Who Killed Captain Alex? (2010)

Interesting facts

Who Killed Captain Alex? is a 2010 Ugandan independent martial arts action comedy film written, produced, and directed by Isaac Godfrey Geoffrey Nabwana also known as Nabwana IGG, by Wakaliwood, an ultra low-budget studio in Kampala, Uganda. The film tells the story of a civil unrest which erupts after the assassination of a beloved Ugandan soldier, the eponymous Captain Alex. It gained viral notoriety for being a no-budget action film, produced on a reported budget of under $200 although producer Alan Hofmanis later stated that the production value was in fact $85.

Production

Production began in late 2009 in the ghettos of Nateete. Nabwana was inspired to create the film by his love of Hollywood action movies and martial arts films from his childhood. The helicopter scenes in the film were based upon his experiences during the Ugandan Bush War where Nabwana and his brother were chased by a helicopter.

Nabwana shot the film in January 2010 and edited it using a computer he assembled from old parts. The film's props were all made in-house and camera equipment were fabricated from scrap metal at a machine shop next to Nabwana's house. The actors supplied their own costumes; one of them was given a mask so he could play two different roles in the same scene.

Nabwana has described his motivation to make the movie as a desire to change the perception that cinema is only for the rich in his home country of Uganda and to make his own films.

The original version of the film was intended for local distribution in Kampala, with the dialogue recorded in the native language of Luganda. After the Luganda trailer for the film went viral on YouTube, Nabwana reappropriated the local video joker practice for a Western audience and hired VJ Emmie to provide commentary on the film in English.

Throughout the film, a panpipes cover of the Seal song "Kiss from a Rose", as well as a piano cover of the ABBA song "Mamma Mia", can be heard. The "Kiss from a Rose" cover has been described as one of the best versions of the song by Screen Rant.

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