In Uganda, a new bill threatens to make homosexuality punishable by death. Read more …
David Kato - Uganda's first openly gay man - and his fellow activists work against the clock to defeat the legislation while combating vicious persecution in their daily lives. But no one, not even the filmmakers, is prepared for the brutal murder that shakes the movement to its core and sends shock waves around the world.
Ruzindana and her allies describe themselves as ‘empowered’ by the international revulsion of Kato’s death, and Call Me Kuchu works as a potent reminder of the political significance of his death. It will be alarming to many to see how easily hatred is stirred up by local media, but also rewarding to see that Kato’s fight for his own human rights has been ably captured for posterity.
The palpable sense of loss and grief testify to how the film-makers have turned what could have been a detached news report into a moving human tragedy.
The resolution of Kato and his activists to risk their lives for a better world eclipses all of the grim realities.
It's a lesson in courage, in being determined to enjoy one's life even as the authorities threaten to take it away.
An essential film in the pursuit of civil liberty and the fight against fascism.
As angry and unflinching a piece of documentary filmmaking as you'll see this year.
Thunderously political yet warmly personal documentary.
Call Me Kuchu isn't terribly artful; it would work better on television than the big screen. But it tears at that heart all the same. Such horror, such bravery.
A timely, gut-wrenching but ultimately hopeful work.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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