Nana Kagga
{{short description|Ugandan screenwriter, filmmaker and actress}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Nana Kagga Macpherson
| image = Nana Hill Kagga RealTVfilms.jpg
| caption = Kagga interviewed by RealTVfilms in 2008
| birth_name = Nana Kagale Kagga
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1977|4|6}}
| birth_place = Uganda
| years_active = 2003–present
| alma_mater = University of Birmingham, UK
| occupation = {{flatlist|
- Screenwriter
- producer
- actress
- director
}}
| children = 3
| spouse =
| parents =
| awards = Best Actress in a Feature Film, 2022
}}
Nana Kagga (also known as Nana Kagga-Hill or Nana Hill or Nana Macpherson) is a Ugandan filmmaker, scriptwriter and actress.{{cite web|title=Star Profile: Nana Kagga An All Round Dreamer Changing The Face Of Television|url=http://chano8.com/star-profile-nana-kagga-round-dreamer-changing-face-television/|website=Chano 8|publisher=Roy Ruva|access-date=16 June 2016|archive-date=19 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019194935/https://chano8.com/star-profile-nana-kagga-round-dreamer-changing-face-television/|url-status=dead}} She wrote and directed the 2012 film The Life and was a writer and executive producer of Beneath the Lies – The Series.{{cite news|title=Nana Kagga parades boo|url=http://kampalasun.co.ug/nana-kagga-parades-boo/|access-date=27 April 2015|agency=Kampala Sun|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508041357/http://kampalasun.co.ug/nana-kagga-parades-boo/|archive-date=8 May 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|title=New star studded TV series to hit screens in 8 weeks|url=http://www.satisfashionug.com/new-star-studded-tv-series-to-hit-screens-in-8-weeks/|access-date=30 July 2014|agency=Satisfaction Ug}} She has written Mukisa, My Sister's Keeper with Clive Nshiime, Pieces of Me and many more. She is the co-owner of Savannah MOON, a production company in Uganda.
Life and background
Kagga was born in Nairobi, Kenya to Ugandan parents, one an engineer. Kagga is a Muganda and part of the traditional ruling clan of the Baganda tribe, the Bambejja (princesses). Kagga is the third of six children of both her parents. At the time of her birth, her parents were in exile during the regime of President Idi Amin. Kagga grew up primarily in Uganda in a well-to-do family. In addition to her father and maternal grandfather, four of her siblings are also engineers. Kagga resides in Kampala, Uganda with her 3 children. She is fluent in English and Luganda.
Education
Kagga completed her Primary education at Kampala Parents School. She then joined Gayaza High School, one of the most prestigious girl's schools in Uganda, for her O-Levels. She then did her A-Levels at Red Maids School, Bristol, the oldest Girls' School in the UK. Kagga then joined the University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK where she attained a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering. Kagga was an excellent all-round student who excelled in sciences, arts and sports. During her summer holidays, she would return to Uganda and was a presenter for Jam Agenda on WBS, a popular Ugandan TV show.{{cite web|last1=Baranga|first1=Samson|title=Kagga, the engineer with a passion for film|url=http://www.observer.ug/component/content/article?id=21207:-kagga-the-engineer-with-a-passion-for-film|website=The Observer|date=27 September 2012 |access-date=27 September 2012}}
Career
= Engineering =
Following her graduation, Kagga moved to Florida, United States, then New Mexico, United States. In New Mexico, she worked at Laguna Industries as a Process Engineer in Laguna working on US Military contracts.{{cite web|title=Caught between the arts and sciences|url=http://mobile.monitor.co.ug/-/691260/1226154/-/format/xhtml/-/11f7q6yz/-/index.html|website=Daily Monitor|access-date=28 August 2011}}
= Hollywood (as Nana Hill) =
Kagga decided to move to pursue her acting and presenting in Los Angeles and enjoyed some success. Kagga was cast in a number of films including Cowboys and Indians, A Good Day to Be Black and Sexy (Segment 'Reprise'), He's Just Not That into You, Star Trek, CSI: NY – Boo, Life, Runway Stars. In US Theatre, Kagga was cast as Mercy in the play, Butterflies of Uganda by Darren Dahms which was nominated for an NAACP award.
