29th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival

24. 10.–2. 11. 2025
Log inČeštinaEnglish
We Come As Friends
We Come As Friends
We Come As Friends

We Come As Friends

Hubert Sauper / France, Austria / 2014 / Czech Premiere / 105 min.


synopsis

The director flies into Sudan at the time of the referendum on dividing the country into two: Sudan and South Sudan. Rather than focusing on this political act, however, he focuses more on the economic and environmental exploitation of local resources by Western and Chinese companies, which has had immense consequences, from the desperate living conditions of the local inhabitants to corrupt and impassive public officials. A caustic exploration of the heart of darkness into which the country’s beauty and wealth are changed by those who “come as friends”.

DETAIL:
“Now you may start feeling strange. Strangeness penetrates you. It enters your heart. You recall some sinister memories that you prefer to forget. From now on you are complete stranger. You are an alien.”

biography

Austrian documentarian and world traveller Hubert Sauper studied film directing in Vienna and Paris. His films often examine African issues. Darwin’s Nightmare (2004), a look at the causes and consequences of fish harvesting in sub-Saharan Tanzania, received numerous awards including an Oscar nomination. In 2005, the film won the Special Jury Prize at the Ji.hlava IDFF.

more about film

director: Hubert Sauper
producer: Hubert Sauper, Gabriele Kranzelbinder
photography: Hubert Sauper, Barney Broomfield
editing: Hubert Sauper, Cathie Dambel, Denise Vindevogel
music: Slim Twig
sound: Veronika Hlawatsch

contact

La Pacte
Arnaud Aubelle
5 rue Darcet 
Paris / 75017 / France
+33 144 695 945
a.aubelle@le-pacte.com
www.le-pacte.com

Film at festival

premiere type:Czech Premiere
festival edition:2014
section:Between the Seas
awards:Nejlepší dokumentární film střední a východní Evropy
format:DCP
language:Chinese, French, English
subtitles:English
colour:Colour

Info

director:Hubert Sauper
original title:We Come As Friends
country:France, Austria
year:2014
running time:105 min.

Festival partners

Ministerstvo kultury
Fond kinematografie
Město Jihlava
Kraj Vysočina
Creative Europe Media
GEMO
Česká televize
Český rozhlas
Aktuálně.cz
Respekt
Dafilms

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