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They Turned Our Desert Into Fire

Mark Brecke

About

Reporting the devastation, forced displacement, and genocide in Darfur should be a story with daily coverage. The mere mention of the word "Darfur" should set off a passionate exchange, or at least the question, "What can be done?" Unfortunately, the people of Darfur struggle with a problem common to so many victimized by geopolitical realities: how to overcome the willful indifference of powerful government and media interests who find their story unimportant or merely inconvenient. 

With images and first-hand accounts, filmmaker Mark Brecke shares his experience of the Darfur crisis with Amtrak train passengers journeying eastward on a three day trip to Washington D.C. Their reactions, interwoven with hard facts and expert opinion, raise the central questions in They Turned Our Desert Into Fire: why does the public not understand the severity of this crisis, and how can the world continue to do nothing? 

In addition to the film and a slideshow of Brecke's photographs, this DVD also contains the short film War as a Second Language (27 min, 2002). Mark Brecke culled from 15 years of newsreels, documentaries, and raw footage of the Vietnam War to create an audio track which he then juxtaposed with moving and still images he shot in Vietnam and Cambodia in 1995. Tourists replace soldiers and the audio design becomes a haunting and evocative narrative about the history and legacies of war.

Reviews

“One of the best films I have seen all year.”  — Sara Carden, Producer, CNN International / Inside Africa
“The most sincere film on Darfur today.” — Jennifer Clibbon, Producer, CBC News, Our World

Film Links

Filmmaker's Website

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Credits

They Turned Our Desert Into Fire

Directed by 

Mark Brecke


Writing Credits  

Mark Brecke

Jason Mitchell

Stacey Ransom


Produced by 

Mark Brecke

Bruno Ewald

Jason Mitchell

Stacey Ransom


Cast 

Samantha Power 

John Prendergast 

Georgette Gagnon

Barbara Lee

Suleiman jamous 

A. Wahed Ahadi

Matt Anderson 

Anthony Bondi

Barbara Capilos

Dennis Doverspike 

Kenny Garcia 

Gena Greenup

Damani Kazembe

Chris Knight 

Bernard Murray 

Allen Stevo 

Jim Voderbereuggen 


Music by 

Vivek Maddala


Cinematography by 

Jason Mitchell

S. Smith Patrick


Film Editing by 

Jason Mitchell


Sound Department 

Roberto Chiofalo

Scott Koué

Michael Maurillo


Camera and Electrical Department 

Bruno Ewald


Editorial Department 

Katie Capielo

Jason Lohse


Other Crew 

Jessica Cio

Jason Mitchell

Cheryl Park

Stacey Ransom


Thanks 

Craig Baldwin

Sam Brownback

Don Cheadle

Amy Goodman

Cory McAbee

Supported by: