Review by Cameron Maitland.

Recently, there seems to be a trend in documentaries – capturing the emotion and action in children’s competitions. While I admittedly tend to fall for that sort of thing, it can be cloying and obvious. Luckily, Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine’s documentary War/Dance—ostensibly about a group of refugees in Uganda’s national elementary school music competition—deftly avoids this pitfall by focussing on character rather than competition.

The documentary’s main characters are three classmates from Northern Uganda’s Patongo refugee camp that are entering the competition with their school. Most of the 60,000 people in the camp are members of the Acholi tribe who face persecution from and possible execution by rebel forces every day and each of these children represents a different aspect of that struggle. Rose has lost both her parents and lives with a cruel aunt, Nancy has to take care of her siblings while her mother goes to work, and Dominic is an escaped child soldier. While the film begins focussed on each of their contributions to the singing, dance and music competition—used as therapy and relief by their school—by the end, it is their individual stories of survival that resonate. As much as their underdog story within the music competition thrills, nothing can match the emotional impact of seeing Dominic confront a leader of the rebels, or Rose visit her father’s grave.

War/Dance is shot in a vibrant and artistic style that aids the recollections and stories of the children without seeming over-the-top or forced. The Fines have created a work that not only celebrates the power of song to heal but also reveals the harrowing and deep pain that Ugandan child refugees face everyday.

War/Dance
Sean Fine & Andrea Nix Fine | USA | 2006 | 105min

Fri. Sept. 28 | 3:30pm | Empire Granville Theatre
Tue. Oct. 2 | 10:45am | VanCity Theatre
Thur. Oct. 4 | 9:00 | Pacific Cinematheque