Professional photographer and filmmaker Hillen Akena says with the drastic growth of the Ugandan movie industry, he hopes to collaborate with Marvel Studios to produce movies someday.
According to him, the movie industry in Uganda is taking off fast and the content will ably compete with the rest of the movies on the international scene.
“Marvel Studios have been making all these killer movies that we've been watching on tv, these guys inspired me so much, and each time I watched their productions, I’d always think about collaborating because that's one of my visions. And I know in a future time will come for us to collaborate and produce something together,” he said.
Growing up, Akena started acting in primary school and secondary school. He recalled always getting his class to win the competitions and thought about filmmaking someday.
He then went to film school to professionalize his craft having been inspired by production agencies such as Uganda’s Swangz Avenue, and Marvel Studios.
Now a professional photographer and filmmaker, Akena wants to advance his career, transitioning to the production of commercials and more filmmaking.
He advised aspiring filmmakers to be creative and resilient if they want to pursue filmmaking as a career.
“You don’t have to give up, and the only thing that will make you stand out is being creative. You don’t need to do things the same way or copy. Ugandans need to embrace and respect copyrights” he explained.
“You have to work hard because they eventually come true. Histovik was a dream and it's still growing towards a perceived vision, that I had when I started it. So I’d advise youths to not give up on their dreams because they can achieve them,” he re-asserted.
Akena graduated from Makerere University in 2019 with Bachelors in Drama and Film. He is currently Pursuing an MBA Program ( Master of Business Administration). He has worked for Government organizations and individuals on a series of projects.
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