Pavee Lackeen
Date: Tue 19 February 2008
Directed by Perry Ogden
Running time 88 mins, (cert 15)
This event is part of our Behind the Screen series
"Life is like a bank: what you put in you get out." So says a fortune teller in the opening scene of Pavee Lackeen. By rights, the world should lie open before the 10-year-old girl whose palm has just been read. However Young Winnie is an Irish Traveller, and the revelation in the following scene that her mother has just had to hock her own wedding ring for a small amount of cash suggests that Winnie may never have much capital to invest in the bank of life. And if Winnie's existence already seems precarious at the film's beginning, it is far more so by the end.
Played by a largely non-professional cast of Travellers, this is a funny and moving portrait of a community destined to remain in a trap of poverty, illiteracy and petty crime, engendered by uncaring bureaucracy and social exclusion.
Find out how to get to the Human Rights Action Centre
Event Type Film
Dedicated event Behind the Screen
Event venue Human Rights Action Centre, 17 - 25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA
Time 6.30pm
Price Free of charge
Online tickets Book this event
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Rosita
Rosita
Date: Tue 18 March 2008
'Horrific and heartbreaking, a must see piece of film making' Eye For Film
Directed by Barbara Attie and Janet Goldwater
Running time 58 mins
This event is part of our Behind the Screen series
In January 2003, news spreads throughout Central and South America that a nine-year-old Nicaraguan girl has become pregnant as the result of a rape. Rosita is the only child of illiterate campesinos working in Costa Rica as coffee pickers at the time of the assault. Fearing for their daughter's life and mental health, Rosita's parents are determined to obtain an abortion for their child.
Their quest pits them against the governments of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, the medical establishment, and the Catholic Church. When their story gains international media attention, the repercussions ripple across Latin America and Europe.
This is a Women's Action Network screening.
There will be a voluntary donation requested of £5.
Find out how to get to the Human Rights Action Centre
Event Type Film
Dedicated event Behind the Screen
Event venue Human Rights Action Centre, 17 - 25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA
Time 6.30pm
Price Free of charge
Online tickets Book this event
Date: Tue 18 March 2008
'Horrific and heartbreaking, a must see piece of film making' Eye For Film
Directed by Barbara Attie and Janet Goldwater
Running time 58 mins
This event is part of our Behind the Screen series
In January 2003, news spreads throughout Central and South America that a nine-year-old Nicaraguan girl has become pregnant as the result of a rape. Rosita is the only child of illiterate campesinos working in Costa Rica as coffee pickers at the time of the assault. Fearing for their daughter's life and mental health, Rosita's parents are determined to obtain an abortion for their child.
Their quest pits them against the governments of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, the medical establishment, and the Catholic Church. When their story gains international media attention, the repercussions ripple across Latin America and Europe.
This is a Women's Action Network screening.
There will be a voluntary donation requested of £5.
Find out how to get to the Human Rights Action Centre
Event Type Film
Dedicated event Behind the Screen
Event venue Human Rights Action Centre, 17 - 25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA
Time 6.30pm
Price Free of charge
Online tickets Book this event
Born Into Brothels
Born Into Brothels
Date: Tue 22 April 2008
Directed by Zana Briski and Ross Kaufman
Running time 82 mins
This event is part of our Behind the Screen series
Winner of the 2003 Academy Award for documentaries, Born Into Brothels follows the lives of a group of children in Sonagachi in the red light district in Calcutta.
Photojournalist and director Zana Briski gave the children cameras and taught them how to shoot and edit the world they knew: the crowded, filthy boarding house where their mothers live and toil. For this group of bright, energetic, curious kids, the only path out of the brothels leads to a decent boarding school, and Briski sees their photography as a means to fund their education.
The spectre of long odds and narrow choices shades every frame, yet the tone is often buoyant and inspirational, as when the class runs riot during a seaside field trip. Born Into Brothels testifies to the kids untaught resilience and hope, and to their mentor's selfless energy.
