Background
Omar Al-Bashir, 67, has run Sudan since the day in June 1989 when he seized control in a bloodless coup. Since then he has survived internal unrest, a long-running civil war with the separatist south, US air strikes in 1998, and a bloody rebellion in Darfur – whose violent suppression earned him the bitter condemnation of much of the western world.
For human rights pressure groups, some southern Sudanese and Darfuri separatists, American Christian evangelicals, and US and European neocons, Bashir is nothing less than a monster, a ruthless dictator wedded to repression and terror – a sort of African Stalin who presided over a modern-day genocide and now defies the righteous will of the UN's international criminal court (ICC).
But for many northern Sudanese, and many Africans and Arabs, Bashir is a popularly elected president, the statesman who signed the landmark 2005 comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) ending the 22-year war with the south, the leader who broke the power of Sudan's Islamists (who once harboured Osama bin Laden), and a man unfairly maligned and traduced by western powers locked in the old colonial mindset and covetous of Sudan's vast mineral wealth.
Our Story
I will be travelling to Sudan to interview President Omar Al-Bashir to hear his point of view about Sudan's recent history and his impact on it.
Over the last 9 months I have been building relations with my contacts in Sudan and have managed to secure access to President Bashir, I intended to use this to gain an insight into this divisive politicians career and present all information impartially for the world to make up their own mind.
My name is Guy Loftus and I am a passionate documentary filmmaker. I studied Contemporary Film at Manchester School of Art, this is my first venture into feature length documentary and will give me the chance to start my career in the industry I have always wanted to be in. I have been planning and researching this film since January 2011 and now I am calling on the help of everyone out there to help me complete it and get it out to the world.
The Impact
I would like to make it very clear that with this film I am not looking to wipe the slate clean for President Bashir. I am trying to give an insight into recent Sudanese history that is not biased, not influenced by the Sudanese government or NGO's and not funded by either of them. It will be funded by you!
With this in mind I hope that this film will give the world the opportunity to see and hear President Bashir's own words and for them to use this to come to their own conclusions.
I aim to submit this film to various documentary film festivals around the world, firstly in the UK and Europe, then Australia. Ultimately I hope to set up a screening in Sudan.
What We Need
The money you pledge will be used to cover the cost of my travel to Sudan from London and back, my accommodation in Khartoum and a Rode NGT2 microphone with boom pole.
Other Ways You Can Help
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