About this project

>>> THREE CHEERS & A FUNDRAISING UDPATE! <<<

Two days ago we screened CALL ME KUCHU to a packed house for its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival. Naome Ruzindana, one of the LGBT activists that we follow in the film, was there to see the film on the big screen and join the post-premiere Q&A - she was thrilled!

But none of this would have been possible without the funds that we were hoping(!) we'd raise through Kickstarter, so we are incredibly thankful to see that we've reached our goal. THANK YOU to everyone who contributed. 

But it's not over yet, and neither are our expenses. Next up is our U.S. premiere, which we are in the process of confirming. We're keen to take some time to refine the film's color correction and sound mix. We're also planning to bring another member of Uganda's LGBT community to join us for the U.S. premiere. 

We still have a few days to go on Kickstarter, so if you haven't yet made a donation, and you're considering doing it, please do! If you have made a donation already but want to help: anything you can do now to help us spread the word would be great. Everything we raise beyond our $10,000 goal will be set aside to help us with the costs of finishing the film and bringing one of the kuchu community to the U.S. premiere.

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“They kept on saying we are not here – but of late, we are here.” -- David Kato 

Ten days ago we were told that CALL ME KUCHU, our documentary film about the first openly gay man in Uganda, David Kato, has been invited to have its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, on Saturday February 11th. We’ve been working on this project for more than two years, and now we need YOUR support to help us raise some last minute funds to finish this important film and to bring one of the Ugandan LGBT activists featured in it to Berlin for the premiere. This will kick off our outreach campaign, and enable a member of the kuchu community to engage directly with the audience at the premiere - and to see the film on the big screen! Take a look at our video above. If you’re interested in what you see, then please read on...

ABOUT THE FILM:

We started filming with David Kato in January 2010, soon after an Anti-Homosexuality Bill had been introduced in Uganda’s Parliament. Working out of an unmarked office on the outskirts of Kampala, David labored to repeal Uganda’s homophobic laws and liberate his fellow lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender men and women, or “kuchus.” But the new legislation had made David’s formidable task much more difficult.

The “Anti-Homosexuality Bill” proposed death for HIV-positive gay men, and prison for anyone who failed to turn in a known homosexual. Inspired by American evangelicals who had christened Uganda ground zero in their war on the “homosexual agenda,” the bill awaited debate in Parliament. Meanwhile, the country’s newspapers were outing kuchus under headlines such as: “HOMO TERROR! We Name and Shame Top Gays in the City.”

David was one of the few who dared to publicly protest the country’s government and press. Working with an idiosyncratic clan of fellow activists, he fought for Kampala’s kuchus on Ugandan television, at the United Nations, and in the courts. Because, he insisted, “if we keep on hiding, they will say we are not here.”

For the first year of filming, this was what our documentary was about. Then, on January 26th, 2011, the unthinkable happened: David was brutally murdered in his home. We were devastated by the news and returned to Uganda immediately. Over the past year, David had become a friend to both of us and a big supporter of CALL ME KUCHU, so we felt a natural duty to capture the response to his death, which marked a terrible and tragic loss for human rights activism in Uganda and around the world.

CALL ME KUCHU tells this story. With unprecedented access, we explore a community that is at once persecuted and consoled by the Christian faith, and examine the astounding courage and determination required not only to battle an oppressive government, but also to maintain religious conviction in the face of the contradicting rhetoric of a powerful national church. 

WHY ARE WE FUNDRAISING?

Nine months ago we raised $12,000 on Kickstarter to help us start editing the film. The donations we received were invaluable and hugely encouraging! They helped us cover some of our most crucial expenses, from two-terabyte harddrives to store our footage, to Luganda-English translation, to filming Uganda’s human rights review at the United Nations in Geneva.

But making a documentary takes an enormous amount of resources, time and labor. And post-production (sound mix, color correction, and so on) is among the most expensive yet essential stages of filmmaking, without which it would be very difficult for us to show the film in the festival’s movie theater. So, as we enter this final stretch before our premiere – and with less than three weeks to go! -- we really need all the support we can get.

If we can raise $10,000, we will use some of it to fund our finishing processes, including the sound mix, color correction, and creating HDCAM tapes. We shall also set a portion aside to cover the flights and visas for one of the Ugandan LGBT activists featured in the film, so that he or she can join us in Berlin.

SO HOW DOES THIS KICKSTARTER THING WORK? 

RULE #1: YOU MAKE A DONATION, YOU GET A REWARD!

Take a look at the rewards listed to the right, including tickets for a Broadway show and custom sneakers, and see what takes your fancy. Once funding is completed, your name will appear on the supporters page of our website, and we will send you any other rewards as soon as possible. (We will also be in contact with you about your shipping address, so if you want to gift your reward to someone, you can just reply to us with their name and address.)

RULE #2: IF WE DON’T RAISE OUR TARGET AMOUNT BY THE DEADLINE, WE DON’T GET ANYTHING (BOOOOO!)

If we are even a dollar short of our goal by the time our deadline comes around, everyone’s donations will be refunded and no rewards handed out! PLEASE help us prevent this from happening! 

RULE #3: IF WE RAISE MORE THAN OUR TARGET AMOUNT BEFORE THE DEADLINE, WE GET TO KEEP IT ALL (HURRAH!)

Our $10,000 goal is just a small part of the money we need to raise to finish this film, and Kickstarter allows you to raise as much as is donated before the deadline. As described above, any more dollars raised will go directly towards other crucial post-production costs.

ALTERNATIVELY...

***YOUR DONATION CAN BE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE*** 

If you'd like to make a tax-deductible donation of $100 or more, please contact Director/Producer Malika Zouhali-Worrall at malika.worrall@gmail.com to find out how to make your donation through our 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor.

...SO JOIN US! 

We accept donations from as little as $1, and we appreciate anything that you can give, so join our growing community of supporters and help us bring this important story to audiences around the world. 

HOW CAN YOU HELP FURTHER?

Spread the word by linking to our Kickstarter campaign on your Facebook profile and Twitter feed, and tell your friends and family.

STAY INFORMED

"Like" us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to see updates on our progress.

CONTACT US

We'd love to hear from you! Email us at callmekuchu@gmail.com and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

And THANK YOU!

callmekuchu.com 

(We'd also like to say a BIG THANK YOU to Marshall Perryman for his great camerawork filming the introduction to this video!)

 

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