George Stanley Nsamba

Last updated

George Stanley Nsamba
Born
Ediu George Stanley Nsamba

(1989-10-14) 14 October 1989 (age 34)
Other namesNes
Alma materMakerere University
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active2012–present
Notable work Crafts:The Value Of Life, Silent Depression, The Dummy Team, The Ghetto Film Project in 2013
Relatives2

Ediu George Stanley Nsamba, also known as "Nes" (born 14 October 1989) is a Ugandan film producer, director, cinematographer, screenwriter, editor, spoken-word artist and human rights activist. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life

Nsamba was born in Mulago Hospital in the capital city of Uganda Kampala and grew up in the slums of Naguru. [3] Born to a social worker mum Mrs Vicky Aryenyo and his father Musisi costantine who worked at Mulago Hospital, his family lived a typical middle-class family in Uganda until his parents divorced when he was 6 letting him and his two siblings grow up with a single mother. Much as he cannot count how many siblings he has on his father's side, he is the second born of three kids with the older sister Doreen Apiny and younger brother Brian Smith Were. He is a college dropout from Makerere University where he was studying a bachelor's degree in Industrial and Fine Arts. [4]

His parents having divorced in 1996, Nsamba, his mother and two siblings moved to Naguru-go-down, a huge slum in Kampala, into an unfinished building which flooded when it rained and construction went on as they lived in it. After being diagnosed with HIV, his mother was admitted at Nsambya hospital in 1998 and life became unbearable. Nsamba had to work as a kid carrying trash in exchange for old newspapers that he sold to put together money for his little brother's feeding. [5] In 2010 after the death of his friend Ronnie in the July 2010 Kampala attacks, [6] he overcame the drug addiction that he had battled with for nearly six years.

Career

Nsamba on a documentary set in Isiniro in 2018 George stanley nsamba nes.jpg
Nsamba on a documentary set in Isiniro in 2018

Nsamba broke through ranks with the successful hit video "Nzijukira" by rapper St. Nelly-Sade in 2012 but it was not until 2015 that he broke through the film industry with his debut short film Crafts: The Value Of Life which was produced under his charity organization 'The Ghetto Film Project'. [7] Nsamba's second film, Silent Depression , was released 16 June 2015, [8] and has since become a cult reference for the effect of smartphones on humanity. [9] It was also regarded as the most prolific film that screened at the fifth annual Slum Film Festival in Nairobi by the press and digital media. [10]

His first film The Wish, a tribute to the fight against cancer, starred little known but celebrated writer-artist-poet-entrepreneur Kidron Googo - Th' KlaFella. In 2012 he was one of the filmmakers whose short film scripts were chosen for the Mnet [11] short film competition and that was the beginning of his film career having previously been affiliated with the hip hop industry. With the growing documentary ideas and script, he soon gained the trust and respect of many and his works through The Ghetto Film Project earned him a nomination at the Social Media Awards [12] [13] in 2013. In August 2014 he was part of the GhettoXXI Exhibition in Łódź, Poland, being the only African representative defining the ghetto in African perspective using photography. [14]

In 2015 following his success and success story as a filmmaker using films made on a small budget for social change, he was chosen to be the main facilitator and mentor at the fifth annual Slum Film Festival [15] in Nairobi, Kenya. [16] He mentored a master class of 14 youth from the huge slums of Mathare, Kibera among other places for a two-week workshop from 10 to 20 August after which a short film dubbed Best Of Luck was developed. [17] He also took part as the lead discussant with the Kenya Film Commission, PAWA254 [18] among other stake holders in the Kenyan film industry in a series of meetings and workshops organized by Slum Film Festival on low budget film making and measure to improve and grow the quality of the Kenyan film industry.

Personal life

After dropping out of Makerere University, Nsamba ventured into documentary film making and one day when shooting a documentary for Destiny Friends International an NGO in Uganda he realized there was need not just to take the kids and youth to school but equip them with practical life skills and started up an organization called The Ghetto Film Project in 2013. He has been recognized by among others the Rotary Club Of Kampala Central for his work with vulnerable kids in the ghetto under his organization in 2015.

Filmography

Recognition

Film festival nominations

Film festivals
YearFilmCategoryFestivalResult
2015Crafts:The Value Of LifeBest Narrative Short FilmSilicon Valley African Film FestivalNominated
2015Crafts:The Value Of LifeBest Short Film (Live Action) Siffcy Nominated
2015Silent DepressionBest Fiction FilmLuksuz Film FestivalNominated
2015Silent DepressionBest Short Film (Live Action) Siffcy Nominated
2016The Dummy TeamShort FilmLake International PanAfrican Film FestivalWon
2016Silent DepressionVideo Art AwardZoom International Film FestivalNominated
2016Silent DepressionBest Short FilmAmakula International Film FestivalNominated
2016The Dummy TeamBest Narrative Short FilmSilicon Valley African Film FestivalWon
2017Time IrreversibleBest Message In A Short FilmRoldaWebFestNominated

Film festival selections

Official selection
YearFilmFestivalCountry
2015Crafts:The Value Of LifeSlum Film FestivalNairobi, Kenya
2015Crafts:The Value Of LifeInternational Peace And Film FestivalOrlando, Florida, USA
2015Crafts:The Value Of LifeFilmAid Film FestivalNairobi, Kenya
2015Silent DepressionSlum Film FestivalNairobi, Kenya
2016Silent DepressionAmakula International Film FestivalKampala, Uganda
2016Crafts:The Value Of LifeHelsinki African Film FestivalHelsinki, Finland
2016Crafts:The Value Of LifeOzark ShortsUSA
2016Silent DepressionKampala Short Film FestivalKampala, Uganda
2016Crafts:The Value Of LifeKampala Short Film FestivalKampala, Uganda
2016The Dummy TeamNollyFest Film ProgramLagos, Nigeria
2016The Dummy TeamFilmAid Film FestivalNairobi,Kenya
2016The Dummy TeamIndieWise Virtual Film FestivalMiami, Florida, USA
2016Crafts:The Value Of LifeIndieWise Virtual Film FestivalMiami, Florida, USA
2016Silent DepressionBayimba International Festival Of The ArtsKampala,Uganda
2016The Dummy TeamBayimba International Festival Of The ArtsKampala,Uganda
2017Silent DepressionNgalabi Short Film FestivalKampala,Uganda
2017Time IrreversibleSlum Film FestivalNairobi,Kenya
2017The Dummy TeamAfrica International Film FestivalUSA
2017Time IrreversibleAfrican International Film FestivalUSA

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References

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