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We are proud to present the 28th edition of the London Human Rights Watch Film Festival, running from March 14-24, 2024, in partnership with Barbican Cinema and Rich Mix.  This year’s edition features the role of youth in the fight for human rights, the convergence of art and human rights, and the rising up to confront systems of power; what shines through is the determination and courage of individuals standing up for their freedom and rights. 

This year’s festival will present 10 films screening in-person at the Barbican and Rich Mix from March 14-22 with in-depth post film discussions with filmmakers, film participants, activists, and Human Rights Watch researchers; and digitally across the UK and Ireland from March 18-24. 

Young people and human rights take centre stage in four films this year, beginning with our opening night film Mediha, a heartfelt and intimate account of a teenage Yazidi girl recently returned from Islamic State (ISIS) captivity, who turns the camera on herself as she initiates investigations into the crimes committed against her, and in the process stands up for her family and the Yazidi people. Coconut Head Generation provides front-row seats for lively, political, and impassioned debates in a student’s film club in Nigeria as they unpack critical issues facing young people today – from colonialism to government corruption, gender and equality. In Power Alley, one of our three dramas this year, we meet a young and vibrant LGBT-inclusive volleyball team in Brazil who support and fight for each other’s dignity and rights, especially vital when one of their team members must seek an abortion in a country where it is illegal. The festival continues its celebration of young people in our closing night film Summer Qamp, an uplifting, funny and moving look at Camp fYrefly in the forests of Alberta, Canada where LGBTQ+ teens explore their authentic selves, make friends and build community – far away from the fierce political battle being waged against them.  

Opposing systems of power is the focus of four films in this year’s program. Two stand-out dramas include After the Fire - a powerful look at a family’s fight for truth and justice after their son’s death during a police investigation, pulling back the curtain on France’s long history of racial profiling and police violence. The sharp-witted and beautifully acted Inshallah a Boy introduces us to Nawal, a quietly powerful Jordanian mother whose husband unexpectedly passes away, leaving her to battle against the patriarchal legal system and her brother-in-law who attempts to claim all her assets including guardianship of her daughter. Two more documentaries speak truth to power loud and clear - Land of My Dreams filmmaker Nausheen Khan draws on her identity as an Indian Muslim woman, intimately capturing the intergenerational, multi-faith women at the forefront of a nationwide non-violent resistance movement to protest the Indian Government’s Citizenship Amendment Act that disproportionately impacts Muslims, denying citizenship to many. And We Are Guardians centers the powerful and dangerous work of indigenous forest guardians battling governmental indifference, politically connected agribusinesses, cattle ranchers and illegal loggers as they fight to protect their traditional land in the increasingly vulnerable Amazon rain forest.  

The festival takes a close at art and human rights in two films in our program. A Revolution on Canvas is a remarkable profile of one of Iran’s most revolutionary artists, Nickzad ‘Nicky’ Nodjoumi. Filmmakers Sara Nodjoumi and Till Schauder create a rich tapestry of family history, artistic freedom, politics and persecution that boldly reveals the power of art in the fight for human rights. Utilizing stunning animation that brings to life the work of Russian visual artist and activist Victoria Lomasko, Tree of Violence follows Victoria as she investigates the connection between domestic and state-sponsored violence and patriarchy through her art, while the invasion of Ukraine unfolds, and her personal safety in her homeland becomes less assured.  

This year’s program reflects the festival’s ethos of celebrating representation, and diversity of content and perspective. We strive to prioritise space for identities, viewpoints, forms of expertise and experiences either silenced or marginalised in the film industry, news, and media. 

We welcome you to join us in celebrating the power of individuals to make a difference at this year’s Human Rights Watch Film Festival. 

This year’s edition highlights a broad diversity of themes and topics: failures in the justice system, the importance of a free press, the intersection of health and human rights, climate change and environmental justice, and a timely and personal look at the Ukraine conflict. What shines through is the determination and courage of individuals standing up for their freedom and rights.

This year’s festival will present 10 films screening at Film at Lincoln Center’s Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center and IFC Center May 31-June 8 with in-depth post-film discussions with filmmakers, film participants, activists, and Human Rights Watch researchers. The films will also be available on our streaming site for audiences across the US to watch at home from June 5-June 11.

