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Birth of an Ancestor

A documentary short about songs of death and social responsibility in Eastern Uganda.

  • Peter Hoesing
    Director
  • Peter Hoesing
    Writer
  • Peter Hoesing
    Producer
  • Ameen Hall
    Editor
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    26 minutes 8 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 21, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    15,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Uganda
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Peter Hoesing

Pete Hoesing is an ethnomusicologist, drummer/multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist who currently serves as Director of
Sponsored Programs at Dakota State University. A faculty affiliate of DSU’s College of Arts and Sciences, Hoesing also holds an adjunct appointment on the ethics and humanities faculty
section at University of South Dakota’s Sanford School of Medicine. He has previously taught at Grinnell College, Claflin University, and Florida State University, where he finished a Ph.D. in 2011.

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Director Statement

Based on extensive field research that was generously funded by Florida State University, a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship, and Claflin University, this is my first ethnographic documentary film. It analyzes a post-mortuary rite called "bursting death" that is widely practiced in southern Uganda, but this version was special: it was a lengthier version of the rite celebrated in memory of a widely renowned and well-loved traditional healer.