings and at night. There are no shows during the fishing hours, early morning and late night.

4 According to Action Aid reports, one of the very few NGOs operating on the islands.


36

The video halls are known and accepted as meeting points for prostitutes and their clients. The films shown all come from Kampala libraries on boats that bring supplies to the landing sites. Blue movies are in high demand and therefore an essential part of the repertoire. Entrance for pornographic films is 500 UGX, i.e. equal to that of Indian/ Nigerian films and soccer matches. The operators distinguish between “London print” and “Dubai print” of tapes. They are told by the video librarians that all the bad quality tapes belong to the “Dubai-print” category. All the video halls face the challenge of getting fresh video material. The video hall operators often get complaints about being shown films which are “too old”. Another big challenge are the high costs of generating power through generators. The owner of Serena Video Club, who is a full time teacher reported that his efforts to bring educational films to his audiences, meet with interest but viewers refuse to pay for them.

photo by Katerina Marshfield

CLICK HERE for Photo gallery - Sesse Islands: 69 images


37

Index of researched video halls Kampala: 1.Happy Boyz video club, Makindye division, Kampala 2. Lucky Boyz cinema hall, Makindye division, Kampala 3. New Line video hall, Makindye division, Kampala 4. Down Town video hall, Kawempe/Bwaise, Kampala 5. Ashock video hall, KawempeBwaise, Kampala 6. Nkinzi video club, Kawempe/Bwaise, Kampala 7. Gunners video club, Katwe, Kampala 8. Harlem Movie spot, Kisenyi, Kampala 9. Fauster video club, Mengo, Kampala 10. San Siro, Kibuye, Kampala 11. Executive video club, Kibuye, Kampala 12. Alizona video club, Wakulukulu, Kampala 13. BB Video, Nakulabye, Kampala 14. Miami video club, Nakulabye, Kampala 15. No-name-yet, Nakawa, Kampala 16. The best video club, Ntinda, Kampala 17. Davian video club, Kiwatule, Kampala Masaka district: 18. Real video club, Lukaya, Masaka district 19. Nyange video hall, Kyabakuza, Masaka district 20. New Taxi Park video hall, Nyendo, Masaka district 21. Paradise video hall, Nyendo, Masaka district 22. New life hall and patience, Nyendo, Masaka district 23. Ventula video temple, Masaka town, Masaka district 24. Folklands video club, Masaka town, Masaka district 25. New Lovers video hall, Masaka town, Masaka district 26. Masaka Top Video’s, Kinoni, Masaka district Nakasongola district: 27. New Hope video club, Wobulenzi, Luwero district 28. New Rex video hall, Wobulenzi, Luwero district 29. Lwampanga video club, Lwampanga, Nakasongola D. 30 Kyoga video club, Kabugenda, Nakasongola district 31. Zengebe video hall, Zengebe, Nakasongola D 32. Dree video hall, Migera, Nakasongola district 33. Ricardo video club, Nakasongola, Nakasongola D 34. Mobile video hall, Nakasongola, Nakasongola district 35. Holywood video hall, Kakooge, Nakasongola district 36. Kakooge video hall, Kakooge, Nakasongola district


38

Gulu district: 37. Baka entertainment centre, Gulu town, Gulu district 38. Afro cinema hall, Gulu town, Gulu district 39. Lion gate video hall, Gulu town, Gulu district 40. JMK II video hall, Gulu town, Gulu district 41. JK video hall, Lacor, Gulu district 42. KUC video hall, Lacor, Gulu district 43. Oreste video hall apex, Lacor, Gulu district 44. God’s gift video hall, Lacor, Gulu district Lira district: 45. Nampanga video hall, Lira town, Lira district 46. Zumfa video club, Lira town, Lira district 47. PVC video club, Lira town, Lira district 48. Vision video show, Lira town, Lira district 49. Juba Road video show, Lira town, Lira district 50. Afro video club, Lira town, Lira district 51. Quest entertainment Centre, Lira town, Lira district 52. New Iganga video hall, Lira town, Lira district Busia district: 53. Evergreen cinema vision, Busia town 54. Moonlight video show, Busia town 55. Meat pack video hall, Busia town 56. Kasubi photo lama, Busia town 57. Mabros video hall, Busia town 58. Mungano video hall, Busia town Ssese islands: 59. Serena video club, Muweena (Ssese isl.) 60. King video club, Bugalo island (Ssese isl.) 61. Real video club, Kyagalanyi (Ssese isl.) 62. Kakchanga, Buwuvu island (Ssese isl.) 63. No name, Misaanzi (Ssese isl.) 64. Happy video centre, Misoonzi (Ssese isl.) 65. Wutang video club, Kitobo island (Ssese isl.) 66. Titanic video, Kitobo island (Ssese isl.) 67. No name, Ntuwa (Ssese isl.) 68. Kapoyera video club, Kaazi Bugaba (Ssese isl.) Contact names and addresses are available on request.


