- Founded by Isaac Nabwana
Isaac Nabwana was born in Wakaliga and still lives there today with his wife Harriet and three children. He started Wakaliwood in 2005 after he became a fan by hearing his older brother passionately describing Hollywood action movies and not watching them due to lack of access. By listening to his brother, he came up with the idea to create his film studio.
- Straight out of Wakaliga
Wakaliga is a slum in Uganda’s capital city Kampala. It is in Central Kampala and has a population of about 2000 people. The Wakaliwood compound sits in one of the lowest and most flood-prone areas in Wakaliga.
- The new Hollywood
The name Wakaliwood was derived from the area name Wakali in combination with the word “Hollywood”, which echoes the wordplay of “Nollywood” from Nigeria and India’s “Bollywood”.
- Action-packed movies
Wakaliwood draws a lot of its inspiration from old Hollywood action movies as well as kung-fu. The movies are action-packed and filled with martial arts.
- The actors and actresses are from Wakaliga
The actors and actresses are all from Wakaliga. Nabwana has often also used a lot of the local street children in his films. The actors are not paid; however, they do receive a margin of the DVD proceeds and use that to meet their basic needs.
Don’t miss the Wakaliwood Festival starting 2 January and running until 30 January, every Monday to Saturday at 9:30 pm on Maisha Magic Movies.