2015
H U M A N
R I G H T S
W A T C H
FILM FESTIVAL
London | 18–27 March
ff.hrw.org
Co-presented by
H U M A N
R I G H T S
W A T C H
FILM FESTIVAL
London | 18–27 March, 2015
Through the Human Rights Watch
Film Festival we bear witness to
human rights violations and create
a forum for courageous individuals
on both sides of the lens to
empower audiences with the
knowledge that personal
commitment can make a difference.
The film festival brings human
rights abuses to life through
storytelling in a way that challenges
each individual to empathise and
demand justice for all.
To Purchase Tickets
Online: ff.hrw.org/london
Ticket prices vary according to venue.
For festival updates: sign up for our
mailing list at hrw.org/filmconnect
@hrwfilmfestival
Image from WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS
Q|A
ff.hrw.org
H U M A N
R I G H T S
W A T C H
HRW.org
P
@hrwfilmfestival
Q&A with filmmaker(s)
Panel discussion with filmmaker(s) and special guests
Human Rights Watch
N Reception to follow
Human Rights Watch is one of the world’s leading independent organisations dedicated to
defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights
are violated, we give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes.
Our rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for
action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. For over 35 years, Human Rights Watch has
worked tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought
to bring greater justice and security to people around the world. To learn more about our work or
to make a donation, visit HRW.org.
TYRANNY HAS A WITNESS
INVESTIGATE
Meticulous,
on-the-ground
investigations
>
EXPOSE
Document and
share our
findings
>
CHANGE
Long-term
progress through
strategic pressure
The Salt
of the Earth
UK Premiere
RECEPTION
AND FILM BENEFIT
Wednesday 18 March
P
N
18:30 Reception, 20:00 Film Screening and Q&A
British Museum
Screening followed by discussion
with photojournalist Marcus Bleasdale and Carroll Bogert,
Deputy Executive Director, External Relations, Human Rights Watch
Moderated by David Mepham, UK director, Human Rights Watch
The photographer Sebastião Salgado
was a refugee in the 1970s, fleeing the military
dictatorship in Brazil. He became a global
wanderer, photographing epochal events of
violence and displacement, including Rwanda,
Bosnia, and the war in Iraq.
This film, made by Salgado’s son Juliano and the
award-winning director Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire),
follows the photographer across continents as he builds a
new masterwork on climate change, one breathtaking image
at a time. Salgado’s eye as an artist is second to none in the
world of photojournalism. This film explores the fascinating
journey that gave Salgado his unique perspective.
2015 Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary Feature
Courtesy of Artificial Eye
Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado
France—2014—110m—doc
In Arabic, French, and Tamashek with English subtitles
The fundamental core of all of Human Rights Watch’s work is
the field mission: the painstaking process of gathering facts
about human rights abuse, often in situations where they are
hotly contested. Our researchers travel to inaccessible and
war-torn regions where the news media may lack the means,
or the patience, to report the story. We encounter powerful
narratives of suffering and resistance. In these investigations,
we share with the best photographers a commitment to
bearing witness. Human Rights Watch has been assigning
professional photographers to cover human rights issues with
us for more than a decade. While our comprehensive field
research remains the core of all that we publish, the formats
that we use for expressing those research findings are more
diverse than ever.
mm.hrw.org
For further information about the event or to purchase tickets,
please call our Development and Outreach team on 020 7618 4720
or email [email protected]. Tickets start at £75.
Tickets can also be purchased online at hrw.org/londonfilmfestival2015
Benefit Honorary Co-chairs:
Tony Elliott, Sandy Lieberson, John J. Studzinski
Benefit Committee: Georgina David,
Jenny Dearden, Co-chair, Josephine Fairley,
Caroline Greenhalgh, Julie Hoegh, Co-chair,
Sarah Lieberson, Co-chair
The Yes Men
Are Revolting
UK Premiere
OPENING NIGHT
FILM & RECEPTION
Thursday 19 March 18.30 | Curzon Soho
Q|A
N
Screening followed by discussion with filmmakers Laura Nix and the Yes Men
For the last 20 years, notorious activists the Yes Men
have staged outrageous and hilarious hoaxes to draw
international attention to corporate crimes against
humanity and the environment.
Armed with nothing but quick wits and thrift-store suits,
these iconoclastic revolutionaries lie their way into business
events and government functions to expose the dangers of
letting greed run our world. In their third cinematic outing
(after The Yes Men and The Yes Men Fix The World), they are
now well into their 40s, and their mid-life crises are
threatening to drive them out of activism forever—even as
they prepare to take on the biggest challenge they’ve ever
faced: climate change.
Laura Nix and the Yes Men—US—2014—90m—doc
In English
Whether it is an oil company that relies on abusive private
security forces, a technology company that censors or
spies on users at the behest of a repressive power, or a
corrupt government that siphons off the nation’s wealth,
businesses and other economic activities can have
negative impacts on people’s rights. Human Rights Watch
investigates these and other situations to expose the
problems, hold institutions accountable, and develop
standards to prevent these activities. This work has
included research and advocacy on human rights problems
caused by corruption in resource-rich countries such as
Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Nigeria, and Burma.
hrw.org/topic/business
Q|A
Q&A with filmmaker(s)
P
Panel discussion with filmmaker(s) and special guests N Reception to follow
Rosewater
CLOSING NIGHT
FILM & RECEPTION
Friday 27 March 18.30 | Ritzy Brixton
Q|A
N
Screening followed by discussion with film subject Maziar Bahari
In 2009, Iranian Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari
was covering Iran’s volatile elections for Newsweek.
One of the few reporters living in the country with
access to US media, he made an appearance on
“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”.
