Ugandan filmmaker Jonathan Benaiah wins top African wildlife award for 'Musambwa'

Ugandan filmmaker Jonathan Benaiah has secured a significant victory at WildPitch Kenya 2026, a prominent pitching competition for wildlife and natural history filmmakers across Africa. Benaiah’s documentary project, titled ‘Musambwa’, was named the overall winner during the Wildscreen Festival Kenya held in Nairobi.

The winning project delves into the intricate relationship between humanity and the natural world, focusing on two Ugandan elders. One elder is dedicated to protecting sacred cobras on Musambwa Island in Lake Victoria, believed by the community to house ancestral spirits. The other elder carries the physical and emotional scars from surviving near-fatal snakebites. Together, their narratives highlight the complex interplay of belief, coexistence, and nature conservation.

Benaiah’s ‘Musambwa’ was chosen from a competitive field of six finalists from across the continent. The award not only brings international recognition but also provides partial development funding to advance the documentary’s research and production phases. Benaiah expressed that the award is both humbling and encouraging, underscoring a growing global interest in African narratives that connect conservation, culture, and indigenous knowledge.

This achievement marks another important moment for Uganda’s burgeoning community of environmental storytellers and documentary filmmakers. The Wildscreen Festival Kenya, organized by the UK-based conservation charity Wildscreen, serves as a crucial platform for African filmmakers to connect with industry leaders, broadcasters, and conservationists, offering opportunities to pitch projects to international audiences.

The festival featured screenings and discussions on the future of natural history storytelling, including previews of National Geographic productions. For Benaiah, the ‘Musambwa’ award signifies a validation that stories originating from African landscapes and belief systems possess global resonance.

Source: Daily Monitor (Uganda) https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/ugandan-filmmaker-wins-top-african-wildlife-storytelling-award—5499600