I’m making a new short film, which I’ll release on my PeerTube channel. It is a final target practice for a feature film (titled Big Tree) that I intend to shoot next year, themed on direct democracy in a near-future solarpunk world. Help me imagine this future with a donation (PayPal is preferred since other platforms take fees and then pay through PayPal). Pledge continuous support through Patreon, Ko-Fi, or LiberaPay. To use mobile money, bank transfer, or other means, get in touch! And follow me by e-mail or via RSS or on Mastodon for progress on the feature film.
The initial goal is US $2,000, which will help cover the basic costs of the shoot (see breakdown below) and other stretch goals are; about $750 for a 360 degree camera and other accessories needed in VFX, and about $500 for set constructions on locations.
Daily Update: $2,830 raised of $2,750 (Thank you so much!)
Update 4: Yes! I met my two goals, but I’ll leave this open so in case someone wants to donate!
Update 3: I met the main goal, of $2,000 which covers the production budget, so I’ll certainly start shooting in February. The stretch goal of $750 is for gear that will make it much easier to pull off the visual effects, and these include a 360 degree camera, a color checker, and green screen materials and frames.
Update 2: The solarpunk ideas I’ll explore in Wind
Update 1: Reflections on me embracing the solarpunk genre.
Note: If the PayPal campaign link below seems broken please send it through this form.
A bit of background about Big Tree
Around 2018, I started developing Big Tree (original title is Yat Madit), which is set in a world where every village is autonomous and enjoys a high level of self-sufficiency, manufacturing any tool or device in their backyard. I recently learned that this is solarpunk! This idea came after years of intense daydreams about a future without central governments or politicians, where thousands of people are co-presidents and every citizen is a parliamentarian, and they govern themselves using a digital technology modeled on decentralized social media. After recent events in Nepal, where protests led to Nepali using Discord to elect a new prime minister, well, it validates my imagination and makes me believe that direct democracy can thrive in our world.
I’ve written two short stories set in this universe, and you can read both online for free. Yat Madit, published in Africanfuturism Anthology and The Gray Girl, published in Lowle Magazine. A couple of months ago, I finished a novella, as yet unpublished, and it nicely fits the solarpunk genre. If you are the reading type and donate $20 or more, I’ll send you a copy! The novella helped me clarify the world of the film, but of course to depict such a future needs a lot of visual effects. So I made many short films to learn CGI, including Little Red Eve (2025), which revolves around the villain in Big Tree, and it helped me figure out how a key visual effect that will drive the plot. You can watch the trailer here (everyone who donates gets a link to watch it). In 2019, I made Akoota, but failed to depict a futuristic village. So Wind will enable me figure out how to transform a present day village into a futuristic dream.
How Much Money and Time I Need
I’m not entirely sure of the final amount, since we shall shoot in a village about 350km from my home base in Kampala, and the final costs will depend on the actual shooting location, but it will be about $2,000. Of this, about $500 will pay the cast, about $200 will go towards on-set transportation, catering, and other logistics, $700 will cover set constructions, costumes, and props (this is higher than usual since I’ll use practical effects in some scenes, and also prepare the locations to be transformed in post-production), $800 will cater for transportation and accommodation of the crew from Kampala. I already own all the equipment I need, and have a salaried crew and also members of our film collective to rely me, hence why I’m not budgeting for these.
The stretch goal is about $750, for equipment and accessories to make my VFX workflows easier, including a 360 camera and a color checker. We will shoot indoor scenes in my studio, but exterior scenes will be in an actual village, which we might have to dress up in preparation for VFX (for example painting walls green/blue to prepare for keying) and so this might mean another stretch goal of $500 more.
If I don’t raise all I need it will take a bit longer to finish the film, but I’ll eventually make it, so any dollar you give will be put to a good use.
I’ll start writing the script and creating 3D models in December 2025. I hope to shoot late in January or early February 2026, and (hopefully!) finish the film by 30th April 2026. There after, I’ll start on the feature.
