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Our U.K Premiere at Raindance Film Festival was a huge success with booked out screenings and week long celebrations to mark the beginning of and end to the silence around the genocide in Uganda.

Our major premiere screening took place in London on Friday night (Sept. 27) at Vue Cinemas on Regent Street and was followed by an expert panel discussion with hosts traveling from other parts of the world just to take part in the event. 

Ambassador Olara Otunnu (UPC Party President) flew in from Uganda and Milton Allimadi (Black Star News) travelled from New York  just hours before the screening to host our panel.

Here is one of many reviews of our film, this time from George Okello who attended one of our screenings at Raindance:

George Okello

A Brilliant Genocide Film Documentary was screened yesterday evening at at Piccadilly Circus, London. The event was sold out, and I met a few of the UAH members, including Joseph Ochieno, Milton Alimadi, John Latigo and plenty of others.

Otunnu made a very powerful address, on the Genocide that happened in northern Uganda, specifically aimed at wiping out the Acholi as a people. Otunnu contended it was the deliberate intention and policy of Rwandan outlaw Kayibanda Museveni and the NRA gangster movement to wipe out an entire people, only the first time it had been attempted since the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler. He distinguished the NRA progroms from others before it, in that genocides like in Rwanda, Yugoslavia, Iraq etc tended to be sudden, concentrated bursts of violence that lasted a short duration of probably 2-3 years, whereas the one in Acholi was drawn out over 20 years, and was systematic, carefully planned, assiduously orchestrated following a pre-determined pattern aimed at delivering a Final Solution; ie the total elimination of the Acholi people;

1. First Kill the Acholi people.

2. Take away their Land

3. Destroy their culture and identity as a people and Make Them Slaves.

Otunnu said Kayibanda has in fact almost succeeded in his mission of wiping out the Acholi people. He contended the Acholi of old is almost dead- her rich cultural heritage reduced to ashes, her people deliberately marginalised and removed from all positions of power and authority; and her land is now being systematically grabbed by Kayibanda and given away to foreigners. 20 years of brutal encampment have almost destroyed the Acholi traditional systems of governance and completely corrupted the culture that had kept the society together for centuries.

Otunnu painted a very bleak picture of what would amount to one of the greatest crimes ever committed in the history of humanity and human civilisation, and that this crime took place in the full glare of the world without anybody doing anything to stop it. Kayibanda was given free reign to implement one of the worst episodes of barbarity ever inflicted on human beings anywhere in the world.

Dr Adam Branch, who is probably the only western academic to document the suffering of the Acholi people, and the holocaust they went through also gave testimony. Other panelists included Dr Vincent Magombe (Free Uganda).

The Documentary itself is a very powerful rendition of the darkness of man’s heart, how a very cruel and sadistic maniac, obsessed with power, was allowed to run amok among a totally defenceless people and set about murdering them just for fun.

There was not much chance for debate, because of time limitation. My only criticism is that being a mainly victim narrative, the political explanation for Kayibanda Museveni’s grosteque violence and savagery remains largely unexplained. Secondly, the suffering of the Acholi people is made to be unique to the Acholi people, whereas kayibanda Museveni’s barbarity and Rwandan occupation of our country has inflicted harm and suffering all across Uganda, and Eastern Uganda in particular Teso.

The Documentary is a valuable contribution to the unmasking of the brutality of Rwandan outlaw Kayibanda Museveni, and is one of the many attempts Ugandans will use to bring world attention to their suffering. The world can not surely turn a blind eye anymore to the suffering of Ugandans. 

The Documentary is also a reminder that we will bring Kayibanda Museveni and his henchmen to justice, no matter how long it will take. He will be be punished and should have no illusions about our determination.

October 1 at 10:46pm

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It is with pleasure and excitement that I announce the new title of our feature documentary… ‘A Brilliant Genocide‘.

ABG Logo 1
Pre-release teaser video from A Brilliant Genocide (scroll down) 

After 6 years filming, researching and editing this film, it has naturally evolved and transformed into a much different film that we set out to make in 2009 when it all began. 

We spent 3 years on the Joseph Kony / child soldier path – and the issue of children / child soldiers and other related  human rights abuses that are of much interest to us – we condemn the use of children in war, and the abuse of any child in any way, in any part of the world. 

However, the film is no longer 100% focused on the issue of children at war and Joseph Kony’s war in northern Uganda. The film remains very much connected with Kony and his use of child soldiers- but along our 6 year journey we found some completely untold ‘hidden’ stories that we felt were even more important to bring to light.

What we discovered and continue to discover, is that the world has been fooled, as I was 6 years ago, about Joseph Kony and his war in northern Uganda. There’s another side to this story that has never been told, and we have been on a journey for the past few years to find out the truth and the backstory that has received zero media attention – and even worse than that – the people responsible for these concealed human rights abuses, are those who have been supported by the west for 30 years, and who are still in office today. And the West is still today supporting the regime, while the regime continues to enjoy complete impunity for their crimes. 

