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Pray the Devil Back to Hell

{{short description|2008 documentary film by Gini Reticker}}

{{Infobox film

| name = Pray the Devil Back to Hell

| image = Pray the Devil Back to Hell Poster.jpg

| caption = Theatrical Poster

| director = Gini Reticker

| producer = Abigail Disney

| music = Blake Leyh

| cinematography = Kirsten Johnson

| editing = Kate Taverna
Meg Reticker

| distributor = Balcony Releasing (US) ro*co films (International)

| released = {{Film date|2008|04|24|Tribeca Film Festival|2008|11|07|U.S.}}

| runtime = 72 min.

| country = United States

| language = English subtitles

| budget =

| gross =

}}

Pray the Devil Back to Hell is a 2008 American documentary film directed by Gini Reticker and produced by Abigail Disney. The film premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Documentary.{{cite web |url=http://www.tribecafilm.com/home/18455719.html |title=Tribeca Film - Home - Award Winners 2008 |accessdate=2009-03-08 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303043905/http://www.tribecafilm.com/home/18455719.html |archivedate=2009-03-03 }} The film had its theatrical release in New York City on November 7, 2008. It had cumulative gross worldwide of $90,066.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1202203/ IMDB]

The film documents a peace movement called Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace. Organized by social worker Leymah Gbowee, the movement started with praying and singing in a fish market.[http://www.odemagazine.com/blogs/readers_blog/9001/leymah_gbowee_peace_warrior_for_liberia 2009] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091227090728/http://www.odemagazine.com/blogs/readers_blog/9001/leymah_gbowee_peace_warrior_for_liberia |date=2009-12-27 }} Leymah Gbowee organized the Christian and Muslim women of Monrovia, Liberia to pray for peace and to organize nonviolent protests. Dressed in white to symbolize peace, and numbering in the thousands, the women became a political force against violence and against their government.{{Cite news|url=http://www.guideposts.com/blog/life-faith-liberia-peace-movement-women|title=Blogs|work=Guideposts|access-date=2018-05-03|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091113053300/http://www.guideposts.com/blog/life-faith-liberia-peace-movement-women|archive-date=2009-11-13|url-status=dead}}

Their movement led to the election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Liberia, the first African nation with a female president. The film has been used as an advocacy tool in post-conflict zones like Sudan, mobilizing African women to petition for peace and security.[http://www.mediaglobal.org/article/2009-11-01/pray-the-devil-back-to-hell-documentary-serves-as-advocacy-tool-in-post-conflict-zones/ November 2009 MEDIAGLOBAL] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710093803/http://www.mediaglobal.org/article/2009-11-01/pray-the-devil-back-to-hell-documentary-serves-as-advocacy-tool-in-post-conflict-zones/ |date=2010-07-10 }}

Synopsis

A group of ordinary women in Liberia, led by Leymah Gbowee, came together to pray for peace. Armed only with white T-shirts and the courage of their convictions, they demanded a resolution to the country’s civil war.[http://www.awdfchicago.org/about-film.html African Women Development Fund] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090922002001/http://www.awdfchicago.org/about-film.html |date=2009-09-22 }}

Under Leymah Gbowee's leadership, the women managed to force a meeting with President Charles Taylor and extract a promise from him to attend peace talks in Ghana. Gbowee then led a delegation of Liberian women to Ghana to continue to apply pressure on the warring factions during the peace process.[http://www.americanprogress.org/events/2008/11/inf/GboweeLeymah.html Center for American Progress] They staged a silent protest outside of the Presidential Palace, Accra, bringing about an agreement during the stalled peace talks.

Asatu Bah Kenneth is featured in the film. She is currently Assistant Minister for Administration and Public Safety of the Liberian Ministry of Justice.{{Cite web|url=http://unmil.org/1article.asp?id=3718&zdoc=1|title=UNMIL – Misión de las Naciones Unidas en Liberia|website=unmil.org|language=es-ES|access-date=2018-05-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005095835/http://unmil.org/1article.asp?id=3718&zdoc=1|archive-date=2011-10-05|url-status=dead}} At the time, she was the president of the Liberia Female Law Enforcement Association. Inspired by the work of the Christian women's peace initiative, she formed the Liberian Muslim Women's Organization to work for peace.[http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/detail/64653.html United Nations Radio]

Working together, over 3,000 Christian and Muslim women mobilized their efforts, and as a result, the women were able to achieve peace in Liberia after a 14-year civil war and helped bring to power the country's first female head of state.

