Darfur Now

Ted Braun's Story Of Hope In One Of Humanity’s Darkest Hours

Darfur Now opens  in Los Angeles and New York on November 2.

Bringing to life the conflict in Darfur and the people living through what the United Nations has described as “the world’s greatest humanitarian and human rights catastrophe,” Writing Assistant Professor Ted Braun’s new documentary Darfur Now shines a light on tragedy and illustrates how the actions of single individuals can make a difference to millions.

The film reflects the ravages of the conflict between government forces and their militia allies, who are fighting rebels in the Sudan’s western-most region. To date, the struggle has killed between 200,000 and 400,000 people and displaced upwards of two million men, women and children.

“I want this film to affect people as well to look at why the world is standing by this crisis as it unfolds,” said Braun, who traveled between January and May throughout Darfur where he was granted unprecedented access to the camps, Sudanese government officials, nomadic communities and rebels. “The clearest way to bring an audience into a house of horrors like this was to choose to document people who had hope. For me, the entire journey was life-changing.”

The writer/director in Darfur.

Opening in Los Angeles and New York on November 2, the Warner Independent Pictures and Participant Productions release is also receiving recognition from the International Documentary Association, which is bestowing its 2007 Jacqueline Donnet Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award on Braun during a December 7 gala at the Directors Guild of America.

Braun’s first theatrical documentary, which he also wrote, focuses on the first-hand experiences of five men and one woman from around the world including actor Don Cheadle (Crash, Hotel Rwanda) who also serves as one of the film’s producers. All six individuals are committed to ending the tragedy in the region and together, the group shows that when people are united by a belief, anything is possible.

“It’s easy to think that this genocide is a world away, yet it’s much closer and we are far more connected that we can ever imagine,” said another of the film’s producers Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and Distinguished Professor of Film and TV Production Mark Harris. “Ted did a remarkable job of gaining the trust of the Sudanese government. He had incredible access into Darfur.”

In fact, during most of the time Braun and his small film crew were shooting the film, they were the only members of western media allowed in Darfur, which had been closed to the press since mid-November 2006.

Images from director Ted Braun’s Darfur Now, a Warner Independent Pictures release.

Braun attributed his success at gaining such access to the time and effort he spent pursuing the seemingly endless authorizations for travel to the country, which included permission to first enter the capital of Khartoum and then required him to wait for another round of consent for access into Darfur. On top of this, he also had to secure approvals from several U.S. entities including the Treasury Department and their Office of Foreign Asset Control, who in turn consulted with the State Department.

“I met a National Public Radio reporter who had been waiting 18 months for travel permission - just to get into Sudan,” Braun noted, saying that although his approvals from Sudan came quickly, the United States government took three months to get on board. “It was all about navigating a bureaucracy. You start with an obstacle, which in all likelihood is ‘no,’ and then you use whomever you have in your range of contacts to help you.”

While up to six agencies of the Sudanese government kept track of Braun and his crew at all times, the director says that “the overt physical danger” was something he grew used to over time. However, he “never quite adjusted to being monitored and living in a constant state of surveillance.” And although many in the country were happy to see the crew and willingly risked their lives to have their story told, others “threatened to stomp our cameras and grind the glass to dust.”

“More than just Darfur, this film helps you understand that individuals are not powerless,” added Harris, who was a sounding board for Braun throughout the film’s journey. “We want audiences to leave the theaters feeling empowered and realize that you can affect social policy.”

“We’ve become a stimulus to help resolve the conflict, which is one of the things we hoped for in making this documentary,” said Braun relating how proud he felt at a United Nations screening in September, where the film received a standing ovation.

“I’ve witnessed people who are changing the world,” he added. “Bringing these stories to the screen is a great feeling.”

Associated Announcements:	Mark Harris Named as Distinguished Professor
Associated Person:	Mark Harris Ted Braun