WE COME AS FRIENDS

It is a modern odyssey, a dizzying, science fiction-like journey into the heart of Africa. At the moment when Sudan, the continent’s biggest country, is being divided into two nations, an old "civilizing" pathology re-emerges – that of colonialism, clash of empires, and yet new episodes of bloody (and holy) wars over land and resources. According to the Netzwerk Flüchtlingsforschung, most of refugees come from countries with ongoing armed conflicts where neocolonial and geostrategic interests of the industrialized nations meet the interests of the local war lords.

Hubert Sauper, the award-winning director of Darwin’s Nightmare takes us on a voyage in his tiny, self-made flying machine out of tin and canvas, leading us into the most improbable locations and into people’s thoughts and dreams in both stunning and heartbreaking ways. Chinese oil workers, UN peacekeepers, Sudanese warlords, and American evangelists ironically weave common ground in this documentary.