My October Column - EXIT

An LGBTI documentary shown at the SA’s BIGGEST film event; 33^rd Durban International Film Festival

33^rd Durban International Film Festival, a 10 days long event that features different films from all over the world with amazing festivities in between with the BIGGEST SA’s celebrities featured CALL ME KUTCHU, a documentary film that tells the story of one of the first LGBTI activists in Uganda, David Kato.

Durban International Film Festival is known of its best films and it attracts people from different communities with different perceptions about a lot of things. Having CALL ME KUCHU shown at such an event was the best any of the LGBTI activist and communities can ask for as the documentary got the message through to a lot of people, who got to know more about the struggles that LGBTI communities go through to claim their space. The most amazing part of the documentary is that it was in a form of entertainment concept. It is directed in a way that one gets to know LGBTI communities at home, work and parties, where there is a scene of Uganda gay activists are in a drag beauty contest also there is a scene where they are in tears at David Kau’s funeral after being murdered for being gay. At all these scenes, it is where all of us communicate and experience different lifestyles. ‘’CALL ME KUCHU is a compelling and intimate portrait of an ordinary man with extraordinary courage and conviction. The film also provides rare insight into a lesser examined sexual and gender rights movement, and sheds light on the shocking role of American evangelists in fueling state-sanctioned homophobia in Uganda. It goes on to illustrate the ways in which grassroots human rights activists are working through international bodies such as the UN to change the situation in their countrie,’’ Malika Zouhali, the film maker and director explained.

Films shown at the festival included South African documentaries such as “You, Me and Mankosi” wich was about life in the rural area of Eastern Cape, and many more. It is no doubt that after having CALL ME KUCHU shown at this one of the BIGGEST film event in South Africa, the documentary will reach out to a lot of people especially that both screenings were well attended. CALL ME KUCHU was also in the selected documentary for competition and received The Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award, with a prize of € 2,500 which went to the film writers Malika Zouhali-Worral and Katherine Fairfax at the DIFF Awards Ceremony held at Suncoast Casino then the cocktail evening at HAVANNA Grill for the FILM people where we spotted familiar faces from South African television soapies and dramas such as Rosie Motene,  Kagiso Lediga and any more.

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