Coming Attractions

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Monday, July 23-------Two must-see documentaries that document political and social "hot button" regions are making their theatrical debuts this week. THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK is an extraordinarily powerful film that exposes the genocide taking place in the Darfur region of Sudan, as seen through the eyes of an American witness. The film, directed by Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern, opens on Wednesday, July 25th at New York's IFC Center, followed by a national release by International Film Circuit.

The film, which had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, was a major event at the Full Frame and Silverdocs Film Festivals (two of the most prestigious documentary events in the US), and was the Closing Night film at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Lincoln Center last month. Using the exclusive photographs and first hand testimony of former U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle, the film takes its audiences on an emotionally charged journey into the heart of Darfur, where a genocide of non-Muslim Africans has claimed more than 100,000 lives so far. As an official military observer, Captain Steidle had unprecedented access to all parts of the country and to the political leaders on all sides of the conflict. When his reports were ignored by the international community, the courageous Steidle returned to the US to expose the images and stories he had encountered and ignite the world's conscience to the lives being systematically destroyed. Sundberg and Stern’s film is not only a political statement, but charts the personal creation of a true international hero, a man with the courage to transform apathy into activism to stop one of the great tragedies of our age.

The film has already won a slew of awards, including the Working Film and Seeds of War awards at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, the Adrienne Shelly Excellence In Filmmaking Award at the Nantucket Film Festival, the Women In Cinema Award at the Seattle International Film Festival and the Witness Award at the Silverdocs Documentary Festival. The film is certain to be a major contender for Academy Award consideration. For more information on the film and ways to get involved in your local community, visit the film's official website: www.thedevilcameonhorseback.com

While America enters a showdown between President Bush and the Congress over the War in Iraq, a superb and thought-provoking documentary film traces the days leading up to the conflict and the mismanagement of the government, the intelligence agencies and the military that has led to the current quagmire. NO END IN SIGHT is sure to be one of the most controversial films of the year. Directed by Charles Ferguson and executive produced by Alex Gibney (director of TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE and ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM), the film opens in New York this Friday and in Los Angeles on August 3rd by indie stalwart Magnolia Pictures. The film will eventually be released on DVD by Red Envelope Entertainment and is being sold internationally by John Sloss' Cinetic Media.

NO END IN SIGHT premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Prize for Best Documentary. It is the first film of its kind to go step-by-step through the first phase of the conflict in Iraq and chart how incompetence, recklessness, political expediency and venality have dragged the country America was hoping to liberate into a hellish civil war. Based on over 200 hours of footage, the film provides a candid retelling of the events following the fall of Baghdad in 2003 by high ranking officials such as Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, Ambassador Barbara Bodine , Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff to Colin Powell, and General Jay Garner (in charge of the occupation of Iraq through May 2003) as well as Iraqi civilians, American soldiers, and prominent analysts.

NO END IN SIGHT examines the manner in which the principal errors of U.S. policy – the use of insufficient troop levels, allowing the looting of Baghdad, the purging of professionals from the Iraqi government, and the disbanding of the Iraqi military – largely created the insurgency and chaos that engulf Iraq today. NO END IN SIGHT dissects the people, issues and facts behind the Bush Administration’s decisions and their consequences on the ground to provide a powerful look into how arrogance and ignorance turned a military victory into a seemingly endless and deepening nightmare of a war. This is essential viewing for all Americans, no matter what one's political persuasion. In fact, a screening of the film should be mandatory for all government officials who either defend the Bush policies or are searching for a new direction to resolve the conflict. It's as old as history itself.....those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. And that is something that the world can simply not afford. NO END IN SIGHT, while a disturbing experience, is a compelling one. It is sure to be among the most honored documentaries of the year and is clearly a frontrunner for the Academy short list. For more information and to view the film's trailer, visit the official website: www.noendinsightmovie.com

Sandy Mandelberger, Coming Attractions Website