From Sinatra to Sudan---Teacher makes film about war-torn country

Teacher known for Sinatra gets serious for Sudan documentary

Chicago, January 21, 2008(I-Newswire) - Chicago area history teacher Bruce David Janu never intended to make a feature length documentary about the situation in Sudan. Known for his use of Sinatra in the classroom, including the infamous "Frank Sinatra Detention club," Janu stumbled into feature-filmmaking after meeting Brian Burns, a young janitor at his school.

Burns was sweeping floors on the third shift at John Hersey High School in suburban Arlington Heights when the two crossed paths. They struck up a conversation and when Burns began relating his experiences in Sudan, Janu saw an opportunity for his students.

That chance meeting on a Friday afternoon led not to a speaking engagement in front of a class of freshman, but to a feature documentary entitled Facing Sudan. The film highlights the situation in that war-torn country but is uniquely told through the eyes of ordinary individuals who have made a difference there: a suburban housewife, a 73-year-old pediatrician, a grandmother, a high school student, several Sudanese "lost boys" and, of course, Brian Burns.

"Two years ago, if someone said to me that I would be making a documentary about Sudan," says Janu, "I would have told them they were crazy."

It is Janu's students, however, who think that he is the crazy one. In addition to extra credit Sinatra questions on every test, Janu routinely dresses in costume and dances in front of class in an attempt to get the students interested in history. He sings too. One of his raps about absolutism in Europe even made it on You Tube. His students weren't surprised at his turn as a filmmaker. He had already made several educational videos for his classes over the years and many of his students turned out for the Chicago premiere of Facing Sudan at the Illinois International Film Festival last fall, where it won "Best Documentary."

"I put this film together in my spare time down in the basement," Janu says. "I never thought it would get this much attention." In addition to the long hours, he ended up paying for the film using his credit cards.

Although creating the film was arduous and financially challenging, Janu did have some help. His subjects supplied much of the footage from Sudan and he discovered two singer/songwriters from Pennsylvania, Tom Flannery and Lorne Clarke, willing to compose an original soundtrack for the film. Passionate about Sudan, the duo contributed songs completely pro bono, including "Crayons and Paper," a heartbreaking song that accompanies drawings made by children from Darfur smuggled out of Sudan by a pediatrician working with Doctors Without Borders.

Facing Sudan has toured the festival circuit and received much critical acclaim, including two "best documentary" awards.

The film has now been released on DVD by Bell, Book & Camera Productions with several deleted scenes, director commentary and a bonus song by Tom Flannery.

In addition, Janu has provided free lesson plans and discussion questions for Facing Sudan, hoping that it will fulfill his ultimate goals: education and awareness.

"Anyone can make a difference in this world," he says. "Especially if you know what's going on. As more people know about Sudan, the more likely something will be done."



Press kit, artwork and photos from the film are available at the official website at http://www.facingsudan.com/sudan.html

###

Bell, Book & Camera Productions
PO Box 24
Cary, IL 60013

Tel: 847-721-9222
info@bellbookcamera.com

Other film related sites: http://www.myspace.com/facing_sudan

Songwriters' site: http://www.songaweek.com

Tom Flannery's Site: http://www.tomflannery.com

Lorne Clarke's site: http://www.songaweek.com/lorne/

"Reel Chicago" Article about the film:
http://www.reelchicago.com/archive.cfm?storyID=1628

Information about the Frank Sinatra Detention Club and the director:

New York Times article

Entertainment Weekly article

Children's Photographs from Darfur Featured in Award-winning Documentary

Yale student and her photographs from Sudan are featured in award-winning documentary, "Facing Sudan"

(Newswire Today) — Chicago, IL, United States, 2008-01-18 - Alice Baumgartner, a sophomore at Yale University, never expected to be in a film about Sudan. Two years ago, however, she was approached by Chicago filmmaker and teacher Bruce David Janu about including her unique photograph collection in a film he was making about Sudan.

And those photographs, featuring children from a refugee camp in Chad who had fled the violence in Darfur, are featured in the award-winning documentary along with the young activist.

