The Sugarcane Man Poster

The Sugarcane Man: Directed by Leroy Le Roux, Tina Obo. Walking towards a village in the distant hills of Uganda, a 10 year old boy, named Akello, is walking on a dirt road while playing his home-made kalimba, near a sugarcane field. Suddenly a malnourished dog pops out from the field, making Akello nervous. On low guard, the dog then snatches his kalimba and runs into the sugarcane field. Akello, hesitant to follow, makes a desperate run after the dog to retrieve his treasured musical instrument. As he wrestles his way through the dense stalks of the sugarcane field, he catches glimpses of the dogs behind. Suddenly he is then awe-stricken in front of a twisted gnarled tree and sees the dog with his kalimba in its mouth, waiting for him beside the tree. The dog looks at Akello and runs into the dark scary hollow beneath the tree. Akello hesitantly approaches the tree, scared he backs away, but hears his kalimba echoing in the depths of the deep, dark hollow and bravely wedges his way in. He dangles on a vine and slips onto a cold hard floor. Akello finds himself in a dark space and sees the dog, with its back facing him. Not moving, the dog stares blankly into the darkness ahead. Next to the dog, Akello sees his Kalimba in a dim light and slowly reaches for it but is then ceased by the sound of a beautiful hand-crafted kalimba, it catches his eye in the distance. Leaving his old one behind he reaches out for the new one and embraces it, a sudden bark from behind him, frightens him. He notices the dog backing away, scared, into the shadows. Akello turns and realizes he is no longer holding the kalimba, but instead a hand is gripping his. He slowly looks up and sees a horrific mask, that of The Sugarcane Man, looming over him. With the other hand the Sugarcane Man grabs Akellos face, forcefully sowing a mask onto him. It lets go and reveals to Akello that he (Akello) is holding a machete. He drops to the ground on his knees, behind him children slowly emerge from the shadows and stomp their feet before the Sugarcane Man. Outside the dog comes out of the dark hollow and mournfully makes its way towards the sugarcane field, ready to get the next victim.