From catwalk to silver screen
May 04, 2006
Twenty-five-year-old Faith Asiimwe, once the face of the Uganda International Fashion Week, has made her acting debut in Part II of the Nigeria-Uganda movie, Roses In The Rain.
By Titus Serunjogi
Twenty-five-year-old Faith Asiimwe, once the face of the Uganda International Fashion Week, has made her acting debut in Part II of the Nigeria-Uganda movie, Roses In The Rain.
She swapped with BLU*3 singer Cinderella Sanyu for one of the lead roles. Asiimwe stars as the HIV-positive Esther who gets married to the king (Zack Orji).
A born-again Christian, Asiimwe tells us how she hitched the role, why she has watched A Thin Line Between Love And Hate over and over again and why she is so obsessed with Ragga Dee.
Are you pushing to become the next Naomi Campbell or Cindy Crawford?
No, not at all. They impress me as models, but as actresses, no. I had never dreamt of becoming an actress. Even as I watched the premiere, I could not believe what I was seeing. It had seemed like a dream.
You looked miserable for much of the movie.
I had to act sad because Esther had lost her husband and she was living with AIDS. But deep inside, I was smiling. This was the chance I had always longed for  to show the world that having AIDS does not mean that someone is dead.
How did you hitch the role yet you were so ‘green’ about acting? Did you go and whisper to Zack to get the role?
No, I would not do that. I had gone with Santa (Anzo of Arapapa) to talk to Zack about the costumes we were designing. But somewhere during the business chat, Zack asked me whether I would want to act as the woman who would get married to him. Of course, I declined. But Zack insisted that I could go on and act and I did.
What is the craziest thing about putting up a show?
Crying. You cannot do it out of the blue. But I had to scream and wail and tug at my clothes when Mrs. Kalema (Jennifer Kabanda) died. Everyone was flabbergasted that I could not shed a tear. Ragga Dee even suggested that someone spank me real hard. (Laughing) it was only chit-chat, of course. At long last, I managed to squeeze a few tears out of my eyes. And how the cameramen rushed to take in the scene! It is always fun on the scene, even when you have to cry.
Did Ragga Dee ever sing Muwala Nkuguddemu Oyagala cash to you?
Oh, no. He sang all his songs during the shootings, but never to me personally. He acts as a singer who comes in to perform at Mrs. Kalema’s birthday bash. But I liked his good sense of humour. I love Ddigida and I sang along to the lyrics. I wish Chameleone had been there, too. I love to watch him perform.
What is in your DVD rack?
I have several Martin Lawrence comedies  Bad Boys and A Thin Line Between Love And Hate.
Have you ever attempted to discipline a cheating boyfriend, just like Angela Basset did in A Thin Line Between Love and Hate?
Never. But I put my thumbs up for whatever Basset did to her cheating boyfriend. Some men can really be a nuisance. He swears that he loves you alone, but you find him playing around with another girl. I would feel hurt. And I think Angela Basset gave her boyfriend what he deserved. At least he would never play around with women’s emotions again.
In the movie, your husband got AIDS from a careless dentist. Don’t you fret about having a dentist put his tongs into your mouth?
I used to go for dental checks twice every year, but now I just tremble at the thought of going to the clinic. Not that my dentist is careless, but you know, you cannot avoid the thoughts from running wild.
Anything else that Nigerian movies have made you wary of?
Having my nails painted by guys who walk on the streets with trays of nail polish. I watched a movie in which such a boy accidentally cut a woman and she got AIDS. As a teenager, I used to have my nails painted by such walk-about manicurists. But I stopped it the day I watched the movie.
If you had a chance to star in another Uganda-Nigerian movie, would you go for it?
I would run for it!
Would you still want to act when you are old, gray and all wrinkled?
Yes...umm...no. No! I don’t think I would like that. Not even if I had cosmetic surgery.
Twenty-five-year-old Faith Asiimwe, once the face of the Uganda International Fashion Week, has made her acting debut in Part II of the Nigeria-Uganda movie, Roses In The Rain.
She swapped with BLU*3 singer Cinderella Sanyu for one of the lead roles. Asiimwe stars as the HIV-positive Esther who gets married to the king (Zack Orji).
A born-again Christian, Asiimwe tells us how she hitched the role, why she has watched A Thin Line Between Love And Hate over and over again and why she is so obsessed with Ragga Dee.
Are you pushing to become the next Naomi Campbell or Cindy Crawford?
No, not at all. They impress me as models, but as actresses, no. I had never dreamt of becoming an actress. Even as I watched the premiere, I could not believe what I was seeing. It had seemed like a dream.
You looked miserable for much of the movie.
I had to act sad because Esther had lost her husband and she was living with AIDS. But deep inside, I was smiling. This was the chance I had always longed for  to show the world that having AIDS does not mean that someone is dead.
How did you hitch the role yet you were so ‘green’ about acting? Did you go and whisper to Zack to get the role?
No, I would not do that. I had gone with Santa (Anzo of Arapapa) to talk to Zack about the costumes we were designing. But somewhere during the business chat, Zack asked me whether I would want to act as the woman who would get married to him. Of course, I declined. But Zack insisted that I could go on and act and I did.
What is the craziest thing about putting up a show?
Crying. You cannot do it out of the blue. But I had to scream and wail and tug at my clothes when Mrs. Kalema (Jennifer Kabanda) died. Everyone was flabbergasted that I could not shed a tear. Ragga Dee even suggested that someone spank me real hard. (Laughing) it was only chit-chat, of course. At long last, I managed to squeeze a few tears out of my eyes. And how the cameramen rushed to take in the scene! It is always fun on the scene, even when you have to cry.
Did Ragga Dee ever sing Muwala Nkuguddemu Oyagala cash to you?
Oh, no. He sang all his songs during the shootings, but never to me personally. He acts as a singer who comes in to perform at Mrs. Kalema’s birthday bash. But I liked his good sense of humour. I love Ddigida and I sang along to the lyrics. I wish Chameleone had been there, too. I love to watch him perform.
What is in your DVD rack?
I have several Martin Lawrence comedies  Bad Boys and A Thin Line Between Love And Hate.
Have you ever attempted to discipline a cheating boyfriend, just like Angela Basset did in A Thin Line Between Love and Hate?
Never. But I put my thumbs up for whatever Basset did to her cheating boyfriend. Some men can really be a nuisance. He swears that he loves you alone, but you find him playing around with another girl. I would feel hurt. And I think Angela Basset gave her boyfriend what he deserved. At least he would never play around with women’s emotions again.
In the movie, your husband got AIDS from a careless dentist. Don’t you fret about having a dentist put his tongs into your mouth?
I used to go for dental checks twice every year, but now I just tremble at the thought of going to the clinic. Not that my dentist is careless, but you know, you cannot avoid the thoughts from running wild.
Anything else that Nigerian movies have made you wary of?
Having my nails painted by guys who walk on the streets with trays of nail polish. I watched a movie in which such a boy accidentally cut a woman and she got AIDS. As a teenager, I used to have my nails painted by such walk-about manicurists. But I stopped it the day I watched the movie.
If you had a chance to star in another Uganda-Nigerian movie, would you go for it?
I would run for it!
Would you still want to act when you are old, gray and all wrinkled?
Yes...umm...no. No! I don’t think I would like that. Not even if I had cosmetic surgery.