39

Popular Vee-jays – Story Interpretors Name Speciality Aby (Jinja) Nigerian films (Jimmy) Bakyayita (Kinoisi) action/live translations Byekwaso (Kibuye, Kampala) all genres Caros (Freeway Video Library) all genres Ciaoline (or Choualy, Romeo Video Library) all genres CMK (‘New Wow’ Malaba) all genres Dokter (New Standard Video Library) all genres Emmy (Romeo Video Library) all genres Happy all genres Henrico (Katwe) all genres Hercules (New Standard, Bwaise) all genres Jamada Hindu films Jingo Timothy (KB Video Library Kajjansi) action films Kasirye Abdul (KK Video Library Kajjansi) action films/love stories Kasule Khris (or Cris, Romeo Video Library) all genres Kiwa (KT Video Library, Matuga) action films Kiwanuka (Kats Video Library) all genres Kisule Moses (Jinja) Nigerian, sci fi Kushnufo all genres Lukowe live translations Imran Lule Hindu films Mark adventures, sci fi/ true stories Markus (aka King of kings) all genres for university audiences Master Trouble all genres Mister Hollywood all genres MM all genres Mose (New Rex Video Hall Wobulenzi, Twinex) action/ war films/ martial arts Nasser (Freeway Video Library) Nigerian, love stories Nilekano (Kyotera – Rakai District) all genres Prince Nakibinge Joel (Quest Video Library, Katwe) all genres Mutebi Ronald or Q (Q Video Library, Bwaise) all genres Mwesigwa (Romeo Video Library) all genres Sabanja all genres Sewa all genres Shokran (Shokhau) all genres Ivan Ssali (FBK Video Library, Nateete) love story Tom all genres


40

Conclusion The research into the content and audiences of video halls in Uganda 2005 clearly shows that Uganda’s video halls is a large untapped distribution network of “infotaiment” to underprivileged (grassroot) communities. This network is not only organized, under the umbrella of UVOA but it is generally open to outside help and intervention. Since the beginning of the collaboration between external researchers (as noted above), the Amakula Kampala International Film Festival and UVOA there has been a great change in the image of video halls. Instead of being perceived as places facing the wrath of the government and therefore suffering frequent closure, video halls are now recognized as a lawful and respectable business if conducted under the regulations issued by UVOA. Thanks to the research which has been used to organize Amakula Festival in the Slums 2005 and 2006 and the now annual VJ slam, a competition in live interpretation/ translation into local languages, the phenomenon of video halls has gained interest among the public and institution looking for reaching VH communities. The video hall industry is thus perceived as a unique artistic as well as efficient means of expression and information transfer. What next The research identified four main areas that are vital for further development of video halls as reputable centers of infotainment. 1. Though VHs owners and operators express their interest in the suggestion

to bring more local, varied and educational/ informative content to their audiences and to respect their specific needs, their access to such materials and their expertise in how to select them is very limited.

2. Likewise, the audiences are hungry for films that they can relate to and

that can not only entertain them but also inspire and motivate them by sharing with them knowledge and skills that can be helpful in improving their lifestyles.

3. Thanks to the research and orientation workshops organized for the VJs,

there is also a growing demand for training in practical skills such as quality dubbing and translation techniques

4. The main concern of local Ugandan film makers, who are growing keen to

screen their work in VHs, is the implementation of a copyright law that will protect their artistic merits.


