Rex Miller left Durham last weekend for the Malibu International Film Festival in California feeling more concerned about the basics -- flight arriving, film working, people coming -- than he was about his film, "Somay Ku: A Uganda Tennis Story," winning best documentary.

That never entered his mind, he said.

But that's just what happened. He was also nominated for best cinematography.

"You play enough tennis matches and you're taught to not think about winning," joked Miller, an accomplished tennis player himself who stays involved with the game by teaching part time at the Duke University faculty club.

Miller, 45, a relatively recent transplant to Durham from New York City by way of Wilmington, started making "Somay Ku" a few years ago after he found himself in Africa filming a piece for a small non-governmental organization about a nut-shelling machine that can help alleviate hunger.

His stay in Uganda happened to coincide with a match in the Davis Cup competition, the international tournament that draws some of the strongest tennis players each country has to offer.

Patrick Olobo, the subject of the film, was playing for Uganda. Miller met this teenager and was so captivated by his story that he offered to help him make contacts in the United States.

Olobo grew up amid the civil war that has plagued northern Uganda for more than 20 years. His family was displaced and his younger brother killed. Still, he managed to learn tennis and dreamed of coming to the U.S. for college and ultimately playing on the pro tour.

Miller documented Olobo's journey, and his efforts have paid off. The film will be shown on the Tennis Channel starting this fall, and will run 40 times throughout the course of a year. Miller hopes his success at the film festival will lead to even more exposure.

He said he didn't make this film simply to show people a teen and his dreams of playing big-time tennis, but rather to show where Olobo came from, to document moments of incredible generosity along with those of great disappointment.

"He faces obstacles and challenges and makes mistakes," said Miller of the film's protagonist.

Olobo was able to come to the States thanks to sponsorship from a very affluent and giving American family. He was ultimately accepted at California Baptist University and has been playing on the team. He has also struggled with being away from his family and meeting everyone's expectations.

As for an update on the Ugandan youth, "He's still in college, he's still trying to play pro tennis and he's having obstacles," Miller said.

Miller himself faced many obstacles making this documentary. He went to Africa for months at time, shooting hours of footage by himself. A photographer by trade, Miller is a self-taught filmmaker.

He applauds all of the local help he found when he moved to Durham about three years ago. Miller worked with Matthew Murphy, a graduate student at UNC-Chapel Hill, on adding African percussion to the film. Ted Roach, who recently moved to Washington, edited the film in Chapel Hill.

"It was great," said Roach, who coined the title from a scene in the film, which means, "Bounce . . . hit" in Olobo's native language. "It was like going to Africa every day."

Miller has new projects in the works and is collaborating with his girlfriend, Cynthia Hill, co-founder of the Southern Documentary Fund.

One project is a DVD on domestic violence, sponsored by the Governor's Crime Commission. He is shooting and editing, and is co-producing the piece with Hill. The film follows victims, judges, cops, lawyers and advocates through the experience of handling domestic violence. Miller is also working with director Dr. Steven Channing, who did "Durham: A Self-Portrait," on another piece concerning a Durham family.

The film's success isn't the only highlight in Miller's life these days. Miller and Hill, who live downtown in a loft apartment on East Chapel Hill Street, recently welcomed daughter Sadie to their family.

Miller has high hopes for her tennis game -- a one-handed backhand to be specific.