Country: UGANDA/SOUTH AFRICA

Format: HD
Genre: Socio-realism drama
Language: English/Luganda/Ugandan Sign Language
Release: 2010
LOGLINE
"Obusilise Bwogezi" (Silence Speaks)

SYNOPSIS
"YOGERA", is an urban social-realism drama about communication, love, family
and friendship.

Following the recent death of her mother, HOPE, a deaf mute runs away from the
countryside to live in the big city with her twin sister, G. G is not ready for the
responsibility that a deaf mute bears in a modern city like Kampala.
Following a fight with her sister, HOPE disappears and wanders around the city
while experiencing the challenges and cruelty that a modern city possesses for a
person like her. Worried about what could happen to her sister, G sets out to find
her.

CAST
CLEOPATRA KOHEIRWE as Hope

Cleopatra Koheirwe was a member of the popular and sensational music, dance
& drama group, OBSESSIONS for the years 2001 to 2007.

She holds a honours degree in Social Sciences which she earned at Makerere
University and a certificate in Journalism from the University of South Africa
(UNISA). She has worked in television and radio as a presenter.

She has acted in 'The Last King of Scotland' in 2006 as Joy. In 2008, she was
given a supporting role in a new East African TV series called 'Changes'.

KYAGULANYI “Bobi Wine” SSENTAMU as Papa

Born on the 12th of February in 1982 in Mpigi District south west of Kampala
capital, Robert Kyagulanyi and nine other siblings joined into the harsh life of
ghetto living in Kamwokya, one of the worst slums of Kampala
He is a holder of a bachelor’s degree in music dance and drama at the
prestigious Makerere University. Bobi Wine’s repertoire includes albums like
‘Kagoma, Namulime, Wendi, Bada, Kiwani Mazimawanvu to mention but a few.
He is also the holder of 3 Pearl Of Africa Music Awards including Artist of the
year 2006. He has performed in Sweden, England, USA, South Africa and all over
East Africa. He has also been featured on almost every major concert in Uganda
including concerts featuring international artists like T.O.K, Shaggy, Chaka Demus
& Pliers, Sean Paul, Buju Banton.

In 2006, he starred in a lead role in, DIVIZIONZ a guerrilla social realism drama
about a group of 4 youth from a poor neighborhood who struggle to get to the
big city to pursue their dream of being musicians.

BUGEMBE “Buchaman” MARK as Sweeper

28 year old Mark 'Buchaman' Bugembe was born and raised in the Mukono
ghettos. He chose the stage name Buchaman because most of his family
members were butchers. He is the vice-president of the Ghetto Republic of
Uganja with Bobi Wine as president.

In 2006, he appeared in DIVIZIONZ a guerrilla social realism drama about a

group of 4 youth from a poor neighborhood who struggle to get to the big city to
pursue their dream of being musicians.

OLEM ‘Lot’ BONNY as Ninini

Born Olot Bonny Olem on 27th-August 1982, in Atapara medical dispensary in

Oyam District Northern Uganda. He grew up in several villages within Oyam
district with different relatives till the age of six when he joined his parents Sgt.
Olem Vincent (RIP) of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Band and Akullu
Jacinta (RIP) in Gaddafi military barracks in Jinja. He only lived with his family
for four years before his dad passed away.

Lot made his first film appearance as a lead character in 'The Tragedies of
Galdino' which the school drama club of Nakasongola Army Secondary had
earlier performed as a stage play. In 2006, he also appeared in DIVIZIONZ a
guerrilla social realism drama about a group of 4 youth from a poor
neighborhood who struggle to get to the big city to pursue their dream of being
musicians.

HELEN LUKOMA as Lu

This singer, actress and model is the last of six children. She was born to Mr. and
Mrs. Godfrey Lukoma of Makindye, Kampala on October 1, 1987.

She went to BBC Nursery School then joined Shimoni Demonstration School for
her primary education, Lubiri Secondary School and Aga Khan for her A levels.
She is currently at Makerere Business School pursuing a degree in International
Business Administration.

She was a member of the popular and sensational music, dance & drama group,
OBSESSIONS before she left to form RnB group, HB TOXIC with another former
obsessions member, Brenda Nambi.

PRODUCTION NOTES
YOGERA is another low-budget digital guerilla film by the 'African guerilla
filmmaking collective', YES! THAT'S US.

