Bobi Wine: The People's President, previously titled Bobi Wine: Ghetto President, is a 2022 Ugandan-British-American documentary film written and directed by Christopher Sharp and Moses Bwayo. It chronicles the presidential campaign of popular Ugandian singer Bobi Wine against long-ruling regime leader Yoweri Museveni.[2] It premiered out of competition at the 79th edition of the Venice Film Festival.[3][4][5] At the 96th Academy Awards, it was nominated for the Best Documentary Feature Film award.
| Bobi Wine: The People's President | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Christopher Sharp Moses Bwayo |
| Produced by | John Battsek Christopher Sharp |
| Starring | Bobi Wine |
| Cinematography | Sam Benstead Moses Bwayo Michele Sibiloni |
| Edited by | Paul Carlin |
| Music by | Dan Jones |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | National Geographic Documentary Films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 113 minutes |
| Countries | Uganda United Kingdom United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $44,486[1] |
Release
This film was selected to be screened out of competition at the 79th Venice International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 1 September 2022.[6] National Geographic, in partnership with Variance Films, gave the film a limited theatrical release beginning in New York and Los Angeles on 28 July 2023.[7]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 42 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "Sobering and enlightening, this politically charged documentary takes a captivating look at the life of Bobi Wine: The People's President and his fight for democracy."[8] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 71 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[9]
Awards and nominations
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | 10 March 2024 | Best Documentary Feature Film | Moses Bwayo, Christopher Sharp and John Battsek | Nominated | [10] |
| Cinema for Peace Awards | 19 February, 2024 | Political Film of the Year 2024 | Moses Bwayo, Christopher Sharp and John Battsek | Won | [11] |
| British Independent Film Awards | 3 December 2023 | Best Documentary | Christopher Sharp, Moses Bwayo, John Battsek | Nominated | [12] |
| Best Editing | Paul Carlin | Nominated | |||
| Best Debut Director – Feature Documentary | Christopher Sharp | Nominated | |||
| IDA Documentary Awards | 12 December 2023 | Best Feature Documentary | Bobi Wine: The People's President | Won | [13] |
