Uganda Rising

 

This post was originally on the blog in May but seeing as how Uganda Rising will be screened three times in Vancouver leading up to Guluwalk on the 21st (on the 10th, 11th, and 16th) I thought I would re-post it for people to get an idea of what they’ll be going to see/walking for. For more information on the screening visit our “Events Schedule” page above.

From the Uganda Rising website:

Film Synopsis
For two decades, the Acholi people of Northern Uganda have been caught in a civil war between a rebel group whose main objective is inhumane terror and a government whose military response has often increased misery and suffering. Over one and a half million people have been displaced into camps and over 25,000 children have been abducted­­––to be used as soldiers and sex slaves.

And yet through it all, every day across Acholi-land something remarkable happens. Against a backdrop of dismal statistics, miniscule opportunity and unpredictable terror, in a part of Uganda forgotten by the world, children who have never known peace, face the day as if to live this way is normal, as if they still believe in the future. These children are the embodiment of resilience and hope. This film is the story of Uganda, her stolen children, and the fight to be free.

Originally titled When Elephants Fight: Stolen Children in Uganda’s Hidden War, the 82-minute documentary Uganda Rising has garnered acclaim from numerous film critics as well as the support of dozens of NGOs across North America and Europe for its groundbreaking story about the 20-year war and humanitarian crisis in northern Uganda. The film includes a rare interview with Uganda’s President Museveni (when he was a rebel leader working to overthrow Idi Amin’s coup) as well as interviews with human rights experts Mahmood Mandami, Samantha Power, Noam Chomsky, Honourable Lloyd Axworthy, and internationally renowned northern Uganda peace negotiator Betty Bigombe.

The film also features an interview with Dr. Erin Baines, who works at the Liu Institute for Global Issues here at UBC.