Children of War

Children of War
Children of War

Theatrical Poster for Children of War
Directed by Bryan Single
Produced by Bryan Single
Farzad Karimi
Timothy Beckett
Music by Mark Brandon Hill
James Makubuya
Cinematography Bryan Single
Editing by Bryan Single
Timothy Beckett
Release date(s) March 11, 2010 (2010-03-11) (USIP)
Running time 75 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Children of War is an award-winning, feature-length documentary film directed by Bryan Single and released in 2010. Filmed in northern Uganda over a period of three years, the story follows the journey of a group of former child soldiers as they undergo a process of trauma therapy and emotional healing while in a rehabilitation center.

Having been abducted from their homes and schools by the Lord’s Resistance Army—a quasi-religious militia led by self-proclaimed prophet and international war criminal Joseph Kony—the children struggle to confront years of brutal abuse, forced combat and religious indoctrination with the help of a heroic team of trauma counselors. As these fearless allies work closely with guide the children forward into new lives, Children Of War illuminates a powerful and cathartic story of forgiveness and hope in the aftermath of war.[1]

Contents

Historical perspective

The war in northern Uganda lasted for over two decades (1986–2006). The rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army, led by Joseph Kony, fought to overthrow the secular government and rule the country by the Biblical Ten Commandments. However, what made the LRA so unique and tragic is that the majority of those who fought in its ranks were children.

During the 20 years of war, an estimated 35,000 boys and girls were dragged from their homes, schools and villages, tied up, and marched to rebel hideouts deep in the bush. There, they were initiated into the Army's cult-like culture through a combination of religious indoctrination, traumatizing abuse, and forced participation in extremely brutal violence. Often these child soldiers were forced to kill fellow abducted children, burn and loot villages, and maim civilians—in some instances even their own families. Fear and total dependency upon their captors led many of the abducted children to yield, internalize, and adopt the violent culture of the rebels. Additionally, many of the female children were given to the rebel commanders as "wives" and forced to produce more children: a new generation descended from brutality.

To establish power and widespread fear among those who refused to show explicit support for them, Kony and his rebels mainly targeted civilians, employing massacres of the most horrifying nature. Fathers, mothers, and infants were killed, dismembered by machetes, or burned to "rid the land of evil spirits." This campaign of terror resulted in over 100,000 deaths, thousands of maimed and wounded, and one and a half million people being forced to live in squalid displaced-persons camps. To make matters worse, the southern-ruled government was widely accused of amplifying the crisis through years of complacency and indifference. In 2006, Jan Egeland, former United Nations Special Advisor to the Secretary General, expressed that the situation in northern Uganda had evolved into "the world's greatest neglected humanitarian crisis."

Since 2006, the war however has settled into a precarious impasse. As a result of an increased military campaign by the Ugandan government, attacks and abductions by the rebels have slowly waned. Kony and his army have moved their base of operations across the border into eastern Congo.

In the heart of this uncertainty between peace and war, life and death, hope and hopelessness, many child soldiers have re-emerged from the war, either through miraculous escapes or by being captured during battles. Transferred directly from the battlefields to rehabilitation centers, these boys and girls undergo the formidable process of healing into a life beyond war. Most carry with them the emotional and psychological burdens of a stained youth, reflected in symptoms of distrust, severe guilt, fear, self-contempt, nightmares, and despair. But as survivors, many exhibit a haunting yet impassioned honesty far beyond their years.

In May 2006, filmmaker Bryan Single was invited to visit the Rachele Rehabilitation Center in war-torn northern Uganda. Established in 2003 by the Belgian government and award-winning author-journalist Els de Temmerman, the mission of the Rachele Center is to rehabilitate and reintegrate many of the former abductees and child soldiers. The goal of Mr. Single’s visit to the Center was to listen, to witness and to document the stories and sojourns of these children as they recover from their lives as child soldiers.

