What was this?

On UN Day, 24 October, the YPN held a screening and discussion at the Frontline Club of 'The Devil Came on Horseback', a fascinating and moving film about one man’s attempt to document a genocide and secure international intervention to stop it. It was the first event in YPN's new initiative entitled ‘Working for Peace’ which seeks to foster a wider understanding of the realities and complexities of living in a conflict-affected country by giving a platform to young professionals working around the world to help bring about peace, through speaker events, film screenings and website resources.

What's the film about?

This award-winning film is a powerful account of the tragedy in Darfur, documented through the photographs and first-hand testimony of an official military observer, former US Marine Captain Brian Steidle. Unprepared for the scenes he encountered and frustrated by the international community’s inaction, Steidle resigned from his post as a monitor of the Darfur Peace Agreement and returned to the US to raise awareness about the situation in the fraught Sudanese region.

Who took part?

The event also featured a panel discussion with one of the film's makers and a leading campaigner on Darfur and other crises, which was chaired by YPN coordinator, Tim Kellow. Details of the members of the panel are provided below:

Phil Cox, Director of Native Voice Films
In 2004, Phil was the first filmmaker to film the Darfur conflict travelling with the SLA rebels and was awarded the 2004 Rory Peck Award for this work. He is now developing Native Voice’s first feature film as well as producing a series of reportages for Channel 4. Native Voice is a collective of independent filmmakers and has worked for leading broadcasters such as the BBC, Channel 4 UK, ARTE, Al-Jazeera, SBS Australia, PBS America as well as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Gemma Mortensen , UK Director of Crisis Action
Gemma worked previously as a public outreach consultant to the International Criminal Court, focusing on Sudan . She has worked on human rights issues for the UK Mission to the United Nations in New York and for the European Commission Delegation in Geneva . Prior to this, she was stationed in Sudan : for the European Commission and then with International Media Support. She has reported and produced for the BBC World Service and written on international affairs issues for various publications. She has a postgraduate degree in Human Rights and Democratisation.

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'The Devil Came on Horseback' is a Break Thru Films production in association with Global Grassroots and Three Generations