Title

The title of the film is drawn from Gbowee’s statement about Taylor and the rebels. Both sides were supposedly religious. The rebels frequented mosques, while Taylor claimed to be a devout Christian who, according to Gbowee, could “pray the devil out of Hell.” It was therefore the responsibility of the women in this inter-faith coalition to pray the devil (of war) right back to Hell.[http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/ArtsandCulture/Film/5547883-147/story.csp Praying the Liberian war back to hell ] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100402203842/http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/ArtsandCulture/Film/5547883-147/story.csp |date=2010-04-02 }}

Cast

In alphabetical order

  • Janet Johnson Bryant, as herself
  • Etweda Cooper, as herself
  • Vaiba Flomo, as herself
  • Leymah Gbowee, as herself
  • Asatu Bah Kenneth, as herself
  • Etty Weah, as herself

Awards

Women of Liberia

File:LiberianWomen.jpg.]]

As a result of the First Liberian Civil War from 1989 until 1996 and Second Liberian Civil War from 1999 until 2003, and during post-conflict periods, Liberian women were displaced and faced the death of family members, sexual violence, and challenging economic and social environments.[http://www.amnestyusa.org/violence-against-women/international-violence-against-women-act/women-of-liberia-fighting-for-peace/page.do?id=1551022 Amnesty International] The recovery effort has been led by Liberian women against sexual violence with an all-female United Nations peacekeeping force,{{Cite news|url=http://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/04/15/liberian-women-occupy-front-lines-of-war-on-sexual-violence/4989/|title=Liberian women occupy front lines of war on sexual violence {{!}} WORLDFOCUS|date=2009-04-15|work=WORLDFOCUS|access-date=2018-05-03|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201003190477.html|title=Liberia: Female Peacekeepers Empower Women to Participate in National Security|last=Gaestel|first=Allyn|date=2010-03-19|work=MediaGlobal (New York)|access-date=2018-05-03}} trained in sophisticated combat tactics and weaponry, crowd and mob control, and counter-insurgency.{{Cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/03/02/liberia.women/index.html|title=Indian women peacekeepers hailed in Liberia |publisher=CNN|first=Moni |last=Basu|access-date=2018-05-03|language=en}} In 2009, women made up 15 percent of Liberia’s national police force.[http://www.peacewomen.org/news_article.php?id=211&type=news Peacewomen.org following Media Global] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211034506/http://www.peacewomen.org/news_article.php?id=211&type=news |date=2013-12-11 }}

Notes

  • On June 19, 2009, the film was featured on PBS on Bill Moyers Journal {{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/06192009/watch.html|title=Bill Moyers Journal . Watch & Listen|website=www.pbs.org|access-date=2018-05-03}}
  • Leymah Roberta Gbowee is the executive director of the Women Peace and Security Network Africa, based in Accra, Ghana.{{cite web |url=http://www.huntalternatives.org/pages/7352_leymah_gbowee.cfm |title=Leymah Gbowee - Hunt Alternatives Fund |accessdate=2011-10-07 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001201036/http://www.huntalternatives.org/pages/7352_leymah_gbowee.cfm |archivedate=2011-10-01 }}
  • In 2007, Leymah Gbowee completed a master's degree in conflict transformation at Eastern Mennonite University.Jim Bishop. "Peacebuilder alumna tells her story at EMU." https://emu.edu/now/news/2009/peacebuilder-alumna-tells-her-story-at-emu/ Retrieved 04 July 2023.
  • Leymah Gbowee was named one of "21 Leaders for the 21st Century".{{Cite news|url=http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/3420|title=Aid for Girls Going Beyond Schoolhouse|work=Women's eNews|access-date=2018-05-03|language=en-US}} In 2009, she and the Women of Liberia were honored with the JFK Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.
  • Leymah Gbowee along with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Tawakkul Karman were awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work."{{cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2011/press.html |title=The Nobel Peace Prize 2011 – Press Release |publisher=Nobelprize.org |date=2011-10-07 |accessdate=2011-10-07}}

See also

{{Portal|Liberia}}

General:

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • {{Official website|http://www.praythedevilbacktohell.com}}
  • {{IMDb title|1202203}}
  • {{YouTube|Uon9CcoHgwA|Trailer}}
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20110606211236/http://www.evtv1.com/player.aspx?itemnum=13907 Movie clip]
  • {{YouTube|383geVVA4c0|NPR Interview with Leymah Gbowee and filmmaker Abigail Disney}}
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20090718105623/http://vodpod.com/watch/1786299-bill-moyers-journal-pray-the-devil-back-to-hell-pt-2 Bill Moyers Journal interview]
  • {{YouTube|ywj-FCeel_w|InFocus Interview}}

Category:Women in Liberia

Category:Documentary films about women in Africa

Category:Peace movements

Category:History of social movements

Category:Films set in Liberia

Category:Films shot in Liberia

Category:Documentary films about women in war

Category:American documentary films

Category:2008 films

Category:2008 documentary films

Category:Documentary films about African politics

Category:2000s American films