Kagga appeared in several music videos by P!nk, Amy Winehouse, Sting, Lenny Kravitz.{{cite web|title=Interview with Nana Kagga of 'The Life'|url=http://muwado.com/interview-with-nana-kagga-of-the-life/|website=Mawado|date=9 March 2013 |access-date=9 August 2013}}
Kagga also appeared in several TV ads including for KFC, Coors Light, Pepsi, DSW, Microsoft, APPLE, Tylenol, DOVE.{{cite web|title="If You Give Yourself Permission to Dream, You Will Be Amazed at What You Can Achieve" Nana Kagga-Macpherson #AfricanWomanOfTheWeek|url=http://buqisi-ruux.com/if-you-give-yourself-permission-to-dream-you-will-be-amazed-at-what-you-can-achieve-nana-kagga-macpherson-africanwomanoftheweek/|website=Bugisi Ruux|access-date=3 August 2015}}
While in L.A, Kagga also owned a vintage and resale store on Santa Monica Blvd called A Vintage Affair.
= In Uganda =
Kagga moved back to Uganda in late 2009 and set up a business, Savannah MOON Ltd. Savannah MOON under the brand, Savannah MOON Productions produced a full-length feature film, The Life{{cite web|title=THE LIFE Official Movie Trailer, Directed by Nana Hill Kagga|url=http://www.ugandandiasporanews.com/2012/07/15/the-life-official-movie-trailer-directed-by-nana-kagga-hill/|website=Ugandan Diaspora|access-date=15 July 2012|archive-date=2 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102033729/http://www.ugandandiasporanews.com/2012/07/15/the-life-official-movie-trailer-directed-by-nana-kagga-hill/|url-status=dead}} which was shown on M-NET, a TV Series Beneath The Lies – The Series,{{cite web|title=Beneath The Lies' Nana Kaggwa Fit to Burst|url=http://chimpreports.com/entertainment/beneath-the-lies-nana-kaggwa-ready-to-burst/|website=Chimpreports|access-date=15 May 2015|archive-date=20 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920053647/http://chimpreports.com/entertainment/beneath-the-lies-nana-kaggwa-ready-to-burst/|url-status=dead}} which is currently being shown on Urban TV and digitally distributed by MTN Uganda. Savannah MOON has also co-produced several short and Feature films in addition to TV series.
Nana has created an initiative, You are Limitless (YAL), which aims to motivate, guide and encourage Africans, especially the youth to achieve their full potential. Kagga also works as a Petroleum Engineer for one of the large Oil & Gas companies operating in Uganda. She was one of the judges for Miss Uganda 2018.{{cite web |title=Five Miss Uganda beauty pageant judges unveiled |url=https://www.ugandaonline.net/2018286_five_2018_miss_uganda_beauty_pageant_judges_unveiled |website=Uganda Online |access-date=6 July 2018}}
Filmography
= As an actress =
== Film ==
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Film ! Role ! Director ! Notes |
|---|
| 2022
| Nalwawo | Nanta | Emokor Eric | Produced at Savannah MOON Productions, Geoffix Films, Spectacle Media |
| 2022
|Pieces of Me |Indigo Gray Namukasa |Nsubuga Nicholas |Produced by Savannah MOON Productions |
| rowspan="2" | 2009
| Enterprise Crew Member |
| He's Just Not That into You
| Party Guest |
| 2008
| A Good Day to Be Black and Sexy (Segment Reprise) | Candi | Dennis Dortch |
| rowspan="3" | 2007
| Collision | | | Independent film |
| Hitch-hike
| | | Independent film |
| Cowboys and Indians
| Indian | | Short film |
== Television ==
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Director ! Notes |
|---|
| 2021
| Prestige | Jazmine | | TV series produced by Ava Juliet Productions for Pearl Magic Prime |
| 2014
| Beneath the Lies – The Series | Attorney General | Joseph Katsha Kyasi | TV series, Savannah MOON Productions |
| rowspan="2" | 2008
| Runway Stars | Angel | | Web series |
| Life (NBC TV series)
| Pretty Black Girl | | TV series, NBC |
| 2007
| CSI: NY – Boo | Josephine Delacroix | TV series, CBS |
| 2006
| BET Stars | | | BET |
== Theater ==
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Director ! Theater ! Notes |
|---|
| 2008
| Darren Dahms | Mercy | Greenway Theater September–October 2008 |
= As a crew member =
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Film/TV series ! Role !Director ! Notes |
|---|
| 2023
