After the atrocities of the Holocaust and again in Rwanda, the world faces another crisis in the Darfur section of Sudan. “The Devil Came on Horseback” is an insightful, educational, and award winning documentary based on the book about Ben Steidle’s experiences in Sudan and how he is trying to raise awareness of the situation in Darfur.
In the documentary, filmmakers Annnie Sundberg and Ricki Stern combine Steidle’s photographs and voice over narration with video images, news coverage, and interviews in order to educate the viewer on what Steidle encountered in Sudan and his exploits after returning home from Sudan. Steidle served as a Captain in the United States Marines. From 2004 through 2005, he took a job in Sudan as a military observer with the African Union. He spent six months in Darfur and had access to parts of the region that journalists were cut off from covering. In March 2005, NY Times journalist Nicholas Kristoff broke Steidle’s story and published a number of his photographs from the region. The documentary covers the responses of Steidle’s experiences from concerned citizens (the Washington rally) to press coverage to various government responses and his efforts to keep educating individuals on the crisis that he witnessed in Darfur.
The documentary will certainly enlighten viewers on Ben Steidle’s story and accounts of his experiences in Sudan and Darfur. Some of the images will rattle the viewer as he/she is exposed to one man’s story of how he witnessed horrendous events in front of him.
The documentary is opening in limited release across the country but more information can be gotten from the official website:
www.thedevilcameonhorseback.com.
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