Memories of Love Returned – An Award-Winning Film by Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine Comes Home

Not often do we encounter a film of this nature. Who created it, and who it is about, makes it cinematic gold on the Ugandan scene and beyond. Named among the ten best documentaries in Africa by OkayAfrica, Memories of Love Returned, a film by Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, is finally coming to Uganda.

When and Where You Can See It

The film will premiere in Mbirizi on 27 and 28 February, and will later screen at Century Cinemax Acacia Mall on 6, 7 and 8 March.

A Photographer Who Captured a Nation

The film tells the compelling story of Kibaate Aloysius Ssalongo, a Ugandan studio photographer whose work documented everyday life in rural central Uganda for more than five decades. His photographs captured intimate moments, weddings, graduations, family portraits and community celebrations, creating an extensive visual archive that preserved the social history of his region during a period of significant change in post-independence Uganda.

Chronicling Life, Love and Community

Ssalongo became known as a trusted chronicler of personal milestones, and his studio served as both an artistic space and a cultural gathering point. His work emphasised dignity, kinship and ordinary moments rather than political spectacle, offering a rare visual record of rural Ugandan life through the latter half of the twentieth century. Despite his significant output and influence among locals, he remained relatively unknown internationally before his death on 25 November 2006.

From Discovery to Documentary

Interest in Ssalongo’s photography grew after filmmaker and actor Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine encountered his studio by chance in 2002, beginning a decades-long project to preserve and share his legacy. This effort culminated in the documentary film Memories of Love Returned (2024), which explores Ssalongo’s life, vast archive and the emotional impact his photographs had on generations of families he documented.

Today, Ssalongo is increasingly recognised as an important visual historian whose work offers insight into memory, identity and community in rural East Africa, transforming a once-hidden body of photographs into a significant cultural archive.