The film, entitled Facing Sudan, documents the situation in that war-torn country through the eyes of ordinary people, like Alice, who have made a difference there. The film won two BEST DOCUMENTARY awards, first at the Landlocked Film Festival and then at the Illinois International Film Festival.

“The pictures Alice has of these children---taken by children---really highlight the human tragedy that is Darfur,” says Janu, who put the film together over the last two years, paying for the film himself and working long hours in his basement. And he knew he needed to include Alice’s story in the narrative.

As a high school student at the Latin School in Chicago, Alice had wanted to document the situation in Darfur but through the eyes of the region’s most vulnerable victims: the children. After approaching student correspondents from MTV, Alice was able to send two dozen disposable cameras to the war-torn area. They were distributed to children living in a refugee camp in Chad and then sent back to Alice.

The images show the cramped, dusty living conditions of everyday life for refugees fleeing the violence of Darfur. Yet they also capture the attempt by the inhabitants to maintain a sense of normality.

And all of the images are touched with an innocence that only a child’s eye can capture.

"The kids in these pictures,” states Alice, “are real people who are really suffering and who need help.”

In addition to interviews of Alice, the film includes a montage of those photographs set to music written and performed by Pennsylvania native Tom Flannery.

Facing Sudan was recently released on DVD and includes bonus footage of Alice discussing her photographs.

# # #

Related Link: http://www.facingsudan.com/sudan.html
Contact name: Bruce David Janu
Related Link: http://www.facingsudan.com/sudan_clips.html
847-462-5941 / info@bellbookcamera.com

MUSICIANS AND FILMMAKER TEAM UP FOR SUDAN DOC

Pennsylvanian musicians Tom Flannery and Lorne Clarke never expected to record a soundtrack for a film. Two years ago, however, they were approached by Chicago filmmaker Bruce David Janu about including a couple of songs on his upcoming Sudan documentary.

Soon they were composing the entire soundtrack.

The film, entitled Facing Sudan, documents the situation in that war-torn country through the eyes of ordinary people who have made a difference there. The film won two BEST DOCUMENTARY awards.

The songwriters are well-known throughout northeastern Pennsylvania and contribute songs on a weekly basis to their website, songaweek.com. Since setting up the site, they have had over 1 million downloads. It is through songaweek.com where Janu first came into contact with their music.

"It blew me away," he stated. Initially, Janu asked to use a couple of songs, but soon realized that the duo could provide the musical voice for the entire film. So Flannery and Clarke started writing songs about "Lost Boys," genocide and Sudan. One of Flannery's songs, "Crayons and Paper," accompany heartbreaking drawings from children in Darfur.

And, because of their passion for the issue, they provided the music pro bono.

Now, to commemorate the dvd release of the film, Flannery has written a new song entitled "I Want To" which can be downloaded for free at http://www.songaweek.com.

--------------------------------------------------

For more information about the film and to download the press kit and photographs, visit:

http://www.facingsudan.com/sudan.html

For more information about the songwriters, visit:

http://www.songaweek.com
http://www.myspace.com/kikomusictomflannery
www.myspace.com/lorneclarke1

PRESS RELEASE: TEACHER DOCUMENTS ATROCITIES IN SUDAN WITH AWARD WINNING DOCUMENTARY

CHICAGO Jan. 16, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE)---Chicago area history teacher Bruce David Janu never intended to make a feature length documentary about the situation in Sudan. But then he met Brian Burns and his life changed.

Burns was sweeping floors on the third shift at John Hersey High School in suburban Arlington Heights when the two crossed paths. They struck up a conversation and when Burns began relating his experiences in Sudan, Janu saw an opportunity for his students.

That chance meeting on a Friday afternoon led not to a speaking engagement in front of a class of freshman, but to a feature documentary entitled, Facing Sudan. The film highlights the situation in that war-torn country, but is uniquely told through the eyes of ordinary individuals who have made a difference there: a suburban housewife, a 73-year-old pediatrician, a grandmother, a high school student, several Sudanese "lost boys" and, of course, Brian Burns.

