A group of people, including women wearing headscarves and face masks, gathered closely together, some holding smartphones, at an outdoor event or press conference.

The Woman

Who Poked The

Leopard

Despite fearing for her life, Ugandan medical anthropologist and queer rights activist Stella Nyanzi employs radical rudeness, provocative poetry, and traditional resistance tactics like nudity to fight oppression.

Awards

EWA Diverse Voices Award
Docubox Production Grant
Sørfond Award
Hot Docs–Blue Ice Docs Fund Award
IDFA Spotlight Award
Miradasdoc Award (Durban Film Mart)
Miradasdoc Development Award
Dok Leipzig Co-Pro Market Accelerator Prize

A film by

Patience Nitumwesiga

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our story

Dr. Stella Nyanzi is a force of nature, and this film captures her powerful, unapologetic acts of resistance against an authoritarian regime. In The Woman Who Poked the Leopard, the Ugandan academic, poet, and feminist uses performance, protest, and poetry to challenge state repression and gender-based oppression.

This intimate portrait follows Nyanzi as she navigates threats, imprisonment, and exile, all while refusing to be silenced. The documentary is a revolutionary story about her battle to reclaim her voice, autonomy, and justice—for herself and for others.

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Woman in colorful traditional African clothing raising her arms in victory, surrounded by onlookers at outdoor event.

PRESS and Reviews

Get the film press kit cover for "The woman who poked the leopard."
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Uganda Independence Day "The woman who poked the leopard." press statement.
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