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Minneapolis / St. Paul, MN (February 26, 2009) – The award-winning film Pray the Devil Back to Hell opens for a limited engagement in Minneapolis at the Lagoon Cinema beginning this weekend.
As at the national premiere in New York, The Advocates will moderate post-film Q&A sessions at the 7:10 p.m. showings on Saturday, February 28th and Wednesday, March 4th to discuss the documentary and issues of women’s rights, truth and reconciliation in post-war societies.
Pray the Devil Back to Hell is a brilliant film chronicling the remarkable story of the courageous Liberian women who came together to end a bloody civil war and bring peace to their shattered country. After nearly 20 years of egregious violations of human rights, including arbitrary killing, torture, use of child combatants, sexual violence, and destruction of property, a peace movement emerged.
Thousands of women – ordinary mothers, grandmothers, aunts and daughters, both Christian and Muslim – began to come together to pray for peace. Armed only with white T-shirts and the courage of their convictions, they staged a silent protest outside of the Presidential Palace and demanded a resolution to the country’s civil war. Their actions became a critical element in bringing about an agreement during the stalled peace talks.
A story of sacrifice, unity, and transcendence, Pray the Devil Back to Hell honors the strength and perseverance of these women of Liberia. Inspiring, uplifting, and most of all motivating, it is a compelling testimony of how grassroots activism can alter the history of nations. The film has won several awards, including Best Documentary in the Tribeca Film Festival. It has received praise from movie critics from Los Angeles to Boston, including an excellent review in The New York Times (See Review).
Based in Minneapolis, The Advocates for Human Rights has worked with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Liberia for more than two years to engage the Liberian Diaspora in the United States, the United Kingdom, and West Africa in the TRC process.
The film is also being screened in Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo in March, 2009.
Moderated by Advocates’ Deputy Director, Jennifer Prestholdt, the post-screening panel will include Ahmed K. Sirleaf of the Advocates, and two other Liberian women in Minnesota.
Editor’s Note: For further information, please contact Jennifer Prestholdt at 612-341-3302 (Ext. 111) or jprestholdt@advrights.org and Robin Phillips at 612-341-3302 (Ext. 109) or rphillips@advrights.org.
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