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Discuss the movie about Darfur, “Sand & Sorrow,” with Darfuris and others who are trying to adress the problems of vulnerability and msss murder.

When: “Sand & Sorrow” shows at 12:30 PM and 2:15 PM September 14, 15, and 16. (Following the 2:15 PM showing Saturday September 15, stay for a discussion of what we can do to help prevent genocide and mass murder in Darfur)
Where: Key Cinemas 4044 S. Keystone Ave. Indianapolis, IN 46227

Cost: $5 grownups, $3 students

To qualify for an Academy Award, a documentary must show on a minimum number of commercial theatres, with paid admission and advertisements. To help several excellent films qualify, Key Cinemas is arranging special showings this fall. Most of the films have barely been shown anywhere. For some of these films, Provocate will arrange special discussions following the second Saturday showing… you will have a chance to talk about the film with experts about the issues raised in the movies, and explore what we in Indiana can do to solve the terrible problems shown so vividly.

After the showing of the film at 2:15 Saturday, join Steve Harrigan for a discussion. Steve is coordinator for Darfur Peace and Development Organization’s solar cooking project to help the Darfur refugees inside Sudan. “Solar cooking” may seem like small relief in the face of genocide, but it’s not:

The simple task of cooking a meal in Darfur brings with it a unique series of problem and risks. The majority of Darfurians are now displaced in IDP (Internally Displaced People) camps. Wood is getting increasingly scarce and as each family consumes this limited energy source the deforestation of Darfur advances. Augmenting this is the danger to those who do go out and gather firewood. If caught by the Janjaweed the men are killed and the women are raped. Literally thousands of hours are expended on foraging for wood in each IDP camp. This time could be better put to use doing a variety of other things to develop the lives of the people. Solar cooking offers a simple way to alleviate some of these problems.

Benefits for Darfur

1. Long term, it reduces the consumption of firewood by at least a third and therefore significantly slows deforestation.
2. It saves many hours of time from searching for firewood, hauling it home and splitting it, therefore leaving more time for other needs of life. It also saves time while cooking because it does not have to be closely watched since it does not burn the food.
3. It reduces the risk of the women and girls getting raped and the men killed while out foraging for wood.
4. It will eventually provide some employment for the refugees who produce the cookers in the camps or in the surrounding area especially if utilizing local materials.

 You can see a video of Steve’s solar cooking project here.

At the discussion after the film Saturday afternoon, Steve will be joined by several Darfuris who have been granted political asylum in the US because they have been persecuted by the Sudanese government. For more information, contact John Clark at john@sipr.org or 317-472-9666

Some informaiton about “Sand & Sorrow“, narrated by George Clooney:

While analyzing the historical events that have given rise to an Arab-dominated government’s willingness to kill and displace its own indigenous African people, “Sand and Sorrow” also examines the international community’s “legacy of failure” to respond to such profound crimes against humanity in the past. But while immersed in the despairing crisis of our time, Freedman manages to give voice to the ever-growing and inspiring movement of those who wish to make “Never Again” finally mean something.

John Prendergast, Samantha Power, and New York Times columnist Nick Kristof, lead the viewer through burgeoning refugee camps along the Chad-Sudan border, past mass graves inside Darfur itself, and into offices of the United States Senate to plead on behalf of the innocents of Darfur. This impassioned trio inspires a growing and vocal advocacy movement that extends from rural high schools to big time college campuses, all the way to the halls of power in the US and beyond. Freedman’s camera is there to capture the heroic struggle between politics and humanity.

Addis Ababa, Khartoum, New York, London—Freedman’s subjects are as varied as his stunning locations. Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, U.S. Senators Barak Obama and Sam Brownback, Sudan scholars Alex de Waal and Gerard Prunier, and rebel leader Minni Minawi, provide powerful and touching insight into the conflict. Exclusive, behind-the-scenes coverage of the historic, but failed Darfur peace signing in Abuja, Nigeria, and the inspiring rally on the Washington Mall, confront the viewer with the power of hope and the face of evil.

As Freedman ventures deep inside the vast and violent Internally Displaced Persons camps of Darfur, he comes face to face with the collective sorrow of a people devastated by others’ political unwillingness and shameful indifference. These people have joined the growing spectral chorus of others who waited for help in genocides past—help that we know may never come.

Preliminary reviews from the film festivals have been excellent. Before you go, check them out:

•  July 15, 2007 The Jerusalem Post Documenting the new century’s first genocide 
• June 22, 2007 Variety Sand and Sarrow Review
• May 22, 2007 Variety Fun and Suffering in Cannes
• May 16, 2007 IndependentFilm.com First International Emerging Talent Film Festival Announces Juried Competition Awards
• May 8, 2007 Variety Velvet Octopus picks up ‘Sand’ Darfur documentary to close Monte Carlo fest
• May 4, 2007 The Hollywood Reporter Emerging Talent to end with ‘Sorrow’
• May 4, 2007 Variety Emerging Talent festival launching
• May 3, 2007 indieWIRE “3 Needles” & “Sand and Sorrow” to Bookend First IETFF in Monaco
• May 3, 2007 FilmFestivals.com The 1st International Emerging Talent Film Festival
• April 23, 2007 KDVS Radio Interview with Director Paul Freedman on The Fringe. Listen Now

If this sounds interesting, check out the film and discussion “The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo” September 29. Not all of the news from Africa is horror … attend Joe Mamlin’s talk October 23 to hear how Hoosiers are helping Africans save themselves. And attend the map of Indiana in the world event November 17 to see for yourself how Indiana is linked to Sudan and Darfur.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 11th, 2007 at 2:35 am and is filed under Events, Foreign policy, Violence, Crossing borders, Law & justice, Human and civil rights, Film, War & peace, Africa, Poverty, Kids, Provocate Event. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.