Find out more about our work on children's rights
More about human rights in India
Find out how to get to the Human Rights Action Centre
Event Type Film
Dedicated event Behind the Screen
Event venue Human Rights Action Centre, 17 - 25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA
Time 6.30pm
Price Free of charge
Online tickets Book this event
Date: Tue 22 April 2008
Directed by Zana Briski and Ross Kaufman
Running time 82 mins
This event is part of our Behind the Screen series
Winner of the 2003 Academy Award for documentaries, Born Into Brothels follows the lives of a group of children in Sonagachi in the red light district in Calcutta.
Photojournalist and director Zana Briski gave the children cameras and taught them how to shoot and edit the world they knew: the crowded, filthy boarding house where their mothers live and toil. For this group of bright, energetic, curious kids, the only path out of the brothels leads to a decent boarding school, and Briski sees their photography as a means to fund their education.
The spectre of long odds and narrow choices shades every frame, yet the tone is often buoyant and inspirational, as when the class runs riot during a seaside field trip. Born Into Brothels testifies to the kids untaught resilience and hope, and to their mentor's selfless energy.
Find out more about our work on children's rights
More about human rights in India
Find out how to get to the Human Rights Action Centre
Event Type Film
Dedicated event Behind the Screen
Event venue Human Rights Action Centre, 17 - 25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA
Time 6.30pm
Price Free of charge
Online tickets Book this event
Friday, October 12, 2007
Cross-border Conference on Human Rights Education 2007
Cross-border Conference on Human Rights Education 2007
Date: Thu 13 December 2007
To encourage the promotion human rights education in the education sectors in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To showcase examples of good practice and engage professionals in reflecting on the challenges and opportunities involved in integrating a human rights based approach to policy and practice.
Event Type Conference
Event venue Dublin castle
Time 9.30am
Contact Mary Kerr
Email mary.kerr@amnesty.org.uk
Website http://www.liftoffschools.com
Price £25.00
Date: Thu 13 December 2007
To encourage the promotion human rights education in the education sectors in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To showcase examples of good practice and engage professionals in reflecting on the challenges and opportunities involved in integrating a human rights based approach to policy and practice.
Event Type Conference
Event venue Dublin castle
Time 9.30am
Contact Mary Kerr
Email mary.kerr@amnesty.org.uk
Website http://www.liftoffschools.com
Price £25.00
Film screening: Water
Film screening: Water
Date: Tue 20 November 2007
Screening of Deepa Metha's latest film 'Water' (cert 12a). This powerful film examines the plight of widows forced into poverty in 1930s India. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion and Q & with invited guests.
About the film
Following her husband’s death, wilful seven-year-old Chuyia is abandoned, kicking and screaming, at a widows’ ashram – and immediately silenced by the commanding Madhumati, mistress and madame of this impoverished, self-governing ‘prison’ of untouchables. Whether young, middle-aged or, like the cadaverous ‘auntie’, ancient, these widows are serving a virtual life sentence for innocent crimes against Hinduism’s harshest dictates. Naturally cheerful Chuyia is sustained by a precious, if delusional, belief in imminent rescue. But even that is threatened when beautiful ally Kalyani begins an affair with handsome Brahmin’s son Narayan, leaving only devout Shakuntala to offer friendship and hope in this living hell.
This is a Womens Action Network screening.
There will be a voluntary donation of £5 requested.
Event Type Film
Dedicated event Behind the Screen
Event venue Amnesty International UK, Human Rights Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA
Time 6.30pm
Price Free of charge
Online tickets Book this event
Date: Tue 20 November 2007
Screening of Deepa Metha's latest film 'Water' (cert 12a). This powerful film examines the plight of widows forced into poverty in 1930s India. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion and Q & with invited guests.
About the film
Following her husband’s death, wilful seven-year-old Chuyia is abandoned, kicking and screaming, at a widows’ ashram – and immediately silenced by the commanding Madhumati, mistress and madame of this impoverished, self-governing ‘prison’ of untouchables. Whether young, middle-aged or, like the cadaverous ‘auntie’, ancient, these widows are serving a virtual life sentence for innocent crimes against Hinduism’s harshest dictates. Naturally cheerful Chuyia is sustained by a precious, if delusional, belief in imminent rescue. But even that is threatened when beautiful ally Kalyani begins an affair with handsome Brahmin’s son Narayan, leaving only devout Shakuntala to offer friendship and hope in this living hell.
