The Silent Army at UNESCO

The Dutch feature film The Silent Army by Jean van de Velde has been selected by UNESCO to screen in Paris during the anniversary of children’s rights’ on December 9 and 10, 2009.

During a major event, UNESCO will bring the film to its 1300 international guests. The ceremony will be attended by Ms. Irina Bokova, the new Director General of UNESCO. The screening will be followed by a debate about the important topic of the abuse of child soldiers, one of the worst forms of child exploitation. There are an estimated number of 300.000 active child soldiers in Africa, Afghanistan, Latin America, Chechnya and Europe.

On October 20, 2009 The Silent Army screened with 320 delegates present at the United Nations in New York during the panel discussion “Conflict, Arms and Children: A lethal mix”. Actor John Kon Kelei (a former Sudanese child soldier) attended the screening and was available for a Q&A session after the screening.

The Silent Army is a fictional story about child soldiers in Africa, based on real child-soldier experiences and with several former child soldiers as actors. The film was selected this year for Un Certain Regard at the Cannes International Film Festival.

The Silent Army has been selected by the AFI Film Festival in Los Angeles as well and will screen in the World Cinema Section on October 31, 2009, 4 p.m.