RELAPU: Land Rights & Community Mediation
Client: The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
Services: Conceptualization, scripting, filming, photography, and editing.
Land is history, identity, security, yet in Northern Uganda, it has also been a source of conflict for many years. For vulnerable groups like widows and youth, and vulnerable families, land disputes often meant uncertainty and fear, made worse by long court processes that rarely offered timely relief.
Under the RELAPU (Responsible Land Policy Uganda) project, GIZ introduced new ways of resolving these conflicts: Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), gender-sensitive leadership training, and community-based land mapping.
The goal is simple but powerful: help communities settle disputes fairly, quickly, and peacefully, outside of court. We were part of documenting this initiative: creating three short documentaries and a project trailer that captured both the impact and the human stories driving it.
Telling a Story Rooted in People
The goal is simple but powerful: help communities settle disputes fairly, quickly, and peacefully, outside of court. We were part of documenting this initiative: creating three short documentaries and a project trailer that captured both the impact and the human stories driving it.
Our approach was grounded in fieldwork. We travelled with the GIZ teams across Northern Uganda, joining mediators, local leaders, women’s groups, and families in real-time conflict resolution sessions.
Each film focuses on a different part of the RELAPU journey:
1. Mediation in Action
Alternative Dispute Resolution: a documentary spotlighting community mediators: women and men trained under the ADR model working with families to solve disputes outside of court.
2. Women & Land Rights
Kato’s Land: A documentary dedicated to widows and vulnerable women whose land rights are often ignored or contested.
3. Mapping the Future
A visual look at land demarcation and documentation: the groundwork that prevents future disputes.
“It was great working with Marula, very professional from the concept mural stage to the filming and editing”
A Production Approach Built for Development Work
Filming in remote areas requires more than equipment, it requires trust. We took time to listen, observe, and understand the context, ensuring communities felt safe sharing their stories.
Our team handled:
Field filming across multiple districts
On-site interviews with beneficiaries and mediators
Drone and landscape cinematography
Voiceover scripting
Full post-production: editing, colour, sound design
Final assets delivered for GIZ’s reporting, advocacy, and communications needs
The result: four documentaries and photography that document impact, elevate community voices, and help GIZ communicate the value of RELAPU to national stakeholders and international partners.
Let’s Tell Your Impact Story
At Marula, we’re committed to stories that matter. For GIZ, we were able to combine documentary filmmaking with social impact storytelling, capturing moments where policy meets people, and where community-led solutions create real change.
If you’re working on programmes around creating impact, we’d love to help you capture the work in an authentic, compelling way: info@marula-agency.com
