Dilman Dila is a Ugandan writer, film maker and a social activist.His first novella, Birds on a Boat, will be released during the Storymoja Hay Festival 2013.
He started writing fiction at the age of fifteen. His first stories appeared in print in The Sunday Vision in 2001. His works have since featured in several ezines and book anthologies, including the African Roar, Storymoja, and Gowanus Books.
In 2008, he was nominated for the 2008 Million Writers Awards for his short story, Homecoming. He was shortlisted for the prestigious Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2013.
Film
Dilman is also a self-taught film maker, who has benefitted greatly from the Maisha Film Lab. His first short film was What Happened in Room 13 (2007). The Young Ones Who Won’t Stay Behind (2008) was his first collaboration with the world famous film maker, Mira Nair.
He spent two years in Nepal, where he made several documentaries. Untouchable Love (2011) was selected for IDFA’s Docs for Sale, 2011, where it was picked up by a UK based distributor. With The Sound of One Leg Dancing (2011), he won The Jury Award at the Nepal International Indigenous Film Festival in 2012. His first narrative feature, The Felistas Fable (2013) is currently making the rounds in festivals.
Writing
The Puppets of Maramudhu, published in StoryTime, February 2012
Stones Bounce on Water, published in Storymoja.com, April 2011
The Young Matchmaker, published in The Kathmandu Post, 4th July 2010
In Search of a Smoke, published in Gowanus Books, 2007
Homecoming, published in Gowanus Books, 2007, and nominated for the 2008 Million Writers Award:
Billy is Three Weeks Dead, published in Dead Men (and Women) Walking, 2006
Fragments of Canvas, published in Dark Fire, January 2005
Stu’s Bride, published in The Swamp, 2004
Death in the Moonlight, published in The Sunday Vision, May 2001
The Campaign Agent, published in The Sunday Vision, May 2001
The Soldier’s Wife, published in The Sunday Vision, February 2001
The First War, published in The Sunday Vision, January 2001
Filmography
Producer/Director/Writer
- The Felistas Fable (2013, Uganda), 90 minutes, (Trailer)
- Untouchable Love (2011, Nepal), 90 minutes, (Trailer)
- The Sound of One Leg Dancing (2011, Nepal), 30 minutes, (Trailer)
- The Dancing Poet (2012, Nepal), 60 minutes,
- Listening to Her Voice (2008, Uganda), 12 minutes,
- Street Strings (2008, Uganda), 15 minutes, (film)
Writer/Director
The Young Ones Who Won’t Stay Behind (2008, Uganda), 15 minutes| clip1 | clip2
What Happened in Room 13 (2007, Uganda), 18 minute. Film
How Will I Get a Drink? (2007, Uganda), 5 minutes. Film
Writer
After the Silence (2006, Uganda), 34 minutes. Film