The Story
I work in many genres, though I’ve preferred comedy for films targeting the Ugandan audience and sci-fi for a more international audience. Wind is the first where I deliberately will mix comedy and sci-fi, though it leans to the dark side. A man is wrongly accused of beating his wife into a coma over a piece of chicken. Unconscious, she can’t testify that it was an accident. Their country is a federation of village-states, with no central government, no politicians, and no police. Instead, thousands of people are co-presidents and every citizen is a parliamentarian, and they govern themselves using digital technology that resembles social media like the fediverse. So the committee for justice reaches a consensus to banish our hero from his village-state, and he wanders about looking for a new home. All villages have zero tolerance for misogynists and so the poor fellow finds himself living in the bush like a criminal, until his wife awakens and tells the truth.
Why This Film Matters
When I started developing Big Tree in 2018, I was thinking more about African countries struggling with bad leadership. I was perhaps among those who thought Trump’s first term was a one-off error, but he got re-elected last year, and things in the US, and in much of the world, took a dark turn as fascism became fashionable to some idiots. This story is my contribution to the conversation about our futures, about decolonizing governance and establishing democracies that serve people rather than politicians and the rich. Such a story, perhaps, will inspire people to ask why power resides only in the hands of a few dangerous buffoons.
On addition, in Wind I want to imagine how communities might survive the climate crisis; how we might thrive without capitalism. I don’t claim to offer solid solutions, but stories have power to inspire and talking about the kind of world we would love to live in creates opportunities for it to come alive. A sweet daydream that keeps me going is a self-sufficient village, which has all the luxuries and necessities of modern life, with plant-based solar panels providing power and 3D printers (whose ink is made using algae from a local swamp) spewing out any gadget you want…. Your support will help me visualize this punk dream.
Rewards
This is just a small way for me to thank you very much for your generosity! And of course, you can donate any amount you are able to give beyond what I’ve put down below.
Donate $5 and get all above plus access to download a pilot I made for a dramedy TV Series, The Purple Cloud, (2020). Plus a screenplay version of the short film Wind (if you ask for it!). Plus access to watch Little Red Eve (2025). Plus, access to download a high quality version of Wind.
Donate $10 and get all above plus access to download my first feature film, The Felistas Fable (2013). This time, the beast is a woman and she kidnaps the beauty in a quest to break the curse and win back her husband’s love. See the trailer here.
Donate $20 and get all above plus download access to 6 episodes of a comedy web-series, about a petty con artist, his wanna-be musician girlfriend, and his overbearing mother! See the trailer here. Plus you get an e-book bundle of two short stories and a novella set in the Big Tree universe, if you are the reading kind! Just make a note about it!
Donate Any Amount and you’ll get all the rewards closest to it. I know things are tough everywhere, but I’ll appreciate any gesture of support. For example, if you give $1 or $3, you still get every reward in the $5 bracket. Give $15 and get the rewards in the $20 bracket. If it is $30 or more, you get a bonus feature film, Her Broken Shadow. See trailer here. The synopsis goes like this: “When the boundary between the worlds of two women in different timelines collapses, they have to solve a murder each committed in her childhood so as to understand the nature of their existence and avoid a complete descent into madness.”
The Team
Who is behind this film? I’m Dilman Dila, and you can see my full bio here. I’m a writer and filmmaker, and been making films for a long time, and been recognized in many awards, mostly within Africa. For writing, I’ve caught a few people’s eyes in the international arena, with recognition on the Philip K Dick Awards and the BSFA Awards. I work with pretty much the same crew, and together we’ve made my last few films, The Night Dancer, Lanyonyo, Fear The Flower, and Little Red Eve. These include cinematographer Okullu Johnson, whose notable credit is Law of Consequences, editor Charlie Kobong, who edited Little Red Eve and was director of Law of Consequences, and Producer/Assistant Director Sanyu Sandra, whose film Asiimwe’s Gift, won awards at the regional film awards in Uganda.