ARTICLES AND INTERVIEWS: 1. Production information It was supposed to be a wild adventure in a far-off country, but when a naive young doctor arrives in 1970’s Uganda – hoping for fun, sun and to lend a helping hand --he finds himself instead on a shocking ride into the darkest realm on earth: the human heart. 2. Into a Dictator’s Heart of Darkness: The Story of THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND How would you respond to the seductive influence of power? Would you bend or forget your own moral code to achieve it? What happens to someone who starts with good intentions and ends up becoming a blood thirsty individual? 3. A Man of Shocking Extremes and Contradictions: Forest Whitaker Portrays Idi Amin There are few names in history as recognizable as Idi Amin. He has joined Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot and Sadam Hussein, among others, in the ranks of dictators who seemingly knew no human bounds. But Amin was also a unique case – a one-time boxer and soldier who climbed his way up from literally nothing, charmed the nation with his vibrant pride and personality and appeared to many to be a newly independent Uganda’s greatest hope for becoming a truly African nation. 4. A Fun-Loving Young Doctor Trapped in a Nightmare: James McAvoy as the Fictional Nicholas Garrigan Just as important as the role of Idi Amin to THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND is the wholly opposite part of the fun-loving young doctor who has no idea what he’s getting into when he agrees to become Amin’s personal physician. 5. Two Women in Idi Amin’s Uganda: Gillian Anderson and Kerry Washington Join The Cast Even before Nicholas Garrigan becomes involved with Idi Amin, he is stirring up the pot – starting a sexual affair with the mission clinic doctor’s beautiful and lonely wife, Sarah 6. Into Kampala: Shooting in Uganda Most of THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND was shot in and around Kampala, Uganda, in a city that has seen more than its share of troubles in recent years, yet today is one of Africa’s most bustling and unique urban centers --built on seven fertile hills and lined with examples of stunning modern architecture. 7. Probing the Scars of The Past: Ugandans Respond to THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND Though he left Uganda in 1979 for exile in Saudi Arabia and passed away in 2003, Idi Amin’s legacy continues to reverberate strongly in Uganda. Nearly every citizen of the country was changed in some way by his rule, so at first, Kevin Macdonald worried about rousing emotions and memories better left untouched. 8. The Facts Behind the Fiction: About Idi Amin’s Uganda THE LAST KING OF A SCOTLAND is a fictional thriller --but behind the suspense lies the very real story of Uganda under the rule of Idi Amin.

Probing the Scars of The Past: Ugandans Respond to THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND

Though he left Uganda in 1979 for exile in Saudi Arabia and passed away in 2003, Idi Amin’s legacy continues to reverberate strongly in Uganda. Nearly every citizen of the country was changed in some way by his rule, so at first, Kevin Macdonald worried about rousing emotions and memories better left untouched. But upon his first trip to Uganda he found to his surprise that the local people were thirsty to talk about Amin – they wanted to share their stories and tell the world about what happened in their country.

“I was worried especially about the relatives of those who had died during those times,” states Macdonald. “But strangely when I came to Uganda those feelings changed because people were so open about the subject matter and they all saw it in such a complex way – not at all in black and white. Nobody said to us ‘you shouldn’t be making a movie about our history, what do you know about it?’ Instead, they’ve all really wanted us to tell this story, and to tell it in all its contradictions, and that was very gratifying. Once in Uganda, the caution I felt vanished.”

By involving so many locals in the production, the film was constantly informed by the spirit of the Ugandan people. One of the local stars of the film is Stephan Rwangyezi, who plays the loyal but ultimately doomed Minister Wasswa. Rwangyezi also manages a performing arts troupe in Uganda, providing opportunities to young musicians, dancers and actors. He was thrilled when the production of THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND came to Kampala because it gave many of his students a long dreamed-of chance to participate in a real movie production.

Like so many of his compatriots, Rwangyezi has many dark memories of the 70s but was also passionate about telling a more complete story about Idi Amin. “I think this film brings a new view to Idi Amin and the forces around him,” he says. “I’ve always had my problems with people who simply portray Amin as a lunatic. I think the very first cabinet that Amin put together, which my character was a part of, was filled with highly professional intellects who were generally fed up with what was happening in the country and hoping to make a real change.”

He continues: “You see Idi Amin was not an accident, but a direct consequence of our history. The country of Uganda was patched together unnaturally in colonial times and I think Idi Amin was a historical emanation of all this confusion.”

Yet now, with relative political stability, Uganda is becoming optimistic about creating its own future again. “Ugandans have opened a new chapter,” says Rwangyezi. “I am hoping that this film becomes the first but not the last to tell the stories of Uganda. I hope THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND will give a picture of what Uganda really is, because there are also so many very positive sides to our country.”

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The Facts Behind the Fiction: About Idi Amin’s Uganda
THE LAST KING OF A SCOTLAND is a fictional thriller --but behind the suspense lies the very real story of Uganda under the rule of Idi Amin.