41

The vision and goal of a new foundation which is being formed by the research team of the above study is to cater for these needs by organizing following events and providing relevant support by:

1. Establishing an extensive central library and lawful access to relevant infotainment materials and materials with local content.

2. Organizing practical workshops in dubbing/ subtitle technology and

translation techniques for VJs.

3. Instigating the production of video material with local content through production workshops with grassroots and underprivileged communities such as vulnerable youth and women with the help of professional trainers from Uganda and abroad.

4. Tackling the issues of implementing copyright law through seminars that

should help both relevant legal institutions and the VHS industry stakeholders to develop and devise effective means of protecting the copyright of local/ international film makers while insuring growing business prospects for the VH industry.

The sponsorship of any of these activities is open to interested parties.


42

Appendix I Table 1 Average daily video hall attendance (by location) 261

260 240 220 212 200 196 198 180 160 140 120 113 100 103

80 72 60 40 20

No. of Viewers Kampala Masaka Nakasongola Gulu Lira Busia Ssese Islands

Locations

Table 2 Number of films shown daily (by location) Kampala (17 video halls)

8 7 7 6 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 0

No. of VHs 4 shows 5 shows 6 shows 7 shows 8 shows 9 shows No. of shows


43

Masaka (9 video halls)

8 7 6 5 5 4 3 2 2 1 1 1

No. of VHs 4 shows 5 shows 6 shows 7 shows No. of shows

Gulu (8 video halls)

8 7 6 5 4 4 3 3 2 1 1 0

No. of VHs 4 shows 5 shows 6 shows 7 shows No. of shows

Lira (8 video halls)

8 7 6 5 4 4 3 2 2 2 1

No. of VHs 4 shows 5 shows 6 shows No. of shows


44

Nakasongola (10 video halls)

8 7 6 5 4 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1

No. of VHs 1 show 2 shows 3 shows 4 shows 5 shows No. of shows

Busia (6 video halls)

8 7 6 5 4 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 0 0

No. of VHs 1 show 2 shows 3 shows 4 shows 5 shows 6 shows No. of shows

Ssese islands (10 video halls)

8 7 6 6 5 4 3 3 2 1 1 0 0 0

No. of VHs 1 show 2 shows 3 shows 4 shows 5 shows 6 shows No. of shows


45

Table 3 Religious affiliation of video hall owners/operators 40

28 Muslim Christian Table 4

Ethnic background of video hall owners/operators

35 9 7 5 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 Muganda Acholi Musoga Langi Musamia Muruli Lugbara Muhindi Nigerian Munyakole Munyarwanda Mutoro Japadola


46

Table 5

Interviewees: Gender Balance 64 64 60 56 52 48 44 40 36 32 28 27 28 24 25 24 23 23 23 20 16 17 12 6 5 8 4 3 2 4

Male Female Male Female Male female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Kampala Masaka Nakasongola Gulu Lira Busia Ssese Islands

Table 6.1 Interviewees Kampala (88): visit VH how many days a week

52 51 48 44 40 36 32 28 24 20 16 14 12 9 10 8 3 1 4 0

No. of Interviewees One day Two Three Four Five Six Seven

No. of days


47

Table 6.2 Interviewees Masaka (27): visit VH how many days a week

20 18 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 3 3 4 1 2 2 0 0

No. of Interviewees One day Two Three Four Five Six Seven No. of days Table 6.3 Interviewees Nakasongola (28): visit VH how many days a week

20 17 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 4 4 2 1 2 0 0

No. of Interviewees One day Two Three Four Five Six Seven No. of days


48

Table 6.4 Interviewees Lira (29): visit VH how many days a week 20

20 18 16 14 12 10 7 8 6 4 2 2 0 0 0 0


No. of days

Table 6.5 Interviewees Gulu (34): visit VH how many days a week

22 20 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 5 6 6 4 2 1 2 0 0


No. of days


49

Table 6.6 Interviewees Busia (28): visit VH how many days a week

24 23 22 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 1 2 1 1 2 0 0

No. of Interviewees One day Two Three Four Five Six Seven No. of days Table 6.7 Interviewees Ssese islands (40): visit VH how many days a week

