In ‘Bobi Wine: The People’s President,’ A Pop Star Turned Politician Risks Everything To Save His Country From Repression
20.07.2023 - 21:49
/ deadline.com
If elections in Uganda were free and fair, pop star-turned politician Bobi Wine might be president of his country instead of the dictator Yoweri Museveni, who has clung to power for 36 years.
But elections aren’t free in Uganda, and opposing Museveni can be a very dangerous proposition, as starkly portrayed in National Geographic’s award-winning documentary Bobi Wine: The People’s President. Despite the risk to his life, Wine has boldly challenged Museveni, who faces potential charges in the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.
Wine was first elected to parliament in 2017, attracting overwhelming support from voters dispirited by decades of Museveni’s rule. Among those he inspired was Ugandan native Moses Bwayo, who co-directed the documentary with Christopher Sharp.
“This guy, he’s literally speaking to my heart, and these are the things I see in a leader that I want,” Bwayo says of Wine’s arrival on the political scene. “And I believe a lot of people my age were thinking the same.”
The documentary, which opens theatrically on July 28 in New York and Los Angeles before a broader rollout, shows how Wine’s charismatic presence galvanized the electorate. He supercharged rallies with performances of his songs containing pointed political lyrics. Wine says the tremendous crowd reactions “[made] it clear to me that I’m here for a purpose, and maybe my music is a calling. It’s exciting, it’s humbling. It’s nice. It’s so much love… It’s a reassuring feeling of sharing a common feeling with many other people and not being wrong.”
The audience response, he tells Deadline, “Also gives another feeling, and this feeling is kind of scary. It’s so much responsibility, especially after realizing what we