News Article

Two Gonzaga University entities, the Gonzaga Institute for Action Against Hate and the Gonzaga Center for Law and Justice, will host the War, Reconciliation, and Human Rights Film Series at the GU School of Law (721 N. Cincinnati St.) Barbieri Courtroom starting Jan. 24.

All four movies in the series, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 6:30 p.m., starting with the Jan. 24 airing of “Faces of the Enemy,” which explores the process of dehumanizing our adversaries before we kill them in war.

The film Feb. 21 will be “Liberia: An Uncivil War,” followed by “Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire” on March 28, and the final film, “Long Night’s Journey into Day” on April 18.

In the first film, “Faces of the Enemy” (Jan. 24), audiences are introduced to David Rice who was influenced by right wing propaganda and killed a family of four because he thought they were communists. The film follows the story of William Broyles, a Vietnam War veteran who returned to Vietnam to meet the people who were once his enemies.

Editorial cartoonists are interviewed and discuss how they use stereotypes to tap into their readers’ most visceral emotions. Also, two psychologists explain how war provides people with the moral and mental certainties that they crave. The movie ends on a hopeful note as the late scholar Joseph Campbell explains that the origin of compassion begins when we recognize ourselves beneath the mask of our enemy. Rusty Nelson, co-director of the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane, will facilitate a conversation about the movie at its conclusion.
GU faculty, staff, students, and alumni all are encouraged to attend the films.

Following are descriptions of the other films:

▪ Feb. 21 ~ The second film, “Liberia: An Uncivil War,” provides an in-
depth case study of one of the many brutal civil wars springing up in Africa. The film sets the current situation in a historical context stretching back nearly 200 years and the filmmakers cover opposite sides of the conflict.

▪ March 28 ~ “Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire,” documents Romeo Dallaire’s return to Rwanda for the 10th anniversary of the genocide, reliving the political and psychological drama in unforgettable detail. Dallaire was the commander of a small United Nations peacekeeping force stationed in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide and the movie follows him as he revisits the sites of mass murder and heroism. Rev. Cypren Niyitegeka, who is originally from Rwanda, will discuss the film from his perspective and lead a question-and-answer session after the film.

▪ April 18 ~ “Long Night’s Journey into Day,” offers a dramatic inside look at one of the most innovative and ambitious attempts at dialogue and healing in human history: South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The film depicts a deeply moving record of four case studies from the encounters between victims with their oppressors. Shann Ferch, professor in Gonzaga University’s Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies, will moderate a discussion after the film.

For more information, contact Jim Mohr at (509) 323-3665 or againsthate@gonzaga.edu.