In honor of Human Rights Day, December 15th, Call Me Kuchu, a work in progress screening took place at the Tribeca movie theatre in New York. The pre-screening brought together the filmmakers, and the audience, to brainstorm and design on the spot audience engagement. The screening was followed by a panel discussion of human rights experts.
The movie made by the two young women filmmakers Katherine Fairwax Wright and Malika Zouhali-Worral tells the story -at once tragic and hopeful of a community of gay and transgender Ugandans in a country where homosexuality is a crime punishable by life imprisonment.
The movie is a tribute to David Kato- Uganda's first openly gay man , one of the few who worked against the clock to defeat the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill that threatened to make homosexuality punishable by death. His brutal murder sent shockwaves around the world and left Uganda's lgbt community traumatized and seeking answers for a way forward.
Uganda's "kuchus" find themselves fighting for justice and freedom on the frontlines of Africa's gay rights movement. It explores a community that is at once persecuted and consoled by the Christian faith and examines the astounding courage required to continue battling an oppressive government.
After the screening the filmmakers were joined by Pierre Bairin (Human Rights Watch) Andre Banks (Purpose and AllOut) Sam Gregory (Witness) Wade Muc Mullen (Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights) and Spectra Speaks (QWOC) The discussion was moderated by Peabody winning filmmaker Judith Helfand. The panel talk served to give an overview of the political and social situation in and outside Uganda while at the same time giving the audience a better understanding of the topic explored in the film.
Call Me Kuchu will be having its WORLD PREMIERE at the Berlin Film Festival Saturday, February 11, 5pm. It is a heartbreaking and authentic account of various forces that shape the situation of the lgbt community in Uganda.
The trailer can be accessed here: http://callmekuchu.com/trailer/
