Tips for filming and photography in Uganda
Uganda is well known for its unique beauty, the best climate in Africa, one of the most friendly countries in Africa, and lush green scenery. Uganda is also home to the 2nd largest freshwater lake in the world (Lake Victoria) and a source to the world’s longest river (the river Nile) with also the highest number of great primates which includes the famous mountain gorillas, golden monkeys, and chimpanzees in different National Parks of which makes Uganda one of the top destinations in Africa for documentary, filming and photography.
At Kisoro Tours Uganda as a local fixer for Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, DR-Congo, and Uganda, we are not only having knowledge and experience in what is necessary to make your filming and photography in Uganda production a success and also give you the opportunity established a good network of service providers like us to make the experience better. Contact Kisoro Tours Uganda for more detailed information on tips for filming and photography in Uganda.
Customs and filming kits and equipment cleaning services in Uganda
All companies and individual professionals coming to Uganda for filming or photography, are required to have a local ground handler to clear their filming kits and other equipment, all filming kits and equipment coming into Uganda are subject to temporary import permission which is the process that needs a local agent because the process requires to apply in advance with the values, names, and description of equipment and type.
At Kisoro Tours Uganda, we use trusted and reliable local clearing agents whom we have used for a long time to clear all the filming kits for our clients and also work on all required paperwork in the clearance process of the kits.
When clearing with customs, the fees are calculated based on the value of Kits and equipment, and when the time to exit from Uganda comes again there will be another process of export because the authorities want to make sure that all the kits and equipment are accounted for before exiting. Kisoro Tours Uganda will manage the entire above procedures on your behalf because if you’re doing it from a distance it can be complicated and time-consuming.
For all those who are planning to visit Uganda for filming and photographing, please take Note in Uganda we don’t have any company that is specializing in equipment hiring and rental, we highly recommend that you bring in all the kits and equipment for the projects you will be filming.
Weather and Climate in Uganda
Located in East Africa, Uganda’s climate and weather are largely equatorial tropical with two mains seasons which is the dry and wet season, dry season is during the months of June, July August, October September, December, January, and February while during the months of March, April May November is known as the wet season.
Generally, Uganda is a warm, tropical feel, however, what is interesting is that Uganda is also a mountainous country with a number of different mountains like Mount Rwenzori (5,109 m) (16,762 ft), Mount Elgon (4,321 m) (14,177 ft), mount Muhabura Volcano 4,127 m (13,540 ft) Mount Gahinga Volcano (3,474 m) (11,398 ft) and Mount Sabinyo Volcano 3,669 m (12,037 ft) which means Uganda’s temperatures do not get too high, the average temperature is 25-30 degrees.
What do local experts say about these tips for filming and photography in Uganda?
Uganda is located in the East Africa Community bordering Rwanda, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Africa, Uganda is a very safe country, however like any other growing country there are opportunistic small crimes like pickpocketing, home robbery, and petty theft do occur so take good care of your valuables but you don’t have to worry because chances of being a victim are very rare, and these incidences are more common in big cities like Kampala which is the capital city of Uganda.
For those who wandering why they should go for filming and photography in Uganda, this country is home to one of Africa’s most amazing diverse diversity of African landscapes and wildlife and Uganda has hosted films which include the famous The Last King of Scotland (2006), Raid on the Entebbe or Operation Entebbe or Operation Thunderbolt (Jul 3, 1976 – Jul 4, 1976), Queen of Katwe (2016), Congo (1995), and The African Queen (1951) among many other films that were filmed in Uganda.
Regarding the language, Uganda is the best English-speaking country in Africa, Uganda remains number one on the list of African countries that speak the best English, and Uganda inherited it from the colonial time as the official language with Swahili as the second language official languages.
Visas for filming crews and photography in Uganda
It is very to get an Uganda visa or working permit for different visitors and tourists visiting Uganda. For tourists and other visitors, you can apply for your visa online or get it on arrival at a cost of about $50. However, the tourists use an East African tourists visa which allows you multiple entry to Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi, the cost for East African tourists is $100 and valid for 3 months
Location filming Permits for filming and photography in Uganda
In order to have access to the different filming locations, one needs to first obtain film permits which are also known as press accreditation in different countries, filming permits in Uganda are issued by the Uganda media center in the form of a media card that allows you to access filming locations you wish to film in.
For the international film crew planning to visit Uganda for different filming projects contact Kisoro Tours Uganda to help you to process your media cards, once you reach out to us, we can process your filming permit or call it media cards within 4 days to about a week.
Permission from different government agencies like police, and local leaders among others is required for those who wish to film using drone filming in Uganda, however, we can also easiest to hire a drone locally from registered media houses.
Kisoro Tours Uganda can help you to process a temporary import/export of goods, here a single administration document or a carnet stamp will be provided which Kisoro Tours will take care of as local film fixers and usually anon-refundable fee of 10% of the total value of all equipment is required to be paid as a proof of ownership.
