Invisible Children: The Rough Cut is a film about the plight of child soldiers and night commuters in northern Uganda. The documentary was filmed in 2003 when three young men from Southern California – Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey and Laren Poole (then 24, 21, and 20), traveled to Sudan “to find a story.”
Instead, their adventure took them into the depths of northern Uganda where they discovered thousands of people affected by the brutality and attacks of a rebel group known as the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The documentary chronicles their experience as young Americans learning firsthand about a conflict largely unknown to the international community, while also informing audiences about the great humanitarian crisis of child soldiers.
The film was screened for the first time on June 22, 2004 at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice at the University of San Diego.
The filmmakers have gone on to found a nonprofit called Invisible Children, Inc. – a dual awareness and development organization.
Since the movie was filmed in 2003, night commuting has largely ceased in northern Uganda and peace talks are currently underway to end the war in the North. But displacement camps, sickness, and an unhealthy economy remain large problems for the population.
Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey, and Laren Poole remain instrumental in the success and creativity of the nonprofit and are currently working on the feature film, tentatively scheduled to release in theaters in 2009.
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