The Human Rights Watch Film Festival

Saturday, September 22 – Tuesday, December 4 Screenings take place at The Loft Cinema and various venues throughout Southern Arizona (see listings below)

FREE ADMISSION!

The Human Rights Watch Film Festival bears witness to human rights violations and creates a forum for courageous individuals on both sides of the lens to empower audiences with the knowledge that personal commitment can make a difference. The film festival brings to life human rights abuses through storytelling in a way that challenges each individual to empathize and demand justice for all people.

Each year highlights from the London and New York Human Rights Watch Film Festivals are presented in their Traveling Film Festivals. The Loft is proud to bring all 10 of their chosen films to audiences in Southern Arizona.

The films in this years program are:
BIDDER 70
BROTHER NUMBER ONE
CALL ME KUCHU
HABIBI
THE INVISIBLE WAR
LITTLE HEAVEN
PUTIN’S KISS
REPORTERO
SALAAM DUNK
WORDS OF WITNESS
Plus: An “Intro to Docs” discussion hosted by Loft Program Director Jeff Yanc.

I attended several screenings of this film festival last year at the Loft, the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center, and Tucson Museum of Art. Most of these films are thought-provoking and challenging, so I encourage our readers to view as many as they can.

Human Rights Watch Schedule in Tucson and Bisbee, AZ

Saturday, Sept. 22
The Loft- 10am
3233 E. Speedway Blvd.
Tucson, AZ 85716
Intro to Documentaries – Jeff Yanc, who will “discuss general concepts in documentary filmmaking, to help facilitate critical viewing of documentaries … including the docs showing in the Human Rights Watch Film Festival”.

Tuesday, Sept. 25
The Loft 7pm
3233 E. Speedway Blvd.
Tucson, AZ 85716
BIDDER 70
United States
Filmmaker(s): Beth and George Gage
Year: 2012 / 73m
Bidder 70 tells the story of Tim DeChristopher and his stunning act of civil disobedience in a time of global climate chaos. On December 19, 2008, DeChristopher, as Bidder #70, derailed the Bush administration’s last minute, widely disputed federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Oil and Gas lease auction, acting to safeguard thousands of acres of Utah land. Bidding $1.7 million, Tim won 22,000 acres of land with no intention to pay or drill. For his disruption of the auction, DeChristopher was indicted on two federal charges. Tim’s civil disobedience has drawn national attention to America’s energy policy and criticism to the BLM’s management of public lands. Refusing to compromise his principles and rejecting numerous plea offers by the prosecution, Tim is willing to sacrifice his own future to bring this vitally important issue to global attention. Bidder 70 is Tim’s story: his actions, his trial and his possible prison sentence. It is also the story of the scientists, activists, writers, and movements that influence and support his actions.

Thursday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m.
University of Arizona
Main Campus—Social Sciences Blg Rm.100
REPORTERO
Mexico/US
Filmmaker: Bernardo Ruiz
Year: 2011 / 72min
Reportero follows veteran reporter Sergio Haro and his colleagues at Zeta, a Tijuana, Mexico-based weekly, as they dauntingly ply their trade in what has become one of the most deadly places in the world to be a journalist. Since the paper’s founding in 1980, two of the paper’s editors have been murdered and the founder viciously attacked. “Impunity reigns in Mexico, especially here along the northern border,” explains Adela Navarro, Sergio’s boss and Zeta’s co-director. Despite the attacks, the paper has continued its singular brand of aggressive investigative reporting, frequently tackling dangerous subjects that other publications avoid, such as cartels’ infiltration of political circles and security forces. As a veteran member of Zeta’s editorial team, Sergio contributes to the investigative crime pieces that are the paper’s bread and butter, but at this stage of his career, he is also after what he calls the “deeper story” of the region—the human stories that tend to fall between the cracks.

