Critical Conversations on Civic Issues: Faculty & Film Series

Fall 2009

Series Theme: “Envisioning Peace: Peace-Building, Human Security and Nonviolent Citizen Action in Africa” (UNIV399E, 1-credit)

Monday, August 31, 7:00 pm
Lost Boys of Sudan
Winner of an Independent Spirit Award and named Best Documentary at the San Francisco International
Film Festival, “Lost Boys of Sudan” follows two teenage Sudanese refugees on an extraordinary journey from Africa to America, offering a gripping and sobering peek into the myth of the American dream. In the late 1980s, Islamic fundamentalists in Sudan waged war on the country’s separatists, leaving behindover 20,000 male orphans, otherwise known as “lost boys.” For those who survived this traumatic ordeal and foundtheir way to refugee camps, some were chosen to participate in a resettlement program in America – a distant place so presumably full of hope and opportunity
that the Sudanese sometimes call it Heaven. But what ifa free ticket to “Heaven” turned out to be anything but? Side-stepping conventional voice-over narration in favor of real-time, close quarters poignancy, “Lost Boys of Sudan” focuses on Santino and Peter, members of the Dinka tribe, during their first life-altering year in the United States. Safe at last from physical danger – but a world away from home – the boys must grapple with extreme cultural differences as
they come to understand both the abundance and alienation of contemporary American life.
“One for your must-see list” – Newsday.

“An extraordinary rich documentary, one of the best I’ve seen” – National Public Radio (NPR).

Monday, September 14, 2009, 7:00 pm
An Evening with Ron Capps and Erin Weir from Refugees International: New Challenges for International Peacekeeping Operations in Africa

Refugees International is a leading non-governmental organization (NGO) that advocates for lifesaving assistance and protection for displaced people and promotes solutions to displacement crises in over 20 countries around the world. Each year, Refugees International conducts 20 to 25 field missions to identify displaced people’s needs for basic services such as food, health care, housing, access to education and protection from harm. Based on their field-based knowledge of humanitarian emergencies in Africa, Refugees International successfully challenge policy makers and
aid agencies to improve the lives of displaced people in Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda. Where there are critical needs, Refugees International identifies what is lacking, develops effective solutions, and engages in advocacy for policy action. Ron Capps is the Peacekeeping Program Manager and Erin A. Weir is a Peacekeeping Advocate with Refugees International in Washington, DC.

Monday, September 21, 7:00 pm
Pray the Devil Back to Hell
“Pray the Devil Back to Hell” chronicles the remarkable story of the courageous Liberian womenwho came together to end a bloody civil war and bring peace to their shattered country. Thousands of women — ordinary mothers, grandmothers, aunts and daughters, both Christian and Muslim — came together to pray for peace and then staged a silent protest outside of the Presidential Palace. Armed only with white T-shirts andthe courage of their convictions, they demanded aresolution to the country’s civil war. Their actions were a critical element in bringing about a agreement during the stalled peace talks. A story of sacrifice, unity and transcendence, “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” honors
the strength and perseverance of the women of Liberia. Inspiring, uplifting, and most of all motivating, it is a compelling testimony of how grassroots activism can alter the history of nations.
“Eloquently captures the power each of us innately has within our souls to make this world a far better, safer, more peaceful place" — Desmond Tutu, 1984 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
“I was very moved. I think ‘Pay the Devil Back to Hell’ can educate and maybe prevent other countries from slipping into the kind of chaos that my country experienced. It’s going to make a major contribution.” – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia
“Just when movie goers may be emotionally overwhelmed about brutal violence in Africa – genocide, child soldiers, blood diamonds, rape – comes the good news. Pray the Devil Back to Hell is the inspiring story of how one of the continent’s worst and longest civil wars was ended by a disparate group of determined women working together” – Nora Lee Mandel, Film-Forward.com

Wednesday, September 23, 7:00 pm
Hoff Theater in the Stamp Student Union--FREE SCREENING of The Rescue

An evening with Invisible Children: The Rescue--Aiding Children Victims of War in Northern Uganda

Monday, September 28, 7:00 pm
Facing Sudan
Through the stories of a custodian, pediatrician, housewife, and others who have experienced the brutal violence in war-torn Sudan, Bruce David Janu’s documentary reveals how ordinary people can create extraordinary change. The film explores the historical context of the conflict, featuring footage of Sudanese military attacks and interviews with both volunteers and victims of the violence, including a harrowing segment on the Lost Boys. “Facing Sudan”is the story of ordinary individuals, moved into action bythe events in Sudan. Ordinary people can do extraordinary things, even in Sudan.” Winner of the Best Documentary Award, Illinois International Film Festival.

