Ugandan bishop: Here’s why queer films are important

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…

Bishop Christopher Senyonjo describes the importance of the Queer Kampala International Film Festival. (Click image to watch the video.)

Prominent Ugandan straight ally Bishop Christopher Senyonjo (Ssenyonjo) delivered an introductory message to urge people to attend screenings at the Queer Kampala International Film Festival.

The event, scheduled for Dec. 9-11, will be East Africa’s first LGBTQ film festival, aims at bringing together the Ugandan gay community, potential allies, and film enthusiasts from abroad.

In a 3-minute video, the Anglican bishop discusses sexuality and the importance of queer cinema as a way of helping people learn more about the human condition and human sexualities. That’s crucial in Uganda and in the more than 70 countries that criminalize homosexuality.

Since 2001, Senyonjo has been an important advocate for the Ugandan LGBT community and has suffered repercussions for his work from the homophobic Church of Uganda.

Believing that “one doesn’t need to be converted first to another sexuality to be loved by God,” Senyonjo is a founder of Integrity Uganda, a branch of the Episcopal Church LGBT outreach organization Integrity USA. He’s also the founder of a community reconciliation center that is a safe place for Ugandan gays. He has provided housing and employment for people who were denied them because of their sexual orientation and to those whose families rejected them after they were outed.