The Kampala Film School (KFS) and the Uganda Poetry Society (UPS) are joining forces to change the performance arts scene. The two organizations are putting pen to paper with an agreement interpenetrating their activities to ensure that the world gets the best out of both film and poetry.
The two artistic genres are not strange bedfellows. Afterall, film is based on storytelling and poets are storytellers of the first magnitude. By KFS and UPS recognizing this, vistas are opened towards better film and more enhanced poetry forms.
Kampala Film School
As Uganda’s premier film school and affiliate to Kampala University, KFS has been shaping award-winning filmmakers since 2010. The school offers filmmaking as a comprehensive course, spanning multiple disciplines including directing, cinematography, editing, sound design, production design, and TV production blending comprehensive theory with practical, hands-on Training. Students learn under the guidance of both national and international professionals, gaining the skills to craft compelling stories across film and television.
KFS alumni and students have earned acclaim across Africa and the globe. The Cut by Beryl Magoko won Best Documentary at FESPACO, the Rift Valley Film Festival, and other international events. Ghetto Fist by Lubeera Saphina shone at the Uganda Film Festival, the Rwanda International Students Film Festival, and the Silicon Valley African Film Festival, showcasing the school’s global reach. Silent Scream by Otim Gerald took home Best Student Film at both the Uganda Film Festival 2023 and Rwanda International Students Film Festival 2024. Idi Amin’s Boat by Nabisenke Grace further highlights KFS’s international acclaim, winning Best Student Film at the Amakula International Film Festival 2018 and Best Script at the Africa Film Society Screenwriting Competition 2017.
Among KFS alumni is Bwayo Moses, whose film The Peoples’ President earned him an Academy Award (Oscar) nomination, a milestone that highlights the schools’ ability to nurture filmmakers capable of competing on the world stage
The school also offers international exchange programs with AIB in Germany and Northumbria University in the UK, exposing students to global filmmaking practices. With certificate, diploma, and bachelor’s degree programs, KFS blends academic study with real-world experience, making it the premier institution for aspiring filmmakers in Uganda.
Uganda Poetry Society
The Uganda Poetry Society is a body of poets and poetry lovers who are dedicated to the promotion, study, remuneration and creation of poetry through business partnerships, masterclasses, media attention, competitions, publications, and community events.
It is a global organization, one which favours egalitarianism along nonracial, nonethnic lines. It celebrates humanity through poetry.
Next year, the Uganda Poetry Society is launching the Dr. Ivan Edwards Poetry Awards. The grand prize is $1,200, two coveted cottages in the prestigious Nyungu Yamawe Forest Park. The Award is subdivided to award poets under 18 and above 18 of the spoken word and written word variety. The judges for this Award are Dr. Stella Nyanzi (Uganda), Ms. Joanitah Atuhaire (Uganda), Dr. Ampat Koshy (India), Dr. Alex White (United Kingdom), Dr. Jesse Umoh (Nigeria) and Mr. Philip Matogo (Uganda).
Dr. Ivan Edwards is a Ugandan-born American physician, military officer, and award-winning poet. As of 2025, he serves as a Lieutenant Colonel and Flight Surgeon in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.
Professional Roles & Expertise
- Medical Specialist: He is a board-certified physiatrist (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) specializing in neurorehabilitation, musculoskeletal medicine, and comprehensive pain management.
- Entrepreneur: He is the CEO and founder of Jovana Rehabilitation Medicine & Pain and IEME LLC, both based in San Antonio, Texas.
- Military Service: A veteran who joined the U.S. Air Force Reserve after the 9/11 attacks, he provides medical care for active-duty personnel and veterans.
- Literary Work: He is an acclaimed poet; his debut collection, Resonance of the Soul – Flowers and Harmonics, received the Literary Titan Gold Book Award in September 2025
Partnership between Poetry and Film
The Uganda Poetry Society will bring a wide stable of poets to the Kampala Film School, thereby offering a distinct structural and emotional vocabulary to film, allowing filmmakers to bypass literal storytelling in favor of atmosphere and metaphor.
Accordingly, the Kampala Film School and Uganda Poetry Society will be working together on a short poetry film promoting the universality of humanity in the shape of unity, peace and love to all people and peoples.
Again, modern poetry-films are frequently used as tools for political or ecological activism, using broken syntax or fractured subjectivity to address complex social issues like climate change.
The Kampala Film School will play a significant role in making sure the promise of poetry is part of the dream that film conjures in us all.
If you want to be part of the poetic film, please email your name, age, email address and WhatsApp number here: info@ugandapoetrysociety.com