This is a Womens Action Network screening.
There will be a voluntary donation of £5 requested.
Event Type Film
Dedicated event Behind the Screen
Event venue Amnesty International UK, Human Rights Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA
Time 6.30pm
Price Free of charge
Online tickets Book this event
Friday, October 5, 2007
Amnesty International Film Festival Expose
By Amnesty International
The festival office is now closed. We will check email only occasionally during this time. Until further notice, film submissions will only be considered for our On Campus Film Festival, our educational outreach program of free screenings in High Schools and University campuses. Please see submissions information on this page.
MISSION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Few artistic media have the power to reach across cultures, languages, and even time itself to influence millions of people in the language of our daily lives. Film has such power. Each year dozens of talented filmmakers work against long odds, short finances, and threatening politics to bring to the screen powerful stories of human struggle, sacrifice, and triumph. Some documentary filmmakers have risked their very lives so that we may be moved by far-off stories that, once told, seem very much closer to home. The Amnesty International Film Festival is dedicated to bringing these stories to our communities so that our colleagues, neighbors, and friends can see for themselves the full-range of challenges facing people in every part of the world.
And while public education is at the center of the festival's mission, our goals do not stop there. As a program of the world's largest human rights organization, the Film Festival also draws heavily on Amnesty International's experience as a worldwide campaigning movement. We strive to offer concrete opportunities to create positive change for those who are moved by what they have seen.
From Urgent Actions® on individual cases of human rights abuses, to regional action networks focusing on specific areas of the world, to topical programs like OUTFront for LGBT human rights issues and the USA Domestic Human Rights Program, all festival goers will have an opportunity to become meaningfully involved. Whether on behalf of issues they have long cared about, or on behalf of causes they may just have learned about in the documentary screening, Amnesty International stands ready to help them channel their energy.
PROGRAMMING
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Amnesty International Film Festival was launched in the United States in Seattle in 1992 with the purpose of showcasing the best in documentary and fiction filmmaking related to human rights. Both because of the tremendous global reach of Amnesty International, and because we have focused on building relationships directly with filmmakers, production companies, television stations, and other film festivals around the world, we are able to offer programming that in many cases will simply never be seen anywhere else in the U.S. These include dozens of documentary films—some feature length and others shorter—some fiction films, animated pieces, and occasionally foreign broadcasts that are otherwise inaccessible to U.S. audiences. In addition, we are also proud to screen some of the most noteworthy and celebrated documentary films made here in the U.S. each year, including many that will go on to air on PBS, HBO, or other networks. The festival also takes pains to include archive presentations of classic feature films from major studios with strong human rights content that help us to place today’s issues in an important historical context (Universal Pictures(c) "Missing" (2002 West Hollywood Festival) or Warner Bros.(c) "The Killing Fields" (2003 West Hollywood Festival).
SUBMISSIONS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Amnesty International Film Festival On Campus accepts submissions on a rolling basis throughout the year. The festival accepts documentary, feature, animated, and music video works for its annual programs. Submissions must be on VHS (PAL or NTSC) or DVD, and should be accompanied by a signed submission form. Please send all submissions to: Amnesty International Film Festival, 350 Sansome Street, Suite 630, San Francisco, CA 94104. There are no submission fees and the festival is not competitive.
We invite your submissions, comments, and appreciate your support!
Featured Film
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From the bustling streets of Rangoon and the tranquility of Buddhist monasteries, Irene Marty takes us on a dangerous journey into Burma's jungle, where hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people flee from forced labor, murder, and torture at the hands of the ruling military junta. Defying the most potent weapon of the genocide - silence - Marty gives voice to Burma's ethnic minorities and political opposition, as they struggle for freedom and democratic rule.
