In 2006, Sorious Samura and Ron McCullagh of Insight TWI were senior on-set advisers to the cast of the Academy Award nominated blockbuster “Blood Diamond," directed by Oscar winner Ed Zwick and starring Leonard DiCaprio. This film, "Blood on the Stone", was a bonus feature on the "Blood Diamond" DVD and also aired on CNN.
Perhaps the most compelling feature of this Special Edition package is a 50-minute documentary by African journalist Sorious Samura.
He investigates the corruption and bloodshed that surrounds the diamond trade, from the mines where they are sourced to the jeweller's shop window. Along the way he talks to a couple of former boy soldiers who were forced (under conditions of war) to commit violence against impoverished miners who were tempted to sneak a stone in their pockets. One of the boys breaks down in tears as he recalls killing a man "for the sake of a diamond".
Samura also investigates the life of a diamond miner, and the diamond dealers who grease the wheels of this nefarious system.