Will Uganda retain the African monologue crown?

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The African Monologue Challenge, second edition, is underway at Pangolin Nest Boutique Hotel Kizungu, Makindye Division in Kampala. The competition started in late July and will run until August 30, 2024, and thereafter the winner will be announced at a grand event that will be held at Kololo Independence Grounds

The challenge is designed to strategically position actors for global roles as well as ensure that actors and actresses in Africa are visible to casting directors, producers, and directors globally.

According to Doyen Benjamin, the director of the African Chamber of Content Producers, “These speeches are used by writers to express a character's thoughts, emotions or ideas.”

HOW WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN?

According to the producer of the show, Mawuko Kuadzi, a Ghanaian film-maker, the public will vote for their best performer via the African Monologue Challenge web portal and the voting carries 30% of the marks while the acting at the pan African House will take up the 70%.

“The monologue participants will be using the media platforms within their own countries to drum up support for their candidate. They are also using their own social media platforms to look for votes from their audience. The voting can be done on the website of the African Monologue challenge,” he said

Over 2000 actors and actresses from Africa participated in the preliminaries before the judges selected the top 10 finalists who are currently in Uganda for the one-month monologue challenge. The winner is chosen by a team of judges including Zoe Young, Phill Efe Benard (Nigeria) Jerome Mumba (Zambia) Zoey Martinson, Gerald Langiri (Kenya) Mawuko Kuadzi (Ghana), Molatelo Mainetje (South Africa) Sharon Gayita (Uganda), York-Fabian Raabe (Germany).

Uganda was chosen to be the host of the competition after Ugandan actress Rachael Nduhukire emerged winner of the inaugural Africa Monologue Challenge which took place in Accra, Ghana in 2023.

Nduhukire congratulated Ugandan representative Mark Agume for representing Uganda at the competition. “I did my part and made Uganda the host country for this edition and I pray that Agume does the same for us,” she said during the launch of the competition in Makindye, which was attended by officials from the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development and the State House, Uganda.

As the first winner of the competition, she walked away with sh37m prize money, a certificate of recognition from the judges and got paid for a lead role in a short film that will be produced and delivered to international film streaming services like Netflix.

Mark Agume told the New Vision that he has potential to be the winner because he has a lot of experience in screen acting.

“I have participated in many auditions for the different monologue competitions. I also participated in the auditions of the first edition where Nduhukire was the winner but I didn’t go through to the next round but I am glad that I am the one representing Uganda in this competition,” he said.

He said the competition attracted over 2000 applications from all over Africa and is glad that he made it to the top 10.

THE TOP 10 FINALISTS AND THEIR PROFILES

MARK AGUME - UGANDA

Mark Agume is a talented Ugandan actor with a diverse skill set and a strong presence both on screen and on commercial platforms. He is best known for his roles both in local short films, TV series and feature films.

His training includes a certificate in acting, voice and movement from Yenze Theatre Conservatoire along with film production expertise gained from a masterclass in Nigeria. He has extended his talents beyond acting into commercial projects such as billboard advertising.

DELOVE AUGUSTT - GHANA

A Ghanaian actor known for his exceptional talent and contributions to the entertainment industry. He hit the limelight in 2019 when he debuted in Season 5 of the hit TV series, “YOLO”.

He is a product of Cambridge International College. In 2022, he got a call to be part of a popular reality show in Nigeria and also featured in 15 Nollywood movie productions. He has worked on influencer projects for Coca-Cola, Mastercard, Bolt, Marvel X, Pepsodent, Yango, and 1Xbet among others.

CHADZANSO MWENDA - ZAMBIA

Chadzanso Mwenda also known as Juvi is a seasoned multi-award-winning Zambian actress with over 18 years’ experience in the TV and film Industry.

She is a graduate of City Varsity School of Media and Creative Arts in South Africa where she honed her skills during the years 2009-2012. Her dynamic career includes acting, assistant directing, hosting, production coordination and management.

CHIMWEMWE CHIPIDZA - ZIMBABWE

Chimwemwe Chipdza is a multidisciplinary creative from Harare, Zimbabwe. Her first onscreen appearance was in the movie, “The Cook Off”, Zimbabwe’s first Netflix film. She went on to do work with various productions and production companies.

She is a two-time silver medalist at the World Monologue Games. She is also a writer, filmmaker and photographer.

She is a graduate of the University of Zambia. She also completed training with the New York Film Academy in documentary storytelling. Her written works have appeared in Theatre and film and TV.

ESTHER WANJIRU - KENYA

Esther Wanjiru is a passionate Kenyan actor, monologist and emerging film director known for her compelling storytelling.

She has starred in productions such as “Love Arena”, “Wrong Turn” and “High School Half Life,” while also directing “ The secret”. She has showcased her talent on platforms like the SN Kenya Monologue competition demonstrating her dedication to improving her craft and telling impactful African stories.

She is currently an undergraduate student at Pwani University pursuing a Bachelor of Education Degree.

IJEOMA GRACE AGU - NIGERIA

Ijeoma Grace Agu is a Nigerian actress who debuted in 2007 and she is a recipient of the Nigerian Award from the Theatre Royal Stratford East in the United Kingdom.

Her recent works include the Pan African Film “PHOENIX FURY”, the Ghana/American thriller “NINE”, the Dutch/Belgian musical “10 Songs for CHARITY” which earned her the Best Actress award at the 2021 Africa International Film Festival and a 2023 award nomination for best African actress.

She was also part of the Netflix original “ SWALLOW” for which she received a best African Actress nomination at the 2022 Septimius Award in Holland. She also won the 2022 AMAA award for the best supporting actress for her role in the “Swallow”.

JANG AFANYUH GEHNJANG - CAMEROON

Jan Afanyuh Gehnjang aka the mime is a 25-year-old Cameroonian artist and entrepreneur with a bachelor's degree in performing Arts and Cinematography from the University of Yaounde. He is passionate about art and business with a focus to own a large entertainment company in the future.

He has worked with the Visionary Theatre Troupe as an actor for several theatre performance and documentary films. In 2020, he won his first competition as a mime artiste in the competition organized by the German Cultural Centre in Cameroon.

He got selected as a Housemate in the second season of the Cameroon Tele Reality Show “Biggie Studios” in 2022. He has written, acted and directed his own short films which have given him recognition in his country.

KELVIN MAXWELL NGOMA - MALAWI

He is a Malawian actor, scriptwriter and model. He was born in 1997. He has experience in physical theatre, film, radio and television.

He is known for his role in the 2019 Netflix project called “The BOY”, “Fatsan Tale of a Survivor”, “Highbrow”, and “Nyasaland” among other projects. He holds a bachelor's degree of Arts from Chancellor College, Malawi.

MAUD GUERARD - IVORY COAST

She is a 24-year-old Ivorian actress. After studying political sciences for 2 years. She studied acting in Los Angeles at the Stella Adler Academy over a 3 years course.

She has lived in Abidjan for two years and recently received a nomination for best actress at the NISA,2023 festival.

Her films include 3 Cold Dishes and Guadeloupean, a movie she made in New York and she would like to continue her career in the Pan African film projects

NOLUTHANDO SHANDU-SOUTH AFRICA

She is a South African musician, dancer, performer and actress. She represented Durban at the Bremen, Germany youth festival in 2016. Between 2019 and 2023 she was at South Roots International, an applied theatre group based in Cape Town, South Africa.

She has participated in national and international arts for development projects with ARROWSA and the global arts for social change organization Indra Collective.

She has made appearances on two DSTV telenovelas “Umkhokha, The Curse” on Channel 161 and “Sibongille and the Dlaminis” on Channel 163.