The interview was intended as satire, but if Tehran’s
authorities got the joke—they didn’t like it. They rousted
Bahari from his family home and threw him into prison.
Making his directorial debut, Jon Stewart tells the tale of
Bahari’s months-long imprisonment and interrogation in this
powerful and affecting drama. Recounting Bahari’s efforts to
maintain his hope and his sanity in the face of isolation and
persecution—through memories of his family, recollections
of the music he loves, and thoughts of his wife and unborn
child—Rosewater is both a moving personal story and a
tribute to journalists who risk their freedom, and even their
lives, to tell the true stories behind world-changing events.
Starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Kim Bodnia and Shohreh
Aghdashloo, Rosewater is based on the memoir ‘Then They
Came for Me’ by Maziar Bahari with Aimee Molloy.
Courtesy of the Works UK Distribution
Jon Stewart—US—2014—103m—drama—In English
Iran is one of the world’s biggest prisons for journalists. In October 2014, according to Reporters Without Borders, Iran held at least 48 journalists, bloggers,
and social media activists in detention, including dual nationals working for foreign newspapers. Human Rights Watch has documented many of these cases of
abuse. On July 22, 2014, for example, unidentified agents arrested Washington Post correspondent, Jason Rezaian, his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, also a journalist,
and an unnamed photojournalist and her spouse. While the others have since been released on bail, authorities in January 2015 charged Rezaian with unknown
offenses, referred his case to a revolutionary court, and continue to prevent him from meeting his lawyer or from mounting a proper defense. His location
remains unknown. There are serious concerns that interrogators have subjected Rezaian to ill-treatment and torture and forced him to confess to “crimes” he
has not committed.
hrw.org/middle-eastn-africa/iran
LESBIAN,
VERSUS
GAY,
OPPRESSION
BISEXUAL,
| ART
AND TRANSGENDER (LGBT) RIGHTS
With Beats of the Antonov, director Hajooj Kuka provides an inspiring account of
how cultural heritage and creative traditions can defy the indignity of displacement.
Over two years, Sudanese filmmaker Hajooj Kuka lived alongside farmers, herders, and rebels
displaced to the Blue Nile and Nuba Mountain regions, filming their lives within hillside hide-outs
and refugee camps. Destructive air-raids are but occasional moments in an unexpected film,
which instead focuses on the vibrant musical heritage of the region: a pulsing lifeblood of cultural
resilience in the face of everyday conflict. After a raid, it is not unusual to hear the sound of
laughter and music signalling that a strike is over. Young women exert a powerful agency through
‘Girls Music’, and improvised compositions become a wry commentary on the daily injustices of
war. Winner of the People’s Choice Award at Toronto International Film Festival, Beats of The
Antonov is a celebration of defiant cultural expression and a unique perspective on the complex
realities of a divided Sudan.
Hajooj Kuka— Sudan/South Africa—2014—68m—doc—In Arabic with English subtitles
* Following the Saturday 21 March screening, JUJU! Featuring Abdoulaye Samb & Minnjiaraby
will be performing at 8.30pm Upstairs at the Ritzy. Entry is £7 / £5 for festival ticket holders.
Beats of the
Antonov
Presented in association with Aegis Trust, aegistrust.org and Waging Peace, wagingpeace.info
In June 2011, weeks before South Sudan gained independence from Sudan, a new war broke out
in Sudan’s Southern Kordofan state and quickly spread to Blue Nile. This protracted conflict,
already in its fourth year, has had dire consequences for the civilian populations in both states.
The on-going fighting, attacks on villages, and Sudan’s indiscriminate aerial bombing in the
rebel-held areas have killed and maimed men, women, and children, destroyed schools and
clinics, burned fields and crops, and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their land. Sudan has
refused access to international aid groups to government and rebel-held areas, where
communities lack basic services and protection from the fighting.
UK Premiere
Saturday 21 March 18.45 | Ritzy Brixton*
Sunday 22 March 18.30 | Barbican Q | A
Q|A
hrw.org/africa/sudan
Filmmaker Francois Verster explores how music and storytelling can serve
as an outlet for citizens to process political upheaval.
Born this Way
Using the metaphor of Shahrazad–the princess in the classic tale of The 1001 (Arabian)
Nights who saves lives by telling stories to the murderous Sultan Shahriyar–and filmed
before, during, and after the so-called Arab Spring, the film weaves together a web of music,
politics, and storytelling to explore the ways in which creativity and politics coincide in
response to oppression. A series of unforgettable characters all draw their inspiration from
The 1001 (Arabian) Nights, including a conductor who uses Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade
suite as a tool for Istanbul political education, a young female Lebanese internet activist; a
visual artist who finds his own “dream of Shahrazad”, and a Cairo theatre troupe who turn
the testimonies of mothers of the Egyptian revolution martyrs into storytelling performances.
This richly kaleidoscopic film is at once observational documentary, concert film, political
meditation, and visual translation of an ever-popular symphonic and literary classic.
Francois Verster—South Africa/Egypt/Jordan/France/The Netherlands—2014—107m—doc
In English, Arabic and Turkish with English subtitles
UK Premiere
Tuesday 25 March 18.15 | Ritzy Brixton Q | A
Wednesday 26 March 20.30 | Curzon Soho
Q|A
The Dream of
Shahrazad
Like The Dream of Shahrazad, Human Rights Watch has followed events in the Middle East
and Turkey before, during, and since the Arab uprisings. Human Rights Watch has
documented human rights abuses related to government reactions to mass protests in a
number of countries, including arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial killings, as well as
abuses related to freedom of expression, association, and assembly.
