MOVIES THAT MATTER
Tuesday 11 AprilTheatre of ViolenceUGA
Emil Langballe, Lukasz Konopa, UGA 2023
Sharp and flamboyant lawyer Krispus Ayena leading the way in a fascinating, complex examination of the essence of justice. Ayena defends Domini Ongwen who is on trial before the International Criminal Court. Dominic Ongwenis the first ex-child soldier to be indicted for war crimes.
At nine years oldDominic Ongwen was abducted by Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a Christian cult led by Joseph Kony. The LRA terrorized Northern Uganda with large-scale killings and abductions of children, whom they brainwashed and turned into child soldiers or sex slaves. Dominic’s own parents were murdered, he was tortured, brainwashed and forced to kill. But now he is on trial before the International Criminal Court in the Hague, as former commanderof the LRA.
Led by Ongwen’s lawyer Krispus Ayena, we go back and forth between the ICC courtroom and beautiful Northern Uganda on a quest for the true meaning of justice and punishment. We meet Joseph Kony’s wife and daughters and engage in a surreal conversation with Kony’s spiritual advisor. We also witness how Ugandan communities recover from trauma –and how that clashes with the foundations of the International Criminal Court. When does a victim transform into a perpetrator?
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