TIRBECA FILM FESTIVAL, NEW YOK

Kassim The Dream

Directed By Kief Davidson

By Tiffany Cooper

If you’re searching for a film with heart and inspiration Kassim The Dream is a winning movie you should consider. Kassim proves that against all odds, a man can achieve his dreams and turn tragedy into inspiration.

This gripping tales opens with Kassim as a young child being kidnapped from school and forced to join the Ugandan child soldiers. As a member of the ‘Ugandan Children’s Army’, he is taught to fight, handle a gun, and kill innocent people. Kassim learns that if he doesn’t kill he will be killed. He settles into his life in the military until he finds a way to escape. He eventually finds a way escape and leaves his family behind to come to America where he becomes a world champion boxer. After a bit of success, he brings his mother and brother to America but lives with the pain of his father’s death right after his escape.

I was unable to keep the tears from falling down my face during the scene in which Kassim makes a return trip to Uganda see his aging grandmother (who has stayed alive just to see her grandson one more time). Years earlier, he had left his grandmother behind with no electricity and running water. That desperate choice almost destroyed his spirit. It’s a unforgettable cinematic moment and reminder of the power of faith and unconditional love.

Kassim’s journey from abducted child to forced military servant with no hope of a better life, to a survivor and world champion boxer is amazing. Kassim proves true the saying, “if you can see the invisible, you can achieve the impossible”. Kassim must have seen the invisible all along.