UK Premiere
Tuesday 24 March 18.15 | Curzon Soho Q | A
Thursday 26 March 18.30 | Barbican Q | A
hrw.org/middle-east/n-africa
“The female voice is fading away.” —Sara Najafi, Iranian composer
The Islamic revolution of 1979 banned female singers from appearing in public in Iran.
They are no longer allowed to perform solo, unless to an exclusively female audience.
Recordings of former female icons can only be bought on the black market. But Sara Najafi is
determined to refresh the cultural memory by roaming Tehran in the footsteps of famous
singers of the 1920s and 1960s. She is about to revive the female voices in the present as she
courageously plans an evening of Iranian and French female soloists to rebuild shattered cultural bridges—a concert that is not allowed to take place. For two-and-a-half years, director Ayat
Najafi follows the preparations between Tehran and Paris that are always touch and go. What’s
still possible? What goes too far? Sara’s regular meetings with the Ministry of Culture shed light
on the system’s logic and arbitrariness, though officials there can only be heard and not seen.
Can intercultural solidarity and the revolutionary power of music triumph? A political thriller and
a musical journey, No Land’s Song never loses sight of its real centre—the female voice.
Ayat Najafi—France/Germany/Iran—2014—93m—doc
In English, Farsi and French with English subtitles
* Following the Sunday 22 March screening, Light of Music Ensemble: Celebrating Female
Iranian Singers will be performing at 8.00pm Upstairs at the Ritzy. Entry is free.
Human Rights Watch has looked extensively at freedom of expression issues in Iran,
including regulations imposed on artists that restrict their work and subject them to
harassment, detention, prosecution, and imprisonment on “national security” related
charges. Issues surrounding censorship in the arts and issues connected to women’s rights
have long been a focus of Human Rights Watch’s work in Iran.
No Land’s Song
My Child
UK Premiere
hrw.org/middle-eastn-africa/iran
Friday 20
21 March 18.30
21.00 || Curzon
Curzon Soho
Soho QQ||AA
Saturday
Sunday 2222March
March17.30
16.00| Ritzy
| Barbican
Brixton*Q | A Q | A
Q|A
Q&A with filmmaker(s)
P
Panel discussion with filmmaker(s) and special guests N Reception to follow
The Unravelling
Human rights reporting and digital storytelling
Saturday 21 March 16.00, Barbican
P
N
How Human Rights Watch revealed the invisible
humanitarian crisis in the Central African Republic
During this unique masterclass, emergencies director Peter Bouckaert
and leading photojournalist Marcus Bleasdale will discuss the essentials
of international crisis reporting – from on-the-ground investigation
methods, to techniques for ensuring stories reach the broadest audience
possible. In November 2013, Peter and Marcus began a journey to draw
attention to a humanitarian crisis in a country that few people in the world
even knew existed. The aim was to document the ethnic cleansing, war
crimes and horrific bloodshed that was taking place in the little-known
country of the Central African Republic. Culminating in the multimedia
project The Unravelling, their investigations have become the most important source of information on a crisis that continues today. This afternoon
seminar includes documentary footage from The Unravelling, as well as
discussions on how the project was produced and disseminated. You will
learn how Peter and Marcus used every tool available to put the story on
the map, and the methods they used to capture photographs, videos and
satellite imagery. You will also learn how they crafted their material into a
compelling narrative for the public and policy-makers. If you’re passionate
about human rights, this is an unmissable opportunity to learn from two of
the most committed and influential human rights reporters working today.
Peter Bouckaert is Human Rights Watch’s emergencies director and an
expert in humanitarian crises. He is responsible for coordinating the
organisation’s response to major wars and other human rights crises.
Peter has worked on a large number of fact-finding missions to places
including Lebanon, Kosovo, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel and the
Occupied Palestinian Territories, Macedonia, Indonesia, Uganda, and
Sierra Leone, among others.
Marcus Bleasdale is
one of the world’s leading photojournalists
and has collaborated
with Human Rights
Watch for over a
decade. He is dedicated
to covering underreported issues and
uses his images to
influence policy makers
around the world. His work covering human rights abuses and conflict
have been shown at the US Senate, the US House of Representatives, the
United Nations and the Houses of Parliament. Marcus’ work also appears
in publications including the New Yorker, The New York Times, The Sunday
Times Magazine, Le Monde, TIME Magazine, Newsweek and National
Geographic Magazine.
Special thanks to The Frank Karel Grant for Multimedia Reporting
Burden of Peace follows Guatemala’s first female attorney general, Claudia Paz y Paz.
After taking office, Paz y Paz obtains spectacular results, including the arrest of a
former head of state charged with committing genocide.
LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
| CHANGEMAKERS
AND TRANSGENDER (LGBT) RIGHTS
But her determined efforts encounter strong resistance from powerful elites that have typically
felt above the law. With extraordinary access to Paz y Paz from the beginning of her term, we
witness her battle to bring to justice powerful criminals and corrupt politicians. Burden of Peace
is an epic tale of personal sacrifice, hard-fought change, and hope.
Joey Boink—Guatemala/The Netherlands—2015—76m—doc
In Spanish with English subtitles
Until recently, Guatemala appeared to be losing the battle to contain powerful and violent
criminal networks that were making it virtually impossible to make meaningful progress on
public security and human rights. The country’s justice system had proved unable to counter
the profoundly corrosive and corrupting impact of these mafias. In response to this crisis,
Human Rights Watch supported efforts by local rights advocates and Guatemalan officials to
establish the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) to investigate
organised crime and help strengthen local justice institutions. As attorney general, Claudia
Paz y Paz capitalised on the presence of CICIG to advance prosecutions against powerful
criminals and corrupt officials. Although she was ousted from office months before her term
ended, her efforts have had a lasting impact, opening new possibilities for progress in the
struggle against impunity in Guatemala.
