Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It shares its southeastern border with Liberia and is bordered by Guinea to the north. With a land area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi), Sierra Leone has a tropical climate and with a variety of environments ranging from savannas to rainforests. According to the 2015 census, Sierra Leone has a population of 7,092,113, with Freetown serving as both the capital and largest city. The country is divided into five administrative regions, which are further subdivided into 16 districts.
Sierra Leone first became inhabited by indigenous African peoples at least 2,500 years ago. The Limba were the first tribe known to inhabit Sierra Leone. The dense tropical rainforest partially isolated the region from other West African cultures, and it became a refuge for peoples escaping violence and jihads. Sierra Leone was named by Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra, who mapped the region in 1462. The Freetown estuary provided a good natural harbour for ships to shelter and replenish drinking water, and gained more international attention as coastal and trans-Atlantic trade supplanted trans-Saharan trade.
Thelma & Louise is a 1991 American crime drama film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Callie Khouri. The film stars Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis as Louise and Thelma, two friends who embark on a road trip that ends up in unforeseen circumstances. The supporting cast includes Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Christopher McDonald, and Brad Pitt. Filming took place in California and Utah from June to August 1990.
The Heart of the Matter (1948) is a novel by English author Graham Greene. The book details a life-changing moral crisis for Henry Scobie. Greene, a former British intelligence officer in Freetown, British Sierra Leone, drew on his experience there. Although Freetown is not mentioned in the novel, Greene confirms the location in his 1980 memoir, Ways of Escape.
Once Upon a Time in America is a 1984 epic crime film co-written and directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone, and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. The film is an Italian–American venture produced by The Ladd Company, Embassy International Pictures, PSO Enterprises and Rafran Cinematografica, and distributed by Warner Bros. Based on Harry Grey's novel The Hoods, it chronicles the lives of best friends David "Noodles" Aaronson and Maximilian "Max" Bercovicz as they lead a group of Jewish ghetto youths who rise to prominence as Jewish gangsters in New York City's world of organized crime. The film explores themes of childhood friendships, love, lust, greed, betrayal, loss, and broken relationships, together with the rise of mobsters in American society.
Maria Margarethe Anna Schell was an Austrian-Swiss actress. She was one of the leading stars of German cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1954, she was awarded the Cannes Best Actress Award for her performance in Helmut Käutner's war drama The Last Bridge, and in 1956, she won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival for Gervaise.
George Alexander Coulouris was an English film and stage actor.
Absolute Power is a 1997 American political action thriller film produced by, directed by, and starring Clint Eastwood as a master jewel thief who witnesses the killing of a woman by Secret Service agents. The screenplay by William Goldman is based on the 1996 novel Absolute Power by David Baldacci. Screened at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, the film also stars Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Judy Davis, Scott Glenn, Dennis Haysbert, and Richard Jenkins. It was also the last screen appearance of E. G. Marshall. The scenes in the museum were filmed in the Walters Art Museum, where Whitney is copying a painting of El Greco, "Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata"
Boot Polish is a 1954 Hindi comedy drama directed by Prakash Arora and produced by Raj Kapoor. It won Best Film at the Filmfare Awards. The film stars Ratan Kumar and Naaz in the lead roles.
Godspell is a 1973 American musical comedy-drama film, an adaptation of the 1971 Off-Broadway musical Godspell, created by John-Michael Tebelak with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz.
The End of the Affair is a 1955 British-American drama romance film directed by Edward Dmytryk, based on Graham Greene's 1951 novel of the same name. The film stars Deborah Kerr, Van Johnson, John Mills and Peter Cushing. It was filmed largely on location in London, particularly in and around Chester Terrace. The film was entered into the 1955 Cannes Film Festival.
Journey Without Maps (1936) is a travel account by Graham Greene, about a 350-mile, 4-week walk through the interior of Liberia in 1935. It was Greene's first trip outside of Europe. He hoped to leave civilization and find the "heart of darkness" in Africa. The interior of Liberia was at the time poorly mapped, and so he relied on local guides and porters.
Rosario "Saro" Urzì was an Italian actor. He is best known for his roles in the films In the Name of the Law (1949), The Railroad Man (1956), Seduced and Abandoned (1964), which earned him a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, and The Godfather (1972).
Next Stop, Greenwich Village is a 1976 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Mazursky, featuring Lenny Baker, Shelley Winters, Ellen Greene, Lois Smith, and Christopher Walken.
The Red Lanterns is a 1963 Greek drama film directed by Vasilis Georgiadis and based on a play by Alekos Galanos. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was also entered into the 1964 Cannes Film Festival.
True Confession is a 1937 American screwball comedy film directed by Wesley Ruggles and starring Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, and John Barrymore. It was based on the 1934 play Mon Crime, written by Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil. In 1946 it was remade as Cross My Heart.
The 6th Cannes Film Festival was held from 15 to 29 April 1953. The Grand Prix of the Festival went to The Wages of Fear by Henri-Georges Clouzot.
Edward George More O'Ferrall was a pioneering British film and television producer and director, as well as an actor.
Raouf J. Jacob, is a filmmaker, producer and film curator. Jacob is best known for his multiple award-winning documentary feature film Sierra Leone: A Culture of Silence. He is also the Executive Director & Creator and Founder of Worldwide Cinema Frames studios/films LLC and Global Cinema Film Festival of Boston (GCFF) which he founded in 2006.
Nitram is a 2021 Australian biographical psychological drama film directed by Justin Kurzel from a screenplay by Shaun Grant. The film revolves around the life and behaviors of a mentally distressed young man called "Nitram", and the events leading to his involvement in the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania. The film stars Caleb Landry Jones, Judy Davis, Essie Davis and Anthony LaPaglia.
