War/Dance - 13 December 2009

Principal cast: As themselves: Dominic, Rose, Nancy, and Jane Adong

Film notes: Shot in northern Uganda, the documentary War/Dance shows how musical performance can supplant the trauma of civil war in the lives of children. The directors spent 14 weeks living with the children of the Patonga displaced persons camp, determined to use film to “get their story out to the rest of the world in their own words”. The film focuses on Dominic, Rose, and Nancy, three refugees from Acholiland, all in their early teens. Through interviews and visits to now-serene sites of appalling violence against civilians, the film conveys the horrors with which the children live as they survive in the aftermath of a culture of atrocity. The portrayals of their grief are at times harrowing. But then we are shown how the camp school’s rehearsals for a big performance competition transform the children with the joy of music and the pursuit of high standards. Although the film is concerned with the children, it also depicts a network of adults who call their wards back to life by demanding excellence of them in song and dance. When Patonga earns a place in the annual finals in Kampala, the children are able to experience something of a childhood removed from war, and come to know the exultation of achievement for the first time in their lives.

The structure of the competition gives this documentary an engrossing storyline, much like Spellbound or Mad Hot Ballroom, but the life-saving importance of doing well makes War/Dance even more compelling. With great poise, the film-makers splice individual portraits with evocative scenes of camp life and stirring traditional performances. A feel-good movie with great integrity.