THE WOMAN WHO POKED THE LEOPARD
Filmforum Ludwig Ticketshop
Dr. Stella Nyanzi is a Ugandan feminist, gender studies researcher, anthropologist and poet. She campaigns for the rights of queer people in a conservative country where homosexuality is punishable by death. Imprisoned in 2017 following the publication of a virulent poem criticising president Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power for nearly 40 years, she ran in the 2020 parliamentary elections in an attempt to prevent his sixth term. In THE WOMAN WHO POKED THE LEOPARD, Patience Nitumwesiga offers an intimate portrait of this activist, her heavy price, and the Ugandan political landscape. A struggle still ongoing, reignited by Museveni’s re-election in January 2026.
Cooperation: Friedensbildungswerk Köln & Jenga Community
With translation into German Sign Language
THE WOMAN WHO POKED THE LEOPARD Direction: Patience Nitumwesigas, DCP, OmeU, 108 min
Guest
Patience Nitumwesiga’s short films have screened at the Locarno Film Festival, the Berlinale, and numerous other festivals worldwide. Her first feature-length documentary, THE WOMAN WHO POKED THE LEOPARD, a humanist portrait of one of Africa’s most prominent political prisoners, premiered at DOK Leipzig and IDFA in 2025, where it won two awards at DOK Leipzig. She is currently developing her first fiction feature, HOW TO FORGET YOUR NAME. Born in the mountains of Buhweju, Nitumwesiga studied at Makerere University and participated in programs including Locarno Open Doors, Maisha Film Lab, and Talents Durban. Recurring themes in her work include precolonial values, death, African utopianism, and gender deconstruction. She is a co-founder of SHAGIKA, a film and storytelling production company based in Kampala, Uganda.