AND THE WINNER IS...

Over the past few months, you may have noticed a movie named Darfur Now (11/2, Warner Independent) listed among the possible awards candidates on this site's weekly projections. In fact, we've had it up here since it was still under its working-title, the less 'hopeful' An Indifferent World. Anyway, I want to take a moment to focus on this film, because I believe that it has the potential to call the world's attention to the situation in Darfur in the same way An Inconvenient Truth did to global warming two years ago.

Darfur Now is directed by Ted Braun, who I'm told secured unprecedented access during the first four months of 2007 to the internally displaced people, international aid workers, government officials, and rebels of Darfur, the region of Sudan that many outside parties have openly called the site of a genocide (including the United States, but not the United Nations) but failed to intercede with in any meaninful way.

If the film finds any real audience, it will be in large part because of the integral participation of two internationally-renowned movie stars and respected human rights activists who have spent time in Darfur: Don Cheadle, who is a producer on the film and also a featured player in it, and George Clooney, who also appears in it. (Cheadle first learned of the situation in Darfur while filming Hotel Rwanda in 2004, and Clooney and his father have long been outspoken about the subject and recently addressed the United Nations about it.)

Based on the serious subject matter, the urgency of the situation that it will awaken many to, the actors involved with the film, high-profile musical contributors like Stevie Wonder and Bono, and the film's trailer (which is now available for viewing exclusively on a MySpace site), I believe we might be looking at a breakout hit and major awards player.

(On a related note, I would again encourage you to check out God Grew Tired of Us, which I discussed in this post back in May.)