The Arts

The Greatest Silence

Paschal — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 19:52:00 -0600

The Greatest Silence

Lisa F. Jackson's documentary The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo won Sundance Film Festival's Special Jury Prize. Watch a clip from the movie and it is not hard to see why.

In the documentary, Lisa Jackson (herself a survivor of gang rape) interviews several women and girls who have been raped in the eastern Congo. Some of the women are elderly grandmothers; the girls are quite young as well. Although rape cases have been reported in the media, these stories have never before been told in such a personal way.

Official site: The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo
Trailer
Sundance Film Festival: Interview with Lisa F. Jackson

Disturbing though it is, it is necessary to watch the interviews that Jackson conducts with the rapists. The men are Congolese soldiers and seem to have no sense of wrong-doing whatsoever. They arrogantly confess their crimes to her, offering justifications that illuminate the disturbing reality of gender relations in the Congo.

But this is not just about the Congo. All over the continent there are examples of how civil war and ethnic violence gives rise to brutal abuse against women. The instability is a catalyst, but violence is incubated in archaic cultural beliefs and practices that are often sheltered from criticism in times of peace.

Could a black African filmmaker do the same?

While watching the clip, I found myself wondering if it would be possible for a black African film maker to make such a documentary. Would she or he be able to get access into the eastern Congo (a war zone as it has been until recently), get the stories and come out alive? Would the soldiers tell their stories? I would like to think so, but I am not so sure.

Samite Mulondo: an underrated artist

Paschal — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:25:10 -0600

Over the past five years Uganda's music scene has been witness to an incredible revival. During that time, Jose Chameleone, Ngoni, Mesach Semakula and Juliana Kanyomozi have become household names. Their success is not for maught: their songs have compelling lyrics and captivating melodies, but their popularity has obscured other great talents whose sounds may not be quite as lucrative for clubs and radio stations. It is for this reason that most Ugandans have not heard of Samite Mulondo.

Background

Samite was born and raised in Uganda, where his grandfather taught him to play the traditional flute. Recognizing his talents, a high school teacher in Kampala put a western flute in his hands putting him on the path to become one of the most highly acclaimed flutists in East Africa.

In 1982 he fled to Kenya as a political refugee, where he played with the Bacchus Club Jazz Band and the popular African Heritage Band, before performing solo at the Mount Kenya Safari Club in Nairobi. In 1987, he immigrated to the United States and lives in Ithaca, New York.

Although he lives in a country with a remarkable appetite for the mainstream, Samite has maintained a remarkably unadulterated sound for over 20 years. He continues to sing in luganda, his mother tongue, even though this has undoubtedly limited the market for his music. He is also a known enthusiast of instruments and rhythms from the traditional African music scene. His albums feature several original compositions played on kalimba (finger-piano), marimba (wooden xylophone), litungu (seven-stringed Kenyan instrument) and various flutes; traditional and western.

His Sound

With his musical skills and harmonious vocals, Samite's sound is often compared to that of a younger Geoffrey Oryema on Exile, but it is very much his own. Whereas Oryema experimented with rock and other genres, Samite has kept doing what he does best, and found enough success to keep on going:

Tunula Eno, his sixth CD, reached #2 in the CMJ Music World Chart within the first month of its 2003 release.
About: samite.com

Navigating the Music Industry

With 6 of his 7 albums on iTunes, it is quite possible that Samite reaches a wider international audience than any artist topping Uganda's pop charts today. He also has an online presence that is unusual among Uganda's musicians. His website, for instance, is well designed, regularly updated, has a concert calendar, and a press kit. He also maintains a page on MySpace. This means that if he needed to, he could create an online marketing campaign for his music in a way that very few of his contemporaries can.

Samite also seems to understand the music business and how it is changing. More to the point, he is doing a good job of finding markets for his music in that changing landscape. This is important because, for all of his talent, he will never get a crowd jumping in the way that Bobi Wine or Bebe Cool can, which means that touring is not quite as profitable for him. Also, album sales are no longer a reliable source of income, even for big name acts. Illegal music downloads have eroded many of the profits expected from album sales, meaning that artists have been forced to find other ways of making a living with their music. For Samite, the answer seems to lay with the film industry. Some of his songs were featured on the soundtrack of War Dance, a documentary about music and the conflict in Northern Uganda. He is also working as a music composer on a documentary on the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Wangari Mathai of Kenya.

Activism

But it is not for his music alone that Samite should be respected. In 2002, Samite founded Musicians for World Harmony, a nonprofit organisation that introduces music to African orphans, and sponsors musicians to visit and perform in refugee and IDP camps. In spite of his activism, Samite is yet to be nominated for a PAM award. This is a real pity. He has been an ambassador for Ugandan music for 20 years, performing with skill and passion before audiences that might have cared less. If for nothing else, he deserves some recognition for that.

War Dance: a new story for an old song

Paschal — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 02:23:31 -0600

War Dance is the latest in a line of documentaries made by Americans about the war in Northern Uganda. Like Invisible Children before it, War Dance focuses on how children have been affected by the 20 year conflict. But unlike previous documentaries though, this one is not retelling a tragedy, playing on audience guilt, or trying to sell us of why it is cool to care. Instead the documentary focuses on how music is giving those children a chance to heal—without any help from east or west.

The story follows the lives of 3 children who are trying to help their school win the National Music Competition:

Each child has a story to tell. Rose, a 13-year-old choirgirl, is trying to piece her life back together after witnessing the brutal aftermath of her parents' grisly murder. Dominic, 14, is an escaped child soldier and virtuoso xylophone player who is haunted by the memory of the two people he was forced to kill. And Nancy, a 14-year-old dancer, struggles to keep herself and her three baby siblings alive.
War Dance: About the Movie

Great cinematography, a poignant soundtrack and great reviews should help this documentary woo movie goers around the world. It has already won 15 film awards, including the prestigious Directing Award for a Documentary feature at the Sundance Film Festival. But it is not film juries that the producers need to impress. Many Ugandans are weary of foreign film makers coming into the country and zipping to Gulu to capture the latest child tragedy on film. Other such documentaries are often criticized for showing negative aspects of a country that wants so desperately to be perceived as more than just the seat of former dictator Idi Amin.

As self-serving as such criticisms may be, they do score a point against western film makers who peddle their features before western audiences. Movies goers in American and Europe may pay the bills, but it is Ugandans who most desperately need to see the war in the North for what it is, and what it has done to the children there. They will have to wait a while though. The film is currently being shown on select screens in a few states in America.

War Dance is directed by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix FIne of Fine Films.