Into the Valley

On Wednesday, David hopped his return flight to the U.S. That same day, John Dance arrived from Atlanta to join me. The two crossed paths for all of 15 minutes while David jumped in the same taxi that had just picked up John from the airport. It is at the halfway point to my time here, and it is a notable dividing point. The first portion was fast-paced and filled with vital meetings. The second half we’ll attempt to slow down and focus on daily life for the purpose of filming it.

David and I spent the better part of three weeks traveling Northern Ugandan, researching the status of clean water in a shifting political and cultural landscape, and who is doing what about it.

In the next 2 weeks, I hope to linger. John and I will be filming in the valley between Gulu and neighboring Amuru. We have a short film to make, and also a 15-second t.v. ad, which has been generously donated by MindSpinTV. Yesterday, we shot a little around town to get warmed up (frame grabs posted here of the market and basketball players).

Today we ventured out to the villages so John could get a feel for the land and the scenery. Tomorrow we meet our subjects for the first time face-to-face. Very exciting. A giant thanks to John (pictured) for donating his time and skills to be here.

The resettlement process happening in the North is a slow one. It takes time for a family to leave the camps near urban centers and raise the money and labor required to rebuild the village. It takes courage to go back to the sights of atrocities and live with the memories of a troubled past while struggling to make ends meet in the present. We met a woman today, (by chance of where we stopped to rest) who recently moved out of the IDP camp: widowed by war, raising five children, tending livestock, fetching water, tilling the land, and caring for her family’s needs alone. Her story is, unfortunately, very common.

The aim of the film is to share with you, the story of one such family, as they return to their home village after the war. From crowded camp to the open valley. This is not an easy story, but it’s one that promises hope. You see it in people’s faces, you hear it in their words and their songs. (We heard a church group tonight, singing Bob Dylan’s Blowing In the Wind - parts in English and parts in Luo. It was awesome.)

“How many roads must a man walk down
/Before you call him a man?/Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail/Before she sleeps in the sand?/Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly/Before they're forever banned?/The answer,my friend,is blowin' in the wind,/The answer is blowin' in the wind.”-Bob Dylan

Post by Jake