26 24 24 22 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 8 6 3 4 1 2 2 2 0


No. of days


50

Table 7.1 Kampala interviewees (88): educational level 16 15 15 14 13 12 11 10 10 10 10 9 8 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 4 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 1

P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 UNI NO EDU

Table 7.2 Masaka interviewees (27): educational level 10 9 8 8 7 6 5 4 3 3 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 S1 S2 S3 S4 S6 University


51

Table 7.3 Nakasongola interviewees (28): educational level

10 9 8 7 6 4 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1

P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 S1 S2 S3 S4 S6 University No school Table 7.4 Gulu interviewees (34): educational level 11

11 10 9 8 7 6 6 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 1 1

P3 P5 P7 S1 S2 S3 S4 S6


52

Table 7.5 Lira interviewees (29): educational level

10 9 9 8 7 6 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 1

P5 P6 P7 S1 S2 S3 S4 S6 Table 7.6 Busia interviewees (28): educational level

10 9 8 8 7 6 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1

P2 P4 P5 P6 P7 S1 S2 S3 S4 Table 7.7 Ssese islands interviewees (40): educational level

15 14 13 12 11 10 9 9 8 8 7 6 5 5 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1

Nursery P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 S1 S2 S3 S4 S5


53

Table 8.1 Kampala interviewees (88): profession

34 33 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 18 16 14 12 10 10 9 8 7 4 6 5 5 5 4 2 2 3 3 2

Student Business Driver Shop Manual Mechanic VH Builder Taxi Barber Others No job man attendant worker operator conductor

Table 8.2 Masaka interviewees (27): profession

8 7 7 6 5 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1

Student Boda boda Barber Builder VH Fishmonger Butcher Mechanic Midwife Driver Business Other

operator man Table 8.3 Nakasongola interviewees (28): profession

8 7 6 6 6 6 5 5 4 3 3 2 2 1

Fisherman Student Hair Farmer Boda boda Others dresser


54

Table 8.4 Gulu interviewees (34): profession 17 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 5 4 4 4 3 2 2 1 1 1

Student Business Boda boda Farmer Church Brick No job man worker layer

Table 8.5 Lira interviewees (29): profession 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 1

Student Business Farmer VH Others No job man operator


55

Table 8.6 Busia interviewees (28): profession

10 9 8 7 7 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1

Student Business Driver VH Farmer Boda boda Cook Police Custom Others No job man operator officer officer

Table 8.7 Ssese islands interviewees (40): profession

16 16 14 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1

Student Business Fisher- Nurse Catering Barber Teacher Shop Phone VH No Job man man Keeper operator operator


56

Table 9.1 Kampala interviewees (88): most popular genres

37 36 34 32 32 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 18 18 16 14 12 12 10 8 8 8 7 6 4

4 3 2 1 2

Nigerian Action Love Horror Detective War films Martial Adven- Indian Comedy SF Blue movie story arts ture

Table 9.2 Masaka interviewees (27): most popular genres

20 18 16 14 13 12 10 10 10 8 6 3 4 3 4 4 1 1 1 2

Nigerian Action Love Horror Detective War films Martial Adven- Indian Soccer story ture

Table 9.3

Nakasongola interviewees (28): most popular genres 16

16 14 12 12 10 8 8 6


57

6 4 1 1 2 1 2

Nigerian Action Love Horror War films Martial Adven- Indian story ture

Table 9.4

Gulu interviewees (34): most popular genres

24

24 22 20 18 16 14 12 10 10 7 8 5 6 6 4 2 1 3 2

Nigerian Action Love Music Comedy Detective War film Martial story arts

Table 9.5 Lira interviewees (29): most popular genre

24 22 22 20 18 15 15 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 1 2 2 1 1 1 2

Nigerian Action Love Comedy War films Martial Adven- Soccer Music story arts ture


58

Table 9.6 Busia interviewees (28): most popular genre

24 22 19 20 18 16 14 12 12 11 10 9 8 6 4 4 3 4 2 1 1 2 2 2

Nigerian Action Love Comedy War films Martial Adven- Soccer Music Blue Indian Horror story arts ture movies