VHS Tapes Of In The Shadow Of The Pagodas For Sale
We have copies of "In the Shadow of the Pagodas" for sale at $20 apiece plus postage. If you want to purchase a copy, please send an e-mail to filmfest@aiusa.org
OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVALS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 Continents Film Festival (Asia, Africa, Americas)
Derhumalc (Argentina)
One World (Czech Republic)
(A)lliance Cine' (France):
Perspective (Germany)
Human Rights Nights (Italy)
Amnesty International Film Festival (Netherlands)
Human Rights in Film (Poland)
Stalker (Russia)
Seoul Human Rights Film Festival (South Korea)
International Film Festival of Human Rights (Spain)
International Film Festival on Human Rights (Switzerland)
Human Rights Watch International Film Festival (UK/USA)
Vermont International Film Festival (USA)
The festival office is now closed. We will check email only occasionally during this time. Until further notice, film submissions will only be considered for our On Campus Film Festival, our educational outreach program of free screenings in High Schools and University campuses. Please see submissions information on this page.
MISSION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Few artistic media have the power to reach across cultures, languages, and even time itself to influence millions of people in the language of our daily lives. Film has such power. Each year dozens of talented filmmakers work against long odds, short finances, and threatening politics to bring to the screen powerful stories of human struggle, sacrifice, and triumph. Some documentary filmmakers have risked their very lives so that we may be moved by far-off stories that, once told, seem very much closer to home. The Amnesty International Film Festival is dedicated to bringing these stories to our communities so that our colleagues, neighbors, and friends can see for themselves the full-range of challenges facing people in every part of the world.
And while public education is at the center of the festival's mission, our goals do not stop there. As a program of the world's largest human rights organization, the Film Festival also draws heavily on Amnesty International's experience as a worldwide campaigning movement. We strive to offer concrete opportunities to create positive change for those who are moved by what they have seen.
From Urgent Actions® on individual cases of human rights abuses, to regional action networks focusing on specific areas of the world, to topical programs like OUTFront for LGBT human rights issues and the USA Domestic Human Rights Program, all festival goers will have an opportunity to become meaningfully involved. Whether on behalf of issues they have long cared about, or on behalf of causes they may just have learned about in the documentary screening, Amnesty International stands ready to help them channel their energy.
PROGRAMMING
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Amnesty International Film Festival was launched in the United States in Seattle in 1992 with the purpose of showcasing the best in documentary and fiction filmmaking related to human rights. Both because of the tremendous global reach of Amnesty International, and because we have focused on building relationships directly with filmmakers, production companies, television stations, and other film festivals around the world, we are able to offer programming that in many cases will simply never be seen anywhere else in the U.S. These include dozens of documentary films—some feature length and others shorter—some fiction films, animated pieces, and occasionally foreign broadcasts that are otherwise inaccessible to U.S. audiences. In addition, we are also proud to screen some of the most noteworthy and celebrated documentary films made here in the U.S. each year, including many that will go on to air on PBS, HBO, or other networks. The festival also takes pains to include archive presentations of classic feature films from major studios with strong human rights content that help us to place today’s issues in an important historical context (Universal Pictures(c) "Missing" (2002 West Hollywood Festival) or Warner Bros.(c) "The Killing Fields" (2003 West Hollywood Festival).
SUBMISSIONS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Amnesty International Film Festival On Campus accepts submissions on a rolling basis throughout the year. The festival accepts documentary, feature, animated, and music video works for its annual programs. Submissions must be on VHS (PAL or NTSC) or DVD, and should be accompanied by a signed submission form. Please send all submissions to: Amnesty International Film Festival, 350 Sansome Street, Suite 630, San Francisco, CA 94104. There are no submission fees and the festival is not competitive.
We invite your submissions, comments, and appreciate your support!
Featured Film
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From the bustling streets of Rangoon and the tranquility of Buddhist monasteries, Irene Marty takes us on a dangerous journey into Burma's jungle, where hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people flee from forced labor, murder, and torture at the hands of the ruling military junta. Defying the most potent weapon of the genocide - silence - Marty gives voice to Burma's ethnic minorities and political opposition, as they struggle for freedom and democratic rule.
