"Sand and Sorrow," a new film about Darfur narrated by George Clooney, is on the verge of public screenings nationwide. The documentary highlights the historical events in Sudan that led to genocide as well as the logistical reasons for the United States' weak and delayed response.

There are few issues that have brought together a broader coalition of religious leaders, human rights activists, political pundits, and journalists than Darfur. In the film, Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Barack Obama (D-IL) sit side by side pleading for action in Darfur -- Brownback, an icon of the religious right, motivated by his views on respect for life, and Obama, an icon of the religious left, motivated by a grotesque violation of human rights.

The genocide in Darfur brought a coalition of religious groups together across ideological lines in an effort to convince the White House that more action is needed. The Save Darfur Coalition consists of over 170 faith based organizations speaking out against the genocide. This coalition includes leaders active within Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, Evangelical, Baptist, Humanist, and Buddhist (among other) religious groups and there is no shortage of religious activism around the issue.

Sand and Sorrow is a documentary worth watching, it clearly illustrates that the pressure placed on the government about Darfur comes from both pro-life conservatives on the right and religious human rights activists on the left.

This film is a prime example of how people of faith can work together for the common good, ending genocide, and that certain issues have the potential to make strange bedfellows who can have a unique impact on public debates.