Refugees rock in all-star documentary

Author: Gabriel Broughton

The Refugee All-Stars, the new documentary by Banker White '95 and Zach Niles '95.5, took Middlebury's audience into the volatile regions of Sierra Leone and the West-African nation of the Republic of Guinea last Saturday evening. Screened in Dana Auditorium, the film explored the healing powers of music and revealed how creativity can grow in the bleakness of West Africa.

Sierra Leone has been plagued by class conflict since its emergence from British rule in 1961. A corrupt rebel movement in the early 1990s degenerated into systematic looting and violence. The governing power of Sierra Leone changed hands several times in the course of the 10-year civil war and an estimated 50,000 people were killed before the war finally ended in 2002. Another 100,000 people were victims of mutilation. Fearing for their lives, nearly half the population of Sierra Leone was displaced to neighboring countries.

Six of these refugees who were forced to live in the Republic of Guinea formed a band. They called themselves The Refugee All-Stars. The documentary film of the same name follows this group of musicians through the war-ravaged reality of their lives in another man's land. Many of the band members lost family and loved ones in the violence. In the midst of tragedy, the All-Stars demonstrate the overwhelming power of the language of music for healing and rebirth.

This ambitious project began when Niles '96 met a United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHCR) worker who was going to New Guinea. Niles embarked on the first of what would become many scouting trips through Africa, and there met The Refugee All-Stars band. Immediately, he knew this band would be a good subject for a documentary film. From there, the idea matured into a project involving many people, including six Middlebury graduates - Niles himself, White, Jim Bruce '96, Chris Velan '96, Andy Mitchell '96 and Jim Schaaf '95.

The film is shot on a grainy stock reflective of the world in which its characters reside. From this desolate landscape emerges an intimate portrait of a family of musicians creating music both to escape the terror of their situation and to express its pain. One band member described his world as a "civilized prison." Many of the refugees living in Guinea have little hope for their lives beyond simply feeding another meal to what is left of their families. Music, though, offers something more hopeful. The Refugee All-Stars describe their song as "advice" to those willing to listen. It is advice on the dangers and consequences of violence and of human rights abuse in general.

Eventually, The Refugee All-Stars became part of the Human Rights Watch (HRW) International Film Festival. The festival, based in London and New York City, aims at raising awareness for human rights abuses. The films included in the festival attempt to inspire new generations of human rights advocates. The 2005 festival explores concerns as diverse as the ethnic violence in Sri Lanka ("No More Tears Sister") and the controversy over abstinence-only sex education in the United States ("The Education of Shelby Knox").

Last weekend, The Refugee All-Stars came to Middlebury. Bruce, a former Film Studies major who edited and co-produced "Refugee All-Stars," came to introduce his project. As he said, bringing The Refugee All-Stars band to life in film was no easy feat, especially after much important material was lost on their computer. But, in spite of the difficulties, the film has already traveled to two places and is scheduled to appear again abroad. "[The HRW] invited us to participate in their festival, and that was a good chance to screen a rough version of the film. Tomorrow is a sneak preview of a work in progress," said Bruce, "and the final version will be screened in London in November."

From Sierra-Leone to New Guinea to the HRC Film Festival to Middlebury, the Refugees have certainly come a long way.