VHS Tapes Of In The Shadow Of The Pagodas For Sale
We have copies of "In the Shadow of the Pagodas" for sale at $20 apiece plus postage. If you want to purchase a copy, please send an e-mail to filmfest@aiusa.org
OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVALS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 Continents Film Festival (Asia, Africa, Americas)
Derhumalc (Argentina)
One World (Czech Republic)
(A)lliance Cine' (France):
Perspective (Germany)
Human Rights Nights (Italy)
Amnesty International Film Festival (Netherlands)
Human Rights in Film (Poland)
Stalker (Russia)
Seoul Human Rights Film Festival (South Korea)
International Film Festival of Human Rights (Spain)
International Film Festival on Human Rights (Switzerland)
Human Rights Watch International Film Festival (UK/USA)
Vermont International Film Festival (USA)
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Extraordinary Stories of Courage from Around the World
The extraordinary lives of Iraq's women
It is not often that we get to hear the personal stories of ordinary Iraqi women living under occupation. Earlier this year, however, eight women were asked to record their daily lives in a series of photo diaries.
The extraordinary results of the Open Shutters Iraq project are now being exhibited in central London.
Here, are two of those photo diaries.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lulua's story in words and pictures
Lulua used to be a vet. One evening, on her way to work, she was kidnapped, taken to the mountains and tortured for several days.
When she eventually returned home she found herself excluded from her family and a husband who could not accept that she had not been raped.
"A few blocks away, I saw my husband. He didn't hug me and the look on his face terrified me. When I got home, my mother collapsed. 'Did they rape you?' everyone asked; everyone but my husband. 'No.' All that mattered was that the family's honour had been preserved," writes Lulua.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Antoinette's story in words and pictures
Antoinette lives in Mosul. She is a Christian and is finding it increasingly difficult to belong to a minority.
She moved from Baghdad to be with her husband. Years later, after having children, she went back to university to study law. The US-led invasion coincided with her graduation. Her children are by far the most important thing in her life, and she struggles to maintain a sense of normality for them.
"I am torn. My life and that of my kids is in Mosul - our house, our memories, everything that we know and that means anything to us," writes Antoinette. "But am I not being unfair to them if I choose to stay? And if I left, where would I go? What kind of future can I possibly offer them? I live in constant anxiety and terror."
The Open Shutters: Iraq exhibition, which is presented by Index on Censorship, runs from 2 October, Queens Walk, South Bank, London.
It is not often that we get to hear the personal stories of ordinary Iraqi women living under occupation. Earlier this year, however, eight women were asked to record their daily lives in a series of photo diaries.
The extraordinary results of the Open Shutters Iraq project are now being exhibited in central London.
Here, are two of those photo diaries.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lulua's story in words and pictures
Lulua used to be a vet. One evening, on her way to work, she was kidnapped, taken to the mountains and tortured for several days.
When she eventually returned home she found herself excluded from her family and a husband who could not accept that she had not been raped.
"A few blocks away, I saw my husband. He didn't hug me and the look on his face terrified me. When I got home, my mother collapsed. 'Did they rape you?' everyone asked; everyone but my husband. 'No.' All that mattered was that the family's honour had been preserved," writes Lulua.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Antoinette's story in words and pictures
Antoinette lives in Mosul. She is a Christian and is finding it increasingly difficult to belong to a minority.
She moved from Baghdad to be with her husband. Years later, after having children, she went back to university to study law. The US-led invasion coincided with her graduation. Her children are by far the most important thing in her life, and she struggles to maintain a sense of normality for them.
"I am torn. My life and that of my kids is in Mosul - our house, our memories, everything that we know and that means anything to us," writes Antoinette. "But am I not being unfair to them if I choose to stay? And if I left, where would I go? What kind of future can I possibly offer them? I live in constant anxiety and terror."
The Open Shutters: Iraq exhibition, which is presented by Index on Censorship, runs from 2 October, Queens Walk, South Bank, London.
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