Pray the Devil Back to Hell
| Pray the Devil Back to Hell | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical Poster | |
| Directed by | Gini Reticker |
| Produced by | Abigail E. Disney |
| Cinematography | Kristen Johnson |
| Edited by | Kate Taverna Meg Reticker |
| Music by | Blake Leyh |
| Distributed by | Balcony Releasing (US) ro*co films (International) |
Release dates | Tribeca Film Festival: April 24, 2008 Theatrical Release: November 7, 2008 - NYC |
Running time | 72 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English subtitles |
Pray the Devil Back to Hell is a documentary film directed by Gini Reticker and produced by Abigail E. Disney. The film premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Documentary.[1] The film had its theatrical release in New York City on November 7, 2008.
Plot
A group of regular women in Liberia, led by Leymah Gbowee, came together to ask their government for peace and helped bring to power the country's first female head of state.
Under Leymah Gbowee's leadership, a group of women managed to force a meeting with President Charles Taylor and extract a promise from him to attend peace talks in Ghana. Gbowee then led a delegation of Liberian women to Ghana to continue to apply pressure on the warring factions during the peace process.[2] As a result, the women were able to achieve peace in Liberia after a 14-year civil war.
Cast
In alphabetical order
- Janet Johnson Bryant, as Herself
- Etweda Cooper, as Herself
- Vaiba Flomo, as Herself
- Leymah Gbowee, as Herself
- Asatu Bah Kenneth, as Herself
- Etty Weah, as Herself
Awards
2008 Tribeca Film Festival - Best Documentary
2008 Jackson Hole Film Festival - Cowboy Award Winner - Audience Choice Award
2008 Silverdocs - Witness Award
2008 Traverse City Film Festival - Special Jury Prize for Non-Fiction Filmmaking
2008 Heartland Film Festival - Crystal Heart Award for Best Documentary Feature
2008 St. Louis International Film Festival - Best Documentary in the Interfaith Category
2008 My Media Award from the My Hero Festival
2009 Tri Continental Film Festival - Jury Award for Best Film
2009 Palm Springs International Film Festival - One of the Best of the Fest Selections
2009 Santa Barbara International Film Festival - Social Justice Award for Documentary Film
2009 Cinema for Peace - The Cinema for Peace Award for Justice
2009 One World International Human Rights Festival, Prague - Rudolf Vrba Award in the Right to Know Competition
2009 Women's Film Festival, Brattleboro, VT - Best of Fest
2009 Wilbur Award - Film Documentary for 2009
2009 Movies that Matter Festival - Golden Butterfly
2009 I Will Tell Film Festival - Ndinadsawapanga Award
2009 Buffalo International Film Festival - Audience Award: Best Documentary
Notes
- This remarkable struggle for peace eventually paved the way for the election of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to the presidency of Liberia – the first democratic election of a female head of state anywhere in Africa.
- On June 19, 2009, the film was featured on PBS on The Bill Moyers Journal [3]
- Leymah Roberta Gbowee is the executive director of the Women Peace and Security Network Africa, based in Accra, Ghana.[4]
- Leymah Gbowee was named "21 Leaders for the 21st Century"[5]
- Leymah Gbowee and the women of Liberia were honored with the JFK Profile in Courage Award in 2009.
- The composer for the film, Blake Leyh, recently worked on a feature-length theatrical documentary entitled Killing Kasztner. The film depicts the story of Rezso Kasztner, a Hungarian Jew who negotiated with the Nazis during World War II for the release of 1,700 Jews. Kasztner was subsequently assassinated in Tel Aviv in 1957. Director Gaylen Ross spent seven years researching and interviewing multiple individuals in order to find out the truth about Kasztner's work and murder. The film is scheduled to release in the US in October 2009.