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February 19, 2007

Idi Amin haha: Last King a hit in Kampala

LKOS_23017.jpgThe Scotsman's Rob Crilly reports on The Last King of Scotland's debut in Kampala: it's a hit. "Memories and tears came for... Ugandans invited to watch the film, which tells the [fictional] story of a young Scottish doctor who finds himself at the centre of the dictator's brutal regime. Some had warned it might open old wounds in a country riven by civil war and tribal rivalry... The film's Scottish star James McAvoy and director Kevin Macdonald said they were delighted at the reaction [as they] flew into Kampala for an emotional first screening in Africa... Macdonald admitted to nerves at returning to the country where the film was shot: "We were waiting with trepidation to see the result at the screening." ... McAvoy, wearing a kilt, described the audience reaction. "There were a lot of tears," he said "The film could always have been viewed as another film about the white man in Africa - although in this case the white man is a bastard. But they seemed to understand this was a multi-faceted portrayal of a complicated man like Amin." [For an eccentric glimpse of what the movie meant in Uganda and the local movie biz, here's an interview with
Sidney Mukasa, a marketing manager for the local Cineplex Cinema
.]

Posted by Ray Pride at February 19, 2007 02:35 PM

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