The main programme of the 7th ZFF has become richer for another feature film, 'Johnny Mad Dog' by the producer Mathieu Kassowitz and director Jean-Stephane Sauvaire. The film reveals the brutal reality of child-soldiers in an unnamed African state. It won the award Hope (Prix d'Espoir) at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival and it is based on the homonymous novel from 2002 written by Emmanuel Dongala, a chemist and a writer from Congo who fled the country in 1997, during the Civil War, and came to the USA. Sauvaire gave the roles to non-professional actors, minors who themselves used to be child-soldiers in Liberia, which makes the events more convincing but, at the same time, much more horrible. The filming of 'Johnny Mad Dog' was shaken by a minor political scandal. When the filming started, Liberian information minister Lawrence Bropleh greeted that big film, saying it would bring new job opportunities , promote tourism and boost the Liberian film industry. But on 25th July the film's screenings were banned in Liberia because it "contains scenes which might be harmful to children" and "it looks back on recent history that Liberia is still not ready to face."