Making Revolutionary Film in Idi Amin’s Uganda: Propaganda and Peril
Since 2018 we have been working with colleagues in Uganda to rehabilitate and digitise the film, photographic and radio assets of the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation. In this article we focus on two movies that have been recently brought to light. In the first, the 1972 film Uganda’s Economic War, p...
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| Publicado no: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/sources, |
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| Principais autores: | , |
| Formato: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Idioma: | Anglais |
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2025
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| Acesso em linha: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:sources_3233 |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:sources_3233 https://doi.org/10.4000/15246 urn:doi:10.4000/15246 en https://journals.openedition.org/sources/3233 2025-10-29T01:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/15246 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ Making Revolutionary Film in Idi Amin’s Uganda: Propaganda and Peril Sources IFRA-Nairobi info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2708-7034 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/sources Peterson, Derek R. Vokes, Richard Uganda Ouganda Idi Amin expulsion des Asiatiques cinéma révolutionnaire Uganda Idi Amin Asian expulsion revolutionary cinema Uganda Idi Amin expulsão de asiáticos cinema revolucionário Since 2018 we have been working with colleagues in Uganda to rehabilitate and digitise the film, photographic and radio assets of the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation. In this article we focus on two movies that have been recently brought to light. In the first, the 1972 film Uganda’s Economic War, producers of the Uganda Film Unit made Idi Amin’s inhumane campaign against Uganda’s Asian community appear revolutionary. The second film, made in 1975 but never finished, depicted the humiliation of Lord Chandos Blair, a British military officer who had been sent to Uganda to plead for the life of a condemned British author. In film, Amin’s regime sought to place Uganda—a landlocked place, far from the theatre of struggle—on the front lines in the global war against racism and imperialism. But the making of revolutionary film was always fraught, for revolutionary cinema could also look ridiculous. This essay brings the power and the perils of anticolonial cinema to light. Depuis 2018, nous collaborons avec des collègues en Ouganda afin de restaurer et de numériser les archives cinématographiques, photographiques et radiophoniques de l’Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (Société de radiodiffusion de l’Ouganda). Dans cet article, nous nous intéressons à deux films récemment mis au jour. Dans le premier, intitulé Uganda’s Economic War et réalisé en 1972, les producteurs de l’Uganda Film Unit présentent la campagne inhumaine menée par Idi Amin contre la communauté asiatique d’Ouganda comme une révolution. Le second film, réalisé en 1975 mais jamais achevé, dépeint l’humiliation de Lord Chandos Blair, un officier militaire britannique envoyé en Ouganda pour plaider la cause d’un auteur britannique condamné à mort. Dans ce film, le régime d’Amin cherche à placer l’Ouganda en première ligne de la lutte mondiale contre le racisme et l’impérialisme, alors que le pays était en réalité bien loin des mouvements internationaux. Cependant, la réalisation d’un film révolutionnaire y était toujours risquée, car le cinéma révolutionnaire pouvait également paraître ridicule. Cet essai met ainsi en lumière le pouvoir et les dangers du cinéma anticolonial. Desde 2018, colaboramos com colegas na Uganda para reabilitar e digitalizar os materiais cinematográficos, fotográficos e radiofónicos da Uganda Broadcasting Corporation. Neste artigo, focamo-nos em dois filmes recentemente trazidos à luz. No primeiro, o filme de 1972 Uganda’s Economic War, os produtores da Uganda Film Unit fazem com que a campanha desumana de Idi Amin contra a comunidade asiática do Uganda pareça revolucionária. O segundo filme, feito em 1975, mas nunca concluído, retrata a humilhação de Lord Chandos Blair, um oficial militar britânico que foi enviado ao Uganda para implorar pela vida de um autor britânico condenado. No filme, o regime de Amin procura colocar o Uganda — um país sem litoral, longe do teatro de guerra — na linha da frente da guerra global contra o racismo e o imperialismo. Mas a realização de filmes revolucionários sempre foi complicada, pois o cinema revolucionário também podia parecer ridículo. Este ensaio traz à luz o poder e os perigos do cinema anticolonial. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
Ouganda Idi Amin expulsion des Asiatiques cinéma révolutionnaire Uganda Idi Amin Asian expulsion revolutionary cinema Uganda Idi Amin expulsão de asiáticos cinema revolucionário |
| spellingShingle |
Ouganda Idi Amin expulsion des Asiatiques cinéma révolutionnaire Uganda Idi Amin Asian expulsion revolutionary cinema Uganda Idi Amin expulsão de asiáticos cinema revolucionário Peterson, Derek R. Vokes, Richard Making Revolutionary Film in Idi Amin’s Uganda: Propaganda and Peril |
| description |
Since 2018 we have been working with colleagues in Uganda to rehabilitate and digitise the film, photographic and radio assets of the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation. In this article we focus on two movies that have been recently brought to light. In the first, the 1972 film Uganda’s Economic War, producers of the Uganda Film Unit made Idi Amin’s inhumane campaign against Uganda’s Asian community appear revolutionary. The second film, made in 1975 but never finished, depicted the humiliation of Lord Chandos Blair, a British military officer who had been sent to Uganda to plead for the life of a condemned British author. In film, Amin’s regime sought to place Uganda—a landlocked place, far from the theatre of struggle—on the front lines in the global war against racism and imperialism. But the making of revolutionary film was always fraught, for revolutionary cinema could also look ridiculous. This essay brings the power and the perils of anticolonial cinema to light. |
| author |
Peterson, Derek R. Vokes, Richard |
| author_facet |
Peterson, Derek R. Vokes, Richard |
| author_sort |
Peterson, Derek R. |
| title |
Making Revolutionary Film in Idi Amin’s Uganda: Propaganda and Peril |
| title_short |
Making Revolutionary Film in Idi Amin’s Uganda: Propaganda and Peril |
| title_full |
Making Revolutionary Film in Idi Amin’s Uganda: Propaganda and Peril |
| title_fullStr |
Making Revolutionary Film in Idi Amin’s Uganda: Propaganda and Peril |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Making Revolutionary Film in Idi Amin’s Uganda: Propaganda and Peril |
| title_sort |
making revolutionary film in idi amin’s uganda: propaganda and peril |
| publisher |
Sources |
| publishDate |
2025 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/sources |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/15246 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/sources/3233 |
| _version_ |
1877291888491364352 |