Pitt’s Ford Institute and John Prendergast to Host Film Series About Humanitarian Issues in Sudan, the Congo, and Chad

PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh’s Ford Institute for Human Security will host a free public three-part film series Feb. 23-28 featuring documentaries selected and presented by John Prendergast, cofounder of the Enough Project, an initiative to end genocide and crimes against humanity. Prendergast will be a visiting fellow at Pitt’s Ford Institute for Human Security in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) Feb. 21-March 4. 

Each film screening will be introduced by Prendergast and followed by a question-and-answer session. Screenings will be held at 7 p.m. in the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, 650 Schenley Dr., Oakland. A schedule and description of the films are as follows: 

War Child: The Emmanuel Jal Story (C. Karim Chrobog, 2008) will be shown Wednesday, Feb. 23. The film chronicles the odyssey of Emmanuel Jal, a former child soldier of Sudan’s civil war. Now an emerging international hip hop star, he shares a message of peace for his beloved Africa.  (93 min., Rated PG-13) 

3 Points: Peace, Protection, Punishment (Josh Victor Rothstein, 2009) will be shown Friday, Feb. 25. When Tracy McGrady of the National Basketball Association heard about the challenges children from Darfur were facing in the Chad refugee camps, he traveled to Chad. 3 Points highlights the Darfuri refugees’ quest for quality education in the camps. Following his trip, McGrady cofounded the Darfur Dream Team with Prendergast.  (60 min., PG-13) 

The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo (Lisa F. Jackson, 2007) will be shown Monday, Feb. 28. The film attempts to shatter the silence that surrounds sexual violence as a weapon of conflict. Tens of thousands of women and girls have been systematically kidnapped, raped, mutilated, and tortured by soldiers from both foreign militias and the Congolese army. Jackson, herself a victim of gang rape, tells her story while relating the stories of several other Congolese women.  (76 min., not rated) 

Prendergast is a veteran human rights advocate who has worked on Capitol Hill, in the White House, and at the U.S. State Department. In the nongovernmental sector, he has worked at UNICEF, Human Rights Watch, the International Crisis Group, and the U.S. Institute of Peace. 

The Ford Institute for Human Security promotes effective responses to severe threats faced by civilians as a result of violent conflict. The institute conducts research on the causes and consequences of political violence and works to advance the idea that governments have a sovereign responsibility to protect their people. The institute is a research center within Pitt’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. 

For more information on the events or the Ford Institute for Human Security (www.fordinstitute.pitt.edu), contact Diane Roth Cohen at 412-648-7434 or drc51@pitt.edu. 

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