The Redemption of General Butt Naked

The Redemption of General Butt Naked confronts the contradictions of reconciliation in war-ravaged Africa, through the story of Joshua Milton Blahyi.

Blahyi - also known as General Butt Naked - used to operate as a feared and despised warlord who, by his own reckoning, was responsible for the savage slaughter of 20,000 men, women and children during the Liberian civil war, before he laid down his arms and became an evangelical preacher.

Blahyi and his army of conscript children went on the warpath wearing only shoes, believing their nakedness would magically protect them from bullets. They mowed down everyone in their path with blades or bullets, and even practised cannibalism and human sacrifice.

Since his alleged spiritual epiphany, Blahyi has poured the same manic enthusiasm that fuelled his killing sprees into impassioned sermons. But is his conversion no more than a cynical trick to escape retribution for his horrific war crimes?

True Stories commissions and showcases the best international feature documentaries.