Memories of Love Returned with filmmaker Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine
2025 Carol B. Epstein Visiting Artist in the Department of Performing and Media Arts
On April 24th, 2002, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine’s car broke down in the small town of Mbirizi, Uganda. While waiting for the car's repair he stumbled upon a photo studio and met photographer Kibaate Aloysius Ssalongo, whose work spanned from the late 1950’s up till 2006 when he passed away. This chance encounter turned into a 22 year journey documenting and exploring Kibaate’s life and photography and the profound impact it had on Ntare’s life and the lives of the entire community he documented.
Executive produced by Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Soderbergh, Memories of Love Returned centers on a grand outdoor exhibition in Kibaate's hometown, showcasing over five decades of his work. The film provides a rare, intimate glimpse into the transformative power of photography, as a community uncovers forgotten images, long-buried family secrets, and previously unknown relatives — all brought to life through Kibaate’s lens. Beyond this, the documentary explores the complexities of Kibaate’s personal and professional life, sparking essential discussions around patriarchy, history, and community.
Filmmaker Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine will join for a post-screening conversation with Rejoice Abutsa, PhD candidate in the Department of Performing and Media Arts.
Free admission! Presented in collaboration with the Department of Performing and Media Arts and cosponsored by the Institute for African Development at the Einaudi Center for International Studies.
Part of our "Doc Spots" series. In English and Luganda with English subtitles. Courtesy of the filmmaker.
About the Filmmaker
Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine is an actor and filmmaker, who currently stars opposite Michael C. Hall in Dexter: Resurrection and alongside Taron Egerton in the new AppleTV series Smoke from celebrated writer Dennis Lehane. Mwine previously starred opposite Rachel Weisz in the 2024 Peabody Award-winning series Dead Ringers on Amazon, based on David Cronenberg's 1988 thriller. Mwine also played Detective Raymond Griggs in the David E. Kelley/Ted Humphrey Netflix hit series The Lincoln Lawyer, based on Michael Connelly's best-selling novels. Mwine's extensive television credits include his critically acclaimed portrayal of Ronnie, the complex anti-hero in Lena Waithe's Showtime series The Chi.
Mwine's work as a feature-length and short-film director has resulted in multiple awards. His short film Kuhani, won the main prize for Best Achievement in Directing at the Oscar-qualifying International Kurzfilmtage Winterthur in Switzerland and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Film at Slamdance. Mwine is presently on the 2024-2025 film festival run of his documentary feature Memories of Love Returned, spotlighting the life and work of the late great Ugandan photographer Kibaate Aloysius Ssalongo, which Steven Soderbergh is executive producing. The film won Best Documentary at the Zanzibar International Film Festival, the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Pan African Film Festival, and the Best Documentary Feature prize at the Silicon Valley African Film Festival 2024. It won Best International Documentary and won the Special Jury Mention Prize at the Africa International Film Festival 2024 in Lagos, Nigeria. Memories of Love Returned was also selected as one of the Top Ten African Documentaries of 2024 by OkayAfrica.
Mwine received his MFA in Acting from New York University and completed studies at The Moscow Arts Theatre in Russia, The Royal National Theatre in London and The University of Virginia. He has taught at Yale University and has taught theatre and film artists in more than a dozen countries in Africa. Born in Hanover, New Hampshire and a dual citizen of Uganda and America, Mwine has consistently worked across the mediums of photography, theatre, film and television.