"I spent two years working on this in my spare time down in the basement," he says. In addition to the long hours, Janu ended up paying for the film using his credit cards.

But he did have help. His subjects supplied much of the footage from Sudan and he discovered two singer/songwriters from Pennsylvania, Tom Flannery and Lorne Clarke, willing to compose an original soundtrack for the film. Passionate about Sudan, the duo contributed songs completely pro bono, including "Crayons and Paper," a heartbreaking song that accompanies drawings made by children from Darfur smuggled out of Sudan by a pediatrician working with Doctors Without Borders.

"Two years ago, if someone said to me that I would be making a documentary about Sudan," says Janu, "I would have told them they were crazy."

Facing Sudan has toured the festival circuit and has received much critical acclaim, including two "best documentary" awards last fall.

The film has now been released on DVD by Bell, Book & Camera Productions with several deleted scenes, director commentary and a bonus song by Tom Flannery. In addition, Janu has provided lesson plans, hoping that Facing Sudan will fulfill his ultimate goals: education and awareness.

“Anyone can make a difference in this world,” he says. “Especially if you know what’s going on. As more people know about Sudan, the more likely something will be done.”

Press kit, artwork and photos from the film are available at http://www.facingsudan.com/sudan.html

----------------------------------------------
Contact:

Bruce David Janu
Bell, Book & Camera Productions
Tel/Fax: 847-462-5941
Cell: 847-721-9222
info@bellbookcamera.com

FACING SUDAN now on dvd!

Happy New Year!

2007 went by extremely fast. Last year at this time, I was wrapping up the film and starting the film festival submission process. In total, FACING SUDAN screened at 14 film festivals and won two BEST DOCUMENTARY awards.

Now, the film is available on dvd for the first time. This is a Special Edition version and contains:

• 12 extra scenes
• Director commentary
• English subtitles for the hearing impaired
• Theatrical trailer
• Bonus song by Tom Flannery entitled, "I Want To"
  

I made Facing Sudan to help raise awareness about the situation in that war-torn country. Therefore, I have made available a variety of free resources to help people use Facing Sudan for that purpose:

• For teachers, a 24 page lesson plan booklet
• Facing Sudan discussion questions
• detailed "teach-in" instructions
• Downloadable Sudan information placards
• And much more!

In addition, the purchase price of Facing Sudan includes a a limited public performance license of the film!

Visit the website for more information.

FACING SUDAN WINS!

This weekend, Facing Sudan, won BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE at the Landlocked Film Festival in Iowa City. The jury was actually split on the decision and we share the award with THE CLINTON 12, a documentary about the first court ordered high school integration in the South.

New FACING SUDAN Trailer

Here is the new trailer for Facing Sudan.

Notes from Breckenridge

Facing Sudan screened this weekend at the 27th annual Breckenridge Festival of Film. The festival was hosted by film critic Jeffrey Lyons and showcased a variety of independent films. Facing Sudan screened twice and the response to the film was phenomenal. Several people commented on how they were moved by it. One theater-goer told me that he thought the film should be required viewing for every American.

After the first screening, I had the pleasure to meet Carl Tinstman and his wife Tinbet. Carl had worked for the UN for many years in South Sudan. After the screening, he invited me out to lunch. We were joined by members of the Denver Save Darfur Coalition: Ben, Mary and Mike. We had a great lunch and great conversation about Sudan and what needs to be done there. Thanks again, Carl, for the lunch.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Elaine Bennett. She spoke to the audience for a few minutes about her project of opening a safe-house near Khartoum for Sudanese “Lost Girls.” She and her husband are planning another trip to Sudan this fall to help these homeless girls in Sudan. For more information about her efforts, please visit Mothers Without Borders.


The nice thing about the festival was meeting fellow filmmakers. One filmmaker who I had the pleasure of meeting and spending time with was Jay Curlee. His film, Rocking the Boat: A Musical Conversation and Journey, focuses on Delbert McClinton and his annual cruise that showcases some of the best musicians in American independent music. The film not only has some amazing performances, but also some amusing and insightful stories from McClinton and others. The film is a celebration of art unbound by the constraints of a corporate dominated media world. For more information about the film and to view the trailer visit Jay’s website.

