Filmmaker Roger Ross Williams was interviewed last summer, by Theo Anderson in The Public Eye.  

Roger Ross Williams is a television and film writer, director, and producer whose most recent project, the documentary God Loves Uganda, focuses on the work of American evangelical Christian missionaries in Africa. Williams decided to focus on Uganda after a bill that would make homosexuality punishable by death was debated in the country's Parliament in 2009. His research for the project began with Globalizing the Culture Wars (2009), a report published by Political Research Associates (PRA) and written by PRA's religion and sexuality researcher, Rev. Dr. Kapya Kaoma.

Inspired by the report, Williams began exploring the role of conservative evangelicals in fomenting the antigay attitudes that led to Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The missionaries featured in the film are part of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), a growing Neocharismatic movement within evangelical Christianity. One of its most prominent leaders, Lou Engle, appears in the film and has been a visible and vocal critic of gay rights and marriage equality in the United States. An article in the Spring 2013 issue of The Public Eye--"The Christian Right, Reborn"--analyzes the rapid growth and rising importance of the NAR.

Williams won an Oscar in 2010 in the category of Best Documentary (Short Subject) for his film Music by Prudence, which tells the story of a young Zimbabwean musician who overcomes her physical disability--and the prejudice she is subjected to because of it--to become an inspiration to others. God Loves Uganda, which is now being screened at film festivals across the United States (and internationally), is scheduled for limited theatrical release this fall.

What did you learn about why Uganda in particular is so special to evangelical Christians?

There are biblical reasons, but there's also the practicality of Uganda. The former president, Idi Amin, who was a Muslim, outlawed this kind of Charismatic Christianity, and the movement went underground. But when Idi Amin fell, it came above ground and became part of the pan-African movement. People embraced America for what it represented. It wasn't colonialism; instead, Americans came in with money, and they helped rebuild schools, and people loved evangelicals for that reason. Uganda had the highest rate of HIV/AIDS, so the country was basically destroyed. America represents so much and helps Uganda so much. And a lot of that is faith-based. The aid money coming into Uganda is administered by faith organizations, which is part of the problem. Health care money for HIV/AIDS is not reaching the LGBTQ community, which is one of the issues we're trying to tackle in our outreach.

There are many reasons why you oppose Lou Engle's philosophy, but in God Loves Uganda, it feels like a sort of grudging admiration comes through. Is that fair?

That's fair. Engle and his followers are amazingly well-organized. I love politics; this is like a political campaign. It's run so well; it's like watching the Obama campaign win an election. And that is fascinating to me. But from growing up in the church, I also understand spirituality and passion, and I respect that. I ended up respecting everybody in the film.

You realize that these people are actually quite charming and nice to hang out with. They're passionate about their faith, and it's intoxicating. At IHOP, I would be in the prayer room or at a service and would think, "I could get into this. I love passion and emotion." People were praying for me, and praying that this was God's work. I came to a revelation, after finishing the film, that maybe this is God's work. I went into some of the prophet rooms at IHOP, and one prophet told me, "You are someone who has a huge influence over masses of people. You are a messenger." I wondered how he knew all of this. But he's right. I am delivering a message, and it's one that they should listen to. They should put themselves in my shoes and consider what it's like for a gay person to be in a culture when people are incited to violence.

I think that this is very hard for Christian fundamentalists to do, because they feel like they are the persecuted ones. No one is imposing a law to imprison and hang Christians in Uganda, and I wish that evangelicals and fundamentalists could look at the film objectively and have a discussion around it. And that's happened in a lot of churches.  When I went to Fuller Seminary [in Pasadena, CA], the largest evangelical seminary in the world, it was scary for me. But they were willing to have a discussion, because they were students. If anything is going to change, it has to come from the church, not the government. The church influences everything in Uganda.

Here are two special screenings hosted by Political Research Associates:

Boston Cambridge Public Library,449 Broadway October 7
Chicago School of the Art Institute, Columbus Auditorium, October 9

Here are some of the first theatrical screenings:

New York: Bow Tie Chelsea Cinemas (formerly Clearview Chelsea) on October 11th
Los Angeles: Laemmle Music Hall 3 on October 18th
Washington, DC: West End Cinema on October 25th
Nashville: Belcourt Theatre on October 25
Seattle: SIFF Film Center on November 1st

And many more.