event details posted by: begins: May 25, 8:00 pm ends: May 25, 10:00 pm location: 48th & Baltimore (Calvary Church)

Free Film Showing:

THE EMPIRE IN AFRICA

7pm, Tuesday May 25

48th & Baltimore (Calvary Church)

Philippe Diaz's controversial documentary about the legacy of the brutal 1991-2002 civil war in Sierra Leone suggests that the RUF (Revolutionary United Front of Sierra Leone) was not alone in terrorizing civilians and committing atrocities.

A former British colony and a country of 4.5 million, Sierra Leone achieved independence in 1961 and held its first democratic elections the following year. But a series of military coups and corrupt regimes undermined both the country's infra-structure and its people's confidence in the government.

Though Sierra Leone was rich in natural resources, including diamonds, most of the profit went to international corporations or lined the pockets of well-placed businessmen and politicians. Decades of grinding poverty and gross social injustice spawned the RUF, which backed its ideals of redistributing Sierra Leone's wealth and restoring social equality with brutal violence. 87 minutes; 2006

For more Information: 215-724-1618; Phillyiac@peoplesmail.net