Browse previous selections from the Human Rights Watch Film Festival


Welcome to Chechnya
This searing documentary, directed by acclaimed writer and Oscar® nominated director David France (How to Survive a Plague, The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson), shadows a group of brave activists risking their lives to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ campaign in the Russian Republic of Chechnya.

A Family Tour
After China banned her film, an exiled filmmaker, with husband and child in tow, stalks a tour bus through Taiwan for the only chance to see her mother, who is visiting from mainland China.

Accept the Call
A father strives to understand why his son would leave America behind to attempt to join a terrorist organization abroad.

Advocate
Jewish Israeli lawyer Lea Tsemel and her Palestinian colleagues have been working for decades representing their clients in an increasingly conservative Israel. To many, Lea is a traitor who defends the indefensible. For others, she's more than an attorney – she’s a true ally.

Afghan Cycles
What lengths would you go to in order to ride a bicycle? Afghan Cycles follows a new generation of young Afghan women cyclists.

Anbessa
A lyrical documentary that takes us on a journey of childhood adventures and magical realism as we accompany a creative, sensitive and bold young boy using his imagination and sharp wits to battle forces beyond his control, and escape the stark reality of displacement.

Bellingcat - Truth in a Post-Truth World
Following the revolutionary rise of the “citizen investigative journalist” collective known as Bellingcat, dedicated to redefining breaking news by exploring the promise of open source investigation.
Dead Donkeys Fear No Hyenas
Dead Donkeys Fear No Hyenas investigates foreign land-investments in Ethiopia and exposes their impact on people’s lives.

Discussion: Artificial Intelligence, big data and human rights: progress or setback?
Artificial intelligence and big data have an extensive impact on our lives, playing a role when we apply for schools or jobs, when we shop and when we skim our social media feeds. Moreover, in some countries police and intelligence agencies use algorithms to determine which neighborhoods to focus on or to identify whether we’re security risks.

Discussion: Europe 2019: Refugees, democracy and human rights
a House of Commons-style debate on Europe in the world of 2019.

Discussion: Living in the shadows: People with albinism in Tanzania
People with albinism in parts of Africa continue to live under the threat of horrific violence or death due to myths that the organs and limbs of people with albinism bring prosperity.