We have discovered that Kony, although blamed for the war and the suffering, is just the tip of the ice-berg. We have found that Kony did have a reason, a very legitimate reason, for his rebellion, and although his acts of violence and child abductions are deplorable, and in no way justified – he has a reason for what he has done, and in his mind his actions are justified. The truth that no one who knows will admit – will bring many people – the bigger criminals and the puppeteers who have orchestrated this war and allowed it to continue – to account. The people we have spoken with call the situation in Uganda ‘a global conspiracy of silence’. And what we will be showing in our film is that indeed it has been, and sadly continues to be so today. 

(more…)

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I was recently in Northern Uganda (Odek) where I spent some time with the victims of Nodding Disease, and their parents / guardians or only surviving family members. It was a period, and experience in my life I will always hold close to my heart, and could never forget. The faces of these children still haunt me to this day. I hope through my work with children around the world sick or not, that I have been able to make them smile, cheer them up, make them giggle and laugh through their suffering… But this was a different story altogether. The suffering, the pain, the anguish and isolation of these poor, sick and neglected people, is a sad story that has its roots buried far beyond the first outbreak of Nodding Disease.

This young boy has been severely disfigured by Nodding Disease. He is 12 years old yet looks about 6, he cannot speak and he is the last surviving son in his family. 4 died of Nodding Disease and one was abducted by the LRA and has never returned. His father does not know if he is dead or alive. April, 2012 www.atlanticstarproductions.com

The sad truth is that the government of Uganda does not really care about the poor young Acholi children in the North who are suffering, then dying of this shocking Nodding disease. When I was in Uganda a couple of months ago, there was so much local media showing President Museveni out in health clinics and setting up facilities for nodding disease victims and so forth. That was while I was in the same country. Actually! During my time in Northern Uganda; the President just flew in for many media opportunities. Speaking about these issues, I would say I have spent more time in Northern Uganda than the President himself. I would have spent more time on Acholi soil, speaking Acholi (a little, but a little more than President Museveni), working with them; learning; sharing; caring; teaching; drinking; eating; laughing; living; crying with them… and establishing life-long friends with them! Oh, my heart goes out to my dear Acholi friends from the North!

So all this news about the children being looked after and in hospital is a total lie. Because I have witnessed firsthand the suffering and the devastation of these young and older families who have children with the disease, I spent time with them, I listened to their stories and I saw with my own eyes what was going on. It is a total travesty by the Government of Uganda. There may be some health clinics set up for a few certain children, but in Odek, Josph Kony’s hometown, situated between Gulu and Pader (closer to Pader), hashundreds and hundreds of children with Nodding Disease, WITHOUT ANY AID AT ALL.

A young nodding disease victim in Odek northern Uganda who has ran into fire 8 times and had her fingers burnt & cut off, without treatment! Please explain Mr. President? April 2012

There have been a lot of funds that were supposed to be allocated to Nodding Disease, but they didn’t make it, if some did, it would surely be under 10% of what was allocated. I did not witness one clinic for the disease in all of Uganda, (Northern Uganda) yet I witnessed, on what was the most horrific and heartbreaking period of my 2 month trip there, so many young girls and boys, either tied to trees by their parent (usually only one guardian exists) to prevent them from hurting themselves as Nodding Disease victims often lose control of their behaviour and run towards fire and water, resulting in devastating and too often deadly consequences. I also interviewed the guardians, parents or remaining relatives of the young Nodding Disease victims.

Interviewing the parent of a young Nodding Disease victim in North Uganda, April 2012

The interviews offered interesting perspectives not so often discussed or dissected in corporate or commercial media. Insights given often pointed to the World Food Programme‘s (WFP) food and the possibility that it was contaminated, either by accident or as some would argue, was a deliberate move by the Ugandan Government. It seems almost clear that the children who are affected by Nodding Disease, who are generally between the ages of 6 and 15 years, were infected during the time of the massive forced encampment of the Acholi into overcrowded, unprotected, disease ridden and violence prone Internally Displacement Camps (IDP camps), a.k.a ‘death camps’ or ‘modern day concentration camps’. It was around this period when all food was supplied to the encamped Acholi by the World Food Programme, and the disease started to become apparent. (2003 I believe).

I will post a few more images here of other children I met with Nodding Disease, that were not treated at all, despite the severity of their conditions. Many have since died but these figures are not shown in official statistics, in fact, Odek was rarely mentioned in the media as an area that had suffered greatly from it. It’s a very sad story and one that demands greater attention from Uganda, and also, the rest of the world.

The boy I am pictured with below had the early symptoms of the mysterious & often fatal Nodding Disease.Let’s pray that his situation has not worsened and that he is receiving at least some medical care.

A young boy in Northern Uganda with early signs of Nodding Disease, April 2012

*If you haven’t yet heard of ‘Nodding Disease’, that means it needs serious attention from the international community, so scream and shout, tell people, and do your bit! Help spread the message that Nodding Disease victims (who are all children) need our help, now!

Another young victim of the horrific, and largely unknown disease… April 2012

Please follow me on twitter at the following profiles: @madvsbad @atlanticstar233 @ebony_atlanta and @bikes4lifeorg

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