Burning homes, innocent faces, endless trails of death and destruction and a gunman waving firearms while riding through the streets on horses - these are all images from the trailer for the documentary "The Devil Came on Horseback."
"The Devil Came on Horseback" is a documentary depicting the genocide in Darfur. It will be shown here at Plattsburgh State.
The event is co-sponsored by ONE, a community service-based group on campus, and the Center for Diversity, Pluralism and Inclusion (CDPI) and will take place on Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. in Yokum 200.
The documentary, created by Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern, follows the experience of former U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle as he travels through Darfur and the horror that he bore witness to while there.
Steidle had been assigned to monitor a ceasefire that had been declared to end civil wars in Sudan.
During his time there, Steidle became witness to gruesome slaughtering of innocent people without being able to do anything to stop it.
Steidle took extensive notes and over one thousand photographs while he was there documenting everything he saw.
After over a year of being a witness to these horrific scenes, he resigned from his military positions and returned to the U.S. where he began a desperate campaign to create awareness of the genocide that he had been witness to.
The 85-minute film is a culmination of first-hand interviews, and video shot by Steidle depicting his time spent in Darfur and his quest to share his experience with the world.
The film first premiered at the Sundance film festival in January 2007 and has received several awards from various film festivals.
"The Devil Came on Horseback" was officially released to the public in select theaters beginning in June.
In May 2007, ONE President Jacob Avery came across the trailer for the film and immediately began making arrangements along with CDPI to bring the film to PSUC.
"It was brought to my attention last May on MySpace," Avery said.
The groups began advertising back in August in order to gain community support and attendance for the showing of the film.
According to Avery, they have contacted numerous organizations in the local community and all of our representatives including presidential candidates and congressmen.
Dean Delano, the adviser for ONE, said the groups have contacted many of the local schools and churches and have worked with Amnesty International groups at local high schools.
Their basic goal with the event is to try to get the message of the events of Darfur out to as many people as possible, Avery said.
J.W. Wiley, director of CDPI, said he feels that showing this film will provide an opportunity to enlighten people to the problems apparent in societies other than our own.
"I think that we as Americans have a tendency to only understand our own realities," Wiley said. "What I like to do with film is open their eyes to the social injustices around the world."
Following the showing of the film, there will be a group discussion held concerning the content and subjects presented. This will give the audience a chance to share their opinions and reactions to the film and discuss the issues presented.
Susan Mody, associate professor in childhood education, is planning on attending the event and feels that is will be a good opportunity for people to discuss the situation and create awareness.
"This event will offer an opportunity to view the film, to gain awareness, and also to discuss the situation with others - to talk about what we think and what we can do," Mody said.
Donations will be collected and the money raised with the event will be given to help the cause.
Seventy-five percent of the proceeds will be going back to Darfur, Avery said.
Yet, the main goal of the evening is to create awareness by informing people on the events happening in Darfur, and to bring the local community together to support a cause.
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