by on

http://widget.newsinc.com/single.html?WID=2&VID=23523457&freewheel=45981&sitesection=sfgate

Angelina Jolie witnessed history in the making on Thursday when she attended a trial at the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands.

The “Changeling” actress headed to the hearing in The Hague to observe proceedings as the case against Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga, who is accused of recruiting child soldiers, wrapped up.

She tells the Associated Press, “(This is) an extraordinary moment for international justice but more than that for children of the world.”

Jolie, who is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, is currently living in Scotland while her partner Brad Pitt films zombie movie “World War Z.”

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/dailydish/detail?entry_id=96247#ixzz1WFyr6lRu

by on

BioPic’s aboard ‘Soldier’ story – Entertainment News, Film News, Media – Variety.

Will Raee to direct Uma Thurman starrer

By DAVE MCNARY
Uma Thurman

Thurman

Will Raee

Raee

BioPic Entertainment has joined forces with Caspian Pictures to co-produce indie drama “Girl Soldier,” with Uma Thurman to star and Will Raee to direct.

The film will depict the true-life plight of 30 Ugandan girls who were abducted by rebel soldiers. Project’s been in development since 2009, when Caspian announced it had attached Thurman to the project (Variety, July 21, 2009).

Story’s based on Kathy Cook’s book “Stolen Angels,” which follows the 1996 raid at a boarding school in which armed rebels abducted young girls to turn them into soldiers and sex slaves. A teacher tracked the rebels back to their camp to demand the girls’ release; 110 were returned to the nun, who then began a crusade over the next few years as she rallied parents, the government, the U.N. and the pope to aid in rescuing not only her girls but other children in rebel captivity.

Producers are aiming to begin shooting in March in South Africa.

BioPic Entertainment, founded by Michael Hennessy, Brian A. Bullock and Robert G. Edner, is focused on TV and film based on iconic personalities and historic events. BioPic also recently announced the development of Wendy Randall’s “Mahjong Wives,” a series set in the 1960s about the five Jewish mob wives who covertly ran Las Vegas through their husbands, as well as “Black Rangers.” Latter is the untold story of the U.S. Army’s only all-black company of elite Airborne Rangers who helped turn the tide of the Korean War.

BioPic is repped by Paradigm.

by on

War on LRA Rebels Loses Momentum Report:  Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Efforts to defeat feared group run into trouble as regional governments fail to address threat.

ACR Issue 300, 17 Aug 11 – By Barrett Holmes Pitner – International Justice – ICC

Amid concerns that efforts to flush out Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army, LRA,

are flagging, the international community is facing stark challenges to defeat the

rebels as they continue to wreak havoc in the region. Since the United States

announced a long-awaited strategy to defeat the LRA and capture its leaders by

bolstering the military effort in the region, Uganda has instead withdrawn 700

troops that were pursuing the rebels and curtailed  funding for the operation.

by on

Child Troopers director Ebony Butler has taken her human rights documentary project to the United States of America, where she has found a whole new host of supporters and interested parties.

Ebony is currently working from Hollywood Los Angeles with her local crew where she is working on Child Troopers second phase of production. She is also being mentored by some leading industry players. The impressive list of international film and TV professionals she has mustered include Shine Global CEO Mark Fennessy and Australian born, LA based director Rod Hardy. Ebony’s has 5 official mentors who have each signed on as industry specific advisors to the young director for her debut feature documentary film Child Troopers, slated for release in 2012.

As of next week Ebony will leave Los Angeles for New York and Washington DC where she has scheduled in meetings and on camera interviews with some of the world’s leading humanitarian organizations, NGO‘S, political figures and other child soldier and human rights lobby groups. The line up includes: the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, OXFAM and Resolve (formerly known as Resolve Uganda). There are a number of other key players, analysts and experts in the arena of international and African politics, American foreign policy and geopolitics set to meet with Ebony over the next month to discuss her film and offer unique insights into the conflict in Uganda and beyond.

We will be back with more information about the progress Ebony and her crew are making soon.

Excited times ahead so stay tuned and if you like what we are doing please sign up to our blog and share this with friends or on your favorite social networking site!

Please also join us on twitter @atlanticstar233 and on facebook at facebook.com/childtroopers

(more…)

by on

Child Troopers is currently in pre-production, with principal photography scheduled to begin next month in the United States of America. Director of Child Troopers, Ebony Butler, will be traveling to Los Angeles next week where she will work with Child Trooper’s U.S Producer, Alec Pedersen (The Cove; Unity). She will then head across to New York and Washington DC to conduct interviews and further research issues related to the film.

Research for the upcoming trip to America will focus on children in conflict & child soldiers, peace & justice, civilian protection & security, aid & development, modern day child slavery & child trafficking.

