Against the historical backdrop of Idi Amin and amidst the present-day evil of the Lord’s Resistance Army’s child soldiers wandering Uganda and the Congo causing untold devastation, Abrahmz Tekya, a b-boy devotee whose parents died when he was seven, established Break-dance Project Uganda to teach hundreds of Ugandan kids to connect to themselves and escape their predicaments through dance.

Tekya’s teachings reference the pioneers of breaking, and Red Bull Media House brought the most significant name in the b-boy world, the Rock Steady Crew (with original member Crazy Legs), to Uganda for eight days. The locals’ understanding that music and dance can form peace seems simple-minded, but the power of their form in this context appears truly effective. In this world, bringing together boys and girls at a community center to dance also gives them access to computers, and enables different tribes from different regions to share their traditions , to inspire rather than intimidate each other by borrowing moves from their own tribal dances.

First-time feature helmer Nabil Elderkin is a skilled storyteller, and “Bouncing Cats” balances the tension of abductions, rapes, murders and kidnappings with the history of the struggles of the region, an overview of the current situation and superb photography of the unadulterated joy inherent in children whose laughter might well have left them long ago in this arid turf.

Elderkin’s usual work shooting portraits and music videos for the urban landscape’s key players Kanye West, Will.I.Am, Wyclef Jean and Common often showcases the personal successes and desires inherent in promoting a hip-hop lifestyle. However, in “Bouncing Cats,” as in Matt Ruskin’s lauded doc “The Hip Hop Project,” the street-bred culture is being used to empower youth instead of leading it astray; it is utilized as a “weapon to speak truth.”

Why the title? Well, without sound systems at easy reach, Tekya has audiences perform human beat box skills by repeating the rhythmic phrase “Bouncing cats, baboons and cats. Bouncing cats, baboons and cats. Bouncing cats, baboons and cats. Bouncing cats, baboons and cats.”

With the support of Crazy Legs, the Rock Steady Crew and Red Bull Media House, and with Elderkin’s connections in the world of hip-hop, “Bouncing Cats” has strong chances of finding a presenting producer to bring it the wider recognition it deserves.

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