By: Trevor Chartrand

Many B-Movie enthusiasts are likely familiar with the squib-bursting insanity of Who Killed Captain Alex?, the Ugandan action movie with a violent – and loud – viral trailer on YouTube.  Shot in an impoverished slum, the film is creative with its budget, which reportedly was less than $200.  The movie is absurdly violent.  It’s goofy, it’s strange, and it looks and sounds terrible.  But, Captain Alex is also a film with a ton of ambition and a whole world of heart.  Now, with director Cathryne Czubek’s documentary Once Upon a Time in Uganda, audiences will get to see the passion and soul of the man behind the ‘Wakaliwood’ movies: the incredible filmmaker Nabwana Isaac Geoffrey Godfrey (aka. Crazy World’s Nabwana I.G.G.).

A perfect fish-out-of-water story, this documentary follows New York native Alex Hofmanis; a fan of Isaac’s work on Captain Alex.  After a tough breakup, and with nothing to lose, the young man travels to Uganda specifically to meet Isaac, and strikes an immediate bond with the action movie director.  Through Alex’s eyes, we are introduced to the day-to-day culture of the Ramon Film Productions offices, a chaotic world where electricity is scarce and indoor plumbing even more so.  Despite this, Isaac and his crew manage to make a new film every month.  Clearly, these are people with an unstoppable dream.  Inspired by their creativity, Alex ends up staying in Uganda, joining the production team as well as working public outreach – an effort to market his films to the masses.

The documentary showcases Isaac’s creativity and ingenuity, as well as his belief in his community.  While he’s passionate about his art, he also has a sense of humour about it – he knows he’s not winning any Oscars here.  He’s very much the plucky underdog, building janky props out of scrap metal, and blowing up toy cars on film.  In spite of his budgetary restraints, Isaac makes films about what’s most important to him – he’s telling empowering stories about his nation, and having a hell of a lot of fun while doing it. 

Once Upon a Time in Uganda is very much a love letter to Isaac and his films – but it’s also the story of his very unique friendship with Alex.  Isaac comes across as an artist with his heart on his sleeve, who lives in the moment and goes where the work takes him.  Alex, on the other hand, is much more aggressively goal oriented, often missing the bigger picture.  They see the world differently, which causes tension between them. 

Now this next bit is admittedly, pure speculation, but the narrative in this documentary feels almost too perfect, to the point where we’re following the three-act story structure, nearly seamlessly.  I suspect a period of disagreement between Alex and Isaac was greatly exaggerated in post to manufacture a larger divide between them.  In all fairness, the choice does give the film stakes and ultimately elevates the story being told.  Creative license in art is a necessary evil, but these (again, alleged) contrivances seem too telling at times.  Having said that, this point is also a testament to the filmmakers and their comprehensive understanding of storytelling as a whole.

Ultimately, Once Upon a Time in Uganda gets a resounding recommendation from me, especially for anyone with a similar enthusiasm for ‘so-bad-it’s-good’ movie culture or DIY filmmaking.  Even those without this niche interest will find themselves captivated by Isaccs as a role model – he’s an ambitious man who pursues his dreams indefinitely, yes, but he’s also humble and patient, with a strong commitment to his community.

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Trevor Chartrand: @OhHaiTrebor