As President Salva Kiir announces his rejection of the latest peace agreement, it's difficult to grasp the scope of what faces South Sudan. The country, independent only since 2011, has been at war for 42 of the last 60 years, with nearly one-fifth of the population displaced. And yet, business is booming — nearly 10 percent of the land has been sold to foreign investors in the last four years alone. Reading facts like these is like trying to glean the life of a beekeeper from the window of an airplane; human perspective is almost impossible. For We Come as Friends, Academy Award-winning director Hubert Sauper knew he had to get out of the plane — a lot. Traveling across South Sudan in a homemade aircraft constructed from tin and canvas, Sauper captures interviews with Sudanese warlords, American evangelists, UN peacekeepers, Chinese oilmen, and regular people just trying stay alive in the midst of an endless cycle of colonialism and holy war. It won't be long before Sauper's film title – like the wonder of his sweeping aerials – leaves you feeling queasy and heartbroken. But it's a trip you have to take.
We Come as Friends opens at 7 p.m. and continues through Sept. 3 at Little Roxie, 3117 16th St., S.F. $10; 415-863-1087 or roxie.com.
415-863-1087
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