Call Me Kuchu
Katherine Fairfax Wright, Malika Zouhali-Worrall
Synopsis
In an unmarked office at the end of a dirt track, veteran activist David Kato labors to repeal Uganda’s homophobic laws and liberate his fellow lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender men and women, or "kuchus." But David’s formidable task just became much more difficult. A new "Anti-Homosexuality Bill" proposes death for HIV-positive gay men, and prison for anyone who fails to turn in a known homosexual. Inspired by American evangelicals who have christened Uganda ground zero in their war on the "homosexual agenda," the Bill awaits debate in Uganda’s Parliament. Meanwhile, local newspapers have begun outing kuchus with vicious fervor under headlines such as: "HOMO TERROR! We Name and Shame Top Gays in the City."David, Uganda’s first openly gay man, is one of the few who dare to publicly protest state-sanctioned homophobia. Working with an idiosyncratic clan of fellow activists, David fights Uganda’s government and tabloids in the courts, on television, and at the United Nations. Because, he insists, "if we keep on hiding, they will say we’re not here." But one year into filming Call Me Kuchu and just three weeks after a landmark legal victory, on January 26, 2011, the unthinkable happens: David is brutally murdered in his home. His death sends shock waves around the world, and leaves Kampala’s kuchus traumatized and seeking answers for a way forward. With unprecedented access, Call Me Kuchu depicts the last year in the life of a courageous, quick-witted and steadfast man whose wisdom and achievements were not fully recognized until after his death. While heartbreaking, the documentary traces a narrative that takes the viewer beyond the chronicle of victimization depicted in international news media: it tells the nuanced story of David and Kampala’s kuchus as they work to change their fate, and that of other kuchus across Africa.A story told in his words, David Kato’s final testimony lives on in this film, while his work is continued by the fellow activists he left behind.
Director's Bio
Katherine Fairfax Wright graduated from Columbia University with a double major in Film Studies and Anthropology. She produced GABI ON THE ROOF IN JULY, which premiered at Cinequest 2010, and won Best Narrative Feature and Best Actress at the Brooklyn Film Festival. Weaned on a school of vérité filmmakers, Katherine has worked closely with Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt, Nelson Walker III, and Fellipe Barbosa. She associate-produced Perlmutt and Walker’s award-winning documentary LUMO, which aired on P.O.V. and won the 2007 Student Academy Award, as well as Perlmutt’s LES VULNERABLES, the closing short at the New York Film Festival 2007. Katherine has worked in a producing role on several other films and she is an award-winning photographer. She is a Chaz & Roger Ebert Directing Fellow, and an alumnus of the Film Independent Documentary Lab and the Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant at Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. In 2012, Filmmaker Magazine named Katherine one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film.
Malika Zouhali-Worrall’s work as a print and video journalist has been published in The Financial Times and at CNN.com. She has reported for CNN.com from India, Uganda, China and the U.S. on politics, technology and LGBT rights. Malika is a graduate of Cambridge University and holds an MA in International Affairs from the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po). She is currently based in New York City. She is a Chaz & Roger Ebert Directing Fellow, and an alumnus of the Film Independent Documentary Lab and the Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant at Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. In 2012, Filmmaker Magazine named Malika one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film.
