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Joshua Milton Blahyi –aka General Butt Naked –was a ruthless and feared warlord during Liberia’s 14-year civil war. Today, he has renounced his violent past and reinvented himself as a Christian evangelist on a journey of self-proclaimed transformation. Blahyi travels the nation of Liberia as a preacher, seeking out those he once victimized in search of an uncertain forgiveness. But in the end, are some crimes beyond the pale of forgiveness?
Dubbed “General Butt Naked” for fighting with nothing more than an AK-47 and a pair of leather shoes, Blahyi believed he possessed supernatural powers that made him impervious to bullets. The General and his army of child soldiers are said to have killed thousands during Liberia’s horrific civil war.
Following a dramatic conversion to Christianity, the General abruptly laid down his weapons in 1996, leaving behind his soldiers, his country and a war that would rage for another seven years.
Today, Blahyi is on a quest for redemption: facing those he once terrorized, preaching where he once murdered, and trying to rebuild the shattered lives of those he commanded during the war. For five years, filmmakers Eric Strauss and Daniele Anastasion tracked his often troubling path up-close, finding both the genuine and disconcerting in Blahyi’s efforts. The film forces us to question the very nature of what true, meaningful reconciliation looks like in a country where justice has not been available.
Winner: Excellence in Cinematography Award – Sundance Film Festival
“A compelling portrait of an extraordinarily complex personal odyssey, a film that explores both the power and the limitations of faith and forgiveness.” – Los Angeles Times
“This amazing documentary confronts the contradictions of reconciliation in a war-ravaged continent.” – Variety
“An intriguing, bizarre, horrifying and thought-provoking doc — Utterly fascinating with a charismatic central figure — love him or loathe him – – who is made for the big screen … this is an extremely unsettling film that holds you tightly in its grip for its almost too short running time.” – Kirk Honeycutt, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
The DocYard is an award-winning film and discussion series at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, and which also sponsors special screenings and co-presentations throughout the year. Each screening is a new experience as we connect audiences directly with filmmakers exploring the documentary form through insightful post-screening discussions.
