Sunday, June 21, 2020

Film: From Here, Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2020




Film description: From Here is a hopeful story of Tania, Sonny, Miman, and Akim - artists and activists based in Berlin and New York whose lives and futures hang in the balance of immigration and integration debates. 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: fighting for citizenship, starting families, and finding room for creative expression. Spanning a decade in two of the world’s largest centres of immigration, this sensitive and nuanced documentary captures their journeys to define what it means to “belong” in societies that are increasingly hostile to their existence.
“In the face of nationalism, we need narratives that connect us to our interdependence, challenge our assumptions, and open our imagination. The stories in From Here invite viewers to engage with—rather than retreat from—our global reality.”
- Christina Antonakos-Wallace, director, From Here
This film offers subtitles in English, Spanish and Closed Captioning
Filmmaker(s): 
Christina Antonakos-Wallace
Country of Production: 
United States
Year: 
2020
89m
Language(s): 
English, German, Spanish, Punjabi, Romani, Vietnamese, Open Captioned in English
Genre: 
Documentary
Filmmaker Bio(s): 
Christina Antonakos-Wallace
Director
Christina Antonakos-Wallace (Director) is an award winning filmmaker and cultural organizer whose practice is centered around facilitating conversations about migration, racism and belonging. Her short films and interactive work has been exhibited in over a dozen countries–in diverse contexts from schools, to festivals, to corporations. Awards include the Euromedia Award for Culture & Diversity (2011), a Media that Matters Change Maker Award (2012), and recognition from the German Alliance for Democracy and Tolerance (2015). From Here is her first feature-length documentary. 
Film Website: 

Film: Maxima, Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2020




Film description: Maxima tells the incredible story of 2016 environmental Goldman Prize winner Máxima Acuña and her family, who own a small, remote plot in the Peruvian Highlands. The Acuñas rely solely on the environment for their livelihood, but their land sits directly in the path of a multi-billion dollar project run by one of the world’s largest gold-mining corporations. Faced with intimidation, violence, and criminal prosecution, we follow Máxima’s tireless fight for justice, taking her from the Peruvian Supreme Court to the doors of the World Bank in Washington, D.C. Standing ever mighty, Máxima sings of her love of the land in the face of widespread oppression of indigenous people, and relentless attempts to destroy environmental resources that the world relies on.
“Our dignity has no price.”
- Máxima Acuña, Maxima
Winner Audience Award for a Feature Film, Hot Docs 2019

Filmmaker(s): 
Claudia Sparrow
Year: 
2019
88m
Language(s): 
English, Spanish, Open Captioned in English
Genre: 
Documentary
Filmmaker Bio(s): 
Claudia Sparrow
Director
Born and raised in Lima, Peru, Claudia has been recognized as one of the ten prominent filmmakers in Peru. Claudia’s first feature film I Remember You, starring Stefanie Butler (Stranger Things) and Joe Egender (The Night of), won best dramatic feature film at the Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles and had a theatrical and VOD release in 2016. Her American Film Institute thesis film El Americano, won an Emmy Award in the drama category. Claudia is also the recipient of the Franklin J. Schaffner Fellow Award for directing El Americano. She is a 2018 Film Independent Fellow.

Film: Radio Silence, Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2020


From: https://ff.hrw.org/film/radio-silence

Film description: To millions of people in Mexico, the incorruptible journalist and news anchor Carmen Aristegui is regarded as the trusted alternative voice to official government spin, fighting daily against deliberate disinformation spread through news sources, government corruption, and the related drugs trade. When she is fired by a radio station in 2015 after revealing a scandal involving then-President Enrique Peña Nieto, Carmen - with her dedicated journalist colleagues - decides to build a separate news platform. Facing threats of violence in the wake of a prominent journalist’s vicious murder, they must overcome fear for their personal well-being to continue in a shared fight for democracy and justice.

 “Fear must not defeat us. We must not leave room for silence and allow this situation to terrorise journalists.”

- Carmen Aristegui, Radio Silence

Filmmaker(s): 
Juliana Fanjul
Country of Production: 
Switzerland/ Mexico
Year: 
2019
    79m
Language(s): 
Spanish, Fully subtitled in English
Genre: 
Documentary
Filmmaker Bio(s): 
Juliana Fanjul
Director
Born in Mexico in 1981. Received BA in Visual Communication. Attended EICTV (International Cinema and TV School of San Antonio de los Baños), documentary department. Worked as a director's assistant. 2011 exchange programme to live in Switzerland. 2012-4 Masters in Cinema Studies, a joint programme between ECAL (École cantonale d'art de Lausanne) and HEAD (Haute école d'art et de design) in Geneva. 

Carmen Aristegui's internet radio site: https://aristeguinoticias.com/category/aristegui-en-vivo

Director Juliana Fanjul discusses her documentary “Radio Silence,” which tells the story of Mexican journalist and news anchor Carmen Aristegui, who was fired from her radio station and set out to create her own news platform in the face of threats of violence. The film will be available to stream from June 11th-June 20th as part of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival.

https://www.wnyc.org/story/human-rights-watch-film-festival-radio-silence/

Film Website: