Preview Screening: State Builders + Q&A

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with directors Florence Martin-Kessler and Anne Poiret.

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After a 50-year civil war, the Republic of South Sudan became the world’s newest nation on 9 July 2011. The day of its independence, the United Nations’ 193rd member had a flag, a national anthem, a capital, and its first president. The UN’s professional Nation Builders – veterans of Kosovo and East Timor – are now at work in South Sudan with a 19-point road map that has a price-tag in the billions of dollars.

Filmmakers Florence Martin-Kessler and Anne Poiret chronicle the first year of independence in which the first foundations of this fledgling democracy are laid. State Builders closely follows the main players in this process; Lise Grande, deputy head of the UN in South Sudan and Riek Machar, former guerrilla chief and newly appointed Vice President, as they attempt to shape the young democracy.

Much remains to be decided and built: the borders need to be set, a constitution drafted, an army and judicial system established, revenues from oil production and income tax perceived. Both the stakes and the expectations are high.

Directed by Florence Martin-Kessler and Anne Poiret
Duration: 75′
Year: 2013