Voices Combating Homophobia Uganda premiered the trailer of its documentary project  at Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) last week. The trailer screening targeted the people whose stories were shared in the documentary, mainly for feedback purposes as the documentary enters its final production stage.

The documentary titled See Me As covers a wide range of different events that transpired in the Ugandan LGBTI movement over the course of the last four years; it highlights the movement’s  achievements as well as the  rights violations experienced by LGBTI identifying persons which include but are not limited to forced anal exams, arbitrary arrests, and police clump down on LGTBI gatherings.

Kuchu Times had a chance to talk to some of the producers  See Me As and below are their thoughts.

Tim McCarthy explained that he first came to Uganda in 2009 in search of hope and healing and he attests that he indeed found heartsease. He promised himself that as a way of expressing his gratitude to the country that healed his brokenness, he would one day share his story of hope and healing.  In 2011, Tim met Frank Mugisha, the Executive Director of Sexual Minorities Uganda and Pepe- their meeting  paved way for this long term project.

“The main intention of the movie was to have LGBTI Ugandans talk about their day to day lives and struggles and I must thank Deus because he is the man that did all this great work,” Tim told Kuchu Times.

When asked if the team has plans to show the documentary on different international film platforms, Tim says that the film was mainly produced for Ugandans but they are open to sharing it internationally.

“LGBTI Ugandans were able to talk to me freely, they shared without holding back. I also noticed that it is much easier for people to speak to a Ugandan that they easily relate with, especially the overly emotional stories,” Deus Kiriisa one of the producers revealed.

About the long term impact of the movie on the Ugandan queer movement, Deus believes that See Me As will give hope to many LGBTI Ugandans since the documentary mainly focuses on positivity. He also believes that it will also create visibility for the under-recognised achievements within our movement.