|Kasozi Heights (Feature film) |Co-Director, Casting Director, Assistant, Script Editor, Acting Coach | Emokor Eric |Produced by Ceekay Films |
| 2023
|Goolo (Feature film) |Exec. Producer, Script Writer/Editor, Casting Director, Art Director |Geoffrey Kasozi |Produced by Savannah MOON, Commissioned by Maisha Magic Movies |
| 2022
|Mukisa (Feature film) |Exec. Director, Script-writer, Casting Director, Production/ Set Designer |Geoffrey Kasozi |Produced by Savannah MOON, Commissioned by Maisha Magic Movies |
| 2022
|My Sister's Keeper (Feature film) |Director, Exec. Producer, Script-writer, Casting Director, Set Designer |Nana Kagga |Produced by Savannah MOON, Commissioned by Maisha Magic Movies |
| 2022
|Pieces of Me (Feature film) |Actor, Script-writer, Casting Director, Exec. Producer, Set Designer |Nsubuga Nicholas |Produced by Savannah MOON, Commissioned by Maisha Magic Movies |
| 2022
| Nalwawo (Feature film) | Actor, Creator, scriptwriter, producer |Emokor Eric | Produced by Savannah MOON, Geoffix99 Films, Spectacle Media |
| 2021
|Empaabi (Feature film) |Co-Director, Casting Director, Exec. Producer |Geoffrey Kasozi, Nana Kagga |Produced by Savannah MOON, Geoffix99 Films, Spectrum Uganda Media |
| 2020
|Embeera (Short film) |Director, Script-writer, Casting Director, Exec. Producer |Produced by Savannah MOON, Geoffix99 Films |
| 2020
|Ubuntu (Short film) |Director, Script-writer, Casting Director, Exec. Producer |Nana Kagga |Produced by Savannah MOON, Geoffix99 Films |
| 2019
| Mela (TV/ Web series) | Creator, Scriptwriter, Director |Maria Corrazon, Nana Kagga | Produced by Savannah MOON |
| 2019
|The Quarry (Short film) |Casting Director, Exec. Producer |Eddie Kagutuzi |Produced by Savannah MOON, Baby Plantains production, Balkon Films |
| 2018
| Creator, scriptwriter, director | | TV series starring Cleopatra Koheirwe, Gladys Oyenbot, Housen Mushema |
| 2016
| The Last Breath (Short film) | Executive producer, Casting Director |Jordan Braise Ndawula | Produced by Savannah MOON, Kampala Film School , Balkon films |
| rowspan="2" | 2014
| Creator, scriptwriter, Executive Producer | | Produced by Kinetic Management Group, 40-Plus Productions, Savannah MOON |
| How We See It
| Host, director, producer | | Ugandan talk show |
| 2012
| The Life (Feature film) | Director, producer |Nana Kagga | Produced by Savannah MOON . |
Awards
| class="wikitable" width="60%"
! colspan="5" style="background: #FBFC8A;" | Awards & Nominations |
| style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! Year ! Award ! Category ! Work ! Result ! Ref |
| rowspan="8" |2023
| rowspan="8" |Uganda Film Festival Awards 2023 |Best Actress in a Feature film | rowspan="2" |Pieces of Me |Nominated | |
| Best Screen-play
|Nominated | |
| Best Feature Film (as Producer)
| rowspan="6" |Mukisa |Won | |
| Best Production Design
|Won | |
| Best Film in indigenous language (as Producer)
|Nominated | |
| Viewer's Choice (as Producer)
|Nominated | |
| Best Costume Design
|Nominated | |
| Best Screen-play
|Nominated | |
| rowspan="2" |2022
| rowspan="2" |Uganda Film Festival Awards 2022 | Best Actress in a Feature Film | rowspan="2" |Nalwawo |{{won}} |
| Best Indigenous Film
|{{won}} |
| 2021
|Uganda Film Festival Awards 2021 | Prestige |{{won}} |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|2049471}}
- {{Rotten Tomatoes person|nana-hill}}
- [https://www.facebook.com/nana.kagga.5 Nana Kagga Facebook Profile]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kagga, Nana}}
Category:Ugandan film actresses
Category:Ugandan television actresses
Category:Ugandan television presenters
Category:Ugandan television personalities
Category:21st-century Ugandan actresses
Category:Ugandan film producers
Category:Ugandan women film producers
Category:Ugandan film directors
Category:Ugandan women film directors
Category:Ugandan screenwriters
Category:Ugandan stage actresses
Category:21st-century Ugandan engineers
Category:Ugandan chemical engineers
Category:Alumni of the University of Birmingham
Category:People educated at The Red Maids' School
Category:People educated at Gayaza High School
Category:21st-century Ugandan women engineers
Category:Ugandan women television presenters