August 4, 2009 — In the award-winning documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell, Liberian women determined to bring dignity and peace back to their country stand up to Charles Taylor and the warlords, armed only with white t-shirts and courage. Their story has inspired legions of fans during the film’s nationwide theatrical run, multiple festival awards, and international screenings.
Now, in an unprecedented distribution effort, Pray the Devil Back to Hell brings its message of peace and inspiration directly to communities worldwide through its Global Peace Tour, a series of grassroots screenings spanning countries and continents this September and October. In celebration of the United Nations’ International Day of Peace, organizations big and small will turn down the lights, turn up the volume, and screen for peace. As of August 4th, the Global Peace Tour has received more than 700 requests from community organizations, and has scheduled more than 200 screenings in the United States alone.
The Global Peace Tour’s flagship event, co-sponsored by the Eleanor Roosevelt Initiative on Women and Public Policy, the Global Fund for Women, the U.S. National Committee for UNIFEM, Social Work in Progress, CONNECT New York, and Women for Women will take place September 21 in New York City at the brand-new SVA Theatre. Author Zainab Salbi (Between Two Worlds, The Other Side of War), the founder and CEO of Women for Women International, will be participating as a panelist at the event. Other major public events during the tour will take place in Washington, DC and San Francisco. International locations where screenings will be held include Korea, The Republic of Georgia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Jamaica, Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, Australia, Germany, The Netherlands, and many more.
Pray the Devil Back to Hell’s filmmakers created the Global Peace Tour in response to the groundswell of continued demand from churches, mosques, universities, museums, libraries, government agencies, and advocacy groups around the world. Confirmed 2009 Global Peace Tour participants include Yale University, The World Bank, The U.S. National Committee for UNIFEM, The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, The Girl Scouts of the USA, the Vancouver Peace Summit, the National Press Club, and Women for Women International, in addition to small congregations from Kenya to California, and peace advocates from South Texas to South Africa.
“Our community screening of Pray The Devil Back to Hell created such excitement that people couldn’t stop talking about the film afterward,” said Reba Vanderpool of the Visionary Edge Film Series in California. “The bravery and courage of the women, the discipline to continue to show up and follow through, all brought comments of admiration infused with inspiration from audience members. Discussion lasted for over an hour and left everyone in attendance knowing that all women can be powerful, effective agents for change no matter how intimidating the challenge — a very important message indeed.”
Pray the Devil Back to Hell’s Global Peace Tour follows its successful theatrical run. Since premiering in New York in April 2008, it has won awards at the Tribeca, Silverdocs, Jackson Hole and Heartland film festivals. The film opened in theaters in November 2008 and played to rave reviews in more than 40 cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago. Pray the Devil Back to Hell has also screened in cities and countries around the world—London, Bosnia, Monrovia, Peru, Khartoum, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Kenya, Goma (the Congo), and Davos, Switzerland, where Pray the Devil Back to Hell had the honor of being the first film ever to be shown at the World Economic Forum in January 2009.
Pray the Devil Back to Hell is directed by Academy Award-nominated, Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker Gini Reticker and produced by Abigail Disney, who is also the Co-Founder and Co-President of the Daphne Foundation.
“People who see this film are alternately surprised, startled, amazed and inspired. They immediately want to tell a friend, talk about the ideas in the film, and do something to contribute to peace,” says Abigail Disney, producer of Pray the Devil Back to Hell. “Pray is a case study on how people can band together to take charge of their destiny. What better way to celebrate the UN’s international Day of Peace?”
For more information on the film or to apply to host a community screening as part of the Pray the Devil Back to Hell September Global Peace Tour, visit www.praythedevilbacktohell.com.
