AIDS, violence and abuse have caused huge numbers of orphans to flee to the dangerous streets of Uganda and fight for their own survival. Set against this background, “Abanunule (The Redeemed)” tracks the lives of a collection of former street boys who live together in a safe home in Kampala. When Elijah, one of the smallest of the orphans, is struck by a car in a hit-and-run, his friend Patrick races on foot to get help from Freddy, one of the older boys at the home. Together they carry the unconscious Elijah back to Uncle Henry, their house father.

Shot on the streets and in the alleys of Kampala the movie follows Freddy, one of the boys’ home’s key soccer players, as he leaves the home and turns back to drugs and violence. While the rest of the boys learn to live without Freddy and struggle to guide their fragile soccer team to the finals, Patrick never gives up hope. He sells what he can for taxi money and sets out alone to travel into the roughest parts of the city in order to find Freddy and bring him back.

The film uses a combination of first-person camera techniques and Patrick’s reflective narration to provide rare insights into the daily struggles of African youth as they try to hold on to their future.