Review of WAR DANCE Documentary

By Ali Balunywa

Produced by: Fine Film Productions

Put together by Shine Global, a non-profit dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of children through the production of documentary films

The documentary begins with a pick up truck full of children in a rural setting. It is set around 3 kids in Northern Uganda. It follows them in the camp, training for the music competition and trip to Kampala. The scene then moves to children narrating their stories. It is set in Northern Uganda at the height of the insurgency.

The first boy narrates the difficulty of people believing what they have gone through. He does so with so much sadness, that since he was born he hears gunshots everyday. Another boy is filmed talking about loss of his parents. Next a girl comes on to say, they too can do good things, even as they live in a war zone, in an internally displaced people’s (IDP) camp in Patongo.

The camera zooms in to the camp showing closely built mud and wattle grass thatched huts heavily guarded by soldiers. The voice over explains that the school in the camp (Patongo primary School) won the regional music championship and will continue to Kampala to participate in the national championships. The 20,000 schools in the country compete for the national championship.

At the time the documentary was made, almost 2 million people in Northern Uganda lived in camps. The United Nations used to distribute food just once a month because of the insurgence and fear of ambushes by rebels.

Nancy, the girl in the camp lost her father when the rebels hacked him to death and took away her mother. After 3 days Nancy and her siblings went to the protected camp but the mother returned only after 2 months. The rebels must have used her as a sex slave until she escaped.

Nancy is 14 years old, but she has to look after her siblings at the same time go to school. The voice over explains that 90% of the Acholi people are like Nancy. Dominic, the boy also lives in a camp. He and his friends can’t even enjoy child pleasures like swimming for long in the river for fear of abduction by the rebels.

Dominic plays the xylophone. He wants to go to Kampala to see the city and also win the competition. He plays the xylophone like an adult. He claims playing makes him feel better and forget the bad things he has seen happening. He was abducted by the rebels at the age of 9 years and separated from his brother. He was made to do bad things like killing innocent people. He is one of the 30,000 Acholi children abducted to be child soldiers. The rebels turn the children into human killing machines.

The conditions in the IDP camp are appalling and the occupants don’t deserve this in their own country! Government used to give the people 48 hours to move into the IDP camps. Yet they did not receive any assistance of any sort from government to aid them in moving.

Rose is one of 200,000 children orphaned by the war. She found skulls of her parents who were hacked to death by the rebels. She remembers the body parts while sleeping.

As the children practice the musical instruments and singing, they produce beautiful sounds and they do it with broad smiles on their faces. It is so ironic that out of the despair of cruel living conditions and the things they have seen, they can still smile, sing and bring out beautiful songs. The underlying sadness is lost as soon as music is played.

The army in spite of being one of the belligerents is on its best behaviour in the documentary. They speak civilly and are willing to help the civilians at a moments notice!

The D-day for travelling to Kampala arrives and the kids prepare to board the truck early in the morning. Armed soldiers escort the truck through the rebel-infested area. Another irony is the inscription on the truck; “BIG BROTHER“. Big Brother is a reality television show in which a group of people lives together in a large house, isolated from the outside world but continuously watched by television cameras. It can only be acted in safe cities of the world. It therefore looked out of place in Northern Uganda.

The pupils were confident of being the best. When they reached Kampala other participants teased them that they were rebels and murders and that they would be last. This made them feel inferior. The competitions attracted over 5000 kids, girls and boys who were the best in their regions. It was to take 3 days with 315 performances.

As they waited the results, the pupils of Patong toured the city, gaping at the high-rise buildings, went to the beach and airport to see how planes take off and land.

Patong School beat all the odds, exceeding everyone’s expectations by winning the best musicians accolades and best dancers. They returned home disappointed that they did not win the number one trophy, but they consoled themselves with the plaques they scooped. Kibibi Primary school took the first prize and Patong followed.

Albie Hecht, top film and television producer, formerly with Nickelodeon and Spike TV, produced War Dance”. It is directed, written and shot by award-winning cinematography team Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine, who also share production responsibilities.