War//Dance

USA 2006, 105 min
Directors: Sean Fine, Andrea Nix Fine
Every year more than 20,000 schools in Uganda take part in a national music competition in which children perform the traditional music and dances of their tribes. In 2005 a school from the northern province of Patongo, torn apart by a 20–year civil war, reached the final in Kampala. An estimated two million adults and two hundred thousand children manage to just about survive in camps guarded by soldiers against rebels from the Lord's Resistance Army. This poetic picture follows children traumatised by years of conflict en route to an unexpected musical triumph. Many of them, such as Rose (13), Nancy (14) and Dominic (14), have witnessed the execution of their parents or have even been kidnapped and forced to kill by the rebels. This dramatic story reflects the universal power of music, with the help of which children from the Acholi tribe can escape the pain of war and again discover their own dignity.Its captivating visuals are underscored by a wonderful soundtrack.

War Dance