Monday, October 5, 7:00 pm
God Grew Tired of Us
An award-winning, critically acclaimed documentary, narrated by Nicole Kidman, “God Grew Tired of Us” explores the indomitable spirit of three “Lost Boys” from Sudan who are forced to leave their homeland due to a tumultuous civil war. The documentary chronicles their triumph over seemingly insurmountable adversities and a re-location to America, where the Lost Boys build active and fulfilling new lives but remain committed to helping friends and family they have left behind.
“A moving documentary that informs, entertains, and inspires…” – Claudia Puig, USA Today.
Winner, Grand Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival.

Monday, October 12, 7:00 pm
An Evening with David Allen Harris: Using Dance and Movement Therapy to Heal African Child Survivors of War
David Alan Harris is a leading dance and movement therapist with clinical experience in mental health rehabilitative treatment who has worked with former child soldiers in Sierra Leone and other parts of Africa
and with young male survivors of severe trauma. Combining his careers in human rights advocacy and choreography to work on the ground in Sierra Leone's Kailahun District, David has collaborated with local counselors to develop an innovative dance and movement program to provide treatment for 12 former child soldiers, all of whom were orphans who survived the brutality of Sierra Leone’s 11-year civil war. David’s inspiring work has demonstrated that “dance and
movement therapy (DMT) interventions, if designed to promote cultural relevance and community ownership, may enhance healing among adolescent survivors of war and organized violence.”

Now based in Colorado, David has served as a clinician and provided therapeutic trauma treatment with the
Center for Victims of Torture in Sierra Leone, the Rocky Mountain Survivors Center, and the Dinka Initiative to Empower and Restore in Pennsylvania.

Monday, October 19, 7:00 pm

Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai
How did women come together to plant trees and to lead a movement for democratic change in Kenya? Taking
Root tells the dramatic story of Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai whose simple act of planting trees grew into a nationwide movement to safe-guard the environment, protect human rights and
defend democracy in Kenya. “Taking Root captures the transformative potential of regular people finding their voices. It proves that courage is contagious and directly contradicts the current negative images of Africa. It is about the deep change… (that) is essential to save our planet… it will inspire untold, endless acts of courage” – Frances
Moore Lappé, author and activist.
“Taking Root demonstrates that the environmental movement is… a social justice movement at its core” – Nehanda Imara, Communities for a Better Environment

Monday, October 26, 7:00 pm

An Evening with Peter Kimeu from Catholic Relief Services: Africa Rising – Hope Amidst Struggle

Peter Kimeu, CRS-Kenya, has worked with Catholic Relief Services for over 25 years, helping people resolve conflicts peacefully and build healthy, sustainable communities. www.crs.org

Monday, November 2, 7:00 pm
Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars
Uplifting and courageous, this dramatic award-winning film directed by Zach Niles and Banker White tracks the journey of Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars – a group ofsix musicians who formed a band after being displaced
from their home during the brutal decade-long civil war in Sierra Leone – as they rise from the ashes of war and
inspire a nation to believe in the healing power of music. This stunning documentary captures the triumphant
story of six musicians who escaped the horrific violence of Sierra Leone’s civil war, landed in a West African
refugee camp and formed a band that would go on and travel the world. An unbelievable treatment of the human spirit, the refugees’ journey exemplifies the power of music. “Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars” follows band mates Reuben Koroma, Francis “Franco” Langba, Efuah Grace, Mohammed Bangura, Arahim Kamara and Alhadji “Black Nature” Kamara through their tour of local refugee camps, debut recording session and painful return to their country for the first time since the war. The band’s sound, a mixture of home-grown beats from West Africa, roots-reggae and Western-influenced rhythm and blues combined with heartfelt lyrics which condemn war and encourage social change, has been praised around the world, leading to the band’s first American tour.
“As harrowing as these personal tales may be, the music buoying them is uplifting” – New York Times

