Nisha Kalema

Nisha Kalema is a Ugandan multi-award winning actress, producer and writer.[1] She won 3 Best Actress Awards at the Uganda Film Festival Awards in 2015, 2016 and 2018 for her roles as Grace in The Tailor, Amelia in Freedom and Veronica in Veronica's Wish respectively.[2]

Nisha Kalema
Born23rd July
Kawempe, Kampala, Uganda
CitizenshipUgandan
EducationBuganda Royal Institute of Business and Technical Education
(Certificate in Journalism and Creative Writing)
Occupation(s)Actress, Producer, Writer
Years active2014–present
AwardsFull list

Career

Kalema's debut acting role was in a television series, It Can’t Be, which aired on WBS TV in 2014. The producer of It Can't Be, Richard Mulindwa offered her another role in a movie, Hanged For Love, where she played Jackie, an unlucky-in-love young woman.

Kalema starred in her breakout film Galz About Town playing Clara, a leader of a gang of high end prostitutes. She received positive reviews for her performance from views and the media.[3][4]

Hassan Mageye, the producer of Galz About Town, cast Kalema in a lead role as Grace in his 2015 film, The Tailor. With The Tailor, she won her first Best Actress Award at the 2015 Uganda Film Festival Awards for portraying a materialistic wife who leaves her husband and daughter when she finds out her husband has cancer.

Kalema received her second win for Best Actress at the 2016 Uganda Film Festival Awards for her role as Amelia in Freedom. The film won six awards including Best Picture and Film of the Year. Kalema received more international attention for her role in Freedom. Kalema and the rest of the cast staged Freedom at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland and the Bernie Grant Arts Centre in London in August 2017.[5] Kalema had also written the script for the film but lost her writing credits on promotional posters, DVD and theater release even after pleading with the producers to get her credits.[6][7]

In 2016, Kalema played Prossy in Jinxed, Lee Krassner in Ugandan Pallock and Diana in The Only Son. She also got a recurring role on Yat Madit TV series.

In 2018, Kalema produced and played the lead role in Veronica's Wish, in which she played a cancer patient.[8] She received her third Best Actress Award for the film at the 2018 Uganda Film Festival Awards and the film went on to win nine awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Support Actor (Male) becoming the biggest winner.[9]

Education and personal life

Kalema attended St Charles Lwanga Primary School in Matugga, Oxford Muslim High School, Kawempe Muslim School, Kalinabiri Secondary School and completed her A-level at Kampala High School in 2009. She later graduated from Buganda Royal Institute of Business and Technical Education with a Certificate in Journalism and Creative Writing in 2013.[10][6]

Filmography
Film
Year Title Role Notes
2014 Hanged For Love Jackie
Galz About Town Clara
2015 The Tailor Grace Won Best Actress at UFF Awards
2016 Freedom Amelia
The Only Son Diana
Ugandan Pollock Lee Krassner
Jinxed Prossy
2018 Veronica's Wish Veronica Won Best Actress at UFF Awards
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2021 Juniors Drama Club (JDC) TV series directed by Allan Manzi
2014 It Can’t Be WBS TV series
2016 Yat Madit
Theatre
Year Title Role Notes
2017 Freedom Amelia Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Bernie Grant Arts Centre

Awards and nominations
Year Nominated work Association Category Result Ref.
2015 The Tailor Uganda Film Festival Awards Best Actress Won [11]
2016 Freedom Won [12][13]
2018 Veronica's Wish Won [14]
Best Script (Screen Play) Won
Best Feature Film Won
2019 Mashariki African Film Festival Best East African Feature Film Nominated [15]

References
  1. "TheFlick: Nisha Kalema and Her Acting Career". Uganda: Watsup Africa. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  2. "Nisha Kalema (L) poses with her second UFF Best Actress award in a row". Eagle. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  3. Kakwezi, Collins. "Nisha Kalema arrives with Galz About Town premiere". The Observer. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  4. Kakwezi, Collin. "Nisha has her pretty eyes on Hollywood". The Observer. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  5. "Ugandan film 'Freedom' set for UK stage debut". Edge. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  6. "Nisha Kalema: A footballer that fell in love with stories". Daily Monitor. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  7. Idowu, Tayo. "Nisha Kalema: European Film Premieres (18–19 Aug)". Ebony Online. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  8. "Nisha Kalema's 'Veronica's Wish' Film Premiers Next Month". Glim Ug. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  9. Ampurire, Paul. "FULL LIST: New Drama 'Veronica's Wish' Scoops Major Accolades at Film Festival Awards". Soft Power News. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  10. "Nisha Kalema". IMDb. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  11. "UFF 2015 Award Winners". Uganda Film Festival. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  12. "'Freedom' sweeps the board at Uganda film awards". Eagle. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  13. "UFF 2016 AWARD WINNERS". Uganda Film Festival. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  14. "Veronica's Wish Sweeps All Major Awards At Uganda Film Festival". Chano8. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  15. "Four Ugandan Ladies Nominated In The 2019 Mashariki Film Festival In Rwanda". Glim. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
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