Cindy Magara

Last updated
Dr
Cindy E Magara
Born
Cindy Evelyn Magara

September 1982 (1982-09) (age 43)
Hoima City, Uganda
Alma mater Makerere University
(Bachelor of Arts in Film & Literature)
Makerere University
(Master in Literature)
University of Sydney
(PhD in African cinema)
OccupationsFilmmaker, writer, lecturer
Years active2005–present
Children3
Website nyatimotionpictures.com

Cindy Evelyn Magara Amooti is a Ugandan film director and academic. [1] [2] She serves as a Lecturer of Film Studies and Literature (specializing in Children's Literature, Literary Stylistics and African Literature) at Makerere University. She has directed and produced several movies since 2006, such as Fate (2006), Fair Play (2010), Windows of Hope (2011), A Book for Every Child (2012) and Breaking the Mesh (2013). [3] [4] She also lectured Film Studies at University of Sydney and at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia. [5]

Contents

Early life and education

She was born in Parajwoki Village, Bujumbura Division, Hoima City. [6] She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Film & Literature (2002-2005), and a Master in Literature (2014) from Makerere University. In 2021, she graduated with a PhD in African cinema from the University of Sydney. [7]

Career

She picked interest in filmmaking while she was an undergraduate film and literature student at Makerere University in 2005. Her debut film, Fate, was released in July 2006, three months after her graduation with BARS (Hons). Fate, a professional film, premiered at Hotel Africana, Kampala and was the first Ugandan film to screen at Cineplex Cinema [8] and to Africa Magic channel (that was dominated by Nigerian and other West African films). Magara produced her film through her company Nyati Motion Pictures that she registered in 2006. She has written and directed three feature films and has produced five films in total. [9] [10]

She was recruited into university service in 2008 to be mentored into teaching literature and film. She acquired her MA Literature in 2014. While being honed in academics, she took a strategic break from active filmmaking. She facilitated film workshops at Uganda Film Festival, worked as a chief juror for Pearl International Film Festival between 2014 to 2017, and since 2019, she serves as a member of the OSCARS’ Selection Committee for the Best International Film Uganda. [11] [12] [13]

In April 2021, she was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy Studies in African Cinema from the University of Sydney, a journey she started in 2017. In 2020, Magara resumed teaching children's literature, African Cinema and general film studies at Makerere University. Her creative efforts were focused on Afro History and children's cinema. She started the production of Conquer or Die a series about the precolonial Ugandan political dynamics from1840 to 1900 that led to the colonization of the East African territory known as Uganda today. [14]

Her most recent work is a docuseries, 'Tuko Pamoja', Swahili to mean 'We are One', premiered in Uganda in 2024. This 13-part series explores the interconnectedness of Uganda's people, following the history of the Kingdoms in the regions, as told by historians and elders she interviewed. She initially intended to produce a feature film on Kabalega and Mwanga, but appreciated that she couldn't have their accomplishments cramped into a three-hour feature film, hence deciding to switch it to the docuseries. [15]

Published work

While she was studying at University of Sydney her PhD Thesis was about Contemporary East African Cinema: Emergent Themes and Aesthetics. [16] Her other published work include;

Filmography

YearFilmRoleGenreRef.
2006JiranaLine ProducerDrama [18]
2006 Fate Writer, director & producerDrama
2010Fair PlayWriter, directorDocudrama [19]
2011Windows of HopeWriter, producer, directorDrama, Fiction [20]
2012A Book for Every ChildDirectorDocumentary [21]
2012Breaking the MeshExecutive ProducerFiction Drama [22]

| 2024 || Tuko Pamoja || Executive Producer || Docuseries || [23] |}

References

  1. ↑ "Cindy Magara". IMDb .
  2. ↑ "Ugandan films now eligible to compete in Oscar awards, three Ugandan women named on the Oscar Selection Committee". 24 May 2019.
  3. ↑ "Meet the Women on the Uganda Oscars Selection Committee - Glim".
  4. ↑ "Local film on AIDS in Uganda".
  5. ↑ "Cindy Magara".
  6. ↑ "Ugandan films now eligible to compete in Oscar awards, three Ugandan women named on the Oscar Selection Committee". 24 May 2019.
  7. ↑ "Funny you should ask...Cindy Magara". 4 January 2021.
  8. ↑ Anyango, Jane (2025-05-14). "Makerere Screens Tuko Pamoja, Scholars Call for Creative Arts to Be Recognized as Research Output". Makerere University News. Retrieved 2026-03-16.
  9. ↑ "Well done, Cindy!".
  10. ↑ Uganda: Ugawood, the Way Forward for Film Makers
  11. ↑ "Well done, Cindy!".
  12. ↑ "FlixCatalog | Cindy Magara".
  13. ↑ "FILM: Breaking the Mesh Crew Eyes Ugandan Oscars". 21 May 2014.
  14. ↑ "Meet the Women on the Uganda Oscars Selection Committee - Glim".
  15. ↑ "13-part docuseries chronicles Uganda's interconnectedness". Monitor. 2024-04-26. Retrieved 2026-03-16.
  16. ↑ Magara, Cindy Evelyn (2020). Contemporary East African Cinema: Emergent Themes and Aesthetics (Thesis). University of Sydney.
  17. ↑ "Meet the Women on the Uganda Oscars Selection Committee - Glim".
  18. ↑ "Cindy Magara".
  19. ↑ "SPLA | Cindy Magara".
  20. ↑ "About us".
  21. ↑ "FlixCatalog | Cindy Magara".
  22. ↑ "Cindy Magara". IMDb .
  23. ↑ "Cindy Magara". IMDb .
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