Two films this year turn a critical eye on systems of justice. Our Opening Night film, Seven Winters in Tehran, is a haunting documentary about Reyhaneh Jabbari, a 19-year-old Iranian woman sentenced to death for killing the man who tried to rape her. The film focuses on the patriarchal justice system, where men are in charge and women’s voices are often silenced. In our Centerpiece film, Theatre of Violence, we are taken on a journey through the modern history of Uganda by a charismatic Ugandan lawyer who is defending former child soldier Daniel Ongwen as he faces trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. It becomes clear that this is not just a trial of one man, a victim-turned-perpetrator, but also of a European form of justice imposed on an African country.

The importance of a free press is explored in The Etilaat Roz—where a courageous Afghan journalist records his team at Kabul’s largest newspaper as the Taliban takes over Afghanistan in 2021. In Draw Me Egypt - Doaa El-Adl, A Stroke of Freedom, we witness the daily struggles of one of the most prominent cartoonists of the Arab world, Doaa El Adl, who faces censorship, intimidation, and death threats as she takes on the patriarchy through her art.

Three films in this year’s festival delve into issues of health and human rights. Our Closing Night film, Pay or Die, follows three families struggling with the crushing financial reality of living with Type 1 diabetes in the US, where pharmaceutical companies, bolstered by the government’s lack of regulation, push the price of insulin to exorbitant levels. Koromousso, Big Sister introduces us to three joyful and passionate activists—survivors of female genital mutilation (FGM)—who find strength and joy in each other as they work to remove stigma and to educate their communities about a life-changing new procedure for reconstructive surgery. In Nicolo Bassetti’s tender documentary, Into My Name, we meet four young transgender men in Italy on a journey of self-discovery as they seek to determine their own gender identities while dealing with society’s often-rigid boundaries and navigating the labyrinthine medical system.

Two films in our program focus on environmental justice and the effects of climate change. Razing Liberty Square profiles Liberty Square, a historically black neighborhood in Miami that was the first segregated public housing project in the South. As rising sea levels cause widespread damage to wealthy oceanfront neighborhoods in the city, it draws the attention of developers, and a “revitalization” project begins that threatens to erase this community. We Are Guardians expertly weaves together multiple threads—Indigenous forest guardians, illegal loggers, cattle ranchers, and a landowner struggling to preserve the rich ecosystem within his land from encroaching settlers—to help paint a picture of the complexity of what is happening to the Amazon.

The festival takes a close look at Ukraine with When Spring Came to Bucha by renowned photographer Mila Teshaieva, which beautifully profiles the citizens of Bucha, Ukraine, after the Russian army has left, as they work to rebuild their lives and community while supporting one another and finding moments of joy.

This year’s program reflects the festival’s ethos of celebrating representation, and diversity of content and perspective. We strive to prioritize space for identities, viewpoints, forms of expertise and experiences either silenced or marginalized in the film industry, news, and media.

We welcome you to join us in celebrating the power of individuals to make a difference at this year’s Human Rights Watch Film Festival.

This year’s edition covers a broad range of themes and topics, but what shines through is the determination and courage of individuals to stand up for their freedom and rights. 

The festival presents 10 films screening in-person at the Barbican March 16 - 24 with in-depth Q&As with filmmakers, film participants, activists, and Human Rights Watch researchers following each screening; and the films will also be available digitally on our streaming platform across the UK and Ireland March 20 - 26. 

Opening Night of the festival is Delikado, which profiles three magnetic leader—a charismatic lawyer, an ex-illegal logger, and a fearless politician—as they fight to stop corporations and governments seeking to plunder the natural resources of the island of Palawan in the Philippines.  

The ongoing reverberations of colonialism take centre stage in two films in our program. Our Closing Night film, Theatre of Violence, raises complex questions around new forms of colonialism and definitions of justice in the landmark International Criminal Court trial of former Ugandan child soldier Daniel Ongwen. In No U-Turn, Nigerian filmmaker Ike Nnaebue takes us on a poetic and personal journey, engaging with those leaving their country, traveling north through Africa and beyond in search of work and opportunity to build a future, despite the known and unknown challenges lying ahead.

