The tragic images of corpses, mass graves and other atrocities from the genocide in Darfur have come to the big screen with "The Devil Came on Horseback," a documentary directed by Ricki Stern '87 and Annie Sundberg '90.
Their collaborative effort tells the story of former U.S. Marine Captain Rich Steidle and his work as an observer for the United Nations peacekeeping organization, African Union. Stern and Sundberg discovered Steidle when his photographs were published in The New York Times, and became inspired to devote a full-length film to the scenes he had captured.
The film has drawn major media attention for its exposition of the rape and brute violence inflicted by the Jangaweed, the militia hired by the Sudanese government to subdue African tribes as tensions rose with Arab factions within the country.
When asked how her education at Dartmouth led to her vision as a filmmaker, Sundberg emphasized the narrative nature of her film.
"[Stern and I] share a fascination for characters who become extraordinary, when they face extraordinary circumstances," she said.
Sundberg was quick to credit her coursework in Dartmouth's film department for shaping her work as a director. She cited professor Jim Brown and Emeritus Director of film studies Maurice Rapf '35 as among the Dartmouth film faculty who continue to influence her work, having taught their students to pursue a narrative in their film subjects.
"We got a sense of collaboration and willingness to pitch in," Sundberg said of Stern's and her shared experience of a Dartmouth education.
Stern fondly remembers her experience at Dartmouth taking film courses in a small department with a communal feeling.
"People would literally live there, do their work and spend the night," Stern said.
Due to the filmmaking technology available at the time, the process was "longer and less immediate," but students would cut their scenes in Wilson Hall and send them on to New York. Stern appreciated the one-on-one connection with professors, and the emotional as well as professional support the film department provided.
"One class on epics in film was basically dinner and movies at people's houses," she said.
The duo's passion for depicting human strength as it emerges under pressure motivated the filmmakers to turn Steidle's amateur footage into a wide-release documentary. Through his lens, the crisis in Darfur is presented as what one man sees as he walks through village streets.
Stern said she hopes that the film's power to inspire its viewers will come from what she calls "the impact of collective" -- sitting in a theater and going to dinner with friends afterwards to discuss it.
"It becomes a social event that people experience together," Stern said.
A review by Manohla Dargis of The Times echoes the sentiment that the documentary is one for the masses.
"Brutal, urgent, devastating -- the documentary 'The Devil Came on Horseback' demands to be seen as soon as possible and by as many viewers as possible," Dargis wrote.
Through this "shared experience," Stern said she hopes the film will educate viewers and motivate them to inquire about what they can do by visiting activism websites and contacting elected officials.
"The same thing that happened in Africa will hopefully happen here," she said.
"The Devil Came on Horseback" was released by the International Film Circuit and produced by fellow Dartmouth alumna Gretchen Wallace Tu '01, along with Stern and Sundberg.
