Given the terrible struggles worldwide, now more than ever, audiences must keep abreast of political and human developments.
To answer this need, talented filmmakers working against the long odds of time, money, and personal safety have contributed powerful stories of sacrifice and triumph—19 feature-length films and 13 shorts from 20 countries will screen at the Walter Reade Theater from June 13 to 26 in the 19th Annual Human Rights Watch International Film Festival. The festival is co-presented by Human Rights Watch and the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
In addition to 31 New York premieres, this year's festival features an unprecedented 20 films by women.
Opening night features Peter Raymont's (NY premiere) "A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman," detailing the moving experiences of the noted author and human rights activist during and following the coup in 1973—when Chile's military attacked its government—and when many of Dorfman's friends were killed. Later in the festival, Mr. Dorfman will be spotlighted by the presentation of two films that he co-wrote with his son Rodrigo: Prisoners in Time and Dead Line.
The June 13 program also offers To See If I'm Smiling by Tamar Yarom (Israel; NY premiere), a disturbing look at the behavior of women soldiers, who are drafted into the Israeli army for compulsory service at the age of 18. Explored are the ways that gender, ethics, and moral responsibility intersect.
Winner of this year's Nestor Almendros Award for courage and commitment in filmmaking—and the centerpiece of this year's festival—is Julie Bridgham's (U.S. premiere) The Sari Soldiers. The film follows the atrocity of rape and murder of young girls by the Royal Nepal Army, and the peril-filled fight of several brave women to see justice done.
Right here at home, Roger Weisberg's Critical Condition follows the struggle of a diverse group of uninsured Americans battling critical illness.
Other pertinent issues include the buying and selling of children in China, the continuing animosity between Pakistanis and Indians, and, on closing night, the story behind the murder of crusading Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, in Letter to Anna by Eric Bergkraut, narrated by Susan Sarandon.
There are films dealing with the toll of war and the inner conflicts of a filmmaker who exposes her ancestors' involvement in the slave trade, and another film focusing on children caught up in Brazil's overwhelmed juvenile justice system.
This, then, is a film series of crucial import for concerned citizens.
Diana Barth writes and publishes New Millennium, an arts newsletter. For information: diabarth@juno.com
Feeds