“It doesn’t feel like a campaign for the Oscars,” Ugandan music superstar, activist, and opposition leader Bobi Wine said during the TCA Winter Press Tour. The National Geographic Documentary Film Bobi Wine: The People’s President was a film festival darling in 2023, debuting on Disney+ and Hulu last fall. The Academy Awards nomination didn’t just reinvigorate interest in the film (it’s now playing on the big screen in select theaters), but also twisted the Ugandan government’s arm in several ways, allowing Bobi Wine, his wife Barbie Kyagulanyi, and their children to rest a little easier knowing that while the world has its eyes on them, the government can’t retaliate. “For us, it's a campaign for life. For us, this is a lifeline. Every opportunity we get to show the situation in Uganda, we are extending our lease on life,” Bobi added.
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“Before I met Bobi, I was a big fan of his music,” explained director and producer Christopher Sharp, who grew up in Uganda, but lives in the UK. “I actually met him in Europe, and I sat down with Bobi and Barbie, and they started telling me their story. It felt like a film script.” Bobi and Barbie’s love story had a cinematic quality, and in that moment, their lives were about to take a sharp turn. “He was just about to embark on a political career, which was obviously going to be traumatic, dangerous, and could be very much life-threatening. Having met them in Europe, I couldn't get them out of my head, and I flew out to Uganda, and sat with them and said, ‘Would you be wiling for us to make a film? We'll follow you around.’ They did not know what they were committing themselves to six years of a very intense relationship. But the hospitality they showed us, and the willingness to accept what we were doing, we had the most incredible access to them the whole time. It's a kind of indication of why Bobi and Barbie are so popular in Uganda because they're generous, and they can communicate with just about anyone.”
“He was enemy number one of the State, and it was very dangerous covering this story and being close to him,” revealed director and director of photography Moses Bwayo. “I was shot in the face at close range. I was arrested, locked up in prison, interrogated. We lost a ton of equipment. And, of course, we always were assessing the situation… Just before we released the film, my wife and I had to flee the country. At that point, there had been two attempted kidnaps on my wife. So, right now, myself and my wife, we live here, and we're seeking political asylum. This is why it's very urgent for this story to come out and to go out in the world today.” Moses also shared that having Christopher Sharp and other non-Ugandan members of the crew saved the film, with one of Moses’ cameras being confiscated by the government, and never returned, losing hours of footage.
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Producer John Battsek got involved after the cameras had been rolling. “[Christopher Sharp] came to see me with some footage that he'd shot with Bobi, and immediately, I was totally captivated by Bobi and Barbie and the landscape and the canvas of what Chris was presenting me with. I said I'd love to be part of helping Chris and the team craft the movie. That was three and a half or so years ago. And then, we sat over the whole process of what was a two-year edit.”
“With the film being nominated for the Oscars, we have a bit of protection,” Barbie Kyagulanyi said, adding that the true value of going home with the gold would be extended media attention of the situation in Uganda. “There is some shame to the government because they know the world is watching. These things are still happening, but we know that now they are aware that the world is watching.” Naturally, Barbie was pressed for more information about how the Ugandan government’s tactics have changed since the film’s premiere. “When they are abducting or taking someone away, these days, they wait for the dark. They make sure there is no camera recording around. They are no longer coming in broad daylight and grabbing someone.” Even just the fact that Bobi and Barbie were allowed to go to Pasadena for this press conference is evidence of the Ugandan government baking off. “I know they're waiting for when the lights and the cameras stop so they can resume the shameless and more intense crackdown on us,” she warned.
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“The energy and the sustainability of the regime comes from the developed world,” Bobi Wine explained, his political hat on at all times, a red beret that is banned in Uganda for its connection to the former parliament member. “The more Americans see this film, the more Europeans see this film, the more attention will be drawn to our home. And therefore, the closer the message gets to their leaders, the congressmen and women. And, therefore, the more possible it is for those leaders to reverse their policies on Uganda. Our greatest achievement is to make sure that we achieve conditions put on the one billion U.S. dollars that are given to General Museveni by the U.S. every year, to tag conditions like respect for democracy, respect for human rights, and respect for the rule of law. All else, they suspend that aid. If the U.S. doesn’t facilitate General Museveni's rule anymore, it will be the end of the story for him. So, for us, that is what we are pushing. We are pushing an awareness to us. Of course, this nomination and every other achievement that comes with it is a big spotlight for us.”
The world is watching, and if you haven’t yet seen Bobi Wine: The People’s President, you can stream it now on both Disney+ and Hulu. The film is also in a limited theatrical release. Click here to see if it’s playing on the big screen at a theater near you.