Cineteo.com has finally launched. It features hundreds of top Ugandan movies.
It is the first website of its kind in that it is completely legal and Ugandan filmmakers are fairly compensated for their work. It is not a pirate website.
The website was founded by John Cobb, an American businessman. He teamed up with JakiraSuudi, a Ugandan filmmaker and actor, in order to find the best Ugandan content available.
“I’m grateful to have the opportunity to work with some of these Africa’s greatest filmmakers,” said John Cobb, “These filmmakers have great stories to tell and I’m honored to be the man to take Ugandan cinema global.”
“It’s finally here. This is a great opportunity for all Ugandan filmmakers to showcase their talent and receive fair payment,” said JakiraSuudi.
People will be able to purchase a membership to the website for 4.99 USD per month. Subscribers have to pay using a credit or debit card or PayPal. It offers access to unlimited Ugandan movies. Subscribers will be able to enjoy the works of top Ugandan filmmakers and production companies such as Mageye Hassan, BbosaSerunkuma, HK Movie Industry and Wakaliwood. The catalog also includes some Latin programming and classic American programming. Cobb promised Cineteo.com will even have some free movies.
“We have something for everyone—even people who don’t have a debit card. We also have older, classic films from the United States. Everybody should check them out. There are a lot of good ones. If you can get to a computer or phone with Internet access, you can watch a movie,” Cobb said, “There are not going be any advertisements because they’re annoying. People need to be able to enjoy their movies without interruption. That’s why we have the monthly membership fee.”
Originally scheduled to launch in February, the website suffered some setbacks. The team decided to postpone launch until they could deliver a quality product.
“We were repeatedly attacked by black hat hackers and their bots. These were people who just didn’t want to see a successful African movie-streaming website. They wanted to take it down,” Cobb said. “It took some work, but we finally got it done.”
Cobb Films team employed some of the top talent in Internet security from both the United States and India to build the website. The team also saw to it the website was the best possible when it came to loading speed and picture quality.
“Filmmakers aren’t charity workers,” Cobb said. “There’s a lot of time, talent and treasure that goes into making a movie. When they can make money back, filmmakers can make more movies and investors want to help them. That investment produces jobs for everyone. That’s how it works. There’s no reason Kampala can’t become the Hollywood of east Africa. There’s certainly enough talent here. We’re pleased to be part of that growth.”
“Uganda is finally getting the recognition it deserves,” said JakiraSuudi.