It is a co-production between DEDDAC (Uganda) and SWITCH MEDIA (South

Africa)

The film was written and produced by Mugisha Donald, James Tayler & Ireeta
Alex and stars Cleopatra Koheirwe, Kyagulanyi "Bobi Wine" Ssentamu, Mark
"Buchaman" Bugembe, Olem "Lot" Bonny, and Helen Lukoma.

It was shot entirely in Kampala, Uganda for 25 days.

A one month acting workshop with the cast was conducted before production
could begin. With a story treatment and 50% of the finished screenplay,
production began with the directors putting emphasis on dialogue improvisation
by the actors.

The film was financed by DEDDAC, an Independent digital-video production

company based in Kampala, Uganda and SWITCH MEDIA, an Independent
production and post-production company based in Cape town, Southafrica.
Additional support came from the Goteborg International Film Festival Fund.

“The film was shot on HD with a Panasonic HVX 200AE. We could not afford p2
cards to record on so we were recording directly onto a Mac book Pro laptop on
the go. It was very challenging running around with a laptop connected to a
camera but we all enjoyed it”- Mugisha, James & Ireeta

CREW
with support from GOTEBORG INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL FUND
in association with DEAF LINK UGANDA, FIREBASE CREW, MAISHA FILM
LAB & COLLYWOOD FILMS
directed by YES! THAT'S US
assistant director JUDITH ADONG
written and produced by MUGISHA DONALD, JAMES TAYLER & IREETA
ALEX
sound designed & mixed by NENO PRODUCTIONS
cinematography by JAMES TAYLER, MUGISHA DONALD & IREETA ALEX
production assistants TABARO TIMOTHY, MBOWA BRIAN & DILMAN DILA
associate producers KINTU HASSAN BAHEMUKA & ZIRAYE ISAAC
music by ROADBLOCK & SWANGZ AVENUE
theme song by BENON MUGUMBYA
editing by MUGISHA DONALD & JAMES TAYLER
sound recording by OLEM “LOT” BONNY & RONALD KASIRYE
hair & makeup by KELOY KEMIGISHA & SHAKIRA N. KIBIRIGE

BIOGRAPHY

DONALD MUGISHA - Producer/Editor/Writer

DONALD MUGISHA is a Ugandan filmmaker and part of 'African guerrilla

filmmaking collective', YES! THAT'S US.
He was born to Mr. Adrian Kyamugina and Enid Kempaka Kyamugina (R.I.P), and
is the third born in a family of 6 children. (5 boys and 1 girl). He grew up on a
family farm in Bushenyi district in Western Uganda. He went to catholic boarding
schools Namilyango Junior Boys School and Namilyango College. He also
attended university at Makerere University studying Mass Communication but
dropped out in his last year.

In 2000, he started an independent video production company called DEDDAC

and began by producing television commercials and music videos. It was during
this time that he met a few friends who were equally enthusiastic about film
making and they formed a guerrilla filmmaking collective called, YES! THAT’S US.

In 2002, he wrote and co-directed short films like The Wrath, a documentary
about an employee at Ngamba Island, Tony Muhebwa, who was mauled by a
chimpanzee. In 2003, he shot and edited another film, When we shot… which
gave a behind the scenes look at how music videos in Uganda were produced.

In 2004, he wrote, co-directed and edited, 610, an art film which examined the
similarities between the process of slaughtering a goat and civil wars and
genocides. The film won the GOLDEN IMPALA at the 2006 Amakula Kampala
International film festival and was screened in film festivals in Europe and Africa.

He attended the 2004 SITHENGI TALENT CAMPUS and 2005 BERLINALE TALENT
CAMPUS.
In 2005 he began writing a script for a feature film called DIVIZIONZ with South
African filmmaker, James Tayler, whom he met at the Cape Town International
film festival in 2004. He partnered with local musician, Kyagulanyi ‘Bobi Wine’
Ssentamu, a graduate from Makerere University’s MDD class and also cast him as
a lead in the film. The film examines the ‘divizionz’ between the country’s middle
class and the minority societies (poor society) that have grown on the outskirts
of the urban city. The film has been screened in major festivals all over Africa
and Europe.

JAMES TAYLER- Writer/Producer/D.O.P

JAMES TAYLER is a South African filmmaker and part of 'african guerrilla

filmmaking collective', YES! THAT'S US.

His career as a filmmaker started at the age of 13 when his Dad bought a VHS
camera home from his work. He experimented with all the buttons and made up
stories with his sister, he’d then cue and record the tape between two old VHS
players to edit it. He made an ever-changing mash up of Pop Shop, home skits
and pieces of the A Team. The seed was planted. Later he was the director of a
political drama him and fellow students staged at his high school, they won
national schools competition twice and this was also a formative experience.