Body autonomy and self-autonomy is the focus of four films in this year’s program. Category: Woman, asks, “What happens when sexism and racism collide?”—introducing us to four women athletes from the Global South 70 / 90

stepping forward to challenge major international sports rules governing women athletes’ bodies. In I Didn’t See You There, filmmaker Reid Davenport reflects on the corrosive legacy of the “freak show” and the paradoxical spectacle yet invisibility of disability. Koromousso, Big Sister captures personal stories and deep moments of support in a small community of women from West Africa, as they confront social norms and embrace the inherent power in pleasure and love for their own bodies. Seven Winters in Tehran opens a window into the mass oppression and silencing of women in Iran, and the risks taken by those who defend and support them. 

Structural discrimination is the focus of two films in the program. If The Streets Were on Fire introduces BikeStormz; a movement of young bikers, which attempts to offer a safe and welcoming space for youth in London. However, new forms of conflict arise when police and “concerned citizens” threaten arrest for their very existence. Silent Love is a coming-of-age and a coming-out story. We meet Aga, 35, who is legally adopting her teenage brother, Milosz, after their mother’s death—a process that invites intense probing into her lifestyle. However, there’s something she can’t share in their conservative Polish village: her long-term relationship with her girlfriend Maja.

The festival also takes a close look at Ukraine with When Spring Came to Bucha, which poignantly captures how a small community continues with life amid trauma and loss, while war rages on close by.

This year’s program reflects the festival’s ethos of celebrating diversity of content and perspective. We strive to prioritise space in our films and conversations that follow for identities, viewpoints, forms of expertise and experiences either silenced or marginalised in the film industry, news, and media. 

We welcome you to join us in celebrating the power of individuals to make a difference at this year’s Human Rights Watch Film Festival.

We are proud to present the 33rd edition of the New York Human Rights Watch Film Festival, running from May 20-26, 2022, in partnership with Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center. This year’s edition highlights activism, as we meet courageous individuals around the world standing up to powerful forces and demanding change.  

After over two years away we are thrilled to be back with a full program of in-person screenings at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center, with in-depth discussions with filmmakers, film participants, activists, and Human Rights Watch researchers. We will continue to offer the opportunity to watch these 10 emboldening new films online across the US with a full digital edition of the festival.  

The festival opens with Rebellion, the exhilarating behind-the-scenes story of Extinction Rebellion (XR), following the group as it takes daring steps to draw attention to the climate emergency – and confront both internal tensions and the harmful power structures present in the climate movement itself. Closing the festival, The Janes showcases a group of brave and bold women, many speaking on the record for the first time, who built an underground, clandestine network in 1970s Chicago for women seeking safe, affordable, illegal abortions.   

We meet courageous activists and brave individuals throughout the program. With stunning animation and powerful interviews, Eternal Spring tells the gripping story of brave members of a religious movement who protest their persecution by the Chinese government by hijacking the local TV station. In Delikado, three environmental defenders are tested like never before in their battle to save their home, Palawan, an island paradise in the Philippines from the illegal destruction of its forests, fisheries, and mountains. In Clarissa’s Battle we meet single mother and unstoppable activist Clarissa Doutherd, who works tirelessly to build a coalition of local parents in Oakland, California, to fight for local and federal childcare funding. With brave honesty a group of Kurdish and Yazidi women reveal the challenges they face in a male-dominated society in Up To G-Cup. 

The films at the festival could not be timelier. The New Greatness Case offers remarkable access to a group of young Russians entrapped by the secret service, resulting in unjust trials and prison sentences – echoing the intensified crackdown on dissent and free expression in Russia we see on the news every day. In Midwives, amid an environment of ever-increasing chaos and violence against the Muslim Rohingya population in Myanmar, two midwives, one Buddhist and one Muslim, work side by side in a makeshift clinic in western Myanmar, providing medical services to the Rohingya of Rakhine State. No U-Turn by celebrated Nigerian director Ike Nnaebue takes us on a journey with Nigerian citizens leaving their country, traveling north through Africa and beyond in search of work and opportunity to build a future, despite the known and unknown challenges lying ahead. 

