Thisyear's Human Rights Watch International Film Festival includes a documentaryfocusing on the group's lead attorney and a former political prisoner fromChad. They worked together, and withoutgovernment support, to bring Chad's former dictator to trial. It's asuspenseful tale spanning several years and three continents. Carolyn Weaverreports. 

A group of local women visit the field where the dead were buried by other prisoners

The Dictator Hunter, by Dutch filmmakerKlaartje Quirijns, begins with Human Rights Watch lawyer Reed Brody ona trip to Chad. That's the Central African nation where Hissene Habretook power in 1982 with U.S. backing. Habre founded a secret policeforce and began imprisoning and murdering thousands according to humanrights organizations and the U.S. State Department.

"If you killone person, you go to jail," said Reed Brody, Human Rights Watch lawyerin the film. "You kill 40 people, they put you in an insane asylum. Youkill 40,000 people - you get a comfortable exile with your bank accountin another country. And that's what we want to change here."

FormerChadian political prisoner Souleymane Guengueng is the other maincharacter in Qurijins' film, which screened at the Human Rights WatchInternational Film Festival in New York. After Hissene Habre was oustedin 1990 - and fled to a luxurious exile in Senegal - Guengueng wasreleased from prison. He founded a victims' organization and collectedtestimony until threats drove him from Chad. He says that only hisfaith in God helped him endure his own torture.

"I live verymuch in God. I pray all the time," said Souleymane Guengueng, a formerpolitical prisoner. "I say in this situation, God knows why I am herein this jail."

Filmmaker Quirijns met Guengueng and Brodytogether at the New York office of Human Rights Watch as they plannedtheir campaign to bring Habre to justice.

"I immediately saw afilm in these two men, one believing in the law, the other in God, butboth extremely driven," said filmmaker Klaartje Quirijns. "I thoughtfrom a dramatic point of view that it's really interesting that youhave this black guy here stuck in New York, can't see his family, iswithout any papers. And they are chasing togethe/r this dictator, butthe action takes place in Africa."

In one scene in Chad, aformer prisoner describes how every night a few people died or weretaken to be executed. Later, a group of local women visit the fieldwhere the dead were buried by other prisoners.

"And the signwhere they held up their hands is actually a sign that they are reallyupset and really angry," Quirijns said. "So I was watching there, and Ididn't know, I couldn't believe what was happening in front of thecamera, and also you have to realize that most women have never beenthere and maybe they had family members or husbands buried there, so itwas an extremely emotional moment for them."

Most of theaction of  The Dictator Hunter centers on the international campaignto bring Hissene Habre to trial. After an African Union ruling, Senegalagreed two years ago to try the former Chadian dictator - but has notyet done so. Reed Brody and Souleymane Guengueng say that when itfinally happens, it will put other human rights abusers on notice thateven if governments do not pursue them, their victims will.