James moved to Cape Town to complete a writing course and worked as

freelance photojournalist and magazine editor. When he attended a practical film
making workshop at the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. He has had the privilege
of working with some of the best documentary filmmakers in South Africa and
has edited many different genres from extreme sports to religious series to video
art to ghetto stories to glamor and fashion television.

In 2005 he began writing a script for a feature film called DIVIZIONZ with
Ugandan filmmaker, Donald Mugisha, whom he met at the Cape Town
International film festival in 2004. The film examines the ‘divizionz’ between the
Uganda’s middle class and the minority societies (poor society) that have grown
on the outskirts of the urban city. The film has been screened in major festivals
all over Africa and Europe.
IREETA ALEX – Writer/Producer/Cameraman
IREETA ALEX is a Ugandan artisan and part of 'African guerrilla film making
collective', YES! THAT'S US.

Descending from the Western and Eastern mountains of Uganda, born in 1982,
Ireeta has gone through various walks of life, most of it being nomadic. He was
born in Nairobi, started school in Kampala and spent a big part of the early
years/junior school with his late mother (R.I.P) in Mbale.

In 2002, he joined DEDDAC, an independent video production company where

he interned as a light technician on television commercials and music video
productions. At DEDDAC he met friends who had formed a guerrilla film making
collective called YES! THAT’S US, which turned out to be more of an arts
production team than just a 'job'. During this time is when he joined Uganda
Institute of ICT, Nakawa to pursue a Diploma in Business Information
Technology, where he didn't graduate, having preference to whats outside the
'box'.

Through the years, Ireeta has worked on various productions, most of them
being music videos. This is where his skills in videography grew with more the
experience as his interest in Film and Cinema cut deeper. Ireeta has played a big
role in the production of over 100 music videos, short films, television
commercials, and documentaries in the region, taking different roles from grip,
light technician, camera man, director, co-director, sound man, d.o.p, editor...
PROFICIENCY!
YES! THAT’S US- Directors

YES! THAT’S US is an African guerrilla filmmaking collective of visual artists.

The group has produced music videos, documentaries, short films and feature
films in East and Southern Africa.

DIVIZIONZ, the Yes! That’s Us directed film won BEST EDIT IN A FILM, and the
SPECIAL JURY AWARD at the 2008 Africa Movie Academy Awards. It also won
BEST DIRECTOR, BEST AFRICAN FILM, and BEST MUSIC SCORE at the 2008
Kuala Lumpur International Film Festival.

Filmography
(Directors)

2002 The Wrath

2003 When we shot…
2005 610
2007 Divizionz
2010 Yogera

AWARDS
-AMAKULA KAMPALA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2006
BEST SHORT FILM, EASTERN AFRICA

-AFRICA MOVIE ACADEMY AWARDS 2008

BEST EDIT AWARD
SPECIAL JURY AWARD

-KUALA LUMPUR INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2008

BEST AFRICAN FILM
BEST DIRECTOR
BEST MUSIC SCORE
CONTACT DETAILS

DONALD MUGISHA
Producer/Filmmaker
YES! THAT’S US
Plot 1100 Banda-Kyambogo
Kampala, Uganda
Mob: +256 7821 88101
Email: yogerafilm@gmail.com or yesthatsdon@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.facebook.com/yesthatsus
http://www.youtube.com/yogerafilm
http://www.yogerafilm.blogspot.com

JAMES TAYLER
Producer/Filmmaker
75 Lion Street Bo-Kaap Cape Town 8001
+27 +21 423 1617 or +27 +82 469 0706
Email: james600@eject.co.za
Website: http://www.facebook.com/yesthatsus
http://www.youtube.com/yogerafilm
http://www.yogerafilm.blogspot.com

ZIRAYE ISAAC
Associate Producer
YES! THAT’S US
Plot 1100 Banda-Kyambogo
Kampala, Uganda
Mob: +256392967619
Email: yogerafilm@gmail.com
Website: http://www.facebook.com/yesthatsus
http://www.youtube.com/yogerafilm
http://www.yogerafilm.blogspot.com

KINTU HASSAN BAHEMUKA

Associate Producer
YES! THAT’S US
Plot 1100 Banda-Kyambogo
Kampala, Uganda
Mob: +256782276516
Email: yogerafilm@gmail.com
Website: http://www.facebook.com/yesthatsus
http://www.youtube.com/yogerafilm
http://www.yogerafilm.blogspot.com