Filmed in northern Uganda over a period of three years, the story follows the journey of a group of former child soldiers as they undergo a process of trauma therapy and emotional healing while in a rehabilitation center.
Having been abducted from their homes and schools by the Lord’s Resistance Army—a quasi-religious militia led by international war criminal and self-proclaimed prophet Joseph Kony—the children struggle to confront years of brutal abuse, forced combat and religious indoctrination with the help of a heroic team of trauma counselors.
The rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army, led by Joseph Kony, fought to overthrow the secular government and rule the country by the Biblical Ten Commandments.
During the 20 years of war, an estimated 35,000 boys and girls were dragged from their homes, schools and villages, tied up, and marched to rebel hideouts deep in the indigenous bush.
In 2006, Jan Egeland, former United Nations Special Advisor to the Secretary General, expressed that the situation in northern Uganda had evolved into "the world's greatest neglected humanitarian crisis."
Established in 2003 by the Belgium government and award-winning author-journalist Els de Temmerman, the mission of the Rachele Center is to rehabilitate and reintegrate many of the former abductees and child soldiers.
In December 2009, it had a special presentation at the historic Hollywood Egyptian Theater as part of the 6th Annual International Artivist Film Festival, where it won the Best Feature Award for Child Advocacy.
[3] In March, it was awarded the Foundation Barbara Hendricks Prize in honor of Sergio Vieira de Mello at the International Festival of Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland.
The internationally renowned Ugandan musician Geoffrey Oryema, who is best known for his collaborations with Peter Gabriel and Real World, closed the evening with a special musical performance.