A noble effort to awaken the West to the genocidal reality in war-torn Sudan, Theodore Braun's documentary Darfur Now briefly recounts the historical background of the conflict centered in the Darfur region, before focusing on the work of six individual activists traveling the globe to bring attention to the cause. Two are Sudanese: a mother who joined the rebel forces against the Janjaweed militiamen who killed her child, and a man who has become head sheik at a refugee camp, where he struggles to maintain order. The other four are Westerners: a prosecutor at the International Criminal Court who is building a case against members of the Sudanese government; the head of the World Food Program in West Darfur; a UCLA student working towards getting the state of California to divest itself of investments in Sudan; and actor Don Cheadle (encouraged in his efforts by Bishop Desmond Tutu), who enlists celeb friends such as George Clooney to help increase public awareness of the situation. The film also features Sudanese officials who deny any involvement in the attacks on civilians, but these statements sound dubious. DVD extras include additional scenes (such as a sequence in which members of the nomadic Arabic tribes—from whose ranks the Janjaweed are recruited—unconvincingly describe what they see as wrongs against them), and a brief introduction and audio commentary by director Braun. From a technical perspective, Darfur Now is thoroughly conventional, but as a call to action this very inexpensive documentary could have a positive effect. Definitely recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
Darfur Now
(2007) 98 min. DVD: $4.99. Warner Home Video (avail. from most distributors). ISBN: 1-4198-6251-0. Volume 23, Issue 5
Darfur Now
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