Screenings and accolades

Children of War previewed in November 2009 at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington D.C. The International Reporting Project co-hosted the screening. In December 2009, it had a special presentation at the historic Hollywood Egyptian Theater as part of the 6th Annual International Artivist Film Festival, where it won the Best Feature Award for Child Advocacy. In February 2010, it was awarded a Cinema For Peace Justice Award in Berlin by Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. In March, it was awarded the Foundation Barbara Hendricks Prize in honor of Sergio Vieira de Mello at the International Festival of Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland. In April 2010, Children Of War, hosted by Cinema for Peace and Amnesty International, was selected to be the first film to screen at the headquarters of the International Criminal Court in the Hague. In May 2010, a preview of Children of War was screened at the historic, International Criminal Court Review Conference Opening Dinner in Kampala, Uganda, followed by a powerful speech by Children of War child trauma counselor Jane Ekayu. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, former Nuremburg trial prosecutor Benjamin Ferencz, and Bianca Jagger were among those present.

In October 2010, Children of War had its World Premiere before an international audience at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York City. Delegates from over forty countries attended the event, which was introduced by UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro, hosted by the UN Office of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and its Under-Secretary General Radhika Coomaraswamy, and moderated by Democracy Now! journalist Amy Goodman. The internationally renowned Ugandan musician Geoffrey Oryema, who is best known for his collaborations with Peter Gabriel and Real World, closed the evening with a special musical performance.

In December 2010, "Children of War" was the first film to be screened by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Commission in celebration of Human Rights Day. The sold-out event, which took place in Brussels, Belgium at the Palais des Beaux-Arts, was introduced by Bianca Jagger.

In September of 2011, "Children of War" director Bryan Single was honored with the Armin T. Wegner Humanitarian Award for "the vision to see the truth, and the courage to speak it." The award ceremony was hosted by the Arpa Foundation for Film and Art at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, California.

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Children's War — Infobox Book | name = The Children s War image caption = author = J.N. Stroyar country = United States language = English cover artist = series = genre = Alternate History publisher = Pocket Books release date = 2001 media type = Print (Hardcover …   Wikipedia

  • Children in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict — Children in the Israeli Palestinian conflict refers to the impact of the Israeli Palestinian conflict on minors in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Contents 1 Casualty figures 2 Israeli children 3 Palestinian children …   Wikipedia

  • War children — This article is about children with a foreign military parent. For children used as soldiers, see Military use of children. For the mass evacuation of children from Finland during the Continuation War, see Finnish war children. For children of… …   Wikipedia

  • War Child (charity) — Infobox Company company name = War Child company company type = Charity location = Canada / Netherlands / UK foundation = 1993 homepage = [http://www.warchild.org www.warchild.org] : For other uses, see War Child (disambiguation). War Child is a… …   Wikipedia

  • Children's Crusade — This article is about the purported events of 1212. For other uses, see Children s Crusade (disambiguation). The Children s Crusade, by Gustave Doré The Children s Crusade is the name given to a variety of fictional and factual events which… …   Wikipedia

  • Children's rights in Colombia — Rights in Colombia Animal rights Children s rights Civil rights …   Wikipedia

  • War Game (novel) — infobox Book | name = War Game title orig = translator = image caption = author = Michael Foreman illustrator = Michael Foreman cover artist = Michael Foreman country = United Kingdom language = English series = genre = Children s, War novel… …   Wikipedia

  • War Resisters League Peace Award — Der War Resisters League Peace Award (deutsche Übersetzung: „Friedenspreis des Verbandes der Kriegsgegner“) wird seit 1958 von der 1923 gegründeten Organisation War Resisters League verliehen. Die in den USA ansässige Organisation mit Hauptsitz… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • War rape — describes rape committed by soldiers, other combatants or civilians during armed conflict or war. Rape in the course of war dates back to antiquity, ancient enough to have been mentioned in the Bible. During war and armed conflict rape is… …   Wikipedia

  • Children Of Bodom — Gründung 1993 als Inearthed Genre Metal Website http://www.cobhc.com …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”