Liberia: An Uncivil War

In the spring of 2003, in the West African country of Liberia, the ongoing civil war fully exploded. The opposition movement Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) decided to overthrow President Charles Taylor, who had been accused of committing crimes against humanity in neighboring Sierra Leone, causing an international arrest warrant to be issued for him. The rebel army, formed primarily of children and other soldiers often high on drugs, succeeded in gaining control of three-quarters of the territory. Despite this, President Taylor refused to resign. In the summer, when tensions in the country were at their peak and the rebel army was setting off to capture the capital city of Monrovia, a pair of filmmakers arrived in the country. Experienced war reporter James Brabazon positions himself directly among the rebel army, while highly-acclaimed American director Jonathan Stack documents the events in the streets of Monrovia and in the immediate vicinity of Charles Taylor. In rapidly-moving footage pieced together from "both sides of the barricades" we follow the dramatic moments of the bloody conflict, where hundreds of innocent civilians fall victim each day, as they hopelessly wait for the arrival of peacekeeping forces. The creators of this coldly authentic and dynamically edited documentary film also follow the work of humanitarian organizations, who try to help the victims caught in the middle of the bloody massacre. This film, which was awarded the Amnesty International DOEN prize at the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival, also features a number of songs by Bob Marley.