Ugandan filmmakers Christopher Sharp and Moses Bwayo discuss their acclaimed doc Bobi Wine, The People’s President together with the film’s subject as well as Kenyan director Judy Kibinge (Scarred, The Anatomy of a Massacre; Something Necessary).
Born in the slums of Kampala, Bobi Wine, Ugandan opposition leader, former member of parliament, activist and national superstar musician, risks his life and the those of his wife, Barbie, and their children to fight the ruthless regime led by autocratic president Yoweri Museveni. Museveni has been in power since 1986 and has changed Uganda’s constitution to enable him to run for yet another five-year term.
Running in the country’s 2021 presidential elections, Bobi Wine uses his music to denounce the dictatorial regime and support his life’s mission to defend the oppressed and the voiceless people of Uganda. In this fight, he must also take on the country’s police and military, which are not afraid to use violence and torture in a vain attempt to intimidate and silence him and his supporters.
Co-director Christopher Sharp described the political backdrop to the film: “They ran against Yoweri Museveni in the election, which was a fraudulent election where I think we demonstrated, and we witnessed quite clearly, that Bobi and his party won…But unfortunately in Uganda, elections are not elections. They’re a process the government goes through every five years to just reaffirm that they’re going to continue in power. Bobi hasn’t stopped and the people around him haven’t stopped, and this film is just an incredible demonstration of their bravery and through all this hope and their knowledge that one day Uganda will be free.”
Judy Kibinge comments: “When I first looked at the film I thought, okay, I know what I’m going to watch. I’m going to watch a film about this national superstar musician. I’m going to watch a film about this activist, this Ugandan opposition leader, former member of Parliament. What I didn’t know that I was going to watch was a husband, a really loving superstar of a wife, four incredible children, this father and this friend. And I think what really stands out to you when you’re watching this is you begin to feel very integrated into this family.”
Co-director Moses Bwayo adds: “We didn’t just want to make a film about the violence, about the chaos that was going on. We also wanted to tell this beautiful love story of these incredible individuals, brave and kind and intelligent, but also they have this spirit to fight and to lead this revolution regardless of what the dictator was bringing upon them, they were just willing to go. So, yeah, they let us into their lives, and in fact, by the time we stopped filming and I had left Uganda, Bobi and Bobi’s kids were like, what happened to Uncle Moses? Where is he?”
To watch the whole conversation between Christopher Sharp, Moses Bwayo, Judy Kibinge and Bobi Wine himself click here.
