Abaabi ba boda boda

The Boda Boda Thieves

Life in Kampala today could be pretty OK for Abel, if he weren’t a young man without prospects, with a father who drives a boda boda and keeps urging him to make start making a living for himself. Boda bodas (from “border-to-border”) are motorcycle taxis sometimes also used to carry goods. Abel is a young drifter whose existence is put to the test when an accident stops his father from being able to drive. All of a sudden, he gains full access to this freedom-representing vehicle. It’s a fantastic opportunity for him to escape his life’s predetermined plot, but it’s not without risk. There are professionals in the city whose specialty it is to snatch handbags – and get away on their boda bodas. Plenty of money can be made from tourists and halfwits. By paying suitable tribute to Vittorio De Sica’s "Ladri di biciclette", Yes! That's Us succeeds in making a neorealist urban portrait of Kampala brought right up to date with Ugandan music, locations and actors. "Abaabi ba boda boda" is a wonderful take on a European classic from a young, African perspective.

Source: 65. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)