HIV/AIDS comes to the big screen

Movies in Uganda are usually imported from Hollywood, India's 'Bollywood' or Nigeria's 'Nollywood', but a new film sets out to develop the local industry and tackle one of the biggest stories - the AIDS pandemic.

"I wanted to make a film that would portray today's life in Uganda," said first-time director Cindy Magara. "You dig deep in any area of Ugandan life, in any section of society, and you find AIDS, so AIDS had to come in."

'Fate', a low-budget, privately funded film, premiered at the end of July in the capital, Kampala, and is also being shown at cinemas in two other large towns, Entebbe and Jinja.

It tells the story of Kate Komuntale, a highflying thirty-something corporate executive who has it all, except for a husband and children. Kate's mother pleads with her to provide a grandchild and soon societal pressure starts to bite as friends and colleagues tie the knot.

When charming intelligence officer Ken Bagonzo walks into her life, Kate doesn't think twice; she likes him and he likes kids. The trouble is that he also likes money, her money. Before long, the once confident professional is cowed by her husband's abuse and humiliated by his philandering. When she falls ill, she discovers she has HIV.

"Ken is the bad guy, but you later discover that he is the way he is because he was orphaned by AIDS early on in his life, and when he eventually came to town he too was infected by a 'sugar mummy'," said Allie Mutaka, who plays Ken. "He then swears revenge on all womankind, and that is why he becomes so antagonistic."

The film's message is clear: women's lives should not be predetermined by society's expectations; they should be given the space to make their own decisions. Magara says she hopes parents who see the film might think differently about cajoling their daughters into making choices. "If you are pressured to take a decision," she said, "you make a wrong decision."

Fate also suggests that by accepting and talking openly about their HIV status, people can find a new lease of life. "When Kate has the courage to tell her nine-year-old son ... she has AIDS, he is a source of strength for her, they grow closer. I'd like parents to have the courage to tell their children," Magara said. "And when she tells her bosses they are also very positive."

She would like to take the message that infected people and their families can live with HIV and fight it positively far beyond Kampala. Magara is in talks with Makerere University's Institute of Languages about translating the film into local Ugandan languages, but is also aiming at wider distribution.

"AIDS isn't just an individual problem or a Ugandan problem, it is a worldwide problem. Here people can talk about AIDS, but in other countries they keep quiet about it, and now they are dying like people did in Uganda in the 80s, so I'd like to show the film in Tanzania, in Ethiopia and Rwanda."