United Nations to Host Special Screening of Rachel Weisz’s Film
Posted on August 24th, 2011 at 4:00 pm by
In the new film called The Whistleblower, Rachel Weisz portrays an American police officer who takes a job as a United Nations peacekeeper in Bosnia and exposes sex trafficking of young girls that was being ignored and sometimes organized by corrupt UN employees.
Despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that the film focuses on corruption inside the peace-oriented international organization, The Whistleblower will be screened at UN headquarters and will precede a panel discussion about the controversial issues presented in the film.
Reportedly, top UN officials were conflicted about whether they should embrace the film, which depicts UN peacekeepers partaking in deplorable activities; however, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon ultimately collaborated with the film’s director, Larysa Kondracki, to support the film and arrange the screening. Evidently, the shocking incidents, as illustrated in the film, eventually did lead to a series of internal reforms and the establishment of a zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual exploitation and abuse by UN peacekeepers. The special screening and panel discussion will take place on October 10th.
It is always encouraging when Hollywood directors are able to use their work to bring public attention to controversial and socially problematic issues such as this one. Well done Larysa Kondracki!
