War Dance – Feb. 18, 2009
Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine have made documentary films in some of the wildest corners of the globe. But nothing prepared them for their shoot in the remote refugee camp of Patongo in northern Uganda which is so isolated and dangerous that most aid workers won’t even go there. They’d planned to make a movie about former child soldiers, but they found that the children of the 60,000 person camp were feverishly preparing for Uganda’s annual music and dance competition in Kampala. The kids’ quest became the basis for their film “War Dance”, which will be brought to the big screen on February 18 by Awareness Film Night.
Artfully and gently filmed, “War Dance” tells the story of Uganda’s brutal civil war through the eyes of three children who suffered at the hands of the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army and at the same time tells of their preparation for and journey to the annual national music and dance competition. Sean Fine lived for three months in the camp and the film is filled with stunning images of Africa and the African people. He explains: ” It was just magical – those kids got into our hearts right away. When you go to a place where no one’s helped people because its so dangerous, there’s a purity to it…..when they could tell their stories directly into the camera, the flood gates opened….no one asked them before…and they just kept talking and talking.”
“War Dance” is one of the most beautifully filmed documentaries presented by Awareness Film Night. There is an amazing sense throughout that the camera is invisible. The film will be shown in the Edward Milne Community School theatre, 6218 Sooke Rd., at 7 p.m. Admission is by donation.
