Uganda’s creative community has been called to take a leading and deliberate role in marketing the country through film, photography, and digital storytelling with the documentary Back to the Source: The Nile held up as a benchmark for what is possible when Ugandan creativity is matched with strategic ambition.
The call came during the Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE) 2026, held from 21 to 23 May at Speke Resort and Convention Centre, Munyonyo — Uganda’s flagship annual tourism trade show, celebrating its 10th edition this year and opened by H.E. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
Back to the Source: The Nile was exhibited at a dedicated booth throughout the three-day expo, introducing the documentary and its future plans to an audience of international hosted buyers, tourism operators, investors, media, and delegates from across the world.
According to Derrick Ssenyonyi, the Director, Back to the Source: The Nile and CEO, Linck Visuals Media Limited, there is a need for platforms where Ugandan creators can distribute and monetise their work while maintaining ownership of their stories because the global platforms are difficult to access and often offer limited returns for African creatives.
“We are here to highlight Back to the Source and make sure the message is clearly understood. Marketing is part of creation. You do not only create something good and stop there, promoting it and standing by it is part of the creator economy that many young people need to tap into,” he added.
Ambassador Judyth Nsababera, the Consul General, Republic of Uganda Guangzhou, China explained that a lot of Ugandans are going to China for trade. Still, they are also working hard to bring Chinese visitors to Uganda to experience the country, saying, “In 2024 alone, Chinese nationals made approximately 149 million overseas trips. Uganda remains largely untapped in that market and that is a significant opportunity we must seize.”
In addition, she noted, “We encourage Ugandan tour operators and tourism stakeholders to begin adapting their services and promotional materials for Chinese audiences including translation into Mandarin. The Chinese traveller is looking for authenticity. Uganda has that in abundance.”
Abu Mwesigwa, a Photographer and Author of Moments with Mzee highlighted that it is important as Africans and as Ugandans to take the lead in telling our own stories, adding, “Visual storytelling carries power pictures preserve history and connect people to real experiences. African creatives must invest in documenting and preserving our own narratives for the generations that follow.”
The presence of Back to the Source: The Nile at POATE 2026 marks a milestone in Uganda’s growing recognition of creative and cultural diplomacy as a tool for tourism promotion and national image-building. The film’s exhibition at the expo Uganda’s most significant annual tourism marketplace signals a broader shift in how the country positions itself to international audiences.
Speakers at the expo noted that Uganda’s tourism sector can no longer rely solely on conventional marketing channels. The emergence of documentary film, photography books, and digital storytelling as legitimate instruments of destination promotion reflects a global trend that Uganda is now leading on its own terms.
The Back to the Source screening programme is expected to continue with a public cinema screening at Arena Mall’s Century Cinemax on 30 May 2026, followed by a European Premiere at a date to be confirmed.
About the Documentary
Back to the Source: The Nile is a 25-minute cinematic documentary produced by Linck Visuals Media LTD, directed by Derrick Ssenyonyi, and executive-produced by Ambassador Judyth Nsababera, Uganda’s Consul General to the People’s Republic of China. The film follows Ambassador Nsababera as she returns to Uganda to trace the River Nile from its source in Jinja while confronting a lifelong fear of water.
The film made its world premiere in Guangzhou, China in December 2025, reaching over 73 million viewers across Chinese digital platforms. It held its Uganda National Premiere on 25 April 2026 at Méstil Hotel, Kampala, before 400 guests including government ministers, ambassadors from over 25 countries, and leaders from Uganda’s tourism, media, and creative industries. On 16 May 2026, the film was screened free of charge in the Katanga community in Kampala, reaching over 500 residents, families, and children with a live Luganda translation by VJ Ulio.
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