I had the opportunity to meet with other filmmakers as well and the experience---my first festival experience—was an overall rewarding one.

Some other highlights from the festival:

A Death at a Funeral. This was the opening night film. Directed by Frank Oz, Death at a Funeral, is a fast-paced farce about a dysfunctional funeral in England. Although full of clichés, the film was truly hysterical; at one point, a scene involving fecal material literally had me in tears. The film opens nationwide on June 29. Check out the website for the film.

Last Stop for Paul. This was a truly amazing film which followed friends Charlie and Cliff on a trip across the world so that Cliff could spread the ashes of his recently deceased friend, Paul and attend the "Full Moon Party" in Thailand. Interestingly, the film was shot with one digital camera on the fly at various locations across the world. Director, writer and star Neil Mandt actually cast locals on the spot to play the various roles the often improvised scripted called for. As a result, Last Stop for Paul is a refreshingly natural and funny look at world travel. You can actually watch the entire film online in web episodes at the official site.

Dirt Nap. One of the weirdest and amusing animated shorts I have ever seen. In fact, I will have to view it several more times to catch all of the zaniness that filmmakers Kirk Reid and Mark Estep put into their 8 year long project. The film is a philosophical look at life and death by following recently deceased Norval as he descends into hell and meets God’s employees, including a crazy clown who works with Death and sports a Canadian accent. Einstein works in hell as well and is very angry with God because the Almighty had given his theory of relativity a resounding “F” grade. Einstein wants revenge. A truly original and funny short, Dirt Nap deserves a look. Even the tagline is funny: "Life sucks, and then you die. And then death sucks." Check out the website.

La Vie en Rose. This French film premiered at Breckenridge and chronicles the life---the sad and tragic life---of Edith Piaf. Told in a non-linear narrative, the film traces Piaf’s sad life from her birth to her death (although her actions in World War II are conspicuously absent). The film is engrossing and the performance by Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf is truly one of the best female performances that I have ever seen in a motion picture. Her performance alone is worth the entrance fee as she literally becomes Edith Piaf. But don’t expect to leave the theater in an uplifting mood as En Vie La Rose is a depressing chronicle of a trainwreck that was Edith Piaf’s life. For more information about the film, visit the official site.

Facing Sudan at the Boston International Film Festival

Today, Facing Sudan screened at the Boston International Film Festival. Here's what the Boston Weekly Dig said about the film:

Bruce David Janu, a filmmaker and teacher in Illinois, was pulled into the genocidal mess in Sudan through Brian Burns, a custodian at the high school where Janu teaches. Burns’s enthusiasm for aid work in Africa was infectious enough to inspire Janu to film a full-length documentary about him and other ordinary people who have taken it upon themselves to help Sudanese refugees. It’s a departure for Janu, whose filmmaking until now has been limited to amusingly titled educational films like The Adventures of History Guy: Gothic Cathedrals. But his educational background has served him well—he’s meticulous about documenting the haunting horror of the refugees and rescuers alike. Hard will be the conscience that leaves the theater unpricked.

A New Festival

Facing Sudan has been accepted to the Flint Film Festival. This festival runs from May 17-20 at Mott Community College in Flint, Michigan.

That brings the total film festival screenings to six.

More Fests Coming Up!

We are pleased to announce that 3 more festivals have picked Facing Sudan as an official selection. Facing Sudan will screen at the following festivals:

Boston International Film Festival
AMC/Loews Boston Commons
175 Tremont St. Boston
June 7, 2007
1-3:30 pm



Breckenridge Festival of Film
June 8, 2007
Screening T.B.A.



South Side Film Festival
June 19-23, 2007
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Screening T.B.A.



We are looking forward to screening in these fests. If you live in the vicinity of any of these fests, let us know.

We may recruit you to hang some posters. :)

Going to Staten Island!

Facing Sudan is an official selection of the Staten Island Film Festival. The festival runs June 20-24, 2007.

With the selection at Longbaugh, Facing Sudan will now have a screening on both coasts!

