When Loukman Ali shot and availed his short film, The Blind Date, film and art lovers had nothing short of praise for the filmmaker’s craft. It was not an easy job for the most bitter critics neither because well, it takes heart to write off a piece of art the first son himself gave a nod on Twitter.
Fast forward, he is in the news yet again for making cinematic history as the first Ugandan director to have his movie accepted on Netflix.
In an exclusive interview, Matooke Republic engages the game-changing filmmaker on all things film, Netflix, Sixteen Rounds, and Loukman Ali, the artist.
The name Loukman Ali has grown popular as a result of the A-class work it represents. Briefly highlight who Loukman Ali the artist is.
Ayayay. That’s a very hard question for me. I don’t think I have a separation between Loukman the artist and Loukman the other person. Being an artist is more of my identity. You can tell the kind of person I am by just looking at the kind of work that I do.
Before the film, rendering, video directing, and the commercials, what are the artistic grassroots?
I remember back in P.1, teachers in other classes always called me to draw charts for their classes. I was always puzzled as to why they couldn’t ask kids in their own classes to draw. I thought drawing was an ability that naturally occurred to everybody. I didn’t know it was some sort of special ability. I was pretty much drawing my entire life and that was certainly was the root of my creative side.
Would you affirm yourself as a multi-disciplinary creative? If no, briefly, why?
Art is more interesting when you do not know everything about it. Like currently, I am more interested in writing because I am terrible at it. It sort of gives you a buzz when you are doing it. Initially, I was drawing, then drawing became easy. So, writing still gives me a buzz and challenge to learn something new because I have never gotten bored with it. So yes, it is safe to say I am a multi-disciplinary creative.
You are breaking glass ceilings because of film making, are your efforts currently centered on film making?
Yes. I feel like filmmaking brings out all the other artistic elements within me. Because well, I get to write, I get to direct, I get to draw. I pretty much do everything that I have been learning to do in the film. That is where I am right now and for the foreseeable future, I might just be there.
When did you make the decision to join film making?
I think it was at the time I was doing some music videos. I did a music video for an artist and I had a loop of feedback that lasted for almost a month. Change that, move that, remove that, etc. It got so frustrating for me at that point I figured I was not going to be doing things for other people. I chose to do things for myself because I know how to satisfy myself as a client.
So, what I do now if I do a job for a client, say, a commercial, I have to do a job for me to kind of balance out the frustration from the client. So, the more movies you see me doing, simply beware I am trying to counter the frustrating energy I receive while dealing with other clients besides myself.
Movies to me are kind of therapy in a way.
The Ugandan film industry is poorly, if not, almost not funded, do you find yourself dealing with more than a director should handle due to funding issues?
Yes. I find myself having to wear a lot of hats due to the funding issue. It’s quite normal for me now. I have to look for the money, write and all those other things. It’s not like I don’t enjoy the process. Of course, there will be frustrations but those make for the least.
As we get into the Netflix discussion, your movies have made a stellar reputation for their game-changing quality. From the cast to the picture quality and story. What philosophy has driven you to these magnitudes of excellence?
I wouldn’t really call myself excellent because I am a student of cinema and I am just learning to do most of these things. My idea is usually to make myself happy with my work. This is because, when I am happy, people are also happy with my work. I am certain I know what is good for my audience.
Talking movies, a huge buzz has been surrounding your Sixteen Rounds movie, with billboards in town to market the content. On the other note, Uganda’s first Netflix movie, The Girl in The Yellow Jumper, is also your movie. Of the two movies, to which do you have more sentimental attachment and why?
The film I was happiest with for me was Sixteen Rounds, where I was like 80% happy. It’s the one that got the most views online. That is because it is the latest one and when it comes to art, the latest drawing is the one you like the most because the previous work is always a learning process that leads to improvement with each and every new work.
The Girl in the Yellow Jumper was made in 2019, Sixteen Rounds was made this year, so I can’t be the same guy I was in 2019.
In fact, 2019 was the first time I wrote for a film and there is so much I know right now about writing that I didn’t know then.