Tuesday, Oct. 9
International Rescue Committee- 7pm
3100 N. Campbell Ave. Suite 101
Tucson, AZ 85719
WORDS OF WITNESS
Egypt/US
Filmmaker(s): Mai Iskander
Year: 2012 / 68m
Defying cultural norms and family expectations, 22-year-old Heba Afify takes to the streets to report on an Egypt in turmoil, using tweets, texts and Facebook posts. Every time Heba heads out to cover the historical events shaping her country’s future, her mother is compelled to remind her, “I know you are a journalist, but you’re still a girl!” Her coming of age, political awakening and the disillusionment that follows, mirrors that of a nation seeking the freedom to shape its own destiny, dignity and democracy. Heba’s words bear witness to the heady optimism of a country on a path to self-determination, the toppling of a dictator, the difficult transition toward democracy, the courageous challenge to the ruling military who cracks down on the opposition, and the celebration of a cultural shift where a younger generation inspired a country to “lead themselves.”

Sunday, Oct. 14
Quincie Douglas Branch Library- 2pm
1585 E. 36th Street
Tucson, AZ 85713
REPORTERO (see listing for Oct. 4)

Tuesday, Oct. 16
Museum of Contemporary Art- 7pm
265 South Church Street
Tucson, AZ 85701
PUTIN’S KISS
Denmark
Filmmaker(s): Lise Birk Pedersen
Year: 2011 / 85m
Meet Masha, a 19-year-old who grew up in the Putin era, on her journey through the Kremlin-created Nashi youth movement. This coming-of-age tale focuses on Masha’s personal political struggle and paints a grim picture of the Russian political climate. Many see Putin as the one leading Russia back to being a global superpower. Masha grows up with this belief, wholeheartedly supporting Putin’s policies and seeking to rid Russia of what Nashi believes are Russia’s “enemies”—the political opposition, investigative journalists, and human rights defenders. But when Masha, a journalist, starts socialising with colleagues in the circle of her friend, investigative journalist OIeg Kashin, she also begins to question Nashi and its leaders. Soon Masha finds herself closer with this circle of friends than her Nashi comrades. And ultimately, she faces a choice between the two groups. A shocking event pushes Masha to take a decision in the end, highlighting the costs of her internal struggle as well as the ever-increasing political stakes in Russia today.

Tuesday, Oct. 23
Grace St. Paul Church- 7pm
2331 E. Adams St.
Tucson, AZ 85719
CALL ME KUCHU
United States
Filmmaker(s): Katherine Fairfax Wright & Malika Zouhali-Worrall
Year: 2012 / 90min
In an office on the outskirts of Kampala, veteran activist David Kato labors to repeal Uganda’s homophobic laws and liberate his fellow lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender men and women, or “kuchus.” But David’s formidable task just became more difficult. A new “Anti-Homosexuality Bill” proposes the death penalty for HIV-positive gay men and prison for anyone who fails to turn in a known homosexual. David is one of the few who dare to publicly protest the country’s government and press. Working with a dedicated group of fellow activists, he fights for Kampala’s kuchus on Ugandan television, at the United Nations, and in the courts. Because, he insists,”if we keep on hiding, they will say we are not here.” With unprecedented access, Call Me Kuchu examines the astounding courage and determination required to battle an oppressive government, a vicious media and a powerful church in the fight for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights.

Sunday, Oct. 28
Central School Project- 3pm
43 Howell Ave
Bisbee, AZ 85603
CALL ME KUCHU (see listing for Oct. 23)

Tuesday, Oct. 30
YWCA- 7pm
525 Bonita Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85745
SALAAM DUNK
United States
Filmmaker(s): David Fine
Year: 2011 / 82m
With plenty of pop music and ‘girl power’, Salaam Dunk delivers a tale of hope and inspiration, courtesy of one winning group of Iraqi women basketball players at the American University in Sulaimani, Iraq. The women come from all over the country to attend this prestigious university, but many cannot tell family back home that they go to an ‘American’ college. The team itself is a ‘mini Iraq’—comprised of Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, and Christians. Through interviews and personal video diaries, we learn about the women, their families and their experiences since the US invasion in 2003. Their narratives provide a rare look at recent events in Iraq with stories of loss and choices that have to be made. Education is the difference between the past and the future for these women and basketball becomes a key part of that education. Their team is like a family and the game is like life. And as their coach Ryan says: sports teaches fight and resilience, but who knows fight and resilience better than these women?

