Facing Sudan
Encyclopedia
Facing Sudan is a documentary film
released in 2007. It chronicles the situation in Sudan
from independence in 1956, through civil war and the current crisis in Darfur
. The narrative of Sudan is told through the eyes of activists from various segments of American society. Brian Burns—a young custodian who traveled to South Sudan in order to effect change there—supplies the arc in the film, and links the various stories together.
The tagline of the film is "Ordinary people can do extraordinary things. Even in Sudan."
The film premiered in March 2007 at the Longbaugh Film Festival in Portland, Oregon. It subsequently screened at fourteen film festivals and won "Best Documentary" awards at the Landlocked Film Festival
and the Illinois International Film Festival.
The film was produced, directed and edited by Bruce David Janu
. The soundtrack was composed by Tom Flannery
and Lorne Clarke (singer)
.
The film was released on dvd January 8, 2008.
A follow-up to Facing Sudan was completed in July, 2008. This short documentary is entitled Crayons and Paper
, tells the story of Dr. Jerry Ehrlich, a pediatrician who has administered to children in conflicts zones across the world. The film exhibits drawings from children in Sri Lanka and Darfur. Like Facing Sudan, the documentary features an original soundtrack by Flannery and Clarke.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
released in 2007. It chronicles the situation in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
from independence in 1956, through civil war and the current crisis in Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
. The narrative of Sudan is told through the eyes of activists from various segments of American society. Brian Burns—a young custodian who traveled to South Sudan in order to effect change there—supplies the arc in the film, and links the various stories together.
The tagline of the film is "Ordinary people can do extraordinary things. Even in Sudan."
The film premiered in March 2007 at the Longbaugh Film Festival in Portland, Oregon. It subsequently screened at fourteen film festivals and won "Best Documentary" awards at the Landlocked Film Festival
Landlocked Film Festival
Landlocked Film Festival is an annual film festival hosted in Iowa City, Iowa. The Festival was founded in 2007. Landlocked Film Festival was created to support independent filmmaking by bringing the best of independent world cinema to the American heartland, by providing workshops led by experts...
and the Illinois International Film Festival.
The film was produced, directed and edited by Bruce David Janu
Bruce David Janu
Bruce David Janu is an educator and low budget indie filmmaker. Currently he teaches Social Science and English at John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois. When he is not teaching, Janu is making educational materials and films. In 2000, he created an educational supply company...
. The soundtrack was composed by Tom Flannery
Tom Flannery
Tom Flannery is an American singer-songwriter and playwright from Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States. Allmusic has called him "one of the most gifted songwriters to emerge at the turn of the century." After three critically acclaimed albums he...
and Lorne Clarke (singer)
Lorne Clarke (singer)
Lorne Clarke is a Canadian singer/songwriter and concert promoter who first began performing in the mid-1970s in the Toronto folk scene. Raised in the isolated mining community of Schefferville, Quebec, Clarke has since worked at a number of careers, including engineer on Great Lakes vessels,...
.
The film was released on dvd January 8, 2008.
A follow-up to Facing Sudan was completed in July, 2008. This short documentary is entitled Crayons and Paper
Crayons and Paper
Crayons and Paper is a documentary short, featuring Dr. Jerry Ehrlich, a pediatrician who has worked with Doctors Without Borders. To document the effect of war on children, Dr. Ehrlich has the children draw pictures of their lives. The film features drawings made by children in Sri Lanka and...
, tells the story of Dr. Jerry Ehrlich, a pediatrician who has administered to children in conflicts zones across the world. The film exhibits drawings from children in Sri Lanka and Darfur. Like Facing Sudan, the documentary features an original soundtrack by Flannery and Clarke.