Burden of Peace
International premiere
Wednesday 25 March 18.30 | Ritzy Brixton Q | A
Thursday 26 March 18.30 | Curzon Soho Q | A
hrw.org/americas/guatemala
Over the course of more than three years, director Camilla Nielsson gained
exclusive access to the inner circles of politics in Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.
Democrats follows two political opponents, the bullish Mangwana of the long-time ruling
party ZANU-PF, and the Movement for Democratic Change’s progressive Mwonzora, as they
face the gargantuan task of writing a new constitution for the country. The process is marred
from the outset: sinister theatrics from ZANU-PF corrupt a nationwide consultation designed
to hear the people’s voice, secret police keep a watchful eye on the proceedings, and meetings descend into violent clashes. Mangwana and Mwonzora are determined to push on. But
as the drama unfolds, the grave personal costs to reaching political victory become clear.
Nielsson’s observational storytelling delivers compelling insight into the political game and
an engaging portrait of those Zimbabweans who are fighting for change.
Camilla Nielsson—Denmark—2014—100m—doc—In English
Born this Way
UK Premiere
Tuesday 25 March 18.15 | Ritzy Brixton Q | A
Wednesday 26 March 20.30 | Curzon Soho
Q|A
Presented in association with DocHouse, dochouse.org
Following the disputed 2008 elections Robert Mugabe’s party, the Zimbabwe Africa
National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), committed widespread abuses. More than 200
people were killed and thousands more beaten and tortured. A power-sharing government
was formed with the opposition to institute human rights and political reforms. Mugabe’s
party, which continued to enjoy sweeping powers in the coalition government with the
Movement for Democratic Change, demonstrated a lack of political will to effect genuine
reforms. Human Rights Watch documented how the power-sharing government made a
few positive changes, including overseeing the writing of a new constitution, which
ZANU-PF sought to portray as genuine improvement in Zimbabwe’s human rights
situation. In practice, ZANU-PF blocked efforts to reaffirm rights provisions in the new
constitution, repeal or amend laws as necessary, or firmly establish the rule of law.
Democrats
Friday 20 March 18.30 | Barbican Q | A
Monday 23 March 18.15 | Ritzy Brixton
Q|A
hrw.org/africa/zimbabwe
At a public hospital in Nicaragua, OBGYN Dr. Carla Cerrato must choose
between following a law that bans all abortions and endangers her patients or
taking a risk and providing the care that she knows can save a woman’s life.
In 2007, Dr. Cerrato’s daily routine took a detour. The newly elected government of
Daniel Ortega, a former Marxist revolutionary who converted to Catholicism to win votes,
overturned a 130-year-old law protecting therapeutic abortion. The new law entirely prohibits
abortion, even in cases of rape, incest, or when a woman’s life is at stake. As Carla and her
colleagues navigate this dangerous dilemma, the impact of this law emerges—illuminating
the tangible reality of prohibition against the backdrop of a political, religious, and
historically complex national identity. The emotional core of the story—the experiences and
situations of the young women and girls who are seeking care—illustrate the ethical
implications of one doctor’s response.
Alessandra Zeka and Holen Sabrina Kahn—US—2014—65m—doc
In Spanish with English subtitles
Restrictive abortion laws are not only bad public health policy, they violate women’s
human rights. For a decade, Human Rights Watch has documented the grave impact of
such laws on women’s health and rights throughout the world, with a focus on Latin
America. Human Rights Watch published a report entitled “Over Their Dead Bodies” in
2007, after the ban on therapeutic abortions was put in place in Nicaragua. It found that
women were already afraid to seek treatment and that doctors were afraid to provide it;
some had watched women die out of fear they would be prosecuted.
A Quiet
Inquisition
My Child
UK Premiere
hrw.org/topic/womens-rights/reproductive-choices-and-sexual-autonomy
Wednesday
Friday
21 March
25 March
18.3019.15
| Curzon
| Barbican
Soho
Q|A
Thursday
Saturday 22
26 March 16.00
18.30 | Barbican
Ritzy Brixton
Q | AQ | A
Q|A
Q|A
Q&A with filmmaker(s)
P
Panel discussion with filmmaker(s) and special guests N Reception to follow
Violence is part of everyday life in Colombia, where the military, guerrillas,
paramilitaries, and drug cartels have been fighting for decades, and hundreds
of thousands of people have been killed.
But the unorthodox presidential candidate Antanas Mockus and his enthusiastic young
activist supporters attempt to reverse the vicious cycle with an imaginative and positive
election campaign. As mayor of Bogotá, dressed in a Superman costume and with an
indomitable trust in the good of his fellow citizens, he took on towering crime rates and
people’s bad traffic habits. But his idealism is both his strength and his weakness in an
aggressive political system in which he struggles to restore people’s faith in being able to
make a difference. Can good ideas and an idealistic drive alone change a political culture
where violence is rampant? This is the portrait of an inspiring man and a powerful youth
movement, whose stories are relevant far beyond Colombia’s borders.
Andreas Dalsgaard—Denmark—2014—104m—doc—In Spanish with English subtitles
Colombia has been embroiled in an internal armed conflict for the past five decades.
Civilians continue to suffer serious abuses by guerrillas, as well as by paramilitary
successor groups that emerged after an official paramilitary demobilisation process a
decade ago. Violence associated with Colombia’s conflict has forcibly displaced more than
5.7 million Colombians, and upward of 200,000 continue to flee their homes each year,
generating the world’s second largest population of internally displaced persons. The
Colombian government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas
have been engaged in peace talks in Cuba since 2012 and at time of writing had reached
an agreement on three of the six items on the negotiating agenda.
