Filming in Uganda’s forests

Filming in Uganda’s forests. Uganda has various forests worth filming, Uganda’s forest cover stands at about 1.9 million hectares (ha), which is 10% of Uganda’s land cover area. The forests comprise both natural and established plantations. Natural forests include both the tropical high forests and another naturally wooded land that falls within the definition of forest. Today, forest and woodland cover in Uganda stands at 49,000 km² or 24% of the total land area. Of these 9,242.08 km² is tropical rainforest, 350.60 km² are forest plantations and 39,741.02 km² is woodland. 30% of these areas are protected as national parks, wildlife reserves managed by Uganda Wildlife Authority and central forest reserves managed by National Forestry Authority. Filming in Uganda’s forest is possible like filming in other parts of the country, you will need to follow procedure and secure all filming permissions for you to be able to film in these forests.

Eco Adventure Safaris Uganda will help you process all the required permissions for you to be able to film in Uganda forests, Once you have a given forest of forests you would like to film let us know and we will advise and secure all the requirements for you accordingly.

Best Forests for filming in Uganda

When choosing the best forest for you to film in Uganda, this will depend on the type of forest and what you would like to cover during your shoot, forests in Uganda are basically natural tropical rain forests, many are home for various wildlife including primates, mammals, reptiles and birds, some of the forests are gazetted as national parks and are managed and controlled by Uganda Wildlife Authority and others are considered as Central Forest Reserves managed and controlled by National Forestry Authority.

Central forest reserves managed by National Forestry Authority include; Mabira Forest, Budongo Forest, Kashoya-Kitomi Forest, Kalinzu Forest, Ecuya Forest, Bugoma forest, Mafuga forest, Kagombe forest, Itwara forest, Kitechura forest and Matiri forest among others.

Forests gazzetted as National parks and wildlife reserves managed by Uganda Wildlife Authority include; Bwindi Forest, Kibale forest, Semuliki Forest, Rwenzori Forest among others

Requirements for filming in Uganda’s forests

Central Forest Reserves are managed by National Forestry Authority and forests gazzetted as national parks and wildlife reserves are managed by Uganda wildlife Authority and with this you will need to get a filming permit to allow you film in a given forest depending on which forest you are interested in for filming, on top of this you will also need to process and get media cards from Uganda Media Council. Then for your filming equipment will also need to be cleared them with customs at the point of Entry in Uganda. Contact us at Eco Adventure Safaris Uganda we will be able to process both the filming permissions with Local Authorities, the National Forestry Authority, Uganda Wildlife Authority, Uganda Media cards, Accommodation, transportation for you as well guide and help you with clearance processes at the point of entry into Uganda.

Press Accreditation

All film crew members are by law supposed to be accredited by Uganda Media Council. Once this process is completed, each crew member will be given a media card which costs USD175.00 for 30 days of filming and USD225.00 for up to 60 days of filming. Each crew member is required to fill Form G (which we normally send to you) with all details, scan and send it back to us with a copy of his/her passport as well as one photograph to be put on his/her media card. On top of this, we will need a letter from the filming company detailing who they are, why they are filming, where they will be filming, and details of crew members on this shoot. We will attach this letter to all details provided and send them to Uganda Media Council for Media card processing. This takes 2-3 working days to have these media cards ready.

Visa Advice

You will need to purchase a tourist visa. Many film crews prefer obtaining their visas before they come to Uganda but visa’s can be obtained easily upon arrival at any entry point and in this case Entebbe International Airport upon paying either USD50.00 for Tourist Visa you will be able to get it immediately.

Vehicle Hire Services

Eco Adventure Safaris Uganda organizes transport for film crews depending on their interest, budget and the nature of roads in such selected locations. For rough terrains, like in National Parks, we recommend Customized 4×4 Land Cruisers which costs from USD200-250 per vehicle per day with Driver/Fixer or 4×4 Safari Vans from USD200 per Van per day with driver/Fixer. For us to estimate how much it will cost in terms of fuel, we will need to look at your filming schedule to establish mileage and distance to be traveled. We also organize both charter and scheduled air transport for those that need to fly in order to reduce on the number of hours. For those filming on water bodies, Eco Adventure Safaris works with other credible service providers who are in position to hire us boats.

Fixers in Uganda

All our vehicles come with drivers who act as location fixers and most of them have been to almost all parts of Uganda and are thus conversant with the local situations and are able to provide relevant information and fix any situation on ground. These act as intermediaries between you and our office while on location in Uganda.

Accommodation

Accommodation options to stay in during filming range from Budget, mid-range to luxury options. You will choose what to stay in depending on your interests and budget. Contact us here for details.

What is the best time to film in Uganda’s Forests?

Uganda has a modified equatorial type of climate with two rainy seasons and because of this people tend to associate dry seasons to be the best time to film in Uganda’s forests. This is true because when it is raining, it becomes hard to drive through the forests trails because of the heavy rains that make the trails too slippery. The best time to film in Uganda forests is during the months of December to February and then June to October which are relatively dry than March to May and November, but still all year around you will be able to film in Uganda forests given the fact at most times you can tell when it will rain due to climate change and nature.

Why use Eco Adventure Safaris Uganda to film in Uganda Forests.

Eco Adventure Safaris is a local fixer company, we assist filming companies and Production agencies in Uganda and East Africa as a whole for the last 8 years. We handle all fixer services required with our professional team of local fixers and driver guides. We work hand in hand with Uganda Wildlife Authority and National Forestry Authority and this is easy for us to process all your filming permissions. We have all relevant connections with other service providers and government agencies to make sure that accreditation and filming permits are processed in the shortest time possible. Contact us for details and all relevant information you would like to know to film in Uganda forests.