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2003 and the power struggle between LURD, the Liberian rebel movement, and president Charles Taylor (indicted by the UN for crimes against humanity) reaches its climax. LURD is about to capture the Liberian capital Monrovia.
Jonathon Stack and James Brabazon received the International Documentary Association’s (IDA’s) Courage Under Fire Award for this film. As the jury mentioned, this was awarded for their ” tenacious rejection of personal safety in pursuit of truth and its unblinking view of political betrayal and the absurdity of war.”
Taylor refuses to step down unless peacekeepers arrive, the Americans refuse to send peacekeepers until Taylor leaves.
All hope is pinned on the United States – will they support the Liberians in their hour of need? Co-Directors Stack and Brabazon film on both sides of the conflict. Stack, stationed in the capital city of Monrovia while the rebels approached, liased with the government, interviewing Taylor and other citizens, all of whom were waiting hopefully for the arrival of US peacekeepers to diffuse the situation. Brabazon, meanwhile, travelled alongside the heavily armed rebels, many shockingly young, as they moved toward the city.