Sitting in to Stand Up: 'Pray the Devil Back to Hell'

DIRECTOR GINI RETICKER went to a softball game and ended up making a movie.

The unlikely result is "Pray the Devil Back to Hell," a documentary about a group of Liberian women who demanded peace during a decades-long civil war.

"I ran into [producer] Abby Disney at our daughters' softball game," Reticker says, "She had gone to Liberia and heard everyone talking about the women there and their stories. Since Abby knew I made films that largely focused on women's issues, she asked me to do it."

"Pray the Devil Back to Hell" tracks a small group of Christian and Muslim women who stood up to former president Charles Taylor, a corrupt and violent leader. When peace talks between Taylor and rebel warlords failed, the women staged a sit-in, declaring that they would not leave until a compromise was reached.

"I was nervous about making the film," Reticker says, "I heard a lot about what went on in West Africa, with war and blood diamonds, and when you make a documentary you have to live with the material. But then I met Leymah [Gbowee], and that locked the deal, since she is just an incredible inspiration."

Gbowee, the leader of the movement, forced a meeting with Taylor and made him promise to go to peace talks in Ghana. She also brought other Liberian women to monitor the talks, which led to Taylor's exile.

The documentary uses interviews, archival footage and scenes of contemporary Liberia to examine the impact of the women's contribution to their country's political stability.
Reticker describes Liberia as "the roughest place I've ever been."

"There's an 80 percent unemployment rate, no running water, no electricity," she says. But, "it was extraordinary to meet people who have been through such hardships and feel like you can hang out with them," Reticker says. "They are really inspiring, but at the same time, they're just regular people -- one is a cop, one is a social worker, one is a journalist."

And she admits that "Pray" doesn't tidy up the world. "It's not an isolated situation, how women are being targeted and emerging as peace activists."

» E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW; opens Fri. $7.50-$10; 202-452-7672. (Gallery Place-Chinatown)

Written by Express contributor Amy Cavanaugh
Photo by Pewee Flomoku