About the film
After 14 years of a brutal civil war, Liberia elects its first female president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, nicknamed the Iron Lady.
Iron Ladies of Liberia
— BY Daniel Junge, Siatta Scott-Johnson
status
Completed
type
Nonfiction
year
2007
director
Daniel Junge, Siatta Scott-Johnson
producers
Jonathan Stack
Synopsis
After 14 years of a brutal civil war, Liberia elects its first female president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, nicknamed the Iron Lady. With her predominately female cabinet, President Johnson Sirleaf struggles during her first year in office to rebuild a war-ravaged country, fight rampant corruption and prevent a descent back into war. Iron Ladies of Liberia is a unique look behind the scenes at the rebirth of a nation and democracy in action, under the steady hand of women determined to make history and move their country forward.
About the team
Daniel Jung (Director) Named by Filmmaker Magazine as one of the 25 up-and-coming filmmakers, Daniel Junge had his feature-length debut with Chiefs, which won the award for best documentary at the inaugural Tribeca Film Festival and broadcast on PBS. His second feature, Iron Ladies of Liberia, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and has been broadcast on over 50 networks worldwide, including the BBC and PBS. Other films by Junge include Reading your Rights (PBS, nominated for Regional Emmy), We Are Phamaly (Tribeca Film Festival, PBS) and Big Blue Bear (Australian Broadcasting Company, PBS, Winner of regional Emmy). As creative director for Colorado-based non-profit Just Media, Junge oversaw the production of the series Common Good, including personally directing four episodes, and earned four regional Emmys for his work. Junge’s They Killed Sister Dorothy won the Grand Jury Award and the Audience Award at the South by Southwest Film Festival, and Come Back to Sudan premiered at the Aspen Shortsfest.
Siatta Scott-Johnson (Director) Siatta earned her BA in Mass Communications from the University of Liberia after the school re-opened following the civil war. She holds certificates in Political Reporting from the University of Liberia and in Media from the Press Union of Liberia/UNMIL, and a diploma in Journalism from the Liberia Institute of Journalism. She has five years of experience as a reporter and producer at DCTV, one of Liberia’s few broadcast television stations, and is a founding member of Omuahtee Africa Media.
Iron Ladies of Liberia is a Cinereach grantee.