Life is Sacred
UK Premiere
Friday 20 March 18.15 | Curzon Soho Q | A
Sunday 22 March 16.00 | Barbican Q | A
hrw.org/americas/colombia
What Tomorrow Brings follows one year in the life of the first all-girls school
in a remote, conservative Afghan village.
The film traces the inter-connected stories of those who bring the school to life: students,
teachers, village elders, parents, and school founder Razia Jan. While the girls learn to read
and write, their education goes far beyond the classroom to become lessons about tradition
and time. They discover their school is the one place they can turn to understand the
differences between the lives they were born into and the lives they dream of leading.
Beth Murphy—Afghanistan/US—2015—90m—doc
In English and Dari with English subtitles
Presented in association with Womankind Worldwide, womankind.org.uk
Much of Afghanistan’s future will depend on whether its girls can read or not.
WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS is both an indictment of how tenuous access to education still
is in Afghanistan and a moving depiction of Afghan girls and their teachers pursuing
learning at all costs. —Heather Barr, senior researcher, Women’s Rights Division
Afghanistan’s Taliban government banned girls from school. When the Taliban was
toppled in 2001, the new Afghan government and its donors began the enormous project
of recreating an educational system for girls. Fourteen years later, millions of girls attend
school, but the project is far from complete. Less than half of Afghan girls are in school,
and dropout rates are extremely high. Girls struggle to study in the face of attacks on
schools, students, and teachers by insurgents, poverty, child marriage, and a lack of
skilled teachers, safe buildings, books, and even basic facilities – at a moment when
donor funding and interest is fading fast.
hrw.org/asia/afghanistan
What
Tomorrow Brings
Exclusive preview
Friday 2o March 18.15 | Ritzy Brixton Q | A
Saturday 21 March 18.30 | Curzon Soho
Q|A
| FAMILY HISTORY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Beyond My
Grandfather Allende
European Premiere
Friday 20 March 21.00 | Ritzy Brixton Q | A
Saturday 21 March 18.30 | Barbican Q | A
Monday 23 March 18.15 | Curzon Soho Q | A
In 1970, filmmaker Marcia Tambutti’s grandfather, Salvador Allende,
became the first democratic-socialist president elected in Latin America.
Following his violent removal from power by a military coup d’état in Chile on
September 11, 1973, and his death that very same day, Salvador Allende and his iconic
image became a worldwide symbol for democracy and human rights. This fascinating
documentary follows Tambutti on an intimate journey as she struggles to recover the
personal side of her grandfather—something not always welcomed by her family. The
paradox between public and private deepens her search and often mirrors elements of
Chilean society. Throughout Tambutti’s exploration, the viewer feels the reluctance and
discomfort of her family and begins to understand the complex emotions and politics
that have ruled over them all for over 40 years.
Marcia Tambutti—Chile—2015—100m—doc
In Spanish with English subtitles
On September 11, 1973, General Augusto Pinochet orchestrated a violent military
coup against the democratically elected president of Chile, Salvador Allende, and
held power until 1990. His military regime dismantled Chile’s long-established
democratic institutions. Pinochet’s dictatorship was responsible for summary
executions and enforced disappearances that claimed over 3,000 lives, systematic
torture, draconian censorship, forced exile, and criminal operations in foreign
territory that included the 1976 assassination of former Defence Minister Orlando
Letelier in Washington, DC. The most indiscriminate and brutal repression took place
in the 1970s, when secret police subordinate to Pinochet engaged in disappearances
and torture. Human Rights Watch documented these abuses, and campaigned
internationally to protect human rights defenders and intellectuals and condemn the
dictatorship. In 1998, Human Rights Watch actively participated in extradition
procedures against Pinochet before the United Kingdom’s House of Lords that
reaffirmed the principle of universal jurisdiction for crimes against humanity.
hrw.org/americas/chile
| FAMILY HISTORY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Josefin grew up in Sweden hearing a family myth about how her Peruvian aunt,
Augusta, died in armed struggle for poor people in Peru.
Augusta La Torre created the violent Maoist guerilla Sendero Luminoso or Shining Path,
together with her husband Abimael Guzman. They initiated an internal war that lasted nearly
20 years and still profoundly marks Peru. Josefin defies her family and travels to Peru to find
out the truth. In Peru Josefin meets Flor Gonzales. Her father was the leader of a successful
peasant rebellion against the landlords in 1974. Now Flor is trying to find out what happened
during her childhood and why her oldest brother was arrested and killed during the war that
was started by Sendero Luminoso in 1980. Despite a disturbing conflict the two young
women find common ground in a painful yet liberating search for the truth about the war
and their disappeared family members in Lima and in the Andes.
Mikael Wiström—Sweden/Peru—2014—1o1m—doc
In English, Quechua and Spanish with English subtitles
Peru’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission estimated that approximately 70,000 people
died or were forcibly disappeared during the country’s armed conflict between 1980 and
2000. Many were victims of atrocities by the Shining Path and other armed groups; others
were victims of human rights violations by government security forces. The conflict led to
approximately 500,000 people being displaced. Human Rights Watch documented and
exposed these atrocities in the 1980s and 1990s, including violence against women and
the widespread use of torture in interrogations by security forces. Together with local
human rights groups, we successfully campaigned to create a special mechanism to
secure the release from prison of people who were wrongly convicted on terrorism
charges. We also played an active role in the extradition of former President Alberto
Fujimori to face justice in Peru for human rights crimes.
hrw.org/americas/peru
Storm
in the Andes
UK Premiere
Saturday 21 March 16.00 | Ritzy Brixton
Monday 23 March 18.30 | Barbican Q | A
October 2001: As US-led forces
invade Afghanistan in search of
Osama Bin Laden, 22 members of
China’s Uyghur minority happen to
be in the country.