Sunday, Nov. 11
Quincie Douglas Library- 2pm
1585 E. 36th Street
Tucson, AZ 85713
INVISIBLE WAR
United States
Filmmaker: Directed by Kirby Dick, Produced by Amy Ziering
Year: 2011 / 95m
The Invisible War is a groundbreaking investigative documentary about the shameful and underreported epidemic of rape within the US military. With stark clarity and escalating revelations, The Invisible War exposes the rape epidemic in the armed forces, investigating the institutions that perpetuate it as well as its profound personal and social consequences. We meet characters who embraced their military service with pride and professionalism, only to have their idealism crushed. Focusing on the emotionally charged stories of survivors, the film reveals the systemic cover-up of the crimes against them and follows their struggles to rebuild their lives and fight for justice. The Invisible War features hard-hitting interviews with high-ranking military officers and members of Congress that reveal the perfect storm conditions that exist for rape in the military, its history of cover-up, and what can be done to bring about much needed change.

Tuesday, Nov. 13
YWCA- 7pm
525 Bonita Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85745
INVISIBLE WAR (see listing for Nov. 11)

Sunday, Nov. 18
Quincie Douglas Library- 2pm
1585 E. 36th Street
Tucson, AZ 85713
BIDDER 70 (see listing for Sept. 25)

Tuesday, Nov. 20
Joel D. Valdez Main Library- 7pm
101 North Stone
Tucson, AZ 85701
LITTLE HEAVEN
Belgium
Filmmaker: Lieven Corthouts
Year: 2011 / 70m
“HIV is like somebody living in my body without paying rent. I don’t know him and I don’t like him.”
—Lydia, 13, Little Heaven Orphanage, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Lydia is at a turning point in her life. We experience life through Lydia’s expressive face and reflective diary entries, her daily routines at the Little Heaven orphanage for children living with HIV, her conversations with other children there, her doctors’ appointments, and her exercise, study, and prayer. Despite being abandoned by their families or left alone when their parents died, the children form a new family, together with their caretakers. Their HIV status is always in the background, but small victories show us a life that is full of hope­, not despair.

Tuesday, Nov. 27
Museum of Contemporary Art- 7pm
265 South Church Street
Tucson, AZ 85701
BROTHER NUMBER ONE
New Zealand
Filmmaker: Annie Goldson
Year: 2011 / 99m
Through New Zealander Rob Hamill’s story of his brother’s death at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, Brother Number One explores how the regime and its followers killed nearly 2 million Cambodians between 1975 and 1979. In 1978, Kerry Hamill and two friends disappeared without a trace while sailing from Australia to Southeast Asia. Rob discovers that a Khmer Rouge cell attacked the boat. One sailor, Canadian Stuart Glass, was shot immediately, but Kerry and Englishman John Dewhirst were taken to the notorious S-21 Prison in Phnom Penh, held for several months, tortured, and killed. Thirty years later, Kerry’s youngest brother Rob has a rare chance to take the stand as a witness at the Cambodia War Crimes Tribunal and face Comrade Duch, the man who gave the final orders for Kerry and thousands of others to be tortured and killed. As Rob retraces his brother’s final days, he meets survivors who tell the story of the S-21 prison and of what countless families across Cambodia experienced at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. In this spirit, Brother Number One grapples with the trauma that grips all Cambodia: the struggle to forgive in the face of immeasurable anger.

Tuesday, Dec. 4
Joel D. Valdez Main Library- 7pm
101 North Stone
Tucson, AZ 85701
HABIBI
Palestine
Filmmaker: Susan Youssef
Year: 2011 / 78m
Young lovers Qays (Kais Nashef) and Layla (Maisa Abd Elhadi) are university students in the West Bank who hail from Khan Yunis in Gaza. He is pursuing a degree in literature and she in engineering, but they are forced to return home before com­pleting their courses. In the more religious and traditional environment of Khan Yunis, their love story can continue only by marrying. Yet Qays, who is a construction worker living in a refugee camp, is too poor to con­vince Layla’s father that he can provide for his beloved daughter. As the couple struggles to be together, Qays paints verses from the classical poem Majnun Layla all over Khan Yunis, a rebellious act that angers Layla’s father and the local self-appointed moral police. Lyrical and passionate, Habibi depicts a reality where personal happiness must be weighed against society’s opinions, and a choice sometimes made between one’s people and one’s heart.