Band of heroes
Daniel Nelson
“The energy is infectious.”
“I would really like to inspire young girls in Uganda. You can do it.”
“Topowa! coz they are not going to give up.”
“In Uganda we don’t wear Rolex. We eat Rolex.”
“Music is power. Music can change lives.”
“My dream is to play on the biggest stage in the world.”
TOPOWA! Never Give Up is a joyous documentary that begins in Katwe, the biggest slum in Kampala (“When it’s dark it’s a bit scary, but when the electricity is on, it’s good”), where thousands live in atrocious conditions. But where there’s muck there’s brass, thanks to the NGO Brass for Africa, and the film shows how brass transports 12 musicians from Kampala to Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in London, a residency at the Cheltenham Music Festival – and for four of the group, to jobs in the British army band.
The good vibes emanate from them all (“We’re like a family”), and all have interesting back-stories and hurdles to overcome. Have you seen a trombonist with no hands or feet, as a result of injuries in a fire? As ever, the lone woman, Samayya, has an additional layer of prejudice to face: her father didn’t want her to take up the tuba, other men tell her such a large instrument is not for women, and the impenetrable Uganda passport office (to which they have to prove their existence - “You need to trace up to your fourth grandfather”) delays up her application so the others are forced to take off without her.
She continues to root for the group, but for the viewer the frustration stirs up the acid in your stomach.
The band plays on - “Everyone is finding it very difficult. It isn’t the same band without Samayya.”
Sadly, she follows progress from afar. She stays gentle, but the disappointment is crushing.
But Topowa! Never give up: the passport comes through. Good feeling is resumed, dreams are realised. To watch Julius (“As soon as I held the trombone I fell in love with it”) jam with his hero, jazz maestro Wynton Marsalis, is to see pure happiness.
“It’s not about where you’ve come from,” says Julius, “it’s where we are going. The music will lead us.”
* The film won Best Music Documentary at the Raindance festival in London in November 2020