Samuel Tebandeke

Writer-director

Uganda

Samuel Tebandeke is a screenwriter, producer and director with a background in finance and accounting. Alumnus of the MNET Screenwriters workshop (2009), Maisha Film Lab (2008 & 2009), Ouaga Film Lab (2020) and the Film Pro Series Pitching workshop (2021), Samuel has gone on to write for TV and film. He was one of the writers on TRICKSTARS, a TV show about common con schemes in Uganda that was broadcast on NTV Uganda in 2010. His debut short film, ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL DAY was released in mid 2017 and was in the official selection of the 40^th Durban International Film Festival 2019. His directorial debut TEN O’CLOCK, a short film, premiered in April 2019 In Competition for the Young African Film Makers Award at the Afrika Filmfestival in Leuven, Belgium. The film also screened In Competition at PÖFF Shorts Film Festival 2019 in Estonia.

Project

Conversations with my mother

Jane, 43 has arranged a birthday dinner for her daughter, Arit, 23. It is something that happened in the past when Arit was younger and the two have not celebrated in a decade. The relationship soured over the years and in the film we learn why this is so.
Arit is determined to use the dinner to finally confront Jane about the abuse she faced at the hands of her uncle. She believes that Jane denied that the abuse happened, chose to do nothing and turned to alcohol as escape, further neglecting her daughter.
The two women live in Kumi, a sleepy conservative town in the Eastern part of Uganda.
Jane learns that her brother Peter is returning from a long stint abroad on church service and will become the Archbishop of Kumi diocese. During the tense dinner that progresses towards implosion, we learn more about what happened in Arit and Jane’s past, exploring their separate experiences with Peter. The layers that will be uncovered will show that the events of the past are not as black and white.