Bad Black

Bad Black (2017)

Runtime: 68 minutes

Directed by: Nabwana I.G.G.

Starring: Nalwanga Gloria, Alan Hofmanis, Bisaso Dauda, Bukenya Charles, Kiztio Robert

From: Ramon Film Productions

Last night was one of my favorite movie-going experiences of all time. I wish that more people would have been there, but I am glad my high expectations were satisfied, and then some. If you've seen anything from Who Killed Captain Alex?, it's those same people. Watching this was a blast, but there was a lot more to the night than just the film, as you'll see below:

Ever since I found out a few weeks ago that I had the chance to see this movie on the big screen, I was greatly looking forward to the opportunity. I presume many are familiar with the 2010 Ugandan movie Who Killed Captain Alex? If not, it was Uganda's first action movie and was done by what is known as Wakaliwood; it's located in Wakaliga, a small and poor neighborhood in Kampala, Uganda. I was able to see Captain Alex last year and I greatly enjoyed its insanity and the do it yourself special effects, which were charmingly simplistic. Anyhow, they've been making movies for years but most of them don't make the West. After all, they are all still done for the residents of Wakaliga. But this movie is now making the rounds across the world, and Orlando was only the second appearance in the United States, after Fantastic Fest. I don't know about Friday night's screening, but there weren't too many at last night's screening, and that is a crying shame.

In attendance was Alan Hofmanis and what a story he has; he is from New York and after he saw the trailer for Captain Alex on YouTube years ago he went to Uganda to see what it was all about, and he's stayed there ever since. He assists but everything is still run by the guy known as Nabwana I.G.G. He films multiple movies simultaneously and everything is edited on homemade computers; between that and how all the actors have to bring their own clothing and props... it's amazing how something done for a small group of locals has become a worldwide cult hit. I can say that it is OK for people to laugh at those films, as the locals laugh the loudest.

I don't want to give much away about the plot, as a lot of the plot was not knowing what to expect. For awhile now the opening scene has been on YouTube, where a guy known as “Ugandan Schwarzenegger” robs a bank so he can pay the bills for his sick wife. That ends up becoming part of the story but most of it follows a few different subplots. Basically, there is a character known as Bad Black, the universal theme of the rich vs. the poor is explored and Hofmanis is in the movie, as an American doctor. He has some moments with a young boy who has the name WESLEY SNIPES. That child is not the only entertaining child character you get to see.

It is clear that for those of you who love the old action movies-like I do-so do these filmmakers. You often hear names such as Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Van Damme, and Willis. This includes the immortal line of dialogue, “Stallone should fight a crocodile”, and hell yeah to that idea. By the way, the doctor is not a White Man Savior character and instead is made fun of.

While they've made plenty of movies and thus it's technically more polished than Captain Alex, it still has the insanity and rough do it yourself vibe of that film. If someone wanted to they could nitpick it to death, but like I said it's done by the residents of a small community for themselves and their mates, so that'd be a real killjoy thing to do, and I won't be doing that. The special effects are as charmingly bad as ever. This film has action, melodrama, and much to my delight, VJ Emmie.

I now know this was born from what's been done for years there... they used to show Hollywood movies on TV screens and while a lot could be gleaned from the movie without understanding the language, the VJ would explain the plot... or rather, he guessed as best he could as they wouldn't know English either. Thus, in Captain Alex and all their other movies, Emmie makes various comments throughout, whether serious or joking. This and Captain Alex are both subtitled and Bad Black has plenty of English dialogue but Emmie is so entertaining I was glad he was around.

While not a gigantic crowd, at least they loved this movie as much as I did. After the movie Hofmanis talked about it and did a short Q&A. It made me even further admire how much of a grassroots thing it is and how many people contribute to make multiple movies at the same time. I also now know that it was by accident that covers of songs by ABBA and Seal appeared in Captain Alex; Nabwana enjoyed the tunes but did not know they were popular tunes. They are now more careful of such things. After the Q&A, everyone went to the lobby; there were various props, awesome hand-painted Wakaliwood posters and various merchandise. For only 10 bucks I purchased a DVD of Captain Alex (the only film they had available), some stickers/magnets and two stupendous hand-sewn patches. The first advertised Wakaliwood but the second said YOU SON OF A BITCH and yes a legendary moment from Predator was below. I was more than happy to give them some of my money.

The entire experience was 5 stars and among the best times I have ever had at the movies. I loved being able to see this on the big screen and if anyone has that opportunity, I give my highest recommendations to go. I am ecstatic that their recent Kickstarter was a giant success, as that should allow this small community to continue making films (action, horror, and otherwise; Nabwana wants to make a serious film about the Ugandan Civil War one day) for years to come, movies that are made for an insular world but can be enjoyed all around the world and be admired by all movie fans as these people love films as much as we do, and they try their best with what limited resources they have. It will be a treat watching motion pictures from them in the future.