From 9 – 18 March there will be the 2016 human rights film festival of Human Rights Watch in London, and from there it will travel to Toronto (30 March – 7 April), New York (10 – 19 June) and Nairobi (14-18 November). Read the rest of this entry »
Posts Tagged ‘human rights film festival’
Human Rights Watch film festival 2016
February 20, 2016Lund now has its own human rights film festival
February 1, 2016The Raoul Wallenberg Institute (RWI) in Lund, Sweden, has now started a human rights film festival. The four-day festival runs from 4 to 7 March 2016 at Kino/Folkets Bio in Lund. Through the Lund Human Rights Film Festival, RWI hopes to garner the captivating power of film to spread knowledge of and promote respect for the most challenging human rights issues of our time. Each film will be followed by a Q&A session or a panel discussion. Subtitles in English. The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law has chosen nine films taking into consideration the artistic quality and treatment of the human rights issue by the filmmaker with the following themes:
Friday, March 4: People in Exile
Saturday, March 5: Racial intolerance
Sunday, March 6: Women’s Rights
Monday, March 7: Dealing with the past
Source: (29) Human Rights Film Festival
14th Edition of the Geneva Human Rights Film Festival (FIFDH) from 4 to 13 March 2016
January 28, 2016Save the dates: From 4 to 13 March 2016, the Geneva Human Rights Film Festival (FIFDH) will welcome close to 200 filmmakers and international personalities. This year, for the first time, the Festival will be also screened in 11 municipalities of the Greater Geneva area, including Anières, Bernex, Meyrin and Chêne Bourg and We also screen films in Lausanne, in partnership with Cinémathèque Suisse and Amnesty International. While waiting for the full programme’s announcement on the 23th of February, you could have a look at the debates of the 2015 edition.
French-Moroccan photographer and video artist Leila Aloui died tragically on the 18th of January 2016 following injuries sustained during the attacks in Ouagadougou. She was to be honored during the upcoming edition of the Festival and was responsible for the photograph featured on the poster. The Festival will pay tribute to her during the 2016 edition.VOLUNTEERS. The Festival welcomes volunteers from 4 to 13 March: More information here.
13th International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights started in Geneva
February 28, 2015The 13th edition of the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (FIFDH) has started in Geneva. It will run until 8 March at:
MAISON DES ARTS DU GRÜTLI | 16 RUE GÉNÉRAL DUFOUR
PHONE +41 (0)22 809 69 00 |
For the programme go to: http://www.fifdh.org/site/2015-programm
There is also the possibility to see there the pre-demo of THF’s Gallery.
10 Films Every Human Rights Defender Should Watch in HR Watch
May 31, 2014I announced the HRW film festival in an earlier post [https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/05/13/human-rights-watch-film-festival-celebrates-25th-anniversary-with-5-films-on-human-rights-defenders/] but now that the Huffington post of 31 May 2014 has listed the 10 films it says every human rights defender should see, I gladly share their pick:
1. Sepideh — Reaching for the Stars (Denmark/Iran/Germany/Norway/Sweden) The story of a teenage girl named Sepideh, living in a rural village outside of Tehran, who dreams of becoming a famous astronomer. The documentary tackles gender roles in Iran while showcasing one young woman’s ambition and strength in the face of her family’s discouragement, university pitfalls and societal expectations. Directed by Berit Madsen. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTzbIc6oiqs?wmode=opaque]
2. Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus (US/UK/Belarus) Made up of smuggled footage and uncensored interviews, this documentary gives audiences a glimpse into Belarus’ dissident movement as it takes the shape of stage performances and public activism. Directed by Madeleine Sackler. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGALySJ3O24?wmode=opaque]
3. Lady Valor: The Kristin Beck Story (US) A veteran shares her story moving from one identity, a former U.S. Navy Seal named Chris Beck, to another, a transgender woman named Kristen Beck. Directed by Sandrine Orabona. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r21OdLSTfQY?wmode=opaque]
4. A Quiet Inquisition (US) Here you’ll meet OBGYN Dr. Carla Cerrato, who must navigate the perilous territory of Nicaragua’s anti-abortion policies, which prohibit abortion, even in cases of rape, incest, or when a woman’s life is at stake. Directed by Alessandra Zeka and Holen Sabrina Kahn.
5. Scheherazade’s Diary (Lebanon) This “tragicomic documentary” follows women inmates in Lebanon as they stage a theater/drama therapy project titled “Scheherazade in Baabda,” revealing personal stories of domestic violence, failed relationships and traumas associated with motherhood. Directed by Zeina Daccache. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VnZGmd6EMg?wmode=opaque]
6. Siddharth (Canada/India) One father’s desperate journey to locate his son, a 12-year-old boy who was sent to work in another province to support his family, but did not return and is feared to have been kidnapped or trafficked. Directed by Richie Mehta.
