When Ugandan filmmaker Ayeny T. Steve boarded a flight to Los Angeles for CineGear Expo 2025, he wasn’t just traveling for personal inspiration. He was on a mission—one that speaks to the heart of every Ugandan filmmaker frustrated by technical limitations, outdated equipment, and production compromises that often dilute their creative vision.
For a man whose credits include powerful TV dramas like Crossroads and Hotel Mara, the globally recognized war drama Kony: Order from Above, and the highly-anticipated feature film ADUI, this wasn’t just another trip. It was an intentional dive into the bleeding edge of global filmmaking technology—a move many in Uganda’s creative space are calling a “game-changer moment.”
Why This Matters Now More Than Ever
Uganda’s film industry stands at a crossroads.
While storytelling talent is abundant, the technical resources to tell those stories at world-class levels remain scarce. Poor sound design, limited dynamic range in footage, shaky camera movement, underwhelming color grading, and low-budget lighting are everyday hurdles even the most gifted directors face.
Ayeny’s trip couldn’t have come at a better time. The Ugandan film audience is evolving. Platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, and even YouTube are reshaping what viewers expect in terms of production quality. The market is hungry for high-end, export-ready content.
What Could Ayeny Bring Back?
Here’s a deep dive into the technologies and tools that could reshape Ugandan filmmaking if Ayeny integrates them into Atonga Entertainment and the broader industry:
Next-Level Cinematic Cameras
Uganda’s filmmakers urgently need cameras that can handle RAW, 6K, or even 8K workflows with deep color bit-depths and large sensor formats. Brands like RED Digital Cinema, ARRI, Sony Cinema Line, and Blackmagic Design dominated CineGear 2025, and any upgrade in this area would allow Ugandan cinematographers to finally match global image standards.
Revolutionizing Sound Capture
It’s often said that audiences will forgive bad picture, but never bad sound.
Shotgun mics, field mixers, wireless lavalier systems, and on-set audio monitoring stations could help fix Uganda’s biggest Achilles heel: location sound. Expect Ayeny to return with gear that ensures dialogue, ambient sound, and SFX are captured cleanly.
The Lighting Renaissance
Great lighting transforms good footage into cinematic gold.
From portable LED bi-color panels to RGB lights for creative mood setups, softboxes, and high-output key lights, modern lighting tools will give Ugandan DOPs the flexibility to shoot anytime, anywhere, and under any condition—with results that pop off the screen.
Stabilization and Movement Tools
Imagine the storytelling possibilities with motorized gimbals like the DJI Ronin 4D, cinema dollies, jibs, and even affordable Steadicam rigs. The days of static, one-angle, soap-opera style shots could soon be over.
Aerial Cinematography (Drone Mastery)
Ugandan filmmakers love sweeping landscapes—from Karamoja’s plains to the shores of Lake Victoria—but lack proper aerial tools. Bringing in cinema-grade drones with advanced gimbal stabilization and high frame rate recording would unlock a whole new visual language.
Post-Production Magic (Color, Sound, VFX)
Investing in DaVinci Resolve Studio setups, dedicated color grading panels, Adobe Creative Cloud suites, and audio mastering tools like Pro Tools or Adobe Audition will move Ugandan editing from basic cutting to full-spectrum cinematic storytelling.
Data Security and On-Set DIT (Digital Imaging Technician Kits)
With 6K and 8K footage comes massive data risks. Expect Ayeny to invest in high-capacity SSDs, RAID storage systems, LTO backup drives, and on-set DIT carts for real-time footage backup and management.
Virtual Production on a Budget
While LED wall virtual production may still be a few years off for Uganda, green screen workflows combined with Unreal Engine or After Effects virtual environments could be the first step towards local VFX-heavy storytelling.
Film-Friendly Power Solutions
Shooting in remote Ugandan locations? Portable battery power stations, solar-powered gear chargers, and inverter-based mobile setups could keep productions running where generators fail.
The Most Important Import: Knowledge Transfer
Perhaps Ayeny’s greatest export from CineGear 2025 won’t fit in his suitcase.
Masterclasses, behind-the-scenes best practices, lighting design techniques, data wrangling workflows, and sound design strategies—this knowledge could ignite a new wave of professionalism within Uganda’s film industry.
If Ayeny hosts post-CineGear workshops or partners with local film schools to train the next generation, the ripple effect would be enormous.
The Big Picture: #MakingUgFilmsFamous Becomes Tangible
Ayeny’s CineGear journey is not just personal. It’s political. It’s cultural. It’s historical.
It’s about fighting the perception that Uganda is a low-budget, DIY film territory. It’s about lifting standards, creating export-worthy content, and putting Ugandan cinema in the same sentence as Nollywood, Bollywood, or even Hollywood.
Whether it’s through better image quality, richer soundscapes, or more dynamic storytelling tools, one thing is clear:
The Ugandan film revolution is coming—and CineGear 2025 might just be its spark.
