CineLab Akademie

As we step into the month of April, we are reminded that every new season brings an opportunity to tell better, bolder and more impactful stories.

At Cinelab Akademie Initiative, our commitment remains clear. We empower young creatives with the skills, tools and confidence to use film and visual storytelling as a force for transformation.
This month, we continue to invest in talent, nurture creativity and create spaces where ideas come to life through the lens.

Every story matters and every voice deserves to be seen and heard.

Here’s to a month of growth, creativity and meaningful storytelling.

Sometimes we lose simply because we don't know how to say it. When we say the right words in the right way, our impact is immeasurable.

Join our filmmaking and storytelling program to learn how to create captivating videos and create the right content for your audience.

This is the last call for the scholarship

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗬 𝗡𝗢𝗪! https://lnkd.in/dP2z5uNR

As more and more people get themselves vested into the creative field, learning a skill elevates your performance to a whole new level.

As we bounce back to work in 2026, our commitment is to empower more youths, especially young women, through skilling in the creative sector. Grab this opportunity while you still can, make use of your S4/S6 vacation season, and learn a skill that will redefine your destiny and usher you on an entrepreneurial pathway.

Apply Now! https://forms.gle/f4NFzAK6fkxN1E9M8

As we stand on the brink of 2026, it's a powerful moment to reflect.

This year at CineLab Akademie, we've seen how mastering one's own story can be a profound force for change. Yet, in a world of noise, the defining stories of our communities often go unheard.

2025 held countless stories. Who will tell them in 2026 if not us?

We're grateful to In Technology Uganda, Uganda, the Foundation, Uganda Communications Commission and for supporting us to empower a new generation of female African storytellers. Because while most platforms and tech will evolve, the need for authentic narrative is eternal. It’s about building platforms that turn talent into legacy and preparing young people, especially the young women, for decent employment in the digital economy.

So, pick up your pen, your camera, and your voice. Craft the story that makes the world stop and say, "𝘼𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖’𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡."

Join us on this journey in shaping the African narrative. Your audience is waiting.

Here’s to a 2026 filled with groundbreaking stories.

If you have a young person living in Uganda, especially young women, refugee women, young women with disabilities, share this link for them to join our next 10-week fully funded scholarships for film and storytelling https://forms.gle/f4NFzAK6fkxN1E9M8

#2026

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲!
Calling all young women aged 18–35 who love film or storytelling—especially refugees, women with disabilities, and those on S4 or S6 vacation!
Why spend your break just relaxing when you can learn, participate, and create as you prepare for the future?

Cinelab Akademie is offering a fully funded digital skilling training under the Mastercard Foundation 10X Program, designed to empower and elevate young women for dignified work in the digital economy.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻:
- 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀-𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗺 & 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴
- 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀
-𝗔 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼
- 𝗝𝗼𝗯 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴
- 𝗔 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲-𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻

𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝟭𝟬𝟬% 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲.
Report anyone asking for payment.

This program is perfect for your school break!
𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Cinelab Akademie resource hub—Ttula Road–Mpererwe, Kampala
𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: https://forms.gle/f4NFzAK6fkxN1E9M8
𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁: +𝟮𝟱𝟲-𝟳𝟬𝟬-𝟵𝟲𝟴-𝟭𝟰𝟲 / +𝟮𝟱𝟲-𝟳𝟬𝟲-𝟮𝟱𝟯-𝟵𝟰𝟰

Let’s make 2026 your most creative year yet!
Share this with a sister, cousin, or friend who needs to see this.

In partnership with and Mastercard Foundation

𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗢 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥!

Kampala sleeps beneath a red shroud; every breath draws in the ghost of parched earth.
Dust rises like ancestral smoke from the cracked veins of the city, painting ankles ochre, turning eyelashes into tiny desert palms.
The sun is a dull coin hammered flat against grey felt; even the matooke leaves hang their heads, whispering surrender. Yet listen.
Beneath the choking haze, a child’s laugh still slices the air clean.
Bare feet drum the rust-coloured paths, chasing a kite made of polythene and yesterday’s dreams.

Old women sway past with jerrycans crowned like golden queens, their hips rolling to the same ancient rhythm that outlasts drought and presidents alike.
Somewhere a radio spits Lingaflo into the heat, and hips answer before minds can complain. The earth is thirsty, yes.

Rivers shrink to silver threads, maize stands like tired soldiers with broken AK-47s, and goats chew on shadows.
But the people—ah, the people—refuse to drink despair. They plant anyway.
They marry anyway.
They roast maize on glowing coals and pass one cob between six hands, arguing over Premier League scores as if the sky will rain goals if they believe hard enough.

This is Uganda’s stubborn poetry in the dying days of 2025:
We cough dust and still sing.
We wipe sweat with the same cloth we use to polish hope.
We look at a sky that has forgotten how to cry and answer,
“Not yet, old friend. Our turn to weep joy first.” So tonight we sweep the red earth from our doorsteps one more time,
light candles that tremble like small defiant hearts,
and lift our voices over the crackle of firewood: “Thank you, 2025.
You came fierce and dry-lipped,
yet you will live us alive, laughing, together, unbroken.”

The clouds are gathering somewhere beyond the Indian Ocean’s swollen belly;
we can smell them in our prayers.
When they finally remember us,
they will find a people already dancing.
Faces painted with the same red dust
that will one day turn to mud beneath celebrating feet. Until then,
we keep the song warm.
We keep the gate open.
We keep each other. Rain is coming.
But joy is already here.

𝗨𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮’𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗪𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀

The one moment says it all—focus, passion, and a deep love for telling our own stories.

10 years ago, it was such a difficult thing to find a ready camera to use. You needed to be a BIG DREAMER to even own one; for many, this was only a dream. However, the story is changing rapidly. While so many of the pioneers only hoped to get into a media house and capture that story for a news agency, today, across Uganda, young creators are picking up their cameras and smartphone gadgets and capturing the truth of their communities with heart and purpose.

More avenues are opening up opportunities for empowerment and enabling the rise of more and more passionate storytellers across the country.

This isn’t just filmmaking.
It’s empowerment.
It’s creativity.
It’s the future.

If you believe that African stories matter—and that the next global filmmaker could be right here among us—tap and share this to inspire someone today. Uganda Communications Commission

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀, 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗼, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

Women carry an innate power to change narratives, and we are here to amplify it. Through the 10X Program, we're dedicated to giving more women the opportunity, tools, and platform to pursue their dreams in storytelling and craft the next great narratives that our world needs.

Because there is so much power in empowering the next generation of women to lead in the creative sector. When she wins, we all win!