Uganda, the Pearl of Africa is in the global spotlight thanks to a French film ‘Le Grand Jour’. This french film features Ugandan born Tom Ssekabira, 19 a youthful boy who endeavors to transform himself and his country through conservation.
This film is one of the best educational documentaries! It shows how youths can be a formidable force in developing their countries through tourism, sport and other activities.
La Grand Jour was released in September 2015. It is produced in French but shown with English subtitles to the English speaking audience. The movie was shot in Uganda and other countries; Cuba, India and Mongolia.
The film’s first screening in Paris last year was viewed by an audience of 2,000 people and has since been shown in Japan, USA, Italy and Cuba. It was directed by Pascal Plisson, a renown French screen writer and documentary film maker. Some of the movie scenes were shot in Queen Elizabeth National Park, one of the most bio-diverse places and Kibale National Park, a great place to see the endangered chimpanzees! The documentary was also filmed in Luwero, one of the historical towns in Uganda which is Tom’s birth place.
Uganda is one of the most beautiful countries! It has a fantastic scenery and wildlife. The scenes that were shot in the national parks capture the beautiful rivers, elephants, chimpanzees and buffaloes. The movie not only offers great potential for development of tourism but also is expected to attract more film makers who may seek unique landscapes of Uganda.
Pascal says that Uganda is gifted with natural features that are closer to each other which film producers prefer, in addition to peace.
Uganda’s Tourism Board has expressed gratitude towards the film. Mr. James Tumusiime the chairman of UTB said that the documentary testifies to Uganda’s beauty and is a great face of the country. “This movie is good for our tourism and will surely put Uganda in the spotlight. It also portrays the role of young people like Tom the actor in supporting conservation while they also earn from their talent.”
The film is set to be launched in Uganda at Century Cinemax, Acacia Mall on Friday by Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda.
Uganda’s Ambassador to France Her Excellency Nimisha Madhvani who is the main promoter of the film played a significant role in having Ugandan locations included.
“As Ugandans it’s important to support this film to be shown everywhere in Uganda and beyond since itks a great tourism promotional material.”
She suggests that all Ugandan embassies and consulates abroad should use it to brand and promote Uganda for both tourism and investment.
