WAR DANCE

Co-sponsored by the Lynwood Theatre

 

Sunday, July 18 ~ 4:30 p.m.

 The Historic Lynwood Theatre

4569 Lynwood Center Road, Bainbridge Island

$10 all seats 
 

In early June, Bainbridge Islander Mark Jordahl was in Gulu in northern Uganda visiting ex-child-soldiers in a World Vision center – young men who escaped from the Lord’s Resistance Army in the last few months and made their way back to Uganda from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
 

Jordahl wrote in his blog, "Hearing their stories was heartbreaking. I have heard and read many similar stories, but it was different hearing it directly from the boys who were involved. Seeing their scars made it all the more real. One young man, who had been in captivity for almost 15 years, showed where he had been shot through the back when he was 9 years old. The scar on his belly from the exit wound was massive. Nine years old.
 

"One thought has been running through my head ever since. What if it was my son?"

Jordahl will share his experiences during a Q&A after a special screening of the Academy Award-nominated documentary War Dance at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 18, at the Historic Lynwood Theatre. Tickets are $10, with the proceeds benefitting the Great Decisions at the Library program co-sponsored by the Bainbridge Island Arts & Humanities Council and the Kitsap Regional Library.

Set in war-torn Northern Uganda, the Sundance award-winning War Dance tells the real-life story of a group of children whose love of music brings joy, excitement, and hope back into their devastated lives. Three children who have suffered horrific brutalities are able to forget their struggles as they participate in music, song, and dance at their school. Invited to compete in a prestigious music festival in their nation’s capitol, their historic journey is a stirring tale about the power of the human spirit, aided by the arts, to triumph against tremendous odds.

War Dance is 105 minutes long and is rated PG-13 for some thematic material involving descriptions of war atrocities. More information is at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0912599 and http://www.wardancethemovie.com/.

Jordahl, a former IslandWood staffer, his wife Devin Hibbard, and their four-year old son Nile have been living in Uganda for the past two years. Hibbard is the co-founder and Uganda director of the nonprofit Bead for Life, which works to eradicates extreme poverty among African women by teaching them marketable skills. Jordahl is an educator, naturalist, writer, and consultant on wildlife conservation and responsible tourism in Uganda. They are back on Bainbridge for a few weeks in July to enjoy the Grand Old Fourth events and celebrate Jordahl's 40th birthday.

Now in its fifth year, Great Decisions at the Library is a community discussion series on critical foreign policy issues facing the United States. It takes place on eight Saturday mornings in January through March at the Bainbridge Public Library. While enjoying coffee and pastries, Great Decisions at the Library participants first view a 30-minute Foreign Policy Association DVD on that morning's topic and then take part in a discussion moderated by a local expert.