Spring Break
Amnesty International film fest highlights Liberian civil war
EMILY KAROL, For The Red & Black
Issue date: 4/27/09 Section: Variety
Monique Constance, a third year international affairs major, went into the movie and said to herself "I'm not going to cry." However, Constance said it was impossible to hold back the tears as she thought about her father worked as an accountant for the government in Liberia during the civil war, which began in the early 1990's and ended in 2003.
"It was so different there," Constance said. "My dad was sitting in his house one day and a bullet flew right by him."
Many of his neighbors and coworkers were arrested and slaughtered, Constance said. At only 6 -years- old, Constance said her half brother was one of the child soldiers was involved in the conflict. However, through acceptance into a graduate program in the United States, Constance's father and brother were able to flee the country before the conflict worsened.
Other films to be shown also include Letter to Anna which documents the life and death of human rights journalist Anna Politkovskaya, the recipient of Amnesty International's 2001 Global Award for Human Rights Journalism; Trouble the Water follows the survivors and heroes of the Hurricane Katrina and Were the World Mine is a musical comedy in the Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream tradition focusing on the issues facing the LGBT community.
The festival closes tomorrow and films will play from 4 p.m. to approximately 10 p.m. with a closing event performance by local Athens' band Venice Is Sinking. For a complete schedule of the show times visit www.amnestyuga.blogspot.com.
"It was so different there," Constance said. "My dad was sitting in his house one day and a bullet flew right by him."
Many of his neighbors and coworkers were arrested and slaughtered, Constance said. At only 6 -years- old, Constance said her half brother was one of the child soldiers was involved in the conflict. However, through acceptance into a graduate program in the United States, Constance's father and brother were able to flee the country before the conflict worsened.
Other films to be shown also include Letter to Anna which documents the life and death of human rights journalist Anna Politkovskaya, the recipient of Amnesty International's 2001 Global Award for Human Rights Journalism; Trouble the Water follows the survivors and heroes of the Hurricane Katrina and Were the World Mine is a musical comedy in the Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream tradition focusing on the issues facing the LGBT community.
The festival closes tomorrow and films will play from 4 p.m. to approximately 10 p.m. with a closing event performance by local Athens' band Venice Is Sinking. For a complete schedule of the show times visit www.amnestyuga.blogspot.com.
Be the first to comment on this story