Private Project

Breaking the Fourth Wall

Defying censorship, three LGBTQ+ playwrights from Kenya and Uganda navigate acceptance and resistance as their plays are staged at the Criminal Queerness Festival in NYC.

67 nations currently criminalize LGBTQ people, and ADAM ODSESS-RUBIN created the Criminal Queerness Festival to highlight plays from countries where being gay is illegal. Playwrights STEVEN (Uganda) and JONATHAN (Kenya) live in countries that have made it illegal to be openly LGBTQ+, leaving them unable to share their plays without fear of recrimination. ACHIRO P OLWOCH, after enduring physical attacks for staging her play with LGBTQ+ themes, is forced into exile from Uganda. All three playwrights submit their work to the Criminal Queerness Festival for the opportunity to have their plays staged at Lincoln Center in NYC. Their hopes are realized as they are accepted.

Through poignant excerpts of their works, the plays echo the injustice of their homelands' laws, shedding light on the pain inflicted by ostracization and discrimination. Speaking passionately to the audience after her play premieres at Lincoln Center, Achiro reminds us that if we were in Uganda, everyone would be arrested. The cast, the crew, and everyone in the audience would be thrown in jail because we would be accused of ‘promoting homosexuality’.

While the United States, with its existing freedoms, serves as a beacon of hope to many worldwide, there is growing apprehension as people become afraid to seek refuge here. After the Supreme Court votes down Roe v Wade, gay marriage and other rights are now at risk. Then Kentucky passes ‘the worst anti-trans bill’ in America. Activists globally unite to condemn anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments and discriminatory legislation.

In the face of adversity, storytelling remains one of the most potent tools of resistance and celebration. We can use it to spread love instead of hate. The three playwrights wrestle with the stark contrast between the newfound freedom of expression they experienced in NYC and the ongoing censorship of their homelands. The Criminal Queerness festival has impacted their lives in both negative and positive ways. Despite escalating political discrimination, they persist in writing and amplifying their voices.

  • Achiro P. Olwoch
    Director
  • Blake Drummond
    Executive Producer
  • Garrett Kafchinski
    Executive Producer
  • Leslie Cunningham
    Supervising Producer
  • Lillian Isabella
    Producer
  • Sara Mermelstein
    Producer
  • Andrea Munger
    Producer
  • Dan Yund
    Creative Director
  • Jonah Crespi
    Editor
  • Kaisa Pitsi
    Editor
  • Sara Mermelstein
    Editor
  • Leslie Cunningham
    Editor
  • Andrew Sanders
    Editor
  • Jonah Crespi
    Color Correction
  • Sydney Otieno
    Design & Animation Lead
  • Dalmarcus Constance
    Illustrator
  • Dalmarcus Constance
    Animator
  • Desmond Du
    Animator
  • Sydney Otieno
    Animator
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes 59 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 14, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    30,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Kenya, Uganda, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1920x1080
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Lincoln Center One Night Screening - Criminal Queerness Festival
    New York
    United States
    June 22, 2023
    World Premiere
Director Biography - Achiro P. Olwoch

Achiro Patricia Olwoch hails from Gulu, in Northern Uganda. Achiro is currently an artist at risk in New York. She is an award-winning writer, director and producer after winning numerous awards and nominations for her Coffee Shop TV series as creator and writer and Yat Madit as head writer, and for her short films: The Surrogate, The Mineral Basket, Maraya Ni.

Achiro is in the process of completing her late father’s manuscripts, which he left behind after his death in 1994. This is alongside her first novel Sex or Slave, set in 1940s Uganda during colonialism. She also has in the works a memoir about her life as a lesbian in Uganda and her eventual escape and another about her journey being born in exile, living through the war in Northern Uganda through to her present life in exile.

More recently, she has been published by Guernica magazine, Exposition Review, Westbeth online newsletter, and Pen America. Her play ‘The Survival’ had a debut performance at the Lincoln Center produced by the National Queer Theatre. She volunteers as the African Representative on the Women Playwrights International Management Committee as well as the Artistic Collective of the National Queer Theatre in New York.

Twitter: @achirop
Instagram: @achirop
website: www.achiropolwoch.com

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Freedom of expression bans and censorship are two words that I have lived through for most of my artistic life. Not being able to make a film that I want to make because it has themes that have been banned was the norm when I made films in Uganda.

Being able to make ‘Breaking the Fourth wall’ has been a very emotional journey. At first I was afraid because I was still veiled by the ban in my head. I had become so accustomed to self censoring, I was worried that this film would get out with my name on it and I would be in trouble. I reminded myself that I was now safe,and then fear became excitement. I wanted to make this film and tell the stories of people who are unable to share themselves .

‘Breaking the Fourth Wall’, I believe, is an extremely relevant film addressing current worldwide issues. The story might be focused on three subjects from two countries, Kenya and Uganda, but the homophobia we face and talk about in our works is relatable around the world today. This is a story that needs to be told and I have been privileged to be a part of it at this critical time.

This film has numerous stories within a story and that is what makes it unique. The subjects are artists whose plays featured in the Criminal Queerness Festival 2022, including myself. We could never have had an audience or even been allowed to table our plays in our respective countries. In Uganda and Kenya like many other countries, being queer is deemed criminal. This is why this film is important. I believe this film is a conversation starter. Where there is a conversation, there might be hope for education and change.

As I worked on this film, I had to remind myself that I was now in a place where I could make it without fear of incarceration. This said, we also worked with filmmakers in Kenya and Uganda and it was very exciting. I respect them for accepting to film the two other playwrights knowing the current bans and laws in Uganda and Kenya. Even if they do not appear in the credits for fear of their identities being known, thus putting a bullseye on their backs, they will forever be acknowledged in the making of this film.

A rollercoaster of emotions - I know the audience will experience all these emotions and take this journey with the subjects in the film as well as everyone who was involved in this film. Looking forward to ‘Breaking the Fourth Wall’.