Kony 2012: The sequel

Get short URL

Published time: April 02, 2012 16:47
Edited time: April 03, 2012 10:49

Less than a month after their 30-minute Kony 2012 video was released on the Internet only to go viral, California-based advocacy group Invisible Children say they will unleash a follow-up film this week.

Invisible Children’s director of ideology, Jedidiah Jenkins, told reporters over the weekend that his non-profit group is readying a sequel to last month’s documentary on Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony. After releasing the Kony 2012 film in early March, the group made the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army a household name, essentially succeeding in an attempt to raise awareness of the wrongdoings of the LRA commander. Now the group’s next attempt at immortalizing Kony in an effort to bring justice to the Ugandan people is expected to be released on Tuesday, says Jenkins.

Only weeks since the first Kony 2012 film became a worldwide sensation, however, there are doubts on what success the next flick by way of Invisible Children will have at ousting the Ugandan warlord. In the wake of last month’s movie, the directors behind the documentary were met with a backlash of criticism from skeptics concerned over the true intentions of the filmmakers. Stories were quick to circulate revealing that only a fraction from the non-profits revenue goes towards advocacy work, the damage of which was enough to prompt Invisible Children to release a follow-up film attempting to answer questions of their internal operations. Before the group could reclaim the support that came immediately following the release of Kony 2012, however, co-founder Jason Russell notoriously was nabbed by police after making a scene in downtown San Diego, California.

Jenkins detailed the upcoming film at a private gathering over the weekend, and to Reuters said that Russell was taking some time off to recuperate from what his family called “reactive psychosis.” When Russell was caught storming the streets of San Diego naked and screaming last month, it was initially blamed on exhaustion and dehydration. Jenkins now says, "He is on the road to recovery. It's going to be months, the doctors say, but he is recovering."

Questions have also been raised, however, over the group’s director of ideology himself. In recent days a video has been unearthed from 2010 in which Jenkins jokes that he was going to keep $900,000 of a $1-million award presented by Chase Bank. A source close to the group tells gossip site TMZ that the clip in question was made as a prank.

Skeptics aside, Invisible Children continues to accumulate support from across the globe. Jenkins was in Los Angeles, California this week to discuss the group’s next film at the home of Hollywood director Roland Emmerich. It was there that a select few gathered to celebrate Luis Moreno-Ocamp, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

"I love Invisible Children. I love them," Moreno-Ocampo said to Reuters after hugging Jenkins at the dinner. "Their video is making a huge change in stopping Joseph Kony, I believe."

"The Invisible Children movie is adding social interest that institutions need to achieve results," Moreno-Ocampo added in an interview with Reuters over the weekend. "Invisible Children will, I think, produce the arrest of Joseph Kony this year.”