Table 9.7

Ssese islands interviewees (40): most popular genre 28

28 26 24 22 20 18 16 15 14 12 10 8 8 8 6 6 3 4 1 2 1 2 1 2

Nigerian Action Love War Martial Adven- Detective Horror Cartoons Drama Educational packed stories arts ture Luganda


59

Table 9.8 Total interviewees (234): most popular genre in Uganda 130 125 122 120 115 110 105 100 97

95 90 85 80 75 70 65 62 60 55 50 45 40 35 35 32 30 29 29 25 20 15 15 12 11 10 7 3 5

Nigerian Action Love War Martial Adven- Comedy Horror Music Detective Indian Blue movie packed stories arts ture


60

Table 10 Interviewees: TV at home 53

50 48 46 44 42 40 38 36 35 34 32 32 30 28 26 26 23 25 24 22 22 20 18 16 16 14 12 11 9 10 8 8 6 6 6 4 2 2

yes no yes no yes no yes no yes no yes no yes no Kampala Masaka Ssese Isl. Busia Nakasongola Lira Gulu -88 -27 -40 -28 -28 -29 -34

No data for Busia and Sesse Islands available


61

Table 11 Is the video hall comfortable? 58

46 44 42 40 38 36 34 32 30 30 30 28 25 26 24 21 22 21 20 20 18 16 16 13 14 12 11 10

10 7 8 8 6 4 4 2

Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Kampala Masaka Nakasongola Gulu Lira Busia Ssese islands


62

Table 12

Are audiences interested in seeing Ugandan films? 40 39 38 36 34 34 32 28 30 28 28 27 26 24 22 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 1 1 2 0 0 0

Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Kampala Masaka Nakasongola Gulu Lira Ssese islands


63

Table 13

Are audiences willing to pay more for a Ugandan movie? 39 36 34 32 30 28 28 27 26 25 24 22 22 20 18 16 14 12 10 7 8 6 6 4 2 1 1 2

Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Kampala Masaka Nakasongola Gulu Lira Ssese islands


64

Table 14 Masaka interviewees: what should Ugandan films be about

10 9 8 8 7 7 6 5 5 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 1

Culture Support Family Agri- Educative Martal Interesting local film culture arts films Table 15 Nakasongola interviewees: what should Ugandan films be about

10 9 8 7 7 6 5 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 1

Culture Support Family Agri- Educative Martial HIV/Aids No idea local film culture arts Table 16 Gulu interviewees: what should Ugandan films be about 14

14 13 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 3 2 3 1 1

Culture Support HIV/AIDS War in No idea local film North


65

Table 17 Lira interviewees: what should Ugandan films be about

15 14 13 12 12 11 10 9 8 7 7 6 5 5 4 3 3 2 2 1

Culture Support HIV/AIDS War in Lira town local film North Table 18

Translations/ interpretations in local language wanted (Luganda & Luo) 58 44 42 40 38 37 36 34 31 32 30 30 28 25 26 23 24 24 22 22 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 5 6 6 3 3 4 3 4 2

Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Kampala Masaka Nakasongola Gulu Lira Busia Ssese islands


66

Table 19

Most popular translator used by video halls (Kampala, Masaka, Nakasongola, Busia, Ssese islands)

48 42 40 38 36 34 32 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 18 18 16 15 14 12 10 8 6 5 4 4 5 4 4 4 3 2

Jingo KK Mark Mose Shokran Khris Romeo Kisule Q Abby Jimmy Bakyayita As mentioned by the video hall owners (more then one was possible)


67

Appendix II Photogallery Kampala 45 images

Masaka 8 images Nakasongola 2 images Gulu 8 images Lira 18 images Busia 32 images Sesse Islands 69 images Research Team 4 images VJs 2 images

SURVEY OF CONTENT AND AUDIENCES OF VIDEO HALLS IN UGANDA 2005

Documents

Transcript of SURVEY OF CONTENT AND AUDIENCES OF VIDEO HALLS IN UGANDA 2005