Q|A
| HOME AND ‘SECURITY’
These Turkish-speaking Muslims are
fleeing repressive authorities in Beijing,
which view them as dangerous terrorists. They are about to be drawn into an
unbelievable odyssey, becoming pawns
who are mercilessly manipulated on the
chessboard of international politico-economic interests. Sold to US forces, they are illegally detained at Guantánamo for years.
Patricio Henríquez’s film focuses on three of these “survivors of the absurd.” Edited like a
thriller, with multiple twists and turns, the film reveals their stories, by turns fascinating and
painful. Guiding the viewer through the labyrinth of contemporary geopolitics, the filmmaker
lays bare the worrisome drifts in the global economic war and the fight against terrorism.
Patricio Henríquez—Canada—2014—99m—doc
In English, Mandarin and Uyghur with English subtitles
Presented in association with Reprieve, reprieve.org.uk
The Guantanamo Bay detention facility has been open for 14 years. More than 100 men
remain detained there without charge or trial. A total of 779 men have been held there
over the years, 22 of them ethnic Uyghurs from China. The US government has determined
that the Uyghurs should never have been picked up to begin with, but dysfunctional US
politics and lack of political will kept them locked-up unlawfully for many years. The last
of the Uyghurs were finally released from Guantanamo at the end of last year, but their
stories—and those of hundreds of other men unlawfully held there—are tragic examples
of a US counterterrorism policy that violates rights, sets a terrible example for other
countries, and undermines the rule of law.
hrw.org/topic/counterterrorism/guantanamo
Q|A
Q&A with filmmaker(s)
P
Panel discussion with filmmaker(s) and special guests N Reception to follow
Uyghurs,
Prisoners of
the Absurd
UK Premiere
Sunday 22 March 18.00 | Curzon Soho
Tuesday 24 March 18.15 | Ritzy Brixton
Q|A
Q|A
| HOME AND ‘SECURITY’
Accomplished documentarian Fernand Melgar is renowned for his powerful
investigations into the injustices of Swiss society. His latest offering, The Shelter,
charts a cold winter spent at an emergency shelter for homeless migrants in the
wealthy city of Lausanne.
His sensitive approach renders the camera invisible, immersing us straight into the heart of
a hidden bunker where the same dramatic ritual unfolds every night. Shelter staff have the
terrible task of randomly selecting the evening’s residents: women and children first, men
later if there is room. The shelter can hold 100 people, yet frustratingly, only 50 ‘chosen ones’
will be allowed inside the concrete walls. Those that remain outside face a long and lonely
night. Following controversial The Fortress and Emmy-nominated Special Flight, The Shelter
is a masterful third part to Melgar’s documentation of the migrant experience in Europe, and
vital testament to the power of film to shed light on stories hidden in the shadows.
Fernand Melgar—Switzerland—2014—101m—doc
In English, French, Spanish, Wolof, Romani, and Peul with English subtitles
Presented in association with Migrant Rights Network, migrantsrights.org.uk
THE SHELTER forces us to see how awful homelessness is, and teaches us about the
particular plight of migrants left out in the cold by bureaucracy and indifference in
today’s Europe. —Judith Sunderland, senior researcher, Europe and Central Asia Division
Destitute migrants, including Roma from Eastern Europe, are vulnerable to homelessness
for many reasons, such as unemployment during Europe’s economic crisis, housing
discrimination, and lack of embedded social networks that can provide help. The many
Roma staying in the shelter reflects their particular challenges as Europe’s most
disadvantaged minority, facing serial evictions from makeshift camps and limited access
to public housing. Among those staying at the shelter is a couple from Latin America who
moved to Switzerland after years of living in Spain, where they were evicted from their
home when they could no longer pay their mortgage. Human Rights Watch has
documented the housing crisis in Spain amid a deep recession, and its particular impact
on immigrant communities.
The Shelter
UK Premiere
Tuesday 24 March 18.15 | Barbican Q | A
Wednesday 25 March 18.15 | Curzon Soho
Q|A
hrw.org/topic/migration
Through a clever mix of stop motion
animation and interviews, The Wanted 18
recreates an astonishing true story: the
Israeli army’s pursuit of 18 cows, whose
independent milk production on a
Palestinian collective farm was declared
“a threat to the national security of the
state of Israel.”
In response to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, a group of people from the town of Beit
Sahour decide to buy 18 cows and produce their own milk as a co-operative. Their venture is so
successful that the collective farm becomes a landmark, and the cows local celebrities—until
the Israeli army takes note and declares that the farm is an illegal security threat.
Consequently, the dairy is forced to go underground, the cows continuing to produce their
“Intifada milk” with the Israeli army in relentless pursuit. Recreating the story of the “wanted
18” from the perspectives of the Beit Sahour activists, Israeli military officials, and the cows,
Palestinian artist Amer Shomali and veteran Canadian director Paul Cowan create an
enchanting, inspirational tribute to the ingenuity and power of grassroots activism.
Amer Shomali and Paul Cowan—Canada/Palestine/France—2014—75m—doc
In English, Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles
Presented in association with Medical Aid for Palestinians, map-uk.org
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been so violent that observers often forget the history of
Palestinian non-violent protest against Israel’s occupation policies. Human Rights Watch
has researched numerous cases where Israeli forces, acting on military orders that make any
Palestinian protest virtually illegal, have used excessive force to suppress peaceful
demonstrations against unlawful confiscation of land for settlements, and jailed protest
leaders and human rights defenders. In a context of widespread rights abuses, Palestinians
have been squeezed from all sides: by the Israeli army, as well as by the Palestinian
Authority and Hamas that have also suppressed their right to peaceful assembly and free
expression.
