It was a week after the bill had passed that the 28-year-old student and activist Cleopatra Kambugu was ”outed” in one of Uganda’s biggest tabloids. On the front of the magazine you could see a picture of her with the title, “How we Became homosexuals.” An article stolen from The Advocate, an american publication that she had co-written the article for.
-I officially lost my job and several of my family members abandoned me fearing for their safety, said Cleo.
The people who had been ”outed” were attacked by mobs and illegally evicted. She was forced into hiding to avoid attacks and possible arrest.
– It was a tough time, my mom had to come up with food on the nights so we would have something to eat. People went hungry for days. Unless the attacks reached them, the lack of food and medicine did, she continues.
She saw no other option than to get out of Uganda, fortunately she was offered a job in Kenya at the time.
– I decided to move to Nairobi, Kenya. It gave me not only an income but also a sense of security, she said.
Today Cleo and her boyfriend lives in Nairobi, their move have given them the opportunity to live more freely. But she still have to be careful to avoid her surroundings noticing her gender identity. Now Cleo wants to share her story to the world in a documentary.
– I want to give the Ugandan people human picture of a transgender person, which i hope The Pearl Of Africa will help me to do, said Cleo.
About three years ago I started working on my debut feature doc called The Pearl Of Africa. Making it has seemed to be impossible, which I why I decided to start vlogging about my struggle to make the film. In reality though, it’s a whole other documentary about making films.
In the first episode I explore the nature of creativity. What it means to be an independent filmmaker, and striving for something unique.
Jonny von Wallström is a award winning cinematographer turned self shooting director. His work has been featured in the world’s largest medias such as; CNN, Arte, The Huffington Post, MTV, TV6, ZTV, SVT, Al Jazeera and many more. In 2014 & 2015, he was awarded silver in the Cannes Lions and PPFT Maggie Award for media exellence in global Journalism. He’s also a frequent contributor at The Huffington Post.
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