Waiting

Les Dinkas forment un peuple d'une extrême patience. Résignés, le ventre creux, ils attendent la prochaine récolte. Depuis quarante ans, une guerre civile intermittente a coupé le Soudan en deux. Trop souvent, la famine a frappé. La voici de retour, qui ravage les corps et multiplie les deuils. La population d'Alek a demandé de l'aide. Des sacs de grains tombent enfin du ciel mais pour éviter les émeutes, la distribution ne peut avoir lieu avant l'arrivée des renforts. Pendant cette semaine d'attente, la réalisatrice tentera de découvrir le visage de la faim, de comprendre et de témoigner au moyen d'un récit à la première personne. Avec pour seule volonté de donner forme humaine à cette faim, de filmer l'espoir de survivre. Sobrement, loin de toute médiatisation... jusqu'à ce que la guerre revienne abruptement imposer sa loi.

The twentieth century unspools through the eyes of 97-year-old René Dumont, agricultural scientist and activist for peace, justice and the environment. Angered by enduring injustice, Dumont beseeches us to look to the future: "Open your eyes! The twenty-first century has had a rotten start!" This film brings us his outrage and activism, his love of humanity and hope for the future. In French with English subtitles.

The act of triage is the ultimate humanitarian nightmare. Racing against time with limited resources, relief workers make split-second decisions: who gets treatment; who gets food; who lives; who dies. This impossible dilemma understandably haunts humanitarians like Dr. James Orbinski, who accepted the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) as their President, and was a field doctor during the Somali famine, the Rwandan genocide, among other catastrophes. Having seen the best and worst of humanitarian assistance and of humanity itself, Orbinski embarks on his most difficult mission to date - writing a deeply personal and controversial book that struggles to make sense of it all. Leaving his young family behind in Toronto, Canada - where he's a university professor and doctor - Orbinski returns to Africa, revisiting the past and engaging with the present. He hopes that here, in the place where he witnessed humanity literally torn apart, he can rediscover the true heart of humanitarianism.