Lastly, the one drama in this year’s festival, You Resemble Me, an impressive first feature by Dina Amer and executive-produced by Spike Lee, Spike Jonze, Riz Ahmed and Alma Har’el, explores the complex life of Hasna Aït Boulahcen, a survivor of abuse in France who sought support and opportunities to belong, but whose life was cut short by her radicalization.  

As always, the festival strives to prioritize space for identities, viewpoints, forms of expertise and experiences either silenced or marginalized in the film industry, news, and media. Seventy percent of this year’s filmmakers are women and seventy percent are filmmakers sharing a story about their own region. This program reflects the festival’s ethos of celebrating diversity of content and perspective. 

We welcome you to join us in celebrating the power of individuals to make a difference at the 2022 Human Rights Watch Film Festival.   

- The HRWFF Team 

We are proud to present the 26th edition of the London Human Rights Watch Film Festival, running from March 17-25, 2022, in partnership with Barbican Cinema. This year’s edition highlights the ability to create change, as we meet courageous individuals on both sides of the lens, and experience what happens when, little by little, solidarity turns into a resounding voice that the powers that be can’t ignore. 

Even during the global pandemic, communities—from journalists in Myanmar, Latinx community members in Texas, and young girls in Bangladesh, to judges in Poland and asylum seekers in the UK—are coming together and making a difference.. We are living through unprecedented times, and the films in this year’s line-up speak directly to many issues we currently face.  

This year’s festival will present three in-person Q&A screenings—Opening Night, Centrepiece, and Closing Night—in the beautiful Screen 1 at the Barbican, as well as a full digital edition of 10 emboldening new films from around the world, available across the UK, featuring in-depth discussions with filmmakers, film participants, activists, and Human Rights Watch researchers. 

The festival opens with Silence Heard Loud, a poetic film that weaves the intersecting stories of asylum seekers in the UK fighting to preserve their dreams and dignity as they navigate the British immigration system. In our Closing Night film, Bangla Surf Girls, we meet three Bangladeshi teenagers who must overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to chase their dream of becoming Bangladesh’s first women surfers to compete internationally. 

Freedom of expression and threats to democracy are the focus of five films in our program. In Boycott, the Centrepiece of this year’s festival, filmmaker Julia Bacha pulls back the curtain on the architects of anti-boycott laws in 33 states of the US that are designed to curtail freedom of speech and penalise individuals undertaking boycotts to create social change. With stunning animation and powerful interviews, Eternal Spring boldly reveals the persecution of religious movements and political dissent by the Chinese government. A group of anonymous filmmakers, the “Myanmar Film Collective,” bring us Myanmar Diaries, which intimately reveals what life is like inside their country after the military overthrew the civilian government just over a year ago. Judges Under Pressure provides a clarion call to the growing vulnerability of judicial independence through the stories of several Polish judges under threat of being fired or arrested by Poland’s right-wing ruling party. And On The Divide chronicles three people with diverse perspectives who are connected to the only remaining abortion clinic in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas along the US-Mexico border. 

The impact of trauma on families, and the importance of cultural connection are explored in this year’s edition. In Tacheles—The Heart of the Matter, we are introduced to Yaar, a young Jewish Berliner who attempts to process and overcome intergenerational trauma by developing a video game set in 1940’s Germany based on his grandmother’s experience, where he enables Jews to defend themselves and Nazis to act humanely. You Resemble Me, the one drama in this year’s festival, explores the complex life of Hasna Aït Boulahcen, a refugee and survivor of abuse in France who sought support and opportunities to belong but whose life was cut short by radicalisation. In the emotionally resonant Daughter of a Lost Bird, we meet Kendra, who was adopted into a white family as a child, as she finds her birth mother and discovers her native identity and the purposeful erasure of cultural identity for Native communities in the United States. 

This year’s program of 10 films reflects the festival’s ethos of celebrating representation, and diversity of content and perspective. We strive to prioritise space for identities, viewpoints, and forms of expertise and experiences either silenced or marginalised in the film industry, news, and media. 

We welcome you to join us in celebrating the power of individuals to make a difference at this year’s Human Rights Watch Film Festival.  

- The HRWFF Team