The Wanted 18
UK Premiere
Tuesday 24 March 20.45 | Barbican Q | A
Thursday 26 March 20.45 | Ritzy Brixton
hrw.org/middle-eastn-africa/israel-palestine
Q|A
Q|A
Q&A with filmmaker(s)
P
Panel discussion with filmmaker(s) and special guests N Reception to follow
Image from THE UNRAVELLING
H U M A N
R I G H T S
W A T C H
FILM FESTIVAL
The Human Rights Watch Film Festival would like to thank the entire staff of the Barbican, Curzon Cinemas,
and Picturehouse Cinemas for their collaborative efforts on this year’s programme.
FOR HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH FILM FESTIVAL
FOR RITZY BRIXTON
Marina Pinto Kaufman, Festival Chair
John Biaggi, Director
Andrea Holley, Deputy Director
Jennifer Nedbalsky, Senior Program Manager, Marketing
and Outreach
Leah Sapin, Manager, Programming and New York Festival
Sridevi Nambiar, Associate
Rafael Jiménez, Graphic Designer ([email protected])
Sarah Harvey, Head of Press
([email protected])
Nikki Cummins, Press Officer
Iris Ordoñez, London Festival Manager
Celia Turley, London Marketing and Outreach Coordinator
([email protected])
Joe Bond, London Marketing and Press Coordinator
Maira Nolasco, Festival Intern
Frances Underhill, Festival Intern
Screening Committee: Katarína Brychtová, Felix Endara,
Beeta Jahedi, Marina Pinto Kaufman, Marlene Kawalek,
Jayson Lamchek, Linda Lipson, Paola Mottura, Sridevi
Nambiar, Maira Nolasco, Melissa Stern, Michael Winfield
Clare Binns, Director of Programming and Acquisitions
Lenka Kocisova, Assistant General Manager
Laura Mills, Events Manager, Upstairs @ The Ritzy
Minda Moreira, Marketing Manager
Suzi Rich, General Manager
Karl Simmons, Technical Manager
Sam Walker-Smart, Marketing Assistant
Distributor Information
BEATS OF THE ANTONOV
Big World Cinema
bigworldcinema.com
BEYOND MY GRANDFATHER ALLENDE
Errante Producciones
errante.cl
BURDEN OF PEACE
burdenofpeace.com
DEMOCRATS
Danish Film Institute
dfi.dk
FOR CURZON SOHO
Ana Cristina Santos, Head of Public Events
and Alternative Content
Kiran Dhanoya, Events Assistant
Michael Garrad, Events Coordinator
Irene Musumeci, Film Marketing Executive
Matt Rose, Curzon Soho General Manager
The HRWFF is proud to announce
an exciting partnership with
MUBI, an online cinema
community whose 6.5 million
users watch, discover and share their thoughts on great
movies from around the world. MUBI will be showing select
films from the Human Rights Watch Film Festival online
during the London 2015 event. Watch at mubi.com
The programme has been made possible with the support of
the participating filmmakers, producers, world sales agents
and distributors. We would like to thank all our partners,
interns and volunteers, without whom the festival would not be
possible. We would also like to especially thank the London
Bridge Hotel for their support of the festival.
FOR BARBICAN
Robert Rider, Head of Cinema
Gali Gold, Curator/Coordinator
Daniela Fetta, Marketing Campaigns Executive for Cinema
Cover image from BEATS OF THE ANTONOV
Back cover image from WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS
Graphic Design by Rafael Jiménez
THE DREAM OF SHAHRAZAD
THE SALT OF THE EARTH
WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS
dreamofshahrazad.com
Artificial Eye
artificial-eye.com
Principle Pictures
principlepictures.com
LIFE IS SACRED
Danish Film Institute
dfi.dk
THE SHELTER
THE YES MEN ARE REVOLTING
Climage
climage.ch
theyesmenarerevolting.com
NO LAND’S SONG
Hanfgarn & Ufer
hu-film.de
STORM IN THE ANDES
stormintheandes.com
A QUIET INQUISITION
UYGHURS, PRISONERS OF THE ABSURD
quietinquisition.com
National Film Board of Canada
nfb.ca
ROSEWATER
Works UK Distribution
theworksfilmgroup.com
THE WANTED 18
National Film Board of Canada
nfb.ca
For further distributor information,
please visit ff.hrw.org
H U M A N
R I G H T S
W A T C H
FILM FESTIVAL
20
FRI
CURZON SOHO
18.15
Q|A
LIFE IS SACRED
Andreas Dalsgaard—Denmark—2014—104m
Americas
London | 18–27 March, 2015
21.00
Q|A
NO LAND’S SONG
Ayat Najafi—France/Germany/Iran—2014—93m
Middle East
Wednesday 18 March 2015
BARBICAN
RECEPTION
AND FILM BENEFIT
18.30
Q|A
DEMOCRATS
Camilla Nielsson—Denmark—2014—100m
Africa
RITZY BRIXTON
18.15
Q|A
WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS
Beth Murphy—Afghanistan/US—2015—90m
Asia
21.00
Q|A
BEYOND MY GRANDFATHER ALLENDE
Marcia Tambutti—Chile—2015—100m
Americas
21
BRITISH MUSEUM
SAT
Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG
CURZON SOHO
18.30
Q|A
WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS
Beth Murphy—Afghanistan/US—2015—90m
Asia
For Benefit tickets, donations or more information,
please contact the London Development and Outreach team
on 020 7618 4720 or [email protected]
18.30
Reception
20.00
THE SALT OF THE EARTH
P
N
BARBICAN
16.00
P
Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado
France—2014—110m—doc
N
THE UNRAVELLING
Human rights reporting and
digital storytelling
Global
19
THU
BARBICAN
CURZON SOHO
18.30
Q|A
18.30
THE YES MEN ARE REVOLTING
Q|A
N
BEYOND MY GRANDFATHER ALLENDE
Marcia Tambutti—Chile—2015—100m
Americas
OPENING NIGHT
FILM AND RECEPTION
RITZY BRIXTON
Laura Nix and the Yes Men—US—2014—90m
16.00
Global
Q|A
STORM IN THE ANDES
Mikael Wiström—Sweden/Peru—2014—1o1m
Americas
18.45
Q|A
BEATS OF THE ANTONOV
Hajooj Kuka— Sudan/South Africa—2014—68m
Africa
22
SUN
CURZON SOHO
18.00
Q|A
UYGHURS, PRISONERS OF THE ABSURD
Patricio Henríquez—Canada—2014—99m
US
BARBICAN
16.00
Q|A
LIFE IS SACRED
Andreas Dalsgaard—Denmark—2014—104m
Americas
Q|A
P
Q&A with filmmaker(s)
Panel discussion with filmmaker(s) and special guests
18.30
Q|A
Hajooj Kuka— Sudan/South Africa—2014—68m
Africa
N Reception to follow
All films are preceded by short introductions only. There are no trailers.
