Just weeks ago, the Ugandan parliament passed a draconian anti-gay law that is among the harshest in Africa — where already more than 30 countries outlaw homosexuality. In this timely and powerful documentary, screening on World Refugee Day, we meet Philip, Hussein, Remy, and Shammy — four Ugandan refugees who are the dignified, human faces of an unfolding crisis. Awaiting asylum in Switzerland, these exiles—two gay men, a lesbian, and a transwoman — reveal the emotional and physical toll of being persecuted in your own country — and sometimes by your own family — for being who you are.

Out of Uganda, though seemingly ripped from the headlines, avoids cable-news sensationalism, instead gently but devastatingly exploring its subjects’ stories in their own words. In some of the most powerful sequences, the filmmakers take us to Uganda to meet the family members of the exiled protagonists to hear firsthand the impact of having a queer family member. We also meet government and church officials who are driving the hatred, and extraordinarily courageous activists who are fighting for a semblance of justice for Uganda’s LGBTQ+ community.