Protest poetry & the grandson of Idi Amin Dada

September 1, 2017 1:02 PM

African Literary journal Brittle Paper interviews the director of the documentary Someone Clap For Me. Director Luciana Farah describes making the film about the youth poets as "observing young birds teaching each other how to fly." Originally a 10 minute short film, the feature film (official trailer) was supported in part by director Mira Nair's Maisha Labs, a non-profit training initiative for emerging East African filmmakers. (via)

This poetic rollercoaster ride chronicles Ugandan youth reclaiming their right to a voice by bringing village bonfire traditions to an urban setting. One of these young freedom of speech activists is Ugly Emcee, a social worker who also happens to be a grandson of the late dictator Idi Amin Dada. Through an unsettling meta-layer, these eclectic individual portraits combine to form a vision of a country trying to shed its past and build a more democratic reality, despite the conservative forces latching on to power. (film description)

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