Latecomers will be allowed entry at the manager’s discretion.
The programme may be subject to last minute alteration. Please check
with the respective box offices for latest details.
The films in this programme represent many points of view, not
necessarily those of Human Rights Watch.
BEATS OF THE ANTONOV
RITZY BRIXTON
17.30
Q|A
NO LAND’S SONG
Ayat Najafi—France/Germany/Iran—2014—93m
Middle East
23
MON
CURZON SOHO
18.15
BEYOND MY GRANDFATHER ALLENDE
Q|A
Marcia Tambutti—Chile—2015—100m
26
THU
CURZON SOHO
18.30
Americas
Americas
BARBICAN
18.30
STORM IN THE ANDES
Q|A
Mikael Wiström—Sweden/Peru—2014—1o1m
BURDEN OF PEACE
Joey Boink—Guatemala/The Netherlands—2015—76m
Q|A
BARBICAN
18.30
THE DREAM OF SHAHRAZAD
Francois Verster—South Africa/Egypt/Jordan/France/
The Netherlands—2014—107m
Q|A
Americas
Middle East
RITZY BRIXTON
18.15
DEMOCRATS
RITZY BRIXTON
Q|A
Camilla Nielsson—Denmark—2014—100m
18.30
Africa
24
TUE
A QUIET INQUISITION
Alessandra Zeka and Holen Sabrina Kahn—
US—2014—65m
Q|A
Americas
CURZON SOHO
18.15
THE DREAM OF SHAHRAZAD
Q|A
Francois Verster—South Africa/Egypt/Jordan/France/
The Netherlands—2014—107m
20.45
Middle East
Middle East
BARBICAN
18.15
THE SHELTER
Q|A
Fernand Melgar—Switzerland—2014—101m
Europe
THE WANTED 18
Amer Shomali and Paul Cowan—
Canada/Palestine/France—2014—75m
Q|A
27
FRI
RITZY BRIXTON
18.30
N
Q|A
ROSEWATER
CLOSING NIGHT
FILM AND RECEPTION
Jon Stewart—US—2014—103m
Middle East
20.45
THE WANTED 18
Q|A
Amer Shomali and Paul Cowan—
Canada/Palestine/France—2014—75m
Middle East
RITZY BRIXTON
18.15
Q|A
UYGHURS, PRISONERS OF THE ABSURD
Patricio Henríquez—Canada—2014—99m
US
This year’s festival focuses on four themes:
25
WED
CURZON SOHO
18.15
THE SHELTER
ART VERSUS OPPRESSION
Q|A
Fernand Melgar—Switzerland—2014—101m
Beats of the Antonov
The Dream of Shahrazad
No Land’s Song
The Salt of the Earth
The Unravelling
The Yes Men Are Revolting
Europe
BARBICAN
19.15
A QUIET INQUISITION
Q|A
Alessandra Zeka and Holen Sabrina Kahn—
US—2014—65m
Americas
RITZY BRIXTON
18.30
BURDEN OF PEACE
Q|A
Joey Boink—Guatemala/The Netherlands—2015—76m
Americas
CHANGEMAKERS
Burden of Peace
Democrats
Life Is Sacred
A Quiet Inquisition
Rosewater
What Tomorrow Brings
FAMILY HISTORY
AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Beyond My Grandfather Allende
Storm in the Andes
HOME AND ‘SECURITY’
The Shelter
Uyghurs, Prisoners
of the Absurd
The Wanted 18
ff.hrw.org
2015
H U M A N
R I G H T S
W A T C H
FILM FESTIVAL
London | 18–27 March
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Audrey House
16 -20 Ely Place, London EC1N 6SN
Tel: 020 7713 1995 | Fax: 020 7713 1800
hrw.org/london
BARBICAN
BRITISH MUSEUM
CURZON SOHO
RITZY BRIXTON
Barbican Cinemas 2 & 3
Beech Street, London EC2Y 8AE
Box office: 0207 638 8891
barbican.org.uk/film
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DG
Tel: 0207 323 8299
britishmuseum.org
99 Shaftesbury Avenue
London W1D 5DY
Box office: 0330 500 1331
curzoncinemas.com
Brixton Oval, Coldharbour Lane
Brixton, London SW2 1 JG
Box office: 0871 902 5739
picturehouses.co.uk