The first ever feature film about the unseen victims of wildlife tourism - the indigenous Batwa of Uganda
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When Florence, a starving single mum, meets Bizimana, a charismatic street performer, she gains a new sense of hope. By joining his performing troupe, Florence is able to sing for international tourists, enabling her to feed her young son. As she rehearses and performs with Bizimana, the two fall in love. But when Bizimana decides to angle for a fair cut of the revenue, the troupe’s fixer quickly fires him and Florence. Soon they are thrust back into the painful cycle of poverty. Can their love survive it?
The feature is inspired by the lives of its two protagonists and lead actors, Florence Mariserena and Bizimana Hussain. The Batwa have been evicted from their ancestral forests in the name of conservation so, to eke out a living, many perform their cultureʼs songs, stories, and dances for tourists – the same tourists whose presence has led to their evictions.
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World Premiere at the Cornwall International Film Festival, November 17th 2025.
WINNER BEST LEADING ACTRESS (Chimpaye Florence Mariserena) at the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAAs) 2025.
Nominated for 9 categories
- Best Film in an African language
- Best Debut Feature Film by a director
- Best Director
- Best Film
- Best Promising/Young Actor
- Best Actress in a Leading Role
- Best Actor in Leading Role
- Best Cinematography
- Best Screenplay
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Director - Asher Rosen
Writers - Asher Rosen, Chimpaye Florence Mariserena, Bizimana Hussain, Luke Reilly
Lead Actors - Chimpaye Florence Mariserena, Bizimana Hussain, Turinayo Jotham
Director of Photography - Mateusz Czuchnowski
Producers - Andreas Roald, Dan Wechsler, Ian Prior, Shema Faustin, Jack Pollington
A co-production with Soverign Films and Scala Productions.
Filmed on location in Kisoro & Kampala, Uganda.