Here is the screening information for Longbaugh:

Facing Sudan
Saturday March 31, 2007
12 pm The Living Room Theaters
Portland, Oregon

A detailed schedule for the festival can be found here.

Facing Sudan Soundtrack Now Available!

The Facing Sudan soundtrack is now available via download from LuLu. The soundtrack features sixteen songs from the film.

Here is what I wrote about the music on the LuLu site:

The music by Tom Flannery and Lorne Clarke is nothing short of amazing. The music provides a special complement to the images and words in the film. Tom and Lorne have captured the emotional quality I wanted to have for the film and one listen will tell you that this music was created with passion---passion for not only raising awareness about genocide but also for human rights.

The movie opens with Lorne Clarke's "How Do We Sleep at Night?" This song raises a central question of the film, as Lorne sings with a compassionate bewilderment at society's lack of empathy and action in the face of such horrendous atrocities.

When I first heard Tom Flannery's "Crayons and Paper," I was moved to tears. The song is about drawings made by children in Darfur, brought back to the states by Dr. Jerry Ehrlich. Nothing hits harder than seeing war through the eyes of innocent children.

The soundtrack includes other songs as well: "Lost Boys" tells the story of Sudanese children driven from their homes by war; "Requiem for Butare" recounts an earlier genocide in Rwanda; "It's Called Genocide" takes modern western nations to task for ignoring the situation in Darfur.

There are more songs contained on the soundtrack. Take a listen. You will not be disappointed. I consider myself very lucky to have found Tom and Lorne. Facing Sudan would not be the film it is if it weren't for the work of these two marvelously gifted songwriters.

The soundtrack is only $10 and you can even listen to a preview. The download includes not only the songs but also a digital booklet which inlcudes the lyrics. Help support the songwriters by downloading the soundtrack here: http://www.lulu.com/content/693402

The Longbaugh Film Festival

The Longbaugh Film Festival will host the premiere of Facing Sudan. Although the schedule has not been published yet, the film will play between March 29 and April 1.

In today's Willamette Week, festival director David Walker had this to say about the festival and Facing Sudan.:

Countdown To Longbaugh 2007

Step into the sunshine of WW's film festival.

BY DAVID WALKER

In case you haven't been paying attention, it's that time of year again...time for WW's Longbaugh Film Festival, presented by Comcast. With only a month until the 2007 festival kicks into high gear (this year, Longbaugh runs March 29-April 1), now is the time for shameless self-promotion. Fortunately, there truly is an incredible selection of films to back up my hyperbolic boast that Longbaugh is the best festival in Portland.

The recent success of the Oscar-winning film Little Miss Sunshine serves as a great reminder for the need to support independent film. The family in the yellow VW, however, was one of those rare exceptions—a minor player called up from the farm leagues to play with the big boys. For every film like Sunshine that manages to sneak past the Hollywood behemoth that dominates the public line of sight, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of other great indie films equally deserving of an audience. And that's what Longbaugh is all about: Showcasing films that need to be seen by an audience that wants to be challenged intellectually and emotionally.

Every year Longbaugh features an eclectic mix of features, documentaries and shorts, and the 2007 lineup is no exception. One of this year's highlights is Kenneth Glenaan's Yasmin, an evocative character study of a Pakistani-Muslim woman living in England, attempting to mask her heritage while she tries desperately to fit into British culture. But after 9/11, everything changes for Yasmin and her family, forcing them all to evaluate their roles in the world around them. Bruce Janu's documentary Facing Sudan offers an insightful into the war-ravaged African nation of Sudan, where genocide and civil war have ravaged much of the country. Janu profiles individuals that have struggled to make life better in Sudan, proving that a single person can make a difference.

http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3316/8614/

New Facing Sudan Clip

Here is a new clip from the documentary. It is called "Voices from Darfur" and features a song by Lorne Clarke entitled, "Requiem for Butare." The song is from "The Rwandan Song Cycle" by Lorne Clarke and Tom Flannery. The entire song cycle can be found at http://www.songaweek.com/rwanda.

Our First Film Festival!

