"BEYOND BORDERS" movie, fact or fiction?

Are there any instances in which you have encountered any illegal offers that would in return benefit your organization in funding or supplies? Are there a FEW circumstances that an aid worker has made the wrong decision in this situation? Perhaps the rare case that this has happened or an aid worker has been kidnapped is what film producers are directly focusing on? What's the truth?

Hi Tom you should watch Hotel Rwanda if you are tring to nail a movie that talks about Aid workers who are doing some genuine work, barring all the drama attached to it, it's a good flick.
I recently watched Catch the Fire, i'd really appreciate if you could recommend films about Politics in Africa.

Hi Komal --  I have not yet seen Hotel Rwanda - it's certainly on my list. Jcarson's original question focused on how much Beyond Borders reflected reality, so I made note of equally terrible films (fiction, not documentary) about expatriate aid workers. I'd love to see a decent list of "must see" films about particular countries, focussing on political or development themes.

Lumumba or The Battle of Algiers are both intelligent films about politics in Africa. I'm sure there are many also more focussing on post-colonial themes. I mean, there's even a biopic of Franz Fanon!

Someone smarter than me chime in here ...  

A good example of the "highly idealistic" stereotype of aid workers can be found in Sahara. In this film a WHO doctor helps solve - wait for it! - a corporate scandal that is causing a "plague" in Africa.

Also, according to some films, aid workers are in constant need of rescue by maverick military units. Check out Tears of the Sun, for example. Here, a "Doctors Without Borders" medic ropes a US miliary team into defeating - wait for it! - a  plot to kill off  Nigeria's ruling family.  So much for humanitarian space.

Don't get me started on the plot of Rambo IV, which should offend NGO security officers everywhere:

"... when a group of volunteer aid workers bringing supplies into Burma disappear, a relative of one of the missing missionaries begs Rambo to find them. He heads off with a small team of aspiring heroes to locate and rescue them.

I'm sure there are more examples.

Those are some great examples, I never realized there existed other films that were also offensive to NGO's and aid workers in this respect. Beyond Borders, I believe, was the only one that received a lot of press and was surrounded by controversy (it was not even released in the UK).
Why the need to "juice" up the story plot of an aid worker in the middle of conflict and death? Are their lives and line of work too dull and boring for filmmakers and their audiences? It seems we wouldn't just be satisfied with them JUST saving peoples lives while barely securing their own.

I thought maybe we should not really be the heroes of any story. The work is about highlighting the plight populations who have no voice. INGOs media departments and the media in general often want to put forward the expat aidworker as the hero to raise the profile of the emergency and the work of INGOs and raise funds. Maybe films like "Hotel Rwanda" and "The Killing Fields" are the ones we should be watching and talking about. These give a more genuine voice and put at the centre of the story those affected by human rights violations, conflict etc.

How about films that are not made by American or European movie studios which concern humanitarian themes?

How can we possibly strike a balance, don't you think those films have to take a stand or else the purpose of spreading a message would get defeated.