Call Me Kuchu, a documentary that masterfully explores the Ugandan LGBT community’s quest for equal rights amid conservative anti-gay Western evangelical encroachment, is a battle cry for freedom. The documentary follows the life of David Kato, Uganda’s first openly gay activist, and his fight against Uganda’s pending homophobic laws. It also introduces viewers to the struggles of those in David’s life, including Bishop Senyonjo, expelled from the Anglican Church of Uganda for his theological defense of the LGBT rights.
Filmed during the time in which Uganda’s controversial Anti-Homosexuality Bill was first introduced, Call Me Kuchu vividly exposes the urgency of the LGBT community’s struggle. Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill gained public and political traction after local tabloid-styled newspaper Rolling Stone ran salacious photos of local LGBT Ugandans alongside headlines calling for the hanging of gays and pedophiles. But Call Me Kuchu shows how the LGBT activists’ appeal to the rule of law and one’s right to privacy forced a court decision in their favor. Indeed, Rolling Stone’s publishing of LGBT Ugandan’s addresses and photos alongside false claims of sodomizing children could only be construed as a fatwa condemning gays to public assassination. Shortly after their court victory, David Kato was tragically found beaten to death in his home, sparking international intervention in Uganda.
Call Me Kuchu gently tells its story, following its subjects in their daily routines in a way that humanizes them, while offering their opponents at Rolling Stone a platform to defend themselves. Crucially, it also highlights the struggle between mob rule and the rule of law. Anti-gay sentiment swells in the court of mass appeal, even when it is apparent that Western Anglican meddlers are the immediate cause of the unrest. This nuanced approach gives Call Me Kuchu depth and power in its messaging.
Released in February of this year, Call Me Kuchu has won several awards including the Best Documentary Award at the Berlin Film Festival. It screened at Los Angeles Film Festival in the Documentary Competition and heads to San Francisco for the Frameline Film Festival.
Documentary Competition
(USA, 2012, 87 mins)
US Premiere
Directed By: Katherine Fairfax Wright,
Malika Zouhali-Worrall
Producer: Malika Zouhali-Worrall
Cinematographer: Katherine Fairfax Wright
Music: Jonathan Mandabach
Editor: Katherine Fairfax Wright