A two-hour documentary about children who have been brutalised by murderous rebels — it could so easily be a recipe for worthy but grim viewing. The sort of thing you feel duty-bound to watch for educational purposes but which offers little in the way of entertainment.

But 'War/Dance', about the Ancholi tribe in Uganda is surely one of the most uplifting pieces of cinema around — a real feel-good movie without unbelievable plot lines and Hollywood schmaltz.

While never flinching from the harrowing ordeals of those terrorised by the psychopaths of the Lord's Liberation Army, it shows how even children forced to kill can rediscover their humanity — through music.

We meet Nancy whose father was macheted to death before the LRA forced her mum to bury the bits, Rose who learned of her mum's death when soldiers pulled her severed head from a cooking pot and Dominic who was made to cave in a farmer's head with a hoe while other children were told: watch or die.

Worse still these three tragic tales are by no means exceptional — the trio are among more than 200,000 orphans from a tribe which has borne the brunt of the LRA's 20-year reign of terror and has been forced into desperately cramped refugee camps in their own country.

The cameras are there when Nancy visits her father's grave and she is warned not to cry too loudly in case other murderers are still lurking.

Dominic asks a captured soldier about the fate of his brother and is matter-of-factly told he was undoubtedly killed just for being a bicycle-taxi driver.

Salvation for these traumatised kids, or at least the path to sanity, comes via a national music festival which they practice feverishly towards. Dominic is a star on the xylophone while the others live for singing.

Carrying the hopes of their entire region the children drive for two days with an armed guard to the nation's capital of Kampala to perform alongside children from the safer parts of the country who ignorantly label their Ancholi's counterparts as murderers.

It's a grievous insult to grievous injury but scarcely registers compared to what they have been through.

That competition marks the climax of the film which has been utterly compelling throughout. Stunning scenery shots and sunsets are intervowen with crisply-edited interviews with not a single word wasted in this masterpiece which won the documentary directing prize at this year's prestigious Sundance Film Festival.

A superb soundtrack energizes the movie which never strikes a bum note throughout. In a word: Unforgettable.

Friday's films

The Robber Hotzenplotz

— Opening night film, Friday 7 p.m.

Medieval sorcery, handlebar mustaches and grizzly wart-faced baddies — all the traditional ingredient of a magical fairytale are served up in 'The Robber Hotzenplotz'.

This German story involves the struggles of friends Kasperl and Seppel, to recover Grandma's beloved musical coffee grinder from the Robber Hotzenplotz. The pair are genuinely engaging and for some reason look like child versions of British comedy duo Reeves and Mortimer.

They must outwit the town's stuffy official as well as the evil wizard who can manage stupendous tricks but not a simple one to peel the potatoes. This kind of adventure, based on the best-selling book trilogy by Otfried Preussler and set in mediaeval Europe is no doubt an acquired taste — you either love it or you don't and Dads struggling to concentrate will no doubt be cheered by the arrival of Fairy Amarylis late in the film.

But nevertheless the acting by the children is extremely good, the dialogue is refreshingly wry at times and there are some genuinely funny moments. Targeted at kids aged six and up, there will be a reader to narrate for those who understandably might not be up to reading the subtitles.

And the magical theme fits right in with the forthcoming Hallowe'en so children are urged to come dressed in their favourite costume with prizes awarded for the best ones.

The Case:– Budding Bermudian filmmaker Christopher Frith has the honour of having his three-minute drama 'The Case' shown on the opening night. This tense thriller covers the travails of a security guard forced on point of death to steal and important briefcase.

The film features Christopher's brother, Andrew, as the briefcase owner and Jeffrey Counsell, who co-wrote the script with Christopher, as the security guard. Christopher, a graduate of the BIFF Film Academy film production camps, also appears in the film as the adversary.

The film, put together very quickly, features some surprising special effects and is a testament to what can be done on a low budget with a bit of imagination.