We Come as Friends

Synopsis

WE COME AS FRIENDS is a modern odyssey, a dizzying, science fiction-like journey into the heart of Africa. At the moment when the Sudan, the continent’s biggest country, is being divided into two nations, an old ‘civilizing’ pathology re-emerges - that of colonialism, clash of empires, and yet new episodes of bloody (and holy) wars over land and resources. The director takes us on this voyage in his tiny, self-made flying machine out of tin and canvas, he leads us into most improbable locations and into people’s thoughts and dreams, in both stunning and heartbreaking ways. Chinese oil workers, UN peacekeepers, Sudanese warlords, and American evangelists ironically weave common ground in this documentary.

Director Biography

Hubert Sauper was born in Kitzbühel/Tyrol, Austrian Alps. He lived in Great Britain, Italy, the USA, and since ten years in France. He studied film directing in Vienna (Univ. of Performing Arts) and in Paris (Univ. de Paris VIII.) and graduated B.A. (Mag.art.). Hubert teaches film classes in Europe and USA. The last two documentaries he wrote and directed were awarded twelve International Film Prizes. DARWIN’S NIGHTMARE (2004) was nominated for an Academy Award.