More information regarding Child Troopers will be released soon so keep checking in for updates!

If there is something you would like to know, or an opinion you would like to voice, please do as we encourage dialogue and promote discussion on all issues!

Please ollow us on Facebook.com/childtrooopers or check out the blog atlanticstarproductions.blogspot.com for information on human trafficking, slavery, human rights, child soldiers and much more!

PEACE, LOVE AND GRATITUDE TO ALL! 

(more…)

by on
James Inhofe - LRA Bill of 2010
James Inhofe Amends NDAA Act

 

Does Senator Inhofe’s amendment of the US National Defense Authorization Act, directed towards ending the LRA conflict, have any real power? Is it implying the government use direct military action to reach its goals? What efforts are in place from December;’s comprehensive strategy released by President Obama? The LRA are still operating freely, and this year attacks have increased across east and central Africa. I just hope the US are actually being active in their attempt to resolve the issue and bring Kony and those responsible to justice, otherwise there would be no cause to be pro-active.

Justice won’t be served when and if Kony is caught. That would be just one small step toward justice. And will Joseph Kony‘s elimination from the equation even stop the atrocities from the LRA’s brutal insurgency? In the meantime however, it could be an idea to focus on healing the current victim’s of this war, as there is no uncertainty there – they clearly exist and are still suffering, awaiting help from the outside world. The LRA bill has been successful at harnessing popularity, however, what ever happened to the Northern Ugandan Recovery Act? It’s not as catchy I guess.

by on

 

Olara Otunnu Claims Uganda is Hell on Earth for ChildrenOlara Otunna, the former United Nations Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, is dedicated to taking a stance against human rights violations and protecting children affected by war and conflict.

There are not many people that speak out about the role of Museveni and the claims of genocide in Northern Uganda, however Olara Otunnu speaks openly and compares the the situation in Northern Uganda, sometimes regarded as the ‘Forgotton War’, to that of the systematic genocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. Other United Nations officials have stated that the forced relocation of close to two million Acholi, into ‘protected’ Internal Displacement (IDP) camps,should be compared to modern day concentration camps.

According to Otunnu “An entire society – the Acholi – is being systematically destroyed –physically, culturally, socially and economically – in full view of the international community. This has been going on non-stop for almost 20 years but Western governments have turned a blind eye to a pliant regime and dictatorship under President Museveni that practices genocide.”

http://www.usyd.edu.au/news/84.html?newsstoryid=767.

”

by on
Official presidential portrait of Barack Obama...
President Obama - Image via Wikipedia

One year ago today, President Obama signed into law a bill that committed to put an end to the LRA’s brutal atrocities and abductions.

President Obama stated that: “[This] legislation crystallizes the commitment of the United States to help bring an end to the brutality and destruction that have been a hallmark of the LRA across several countries for two decades.”

Today, LRA attacks continue and activists are urging the President to robustly implement his LRA strategy (Resolve).

In Congo today, LRA atrocities are still occurring, on a near-daily basis. Resolve‘s on the ground partner, Fr. Benoit Kinalegu stated:

“Many of us believed that President Obama’s commitment to addressing the LRA threat would finally help stop our suffering. Yet one year later, we continue to live in fear as the LRA’s attacks have shown no signs of decreasing.”

Progress has been made, but that is not enough to end the suffering and to bring about justice. Confronting this injustice needs much more global support and commitment from international actors, but more so, from the people.

(more…)

by on

Uganda: Post-war youth vocational training (Chris Blattman)

To increase employment and reduce poverty, government and NGOs commonly train youth as carpenters, tailors, mechanics, welders, cooks and other vocations. Evidence is thin, however, on the worth and effectiveness of such spending.

We are working with Uganda’s Office of the Prime Minister and The World Bank to evaluate Uganda’s largest youth vocational training program. The evaluation will answer several key questions, including:

  • How does the program impact the lives of beneficiaries?
    • How many start up and sustain a business?
    • What is the impact on income, employment, assets, and savings?
    • What are the determinants of success (and failure) in vocations and entrepreneurship?
  • How do any economic gains spill over into other areas of life:
    • physical and psychological health;
    • risky behaviors;
    • social and political participation;
    • investments in children’s health and education; and
    • the transfer knowledge to neighbors and friends?

(more…)

by on

Dancing Through The Pain from Ebony Butler on Vimeo.

For over twenty years Northern Uganda faced one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.

Thousands were murdered, 1 million people displaced and 30,000 children were forced to become child soldiers and sex slaves.

Scars from the past still exist but song and dance help people overcome their trauma and remove the scars of the past.

I have produced an extended version of this, which is 15 minutes in duration. I am currently working on a feature length documentary, Child Troopers.