Lily Mirjahangiri led a pre-movie discussion that
highlighted Uganda’s history, geography, and political structure. The audience
also learned about Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a terrorist group that has
been rebelling against the Ugandan government for the past two decades.
Set against the backdrop of Uganda's twenty year civil war
during which over 30,000 children have been abducted by the LRA rebel army, War
Dance tells the story of schoolchildren Dominic, Rose, Nancy as they take a
historic journey to compete in their country's national music and dance
festival. The film's creative team
observes the three youngsters as they prepare for the event, and gain their
confidence enough to discuss the horrors they have experienced and express
their individual fears, hopes, and dreams.
The movie was followed by a post-movie discussion led by two
JSRCC Students, Milika Nabajja and Sarah Nabikolo, two sisters from Uganda who
moved to Richmond, Virginia in summer 2011. Moved by the striking and authentic
story of the movie, the audience had many questions for Milika and Sarah to
learn more about ways they could contribute to better the lives of children in
Uganda.
“Our sincere thanks go to Ms. Laurie Weinberg, MEC’s Chair,
who connected us with Sara and Milika to lead the post-movie discussion. They
did a fantastic job taking many questions from our audience. We are thrilled to
see a promising turn out from our college and the community, and we stay
motivated and energized to plan the future movie events,” said Lily
Mirjahangiri, Around the World through Movies subcommittee Chair.
