Starring: Brian Steidle Directed By: Annie Sundberg, Ricki Stern Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: DVD Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC Label: International Film Circuit / Break Thru Films Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: October 30, 2007 Running Time: 85 minutes Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Product Description: An up-close honest and uncompromising look at the crisis in Darfur THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK exposes the ongoing tragedy in Sudan as seen through the eyes of one American witness.Using the exclusive photographs and first hand testimony of former U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle the film goes on an emotionally charged journey into the heart of Darfur Sudan where in 2004 Steidle became witness to a genocide that to-date has claimed over 400000 lives. As an official military observer Steidle had access to parts of the country that no journalist could penetrate. Unprepared for what he would witness and experience Steidle returned to the U.S. armed with his photographs intent on exposing the images and stories of lives systematically destroyed.A 2007 world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this astonishingly propulsive and dramatic film from award-winning filmmakers Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern (The Trials of Darryl Hunt) is a heartfelt account of what this particular American witness saw and just as important what he did afterward.System Requirements:Running Time: 85 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/HISTORY Rating: NR UPC: 767685101988 Manufacturer No: NNVG101982
Amazon.com: The Devil Came on Horseback presents a first-person account of the genocide in Darfur. Former Marine Captain Brian Steidle joined the African Union in 2004 to help monitor the cease-fire in Sudan. As he puts it, "All I had was a camera, a pen, and paper. I was totally unprepared for what I'd see." An unarmed military civilian, he describes his observations, via voice-over and audio recordings, as filmmakers Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern alternate between their contemporary footage and his images of slaughtered civilians and incinerated villages. When his contract ends, Steidle leaves in disillusionment. He wrote his reports and took his pictures, but nothing changed. Since reporters lacked the same degree of access, he goes to The New York Times, and they publish his photographs. The soldier-turned-activist proceeds to spread the word everywhere he can. Aside from Steidle, the film features his sister Gretchen Wallace, founder of Global Grassroots (an organization working with female victims in Sudan and Rwanda), and Senator Barack Obama, who has also made Darfur his personal mission. The title comes from a loose translation of janjaweed, the government-backed Arab militias behind the atrocities to which Steidle bore witness. (Steidle and his sister use the same title for the book they wrote together.) As in their previous documentary, The Trials of Darryl Hunt, Sundberg and Stern maintain a measured tone, but their subject's horrifying images speak for themselves. The Devil Came on Horseback is accompanied by Wallace's Supporting Survivors, a short film about Global Grassroots. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
The Devil Came On Horseback A well-made film focusing on the passionate and heart-breaking story of Brian Steidle and the genocide in Darfur. It is an excellent way to begin or continue informing yourself about the issue. By following a single person through their journey in Sudan, chronicling their emotional reactions and their struggling efforts for change, it brings the issue to a level where it can be processed amidst the desensitization that has occurred as a result of modern media. The direct accounts of the tragedy - through photos, video and a compelling narrative - help to humanize the conflict and let us begin to see this not just as a loss of numbers from a population, but as a killing of single beings. Though it is sometimes an uncomfortable watch, it is essential.
The Devil Came on Horseback This is a must see documentary for anyone concerned with what is really happening in Darfur. I found it very moving and accurate without resorting to over the top visualizations. *This a a very graphic depiction of the Genocide happening in Darfur but the film does not focus only on gruesome visuals. The story is very well told and seems to be a true depiction of the daily life and continuous violence faced by the people of the region. The interviews with members of the Janjaweed were of particular interest to me, I found them eerily disaffected by what they are doing every day.
A Great Challenge Everyone should see this presentation. Brian Steidle brings to the attention of everyone the travesty occurring in Darfur.
The Devil Came on Horseback This documentary was incredible! The footage left me speechless! This movie has made me more aware and knowledgeable. You cannot watch this movie without feeling the need to do something to help. It is inspiring and shows how one person, just one person can make a difference. A definite must see. This film should be shown in all schools to educate the students so that in the future they may make a difference in the world!
Heart-wrenching documentary Former Marine Captain Brian Steidle got a job in 2004 without much prior knowledge to monitor the ceasefire in Darfur for the African Union. Little did he know he would be walking into one of the biggest human rights travesties in recent history.
After two decades of war, a cease-fire in Darfur is not being followed. The present-day Muslim government restricts Darfur development, and the only hope the black Africans have is two meagerly supplied rag-tag armies (Sudanese Liberation Army and Justice and Equality Movement). Unfortunately for the black Africans, they are up against the Janjaweed, a government trained, supplied, and supported militia that raids the villages in Darfur and is responsible for the majority of the crimes. Janjaweed, which literally translates as "Devil on Horse", get paid in loot; in other words, they get what they steal, pillage, and plunder. They take more than material possessions, also taking the purity of females, and the hearts of villagers via the destruction of daily life.
Where this story gets even more nefarious is when the details of the oil deal with China are uncovered. Not only is China refining the majority of the oil in Darfur, they are also the means by which the Muslim-led government gets the funding to continue the suppression of black Africans, continuing to flout the cease-fire's mandates.
Through Steidle's photographs, movies, stories, first-hand knowledge, and perserverance, this message has been given a larger stage than it ever would have previously. Hopefully, this is just the first step towards awareness.
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