7. The Supreme Price (US) The film covers the evolution of the Pro-Democracy Movement in Nigeria and efforts to increase the participation of women in leadership roles. Directed by Joanna Lipper.
8. Private Violence (US) Questioning the accepted discourse on domestic violence, the documentary introduces audiences to two women survivors who advocate for justice while exploring “the fact that the most dangerous place for a woman is her home.” Directed by Cynthia Hill.
9. The Beekeeper (Switzerland) This is the touching story of Ibrahim Gezer, a Kurdish beekeeper from southeast Turkey who, robbed of his family, possessions and 500 bee colonies, moves to Switzerland to make a new life. Directed by Mano Khalil.
10. Abounaddara Collective Shorts from Syria (Syria) The Abounaddara Collective is a group of filmmakers who came together in 2010 to help provide an alternative image of Syrian society, one not seen in mainstream media. This portion of the festival will showcase 90 minutes of their short films.
The Human Rights Watch Film Festival will run from June 12 to June 22, 2014. See a complete schedule of screenings here.
The documentary “E-TEAM” goes really public via Netflix
May 14, 2014Yesterday I referred to the upcoming Human Rights Watch Film Festival in June. One of the films shown there will also appear on Netflix and therefore be able to reach a much larger audience. Interesting development for human rights films!!
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The Associated Press reported on May 8 that Netflix Inc. had purchased E-TEAM as a high-profile “Netflix original,” and would distribute the film via its vast online platform as well as through a limited theatrical release in the United States. The film focuses on four researchers in the Human Rights Watch emergencies division, or E-Team, as they interview witnesses and gather other evidence of rights abuses and war crimes in Syria, Libya, and Kosovo. It highlights the personal commitment required to stop human rights violations over the long term. The filmmakers, Ross Kauffman and Katy Chevigny, operated with full creative control and had free rein from Human Rights Watch to produce a “warts and all” portrait of human rights activists in the field. It is the first time filmmakers have documented Human Rights Watch’s work so extensively.
Watching Human Rights Watch Film Festival: films on Human Rights Defenders
February 13, 2014As this blog is very fond of human rights films, I am copying the programme almost in full. Morever, one the five themes in London this year is: Human Rights Defenders!
The 18th edition of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in London will be presented from 18 to 28 March, 2014, with a programme of 20 award-winning documentary and feature films. The festival will take place at the Curzon Mayfair, Curzon Soho, Ritzy Brixton and for the first time at the Barbican cinemas.
This year’s programme includes ten UK premieres and three exclusive previews organised around five themes:
- Armed Conflict and the Arab Spring;
- Human Rights Defenders, Icons and Villains;
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Rights;
- Migrants’ Rights; and
- Women’s Rights and Children’s Rights.
“This year’s programme demonstrates the risks filmmakers take to capture the stories behind the headlines, and our centrepiece film, the E-Team, reveals the tenacity and heroic efforts of human rights activists to bring war crimes to the world’s attention,” said John Biaggi, film festival director at Human Rights Watch. Read the rest of this entry »
Threats against organisers of human rights film festival over documentary on HRD Azimjan Askarov detained in Kyrgyzstan
October 3, 2013On the morning of 19 September 2013, a group of unidentified women threatened and harassed the organisers of human rights film festival “Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan” (One World Kyrgyzstan) demanding that the documentary about imprisoned human rights defender Azimjan Askarov – produced by Freedom House –should not be projected. The film festival opened in Bishkek on 18 September 2013. The annual film festival is organised by human rights group Bir-Duino Kyrzystan, led by human rights defender Ms Tolekan Ismailova, the director of Human Rights Centre ‘Citizens Against Corruption’.
Azimjan Askarov is a human rights defender who spent 25 years documenting human rights abuses in Kyrgyzstan until his arrest in 2010. He is currently serving a life sentence after an unfair trial during which he was beaten in detention and denied access to his lawyer. The film festival organisers do not share the opinion of some politicians that he film could provoke inter-ethnic clashes
[On 28 September 2012, at previous festival edition, the organisers were banned from screening a documentary on the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the Islamic world, after a complaint was lodged by the Prosecutor’s Office, which considered the film to be “extremist, inciting religious hatred and aimed at dishonouring Muslims”. Following this decision, Tolekan Ismailova was targeted with a defamation campaign in the media and the Human Rights Centre ‘Citizens Against Corruption’ received threats. Front Line Defenders issued an urgent appeal on this case on 19 October 2012 http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/20249, and an update on 4 December 2012 http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/21003%5D
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 