Happy New Year! It's been awhile since our last post. We have been busily finalizing the film and sending it off to film festivals across the country.

I am pleased to announce that the film has been selected for the Longbaugh Film Festival in Portland, Oregon, March 29-April 1, 2007.

Exact details of the screening will be coming soon. Plus, we will be posting some more clips in the near future. Check back often!

Clip from the Film!

This clip features Alice Baumgartner. As a student at the Latin School of Chicago, Alice helped found a student activist group dedicated to raising money and awareness about the situation in Darfur. After seeing the documentary, Born into Brothels, Alice got the idea to send cameras to kids living in Darfur and Chad to not only document the lives of people in the conflict, but to do so from the perspective of the children. With the help of MTVu, her group sent 25 disposable cameras with three student correspondents from MTV. Much to her surprise, Alice received 23 cameras back with pictures taken by kids in a refugee camp in Chad.

The pictures are a very personal look at life in a refugee camp---but they aren't your typical pictures. They are pictures taken by children of children. We do not know their names. And we will never know what became of those captured with their cameras.

In this clip, Alice discusses her passion for the cause and we see some of those pictures. Also featured in the clip is music by Tom Flannery. It is a song written for the film entitled, "For Brian Burns."

Currently, Alice is a freshman at Yale University.

Save Darfur's Thanksgiving Campaign

SaveDarfur.org is running a Thanksgiving Campaign. You are encouraged to speak about Darfur at your family get-together and collect signatures to send to our government to help encourage further action on a situation that is getting worse by the day.

As we sit around our Thanksgiving meals, we need to remember those people struggling in Darfur--those who do not have any food to eat, those who are fleeing violence and rape, those who have lost their homes, children and family to a campaign of genocide by the Sudanese government.

This is the least we can do.

Visit the Save Darfur site to download the materials today.

Facing Sudan's Animator!

Meet E.J. Lucas. He is the new animator for Facing Sudan.

As many of you know, we are creating several sequences of animation for the film. I thought that animation would provide a stylized element to the film as well as providing a visual for events for which we have no footage. The animation, I think, will truly add a different dimension to the stories being told in Facing Sudan.

E.J. contacted me this summer after reading an article in the local newspaper about the animation that we were attempting. I knew EJ; he was a student of mine several years ago. He is a recent graduate of the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago with a degree in animation. His style is exactly what we were looking for.

EJ is a welcome addition to the film and his work will truly add a unique element to the film.

"I am very excited to be a part of this project," he said. "And hope that my contributions will bring more attention to the cause."

Below you can view a short animation clip that EJ has on his demo reel.



EJ Lucas: supermanimator@hotmail.com

Ryan Spencer Reed

Ryan Spencer Reed has over 56,000 photographs documenting the plight of the Sudanese people. He has spent months in South Sudan, Darfur, Kenya and Chad. His photographs are a stark reminder of the humanitarian crisis that is occuring in that country.

The first time Ryan went to Sudan, he needed to sell his car in order to pay for the transportation. Today, he leaves for Sudan again. This time to meet with the new vice president (the successor to John Garang) and to hopefully gain access to Darfur.

I stumbled by accident upon Ryan Spencer Reed's website a few months ago and was captivated by his images. We have spoken several times via email and telephone. On Friday night, we met for the first time in person at Northwestern University's STAND conference. Some 36 images of his are on display there and will be traveling the country, raising awareness about the plight of the Sudanese.

He spoke at the conference and presented a moving multimedia presentation of his photographs. You can view that presentation here.

We are please to announce that many of Ryan's images will be included in Facing Sudan. He has a very unique eye and has captured some haunting and heartbreaking images.

Ryan says this about his photographs:

Ultimately, my goal is to create a document which will give a human face to what was once unimaginable but nowadays is shockingly familiar---a genocide unfolding before the eyes of an impotent, dithering world. The cost of doing nothing is one humanity can never afford.

I encourage you to go to Ryan's website. There he has hundreds of images from Sudan.

It will move you.

http://www.ryanspencerreed.com

More photographs can be found at http://www.groupm35.com