Monday, November 9, 7:00 pm
An Evening with Emira Woods:
Promoting True Peace and Partnerships in Africa – The International Campaign to Resist AFRICOM
The Resist AFRICOM is an international campaign comprised of concerned U.S. and Africa-based
organizations and individuals opposed to the new U.S. military command for Africa, known as AFRICOM. On February 6, 2007, President Bush announced the establishment of the United Command for U.S. military forces in Africa (AFRICOM). This decision has led African nations and regional organizations to repeatedly declare their opposition to the hosting of U.S. bases on the African continent and to the militarization of their relations with the United States. Resist AFRICOM’s
vision is for a comprehensive U.S. foreign policy grounded in true partnership with the African Union, African governments, and civil society based on peace, justice, human security, and development.Emira Woods is Director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies, and an expert on U.S. foreign policy with a special emphasis on Africa and the developing world. Emira serves on the Board of Directors
of Africa Action, Just Associates, Global Justice, and the Financial Policy Forum.

Monday, November 16, 7:00 pm

The Peacekeepers: The Price of Peace
Violent and brutal civil wars are inflicting slaughter and misery on the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The United Nations Department of Peacekeeping is working overtime to avoid another Rwanda disaster.
In this shocking and explicit film, award-winning director Paul Cowan gains unprecedented access to the United Nations’ offices and bureaus to capture behind-the-scenes peacekeeping tactics. Cutting back and for the between New York, the United Nation’s Crisis Room, and on-the-ground footage of Third World devastation.
“The Peacekeepers” provides a realistic and profound balance of hope in the face of ongoing strife.

Monday, November 23, 7:00 pm

As We Forgive
Could you forgive a person who murdered your family? This is the question faced by the subjects of “As We Forgive,” a documentary about Rosaria and Chantal –two Rwandan women coming face-to-face with the men
who slaughtered their families during the 1994 genocide. The subjects of “As We Forgive” speak for a nation still wracked by the grief of a genocide that killed one in eight Rwandans in 1994. Overwhelmed by an enormous backlog of court cases, the government has returned over 50,000 genocide perpetrators back to the very communities they helped to destroy. Without the hope of full justice, Rwanda has turned to a new solution: Reconciliation. But can it be done? Can survivors truly forgive the killers who destroyed their families? Can the government expect this from its people? And can the church, which failed at moral leadership during the genocide, fit into the process of reconciliation today?
In “As We Forgive,” director Laura Waters Hinson and narrator Mia Farrow explore these topics through the lives of four neighbors once caught in opposite tides of the genocidal bloodbath, and their extraordinary journey from death to life through forgiveness.
“A powerful, inspiring film” – Steven Kinzer, author and former New York Times reporter.

Monday, November 30, 7:00 pm

The Reckoning: The Battle for the International Criminal Court
In mid-1998, in response to repeated mass atrocities around the world, more than 120 countries united to
form the International Criminal Court (ICC) –the first permanent court created to prosecute perpetrators (no matter how powerful) of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide. “The Reckoning” follows dynamic Luis Moreno Ocampo and his team for3 years across 4 continents as he issues arrest warrantsfor Lord’s Resistance Army leaders in Uganda, puts Congolese warlords on trial, and charges Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir with genocide in Darfur, challenging the U.N. Security Council to arrest him. Building cases against genocidal criminals presents
huge challenges, and the Prosecutor has a mandate but no police force. At every turn, he must pressure the international community to muster political will for the cause. Life a deft thriller, “The Reckoning” keeps you
on the edge of your seat, in this case with two riveting dramas – the prosecution of unspeakable crimes and the ICC’s fight for efficacy in its nascent years. As this tiny court in The Hague struggles to change the world and
forge a new paradigm for justice, innocent victims suffer and wait. Will the Prosecutor succeed? Will the
world ensure that justice prevails?

Monday, December 7, 7:00 pm
Invisible Children: “Go” & “Global Night Commute”
In 2007, Invisible Children posed a challenge to youth around the world: raise one million dollars in 100 days
to rebuild schools in war-torn northern Uganda. Thousands of students rallied, and 20 were rewarded
with an adventure of a lifetime: a trip into Africa’s longest running war. This is the story of a generation
discovering that it does not matter where you are from, but where you go! These short films take a behind the scenes look at Invisible Children and its journey through the successful grassroots events, the Global Night Commute. Find out
what it takes to start a movement that brings hope to those suffering the effects of a 20-year long war in
Northern Uganda. Watch as the Invisible Children National Tour inspires thousands of people to share
the story of Northern Uganda. Sleep alongside more than 80,000 people at the Global Night Commute. See
how their voices carried through the hall of the United States Senate.