Like a painter waiting before touching his canvas, Esther Nakaziba positioned herself facing her model and immediately began a long social transformation exercise.
With the help of a bandage and all those many tools she makes this man’s face look like a one-eyed man with burn. Nakaziba is Ugandan therefore operates as a makeup artist in the movie industry.
She said ‘I can produce fake wounds, bruises, swollen faces, rotten skin, anything that a film producer would wish for’.
She trained herself and she added more youths in Uganda are engaging in this line to meet rising demands from the film and entertainment sector.
The seemingly increased demand for body modification and facial transformation is especially apparent to makeup artists working on music video or the cast of movies.
She is also the organiser of a makeup artistry fair in order to gather all the talent.
There are very few of us in the country, and so we scarcely know one another. Therefore with this space with this exhibition it is bringing the whole of us together in one space so that they can connect, skill those who want to be skilled, train the youth so that they can build a very big team,” opines Nakaziba.
Local content producer, actress Meekness Kakunzira also sees light at the end of the tunnel for makeup artists in the country.
“I am glad that we are growing, we are improving and I believe that people out there that are watching our crafts can really tell that there is a big shift in the industry,” she says.
Other workshops are also conducted to introduce people with the film and entertainment industry.
My point is: the classes are really helping or are really going to help a lot of people. Well now you know like you see, the acting business is like this you don’t get jobs often but if you are into SFX makeup then it is great.
Today you may not be acting but you may be on set and perhaps as an SFX makeup artist, so it’s very helpful. And for the guys out there, the youth most especially because are suffering with unemployment in the country should really join this,” says Kakunzira.
Nakaziba, who has left her trade mark in the local movie and music industry as an SFX makeup artist, has said that the Ugandan government needs to tap in on their work, this could in one way help solve the unemployment rising in the country.
‘We are in a country where art is not really considered to be a serious business and yet it is because for me it is the only business I make a living out of so I think any youth can.’ But the only way the government can really consider a screen sector as a serious industry when such collaborations are in place,” she says.
Uganda has hosted several movies of the likes of Last King of Scotland and many more. However, until quite recently the country had no film makeup artists.
The services would be procured from other regions of Africa and Hollywood by the producers.
Thanks to this new pool of talent, this is now evolving.
“As more films have been coming out thank God they are now actually looking for more special effect makeup artists within Africa because before they were just bringing guys from the States and if they come to Africa they only go look for people in South Africa,” adds Grace Murema, film makeup artist.
“So now they come to Nigeria, they go to Kenya, they go to Uganda at least so we have started spreading all over.”
