Darfur Diaries: Message from Home

The continuing tragedy in Sudan's Darfur region is the subject of this harrowing documentary from filmmakers Aisha Bain, Jen Marlowe, and Adam Shapiro, in which the Sudanese people tell their own stories about what is taking place there. Filmed on location at the overflowing refugee camps in Chad, this video diary is poignant, eloquent, and deeply disturbing, as men display physical scars from attacks and women speak frankly of being raped by the forces behind the genocide (an unholy union of the Sudanese army and the Janjaweed militia). The most heartbreaking witnesses are the Sudanese children, who draw scenes depicting the damage done to their villages (often by other children who've been indoctrinated as soldiers). Darfur Diaries also attempts to trace the racial and cultural roots of the conflict, offering a graphic explanation of how the madness boiled so dangerously out of control to become an ongoing crisis. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)