Sundance London: God Loves Uganda Review

Director: Roger Ross Williams.

Running Time: 90 minutes.

Synopsis: A powerful exploration of the evangelical campaign to infuse African culture with values imported from America’s Christian Right, the film follows American and Ugandan religious leaders fighting sexual immorality and missionaries trying to convince Ugandans to follow biblical law.

We’ve all seen recent posters declaring the new EVIL DEAD to be the most terrifying film you will ever experience. I can assure you, that is not the case, as GOD LOVES UGANDA is by far the most frightening movie in recent memory. Sharing a similar premise to the hilarious BOOK OF MORMON (well-meaning Christians go to Africa to spread the gospel, insanity ensues), parallels may be drawn, but the real life scenarios presented in this film are so surreal that they stretch beyond parody. Williams gradually reveals that the stark raving mad rhetoric spewed by the Christian Right and the Ugandan pastors they influence is far from funny – in fact, it’s lethal.

We meet Lou Engle, a seemingly pleasant moustachioed gentleman and one of the most prominent leaders of the Evangelical Christian Right in the US – so far, so Ned Flanders. But his hatred of homosexuality and abortion is such that he becomes a truly menacing character, just like Reverend Jo Anna Watson and Jono Hall, two other ostensibly well-meaning folk whose blind devotion to their own interpretation of God’s will marks them out as unstable and difficult to watch.

Hall runs IHOP, the International House of Prayer, through which young missionaries go forth to Uganda to spread the good news. However, as they preach intolerance of homosexuality and other lifestyle choices they consider sinful, the people who listen take it to heart and take matters into their own hands. This is exacerbated by the hateful preachings of Pastors Robert Kayanja and Martin Ssempa, whose frothing vitriol has vicariously caused tragedy. However, Williams gives us hope with two heroic protagonists. Reverend Kapya Kaoma and Bishop Christopher Senyonjo are two deeply religious men who represent the humanity and compassion of the church and shed light on how and why the American Christian Right is infiltrating Uganda. They are also both very well versed in the tragedy that follows.

GOD LOVES UGANDA will illuminate and sicken you. Many will be left outraged at the footage shown of hate-preaching and incitement of anti-LGBT violence and worse, how it is encouraged by the Ugandan parliament. Those who are more conservative will hopefully also be appalled by the manner in which these beliefs are enforced, in many cases leading to state-accepted incidents of violence and murder. The footage of LGBT campaigner David Kato’s funeral (he was bludgeoned to death during the making of the film) will show you the very best and worst of human nature. If you are Christian or in any way religious, you will cringe at what these people are doing in God’s name. If you are an atheist or agnostic, you will also cringe at what these people are doing in God’s name. There is a very telling shot where, during one of Engle’s rallies, a white American woman is whispering in the ear of a young, black Ugandan girl. In this frame, Williams captures the perfect visual metaphor for what is happening in ‘the Jewel of Africa’.

This is not an easy film, and will leave you feeling queasy, angry, or depressed. Worse, you will feel impotent, as the venom that the Christian Right has injected into Uganda is spreading and looks totally unstoppable. Some will consider GOD LOVES UGANDA to be a rallying post, a jumping point to gather a mass means of halting this horror, but the likeliest outcome is that you will want to cuddle a loved one, vow to be nicer, more tolerant and keep perspective. Harrowing and brilliant in equal measure, go see it and get angry.

 THE SUNDANCE LONDON FILM AND MUSIC FESTIVAL RUNS FROM 25-28 APRIL AT THE O2. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND TICKETS VISIT: http://www.sundance-london.com