While awaiting the results of his mother’s visa renewal request, a teenage immigrant living in Texas recalls memories from his childhood in Uganda and begins to wonder if the American dream is all he’d imagined it to be.

Part of our Short Narratives 2: THE WORLD Program; TeenPress Q&A for "THE NIGHT I LEFT AMERICA" will follow the program.

Director: Laki Karavias

Director's Statement:

I would have never imagined that driving a bus for a traveling Ugandan children's choir in 2019 would have led to such a vibrant endeavor. What began as a lesson in filmmaking for some of the kids interested in the craft, eventually grew into a SHORT film much BIGGER that any of us could have imagined.

The Night I Left America is my own love letter to a culture and people that are near and dear to my heart. My greatest hope is that the message contained within this humble tale will shine a beautiful light on the wonderful place they call home.

Regardless of an awards this film has bestowed upon it, the long-lasting impact that this project has had on the kids involved is the biggest accolade I could wish for.

Addendum:

1. The Night I Left America was produced over the course of 6 months while I was a driver for a Ugandan children’s choir traveling through America. The story began as a lesson in shooting a dialogue scene (dinner sequence) for some of the teens who had shown interest in filmmaking. After feeling the magic of what we captured, we knew the story needed to grow from there.

2. Although The Night I Left America is a scripted drama, the story's development was improvisational in nature. Our creative plans were entirely dependent upon a predetermined choir tour schedule. The dialogue, story arch and many locations in the film were built into the story as we experience life together on the open road.

3. All the African music in the film is performed by the traveling children’s choir. The songs performed are traditional Ugandan folk songs that deal with themes that are in tune with the message of the film.

4. Upon locking a rough edit of the film, we held a fundraiser and surprised the kids with 10k worth of camera gear that they are now using back in Uganda. In just 1 year, the kids have created their own short films, have shot music videos for local musicians and have recently started to be commissioned to create videos for local non-profits.