Bobi Wine is a wildly popular Ugandan politician, actor and singer. When Uganda’s dictatorial president of 35 years wanted to change the constitution to allow himself to remain in office without limits, Wine ran for Parliament, later becoming the opposition candidate for the 2021 presidential election.
With massive public support for the singer-turned-politician, the government arrested Wine and hundreds of his supporters. Moses Bwayo documented the election in the Oscar-nominated documentary feature “Bobi Wine: The People’s President.”
He joined Lisa McRee on “LA Times Today” with his friend and fellow Oscar nominee Ben Proudfoot to discuss the power of the film.
Bwayo spent several years documenting Wine’s activism and rise to political fame. He said it was like watching a “revolution happening in front of my eyes.”
But the process was dangerous, as Bwayo himself was shot, arrested, and imprisoned during production.
“I was arrested a few times, locked up in jail, interrogated. And we had to flee the country. Myself and my wife. But, when I was shot in the face, that was really shocking. I didn’t see it coming because the violence was happening to politicians and their supporters. But at that point, the military and police and state apparatus was now making this same violence toward journalists,” Bwayo recalled. “It wasn’t the first time a gun was pointed in my face. But it’s the first time someone actually shot, and luckily, I just had a camera in my hand and put it in my face right away. The projectile hit the camera and grazed me.”
Bwayo is now seeking asylum in the United States for his family. A major bright spot for him has been the Academy Award nomination for this feature-length documentary.
“Our film is not just about Uganda, the Ugandan struggle. It also highlights the need to protect democracies around the world. And I believe the American people understand what I’m saying. And I hope that they’ll protect their democracy. Being nominated for an Oscar. I’m still receiving that news, still wrapping my head around it. It’s such a wonderful honor and so humbling. The last couple of days, weeks, I’ve been thinking, you know, this young little boy born in a village deep down in eastern Uganda to being here on the world stage, being celebrated. I’m really grateful,” Bwayo said.
When nominations were announced, filmmaker Ben Proudfoot, himself nominated for an Oscar this year, was the first to tell Bwayo the news. Proudfoot recounted the experience of telling Bwayo the news of his nomination.
“The feature documentary category comes up, and they first named ‘Bobi Wine: The People’s President,’ and I just went ballistic. I couldn’t believe it. I was so thrilled for Moses. And the next category was ours. So we celebrated. And maybe five minutes later, I FaceTimed Moses, and I just assumed he would be inundated with stuff... but I had the pleasure of being able to tell him,” Proudfoot recalled.
Bwayo explained how his film has transcended Bobi Wine and become larger than itself.
“Bobi still leads the largest opposition political party in Uganda. The day of the nomination, he and his wife and their children had been under house arrest for a week. And the morning of the news, when the news was spreading all over the country, and Ugandans are celebrating, the military and police withdrew from their home. This film is a lifeline for Bobi. It’s a lifeline for Ugandans. It’s nomination goes so far, not just to recognize the work, but it highlights the struggle back home in Uganda and we hope that the world will not ignore us,” Bwayo said.
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