The haunting documentary “The
Devil Came on Horseback” tells two intertwined stories – of the ongoing genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region and an ex-Marine’s progression from observer to activist.
Capt. Brian Steidle had just left the U.S. Marine Corps in 2003 and was looking for a job. On the Internet he found a job posting by the African Union to monitor the cease-fire in the 20-year civil war in Sudan.
What Steidle saw was a genocide in progress. Villages in Darfur, a province in Sudan’s west side, were being systematically looted and burned, and their residents killed or displaced. (The most recent figures show at least 400,000 killed and some 2.5 million displaced.) The culprits were a militia group called the Janjaweed (the name translates to “devil on a horse”).
Steidle took thousands of photos and sent reports to the African Union chronicling the bloodshed. He thought if the world knew what was going on, the outcry would be immediate. Instead, Steidle learned that of the 80 or so reports his team filed, only four reached the U.S. embassy in Khartoum.
“It’s as if history gave us a chance to redeem ourselves after Rwanda,” Steidle said, referring to the 1994 mass murders in that African country, “and we’re failing again.”
Co-directors Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern blend compelling video and news reports to explain the complexities of Sudan’s history, as well as the tepid international response to the killings. They use interviews with Steidle to track his awakening as he watches nations dither about whether what’s happening is a genocide – something his photos reveal in the most stark terms.
These photos are the heart of “The Devil Came on Horseback.” They cannot be viewed without flinching.
“The Devil Came on Horseback” *** 1/2
Not rated but contains disturbing images. 1 hour, 25 minutes. A documentary about genocide in Darfur directed by Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern. Opens today at the Starz FilmCenter.
