Bobi Wine: The People’s President
Politics and music merge in a documentary that vividly portrays life in Uganda under President Museveni.
Bobi Wine is a singer-songwriter whose music features prominently on the soundtrack of this documentary by the journalist Moses Bwayo and by Christopher Sharp, but the central focus of their film is not his musical career. He is, of course, far from being unique in composing songs expressive of social concerns but, even if those who do that are to some extent akin to activists, Bobi Wine has taken things much further having become a member of parliament in 2017 and subsequently a leading figure in the Ugandan party known as the National Unity Platform. That degree of involvement grew out of his increasingly horrified awareness of how Yoweri Museveni's autocratic behaviour as president had destroyed any notion that Uganda had become a democracy. Thus, it is that in telling the story of Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, the man who adopted Bobi Wine as his stage name, this film is first and foremost concerned with the political issues at the heart of life in Uganda today.
Aptly enough one of the filmmakers here, Moses Bwayo, is indeed Ugandan while his co-director Christopher Sharp although British was born in that country. In looking at events from 2014 onwards their film gives a vivid impression of a country in which those in power have become increasingly authoritarian and ready to use force to stifle not only protesters but anybody who holds views that oppose those of Museveni. Since Bobi Wine is a prime example of somebody determined to take such a stand, it seems entirely appropriate that this documentary, one made with full access to Bobi Wine, his wife Barbie and their four children, should portray what is happening in Uganda through his eyes. Only experts on the country's recent history will know if being partisan in this way has excluded other details that might be relevant, but Wine emerges from this film as a man of principle and stature well deserving of the tribute that is being made here.
As the film moves forward proceeding in chronological order, we become increasingly aware of how extreme the situation is in Uganda yet echoing what applies in far too many other places today where the people lack any true democratic say. Arrested more than once and subjected to ill-treatment that might be considered torture, Bobi Wine's life has become increasingly perilous and after the 2021 election which, being rigged, saw him losing in his attempt to replace Museveni as president, he and his wife were subjected to house arrest which lasted for ten days. Prior to that we have seen the violence in the streets by the security forces that led to well over fifty deaths which they declared to be justified.
In terms of making the viewer fully aware of what it means to live in Uganda under the presidency of Yoweri Museveni this film undoubtedly succeeds. However, if judged on the quality of the filmmaking it leaves something to be desired. That is not surprising given that Bwayo and Sharp are both directing for the first time. With the film being allowed to run for close on two hours, one has plenty of time to note distracting inconsistencies in the approach adopted. It would certainly appear that the film was shot over several years which means that footage specifically taken for the film can suddenly turn into what proves to be newsreel material. Another disjuncture is to be found in the various voice-over comments heard in the course of the film: both Bobi and Barbie often speak direct to camera but are also heard in this way, while other voices prove to be those of news reporters and a further voice contributor is merely an unidentified narrator. Another feature of the film is the irregular use of subtitles. They are naturally welcome when words are in the local language but they extend to some, yet only some, that are heard in English (on occasion they are absent when what is said is indistinct yet present when the words are crystal clear!). Then again when it comes to Bobi Wine’s songs the lyrics are often written up on top of the picture. That's fine when the image behind them relates to the performance (as per scenes in Asif Kapadia’s film about Amy Winehouse) but it cuts across the appropriate documentary feeling when the song accompanies street scenes.
A more experienced filmmaker would have ironed out these elements to better effect and would have found a way to highlight key moments to avoid any sense of this documentary coming across as just one thing after another. But that is only to say that Bobi Wine: The People’s President is not in the top rank of documentaries: regardless of any weaker points it gives audiences world-wide an opportunity to appreciate what it means to live in Museveni’s Uganda.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Featuring Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, Barbara Itungo Kyagulanyi, Shalom Namagembe Kyagulanyi.
Dir Moses Bwayo and Christopher Sharp, Pro John Battsek and Christopher Sharp, Ph Moses Bwayo, Sam Benstead and Michele Sibiloni, Ed Paul Carlin, Music Dan Jones.
Southern Films/Ventureland/Passion Pictures/Quiet-Dogwoof Releasing.
118 mins. UK/Uganda/USA. 2022. US Rel: 28 July 2023. UK Rel: 1 September 2023. Cert. 12A.
