Uma Thurman is playing a nun on a rescue mission

A Hollywood film director says his next film is about Uganda's notorious rebels and how they kidnapped more than 100 convent schoolgirls.

Will Raee told the BBC that Girl Soldier will star Uma Thurman as the heroine nun who pursues the rebels into the bush and helps some girls escape.

It is based on a book of the same name by Grace Akallo, one of those captured from the school in Akobe in 1996.

"It's mind blowing; it's such an amazing story," said Mr Raee.

The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels have been fighting the Ugandan government for more than two decades.

Their long and brutal rebellion has driven some two million people from their homes and destabilised a swathe of central and east Africa.

'Authentic'

"The film is incredibly fictionalised in certain areas," Mr Raee told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

"But we're basically telling the story of girls who were abducted and forced into slavery and forced into fighting a rebel war they didn't want to be a part of.

"I want people to watch this and feel that they're watching a documentary in a sense, so we're really trying to keep this as authentic as possible," he said.

Ms Akallo, who was 15 years old when she was abducted, was not one of those rescued by the nun and only managed to escape months later during a battle.

Mr Raee said the movie is in pre-production in South Africa at the moment and he hopes to shoot some scenes in Uganda.

"The child soldiers will be Ugandan actors," he said.

Earlier this week, a comic book about the LRA, featuring the WWII character Unknown Soldier, was launched by DC Comics.

"I do feel there are just an amazing amount of stories coming out of Africa that are both beautiful and tragic," said Mr Raee.

He said that Ms Thurman was keen to do the role because of her interest in Africa and her concern about violence against women.

Source: BBC News

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