Your movie just got a nod to be on Netflix. It will also be the very first Ugandan film on Netflix. How did you get in contact with Netflix?
What happened is that after making the movie, the trailer was awesome and it got me a couple of connections. Some people watched the trailer and contacted me. Someone then told me they knew the person responsible for acquisition at Netflix. They, therefore, put me in touch with the lady. The lady told me she had as well seen the trailer and Netflix might be interested in it.
I was then told to get in touch with the company that does distribution in order to make it happen. I contacted them, we did a distribution deal and then I left everything to them then they kind of connected with Netflix thereon.
What does it take to have one’s movie approved by Netflix?
Now that Netflix was not buying movies from Uganda, I guess whichever movie they were taking on had to sort of cut across the regions in which they were doing business. For example, they were buying from Kenya and therefore I guess the kind of movie one has to make in Uganda should have the ability to cut across to the Kenyan market.
Nevertheless, I am not absolutely sure but they do have standards of course.
I cannot say that The Girl in The Yellow Jumper is the best movie from Uganda, obviously not, but I guess it is the one that was sent through.
To attain the picture and story quality needed for a Netflix movie, even when on budget, it still takes incredible finances to pull it off? Do you fund your own movies?
I have a day job. I just make sure I use less than I earn. I then waste the rest on movies. Film-making is more like therapy when am away from my daytime job. It’s more of a thing that I do that keeps me sane to keep functioning properly.
Most people in the arts sector fear investing appropriately in the sector because it is hard to get back a return on investment in Uganda. How are you planning on making consistent financial returns?
My plan is to make content that can cross borders so that I don’t have to rely on the Ugandan market only. Of course, I will continue making movies from Ugandans because I know there are Ugandans out there that yearn for stuff like this. Most of the people back home have this thing where they don’t watch Ugandan things because they don’t trust the Ugandan quality. When I am working, I keep that in mind.
Now that the Netflix nod is here, what next from Loukout Films?
I knew about the Netflix nod for months and I guess that is why I am not as excited as I should be. I am simply going to keep doing more things. It’s now easier for me to plan. If I make a movie, I know where to take it. Nothing is really going to change; I will just focus on making better things.
Michael Wawuyo had a stellar performance in Sixteen Rounds. What process do you go through while casting and how involved do you get in bringing the best out of your characters?
Every movie I make, I usually put out an audition call. But usually, after watching some of the audition tapes, you end up going back to the very same old people you were using. There is a reason for that. Most people do not take the industry seriously; they think it is simply a gimmick.
Can you imagine people doing that for a craft such as dentistry, whereby, over the weekend, they walk in and say, please allow me to do a bit of surgery? It takes skill and time. So, I usually send out my script to them and share ideas about the character they are playing and let them have fun with it. In some cases, I share references to performances of movies that I like and have them use that to build onto their performance.
What is your work ethic? I have seen some posts revealing that you have had to stay up for days working on projects.
Yeah, there are times I have stayed up for like three days straight without sleep. It is a lot of work. You know people tend to see the results and no one really cares about the process. I see someone and they are like, I really want to work with you but they are not willing to pay the price. They are going out and all. I for one never go out. There are things I never do and I wouldn’t ask someone to take the same path if they weren’t really getting what I get out of it.
Some people come to me thinking it is something out of which they will make quick money. It might not be worth it. I see a lot of young people, who say, I also want to do that. But they only look at the result and not the process.
However, I am very much willing to give away all my money and all my time at the expense of losing friendships just to do what I want to do.
I haven’t even reached there, so you can only imagine what more I am yet to lose. As I said, this is a kind of therapy for me, so it is something that I have to do.
As a parting shot, what should your fans look out for in the upcoming sequel of Sixteen Rounds, Ddamba?
It is going to be a feature film, therefore, I guess it is bound to be a little longer. A lit bit more action, it is going to be for paying. So, you should start saving that money. If cinemas are open, it will be availed there. If they are not, it might probably be sold online. People should expect it sometime next year.