Browse previous selections from the Human Rights Watch Film Festival
Born in Evin
When she was 12 years old, actress and filmmaker Maryam Zaree found out that she was one of a number of babies born inside Evin, Iran’s most notorious political prison.
Coded Bias
When MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini discovers that most facial-recognition software misidentifies women and darker-skinned faces, as a woman of color working in a field dominated by white males, she is compelled to investigate further.
Crip Camp
In the wake of famous 1969 counterculture festival Woodstock in upstate New York, Camp Jened hosted their own wild getaways. Teenagers with disabilities spent their summers escaping their parents’ overbearing care and widespread societal prejudices to discover themselves, express opinions freely, and have lots of fun at the same time.
Down a Dark Stairwell
When a Chinese-American police officer kills an innocent, unarmed black man in an unlit stairwell of a New York City housing project on November 20, 2014, communities across the city erupt with demands for legal accountability.
European Sneak Preview of Ground-Breaking Documentary
Join us for an exclusive European sneak preview of a ground-breaking and history-making documentary film.
Far from the Tree
In a quest for understanding, this film encourages us to let go of our preconceptions – for example, about people with autism or dwarfism – and celebrate our loved ones for all that makes them uniquely themselves.
From Here
As the US and Germany grapple with racism, nationalism, and a fight against diversity, our protagonists move from their 20s into their 30s and face major turning points in their lives.
Gather
Gather celebrates the fruits of the indigenous food sovereignty movement, profiling innovative changemakers in Native American tribes across North America reclaiming their identities after centuries of physical and cultural genocide.
Imported For My Body
Wearing a hidden camera, Grace takes us into an underground world, where she spent six months paying a ‘debt’ to a cartel of madams and exposes a larger well-established network responsible for trafficking women from East and West Africa to India.
In My Blood It Runs
What is it like to be a smart 10-year-old aboriginal boy in a remote part of Australia where 100 percent of youth in detention centers are your people?
In the Executioner's Shadow
In the Executioner's Shadow casts a penetrating look at the consequences of the death penalty through three powerful stories.
Leftover Women
This eye-opening documentary follows three women in their gruelling quest to find a husband, weighing the cost of family and society’s approval against their own chances of happiness.