The Bobi Wine-focused documentary by National Geographic called Bobi Wine: The People’s President lost the Oscar to Mstyslav Chernov’s documentary 20 Days in Mariupol.
The Wine documentary focuses on the former pop star who ran for president against Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since 1986.
Although the film is fronted by National Geographic, the film is directed by Ugandan natives Moses Bwayo and Christopher Sharp. It was their first Oscar nomination.
The nomination came early this year after the documentary had won the ‘Audience Choice Award’ at the Cinema Eye Honors 2024 Awards held in January, at the New York Academy of Medicine in East Harlem.
Bobi Wine reacted to the news by saying, “It is such a humbling moment to see the Ugandan story make it to the Academy Awards- the most prestigious and significant awards in the world.
“Today the fight for democracy in Uganda and around the world lives on. Thank you for this recognition!”
The film, which was released in 2022, details how Wine has risked his life to fight the ruthless regime led by Yoweri Museveni.
It showcases how he takes on the country’s police and military, which are not afraid to use violence and torture in a vain attempt to intimidate and silence him and his supporters.
The Ugandan documentary was nominated alongside The Eternal Memory, Four Daughters, To Kill a Tiger and the joint production by The Associated Press and PBS’ “Frontline” – 20 Days in Mauripol – took home the Academy Award.
20 Days in Mariupol is a harrowing first-person account of the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Despite losing out on the gold statue, Wine, who travelled to LA for the awards, attended the ceremony with his wife Barbie Kyagulanyi both wearing custom designs by Seguya Alawi and Anita Beryl Asasira.
