Browse previous selections from the Human Rights Watch Film Festival
Mediha
Mediha, a teenage Yazidi girl recently returned from Islamic State (ISIS) captivity, turns the camera on herself, capturing an astonishing journey as she confronts her past in order to fight for her future.
Power Alley (Levante)
On the eve of a major championship game for her LGBTQ+-inclusive volleyball team, Sofia is faced with an unwanted pregnancy. Seeking an abortion—criminalised in Brazil—she becomes the target of a fundamentalist group determined to stop her.
Seven Winters in Tehran
In 2007, Reyhaneh Jabbari, 19, is sentenced to death in Iran for the murder of a man who tried to rape her. The efforts her family and supporters undertake open a window into the mass oppression and silencing of women in Iran, and the risks taken by those who defend and support them.
Si Pudiera Quedarme (If I Could Stay)
When undocumented mothers Jeanette and Ingrid face deportation and separation from their young children, they and their communities rally support to keep them safe despite the risks. A story of courage and allyship, Si Pudiera Quedarme is a timely look at the transformative power of communities uniting for justice.
Summer Qamp
Summer Qamp follows a group of LGBTQ+ youth as they attend a camp like no other: a judgment-free zone where they explore their authentic selves while building community, finding joy, and making memories that will last a lifetime.
Tree of Violence
Russian artist Victoria (Vika) Lomasko’s work has always been political. However, as tensions in Russia rise and her new project on patriarchal violence evolves, Vika’s art has become even more essential... and dangerous.
We Are Guardians
As Indigenous Brazilian forest guardians in the Amazon fend off attacks from illegal loggers, miners, and exporters, we bear witness to what happens when Indigenous rights, land stewardship, and political corruption converge.
We Dare to Dream
As the Refugee Olympic Team prepares to compete at the Tokyo Olympics, We Dare to Dream chronicles their hopes and desires as they fight for a better life.
#IAmVanessaGuillen
In 2018, US soldier Karina Lopez survived a sexual assault at Fort Hood military base. When Vanessa Guillen, another Latina service member, disappeared and is then murdered, Karina steps forward to share her story, creating the #IAmVanessaGuillen hashtag. Hundreds of service members chime in, exposing the cycle of abuse occurring on military bases and demanding justice.
And Still I Sing
Controversial Afghan pop star and activist Aryana Sayeed mentors young hopefuls as they prepare to appear on their country’s hit TV show Afghan Star. With two young women on the verge of being named the show’s first ever female winners, the Taliban take over and their lifelong dreams of becoming pop stars are suddenly under threat.
Category: Woman
Sport has a long and problematic history of policing women athletes' bodies. Category: Woman focuses on four women athletes from the Global South who are required to undergo medical intervention to compete in their sport, despite being in perfect health, and explores what happens when sexism and racism collide.
Clarissa's Battle
Single mother and organizer Clarissa Doutherd is building a powerful coalition of parents. They’re fighting for child care and early education funds, desperately needed by low and middle-income parents and children across the United States.