Our friend, filmmaker Rebecca Richman Cohen, directed the thought-provoking, gut-wrenching film War Don Don, about the trial of alleged Sierra Leone war criminal Issa Sesay. Lucky for you, there’s a free screening of coming up this Saturday night in New York City.
Prosecutors say Sesay is a war criminal, guilty of heinous crimes against humanity. His defenders say he is a reluctant fighter who protected civilians and played a crucial role in bringing peace to Sierra Leone. With unprecedented access to prosecutors, defense attorneys, victims, and, from behind bars, Sesay himself, War Don Don puts international justice on trial for the world to see.
Rarely is a such a charged political subject treated with such even-handedness, and the result is a powerful film that forces its audience to reevaluate preconceived notions of truth and justice. Filmmaker Magazine called it “one of the most viscerally compelling documentaries of the year,” and added,” it will leave you haunted.”
If you were fast enough to get tickets to Saturday’s sold out Rooftop Tunnel Show, you still have time head on over to the Tribeca Cinemas (54 Varick Street) for the 8:45 p.m. War Don Don screening. And if you didn’t manage to score tickets to Saturday’s show (they went pretty fast), consider this screening your consolation.
Watch the trailer here: