Rehema Nanfuka
Born (1986-05-25) 25 May 1986
Uganda
CitizenshipUgandan
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Actress
  • Director
  • Producer
  • Screenwriter
Years active2008–present
Awards

Rehema Nanfuka (born 25 May 1986) is a Ugandan film, theatre and television actress, director, and filmmaker known for her roles in Imani, Veronica's Wish, Imbabazi, The Girl in the Yellow Jumper, Queen of Katwe, Imperial Blue[1] among other films.[2][3]

She won the Best Director award at the 2018 Uganda Film Festival Awards, becoming the first female director to ever win an award in this category at any of the awarding bodies in Uganda.

Career

Film and television

Rehema started her acting career in Mira Nair's Maisha Film Lab's 2008 production, Downcast where she played a housewife.

Her breakout role as Mary the maid in Imani won her two awards; the Africa Movie Academy Award for Most Promising Actress in 2010[4] sharing the win with Chelsea Eze and Best Actress Award at the African Film Festival of Cordoba, Spain in 2010.[5][6] The film also won an Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Film in an African Language. Rehema also received recognition from the Variety critic Boyd Van Hoeij who wrote, "Rehema Nanfuka, as a distressed maid in the second-best segment, impresses with her quiet sense of dignity."[7] and The Hollywood Reporter critic Neil Young wrote, "Nanfuka and Buyi are engaging performers and cope well with underwritten characters."[8]

In 2013 she starred in Joel Karekezi's Imbabazi, The Pardon, a film about the Rwanda genocide in which she was nominated for the Best Actress award at the Festival du Cinéma Africain de Khouribga, Morocco 2015.

Rehema starred as Suzanna in Yat Madit in 2016 alongside Gladys Oyenbot and Michael Wawuyo Jr. For this role, she won the award for Best actress TV at the Uganda Film Festival in 2017.[9][10][11]

Nanfuka directed the 2018 award-winning film Veronica's Wish for which she won the Best Director Award at the Uganda Film Festival 2018 in Kampala, becoming the first female to win the accolade in Uganda. The film also received eight other awards out of the twelve nominations.[12]

Theatre

On the theatre stage, Rehema's earlier roles were in plays staged at the National Theatre. She starred as Lady Macbeth in the play Macbeth and received critical acclaim for her performance from Daily Monitor critic Brian Magoba[13] and The Observer critic Polly Komukama wrote, "Rehema Nanfuka put up the best performance as the evil Lady Macbeth."[14]

In 2015, she played Dorra and Kate in The Body of a Woman as a Battlefield in the Bosnian War a play by Romanian-French playwright by Matei Visniec and Judith Adong's Ga-Ad! Her other notable theatre credits include The Laramie Project, Tropical Fish (book), Jean Paul Sartre's No Exit, Just me you and the silence and The river and the mountain.

Rehema was one of the voice actors in The Cow Needs a Wife, a play that was streamed on the BBC African Performance programme in 2010.[15]

Rehema's story has been featured on The Moth.[16][17] And as a spoken word artist Rehema featured in the Goethe Institut's Africa spoken word project.[18] She emerged winner of the Kampala Slam 2013.[19][20]

Rehema has also received endorsements for commercials for Airtel Uganda,[21] Airtel Malawi,[22] Milkman Uganda,[23] and ECO Bank Uganda.

Rehema plays Lisa Borera in an upcoming film Kafa Coh and Nkinzi in Nana Kagga's upcoming TV series, Reflections.

Education

Rehema went to Kibuli Secondary School, then Makerere University, Uganda's oldest university where she obtained a degree in International Business. She is also an alumna of Maisha Film Lab.

Nominations and awards

Awards
Year Award Category Result
2018 Uganda Film Festival Awards Best Director
(Veronica's Wish)		 Won
2017 Best Actress in a TV Drama
in Yat Madit		 Won
2015 Festival du Cinéma Africain de Khouribga, Morocco Best Actress (The Pardon –role) Nominated
2013 Goethe Institute spoken word project, Africa Best spoken word Artist in Kampala Won
2010 African Film Festival of Cordoba, Spain Best Actress Film Award (Imani- role) Won
Africa Movie Academy Awards, Nigeria Most Promising Actress (Imani- role) Won

Filmography

Film

Year Film Role Notes
Actor Director Writer Producer
2022 Kafa Coh Lisa Borera Directed by Gilbert K. Lukalia
Produced by Doreen Mirembe
2020 The Girl in the Yellow Jumper Dorothy
2018 Veronica's Wish Yes
Kafa Coh(In production) Lisa Borera In production
Imperial Blue Angela Mbira
Facing North Stella Short
5 Yogera shorts Yes Yes
2017 Kyenvu Taxi gossip
Tebandeke's Dream Yes Yes Documentary
Papi (film)[24] Mother
2015 Queen of Katwe Nurse Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
King of Darkness Doctor
2013 The-Pardon (Imbabazi) Alice
The Road We Travel Housewife
Haunted Souls Apoto Grace Yes
Nico the Donkey Yes Yes
4G Spirit Yes Documentary
2010 Imani (film) Mary Won two awards; Best Actress Tarifa Africa film festival and Most promising actress at the AMAAs
Estranged Single mother
2009 The Pardon Alice Maisha Film Lab
2008 Down Cast Housewife Maisha Film Lab

Television

Year Television Series Role Notes
Actor Director Writer Producer
2018 Export Baby (Episode 2) Mother forced to sell baby NPO 1 Dutch Public Broadcasting
Reflections Nkinzi Savannah Moon Pictures
2016 Yat Madit Suzanna Media Focus on Africa
2014 Love Makanika Lead Dilstories
2011 Fruits of love Eldest daughter IVAD Productions
2010 Kakibe ki! Lead NTV Uganda

Theatre

Year Production Role Notes
Actor Director Writer Producer
2019 Niqabi Ninja Hana [25]
2018 The Slay Queens of Africa Musical[26] Yes Afroman Spice
Adoption Wife
We are back! Destiny Africa 2018 tour Yes
2017 Tropical Fish[27] Solo Performer Yes
Just You, Me and the Silence Wife/Journalist
My life in a coloured box Solo performer
TVET Yes For Belgium embassy
2016 The Laramie Project Journalist/ Student /Lecturer
Ga-AD! Faith – Secretary
One Man, One Wife Yes (Laba Fest)
2015 The body of a woman as a Battlefield in the Bosnian war Dorra and Kate
Betrayal in the City Yes
Visions of Destiny Yes Yes
2013 Macbeth Lady Macbeth
2012 The River and the Mountain Pastor
2011 No Exit Estelle
2010 The cow needs a wife Blind Janat BBC African Performance Program

References

  1. ↑ "SYNOPSIS". Blueimp. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  2. ↑ "Nanfuka: The world is her stage". Daily Monitor. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "Rehema Nanfuka". Bluimp. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  4. ↑ "AMAA 2010 Winners". Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA). Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  5. ↑ "Teza takes top prize at Spain's Tarifa African Film Festival". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  6. ↑ "7th Tarifa African Film Festival Awards". Supple Magazine. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  7. ↑ "Imani – Variety". Variety. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  8. ↑ "Imani – Film Review". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  9. ↑ "Uganda Film Festival Awards". New Vision. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  10. ↑ "Full cast: Uganda Film festival 2017 winners". The Kampala Sun. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  11. ↑ "FULL LIST: 2017 Uganda Film Festival Award Winners". Chimplyf. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  12. ↑ "Veronica's Wish dominates Uganda Film Festival". Uganda Film Festival. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  13. ↑ "MacBeth: Tragedy for your delight". Daily Monitor. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  14. ↑ "Shakespeare's grittiest comes to Kampala". The Observer. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  15. ↑ "African Performance 2010: The winners". BBC. Archived from the original on 20 January 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  16. ↑ "Rehema Nanfuka". The Moth. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  17. ↑ "Stories from Nairobi: Sandra Kimokoti, Rehema Nanfuka & Bina Maseno". The Moth. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  18. ↑ "Open Mic launches fun missiles at corruption". The Observer. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  19. ↑ "The spoken word project at the gzkugcs". Goethe Gentrum Kampala. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  20. ↑ Bamuturaki, Musinguzi. "Poets speak their minds in contest". The East African. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  21. ↑ "Airtel Internet is your friend". Youtube. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  22. ↑ "AIRTEL MONEY Kuchova Loan TVC". Youtube. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  23. ↑ "MilkMan TVC - Working Lady". Youtube. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  24. ↑ "Belgian-Ugandan thriller 'Papi' to premiere Thursday". Sqoop. Archived from the original on 11 May 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  25. ↑ Bamuturaki, Musinguzi. "Sara Shaarawi's play 'Niqabi Ninja' comes to Uganda". The East African. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  26. ↑ "Afroman Spice to celebrate African slay queens". Sqoop. Archived from the original on 11 May 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  27. ↑ "Tropical Fish: Re-defining Woman's Sexuality". Kampala International Theatre Festival. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
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