The Luganda trailer for the film went viral on YouTube because of its over the top apparent parody of action films. The original version of Captain Alex was intended for local distribution in Kampala, hence Luganda was used and, therefore, there was no need for translation (Captain Alex). While a film industry in Luganda does now exist, because much of the cinema consumed in Uganda remains foreign, the VJ has remained part of the moviegoing experience (Director’s Commentary).
As VJs’ popularity grew, and as video halls declined, video jokers began selling copies of films with prerecorded commentary (198). A dubbing process integrated onto a cassette would be cost prohibitive and so, instead, a VJ would be present during the screening and translate the film in real time while adding comedic commentary (197-198).
Ugandan who killed captain alex trailer movie#
Cinema was most commonly consumed in video halls, generally in a “shack” where a small screen would display a movie played off of videocassettes (198). Until 2005, there were no locally produced films, so movies had to be imported from other countries and translated into the local language of Luganda (197-198, 203). The video joker, or VJ, was born out of pure necessity (Slavkovic 197-198).
This virality was due in large part to the “video joker,” which is a unique part of the local cinematic experience. Regardless, Captain Alex went viral in the West, with over six million views on Youtube at the time of writing. A car jack was employed in lieu of a tripod, cow blood was used for squibs, and– during production– dozens were killed by police as riots ravaged the city (Director’s Commentary). The film Who Killed Captain Alex? was created on a purported budget of 85 dollars in Wakaliga, a slum of the Ugandan capital of Kampala (Coleman). Please read the crafter statement before watching the video essay.
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