Preview of the 22nd Human Rights Film Festival
As every year, the festival will address a range of topics and stories, including the struggle for civil rights in the USA through the figure of Harry Belafonte, the frenetic life of Souleymane, a Guinean migrant who works delivering food on the streets of Paris, and the story of the women who spend every day cleaning the public spaces of Mexico City. It will also present the struggle of a group of people to protect their homes in Lagos, Nigeria, the second most populous city in Africa, and open a window onto the past, to recount stories set in the final days of the Ceauşescu regime and the Prague Spring of 1968.
The discussions to be held after the 7:00 / 8:00 p.m. screenings will explore in greater depth a number of current topics, involving representatives of the films, and individuals, activists and organisations working in the field of human rights, who will be sharing their experiences with the audience.
PREVIEW OF THE FEATURE FILMS OFFICIAL SELECTION
- Flying Hands (2024). Paula Iglesias, Marta Gómez. Spain
In the heart of the Karakoram Mountains in Pakistan, Aniqa Bano gives birth to a deaf daughter, Narjis. She had previously been unaware not only of the rejection and stigma suffered by these girls, but of their very existence, since their families kept them hidden out of shame. Sixteen years later, Narjis reads her mother's diaries, in which she tells of the personal and social obstacles she had to overcome in defence of the dignity and rights of a group who for centuries had been denied a full life.
- Following Harry (2023). Susanne Rostock. USA
A documentary recounting the last twelve years in the life of the legendary Harry Belafonte, emphasising the singer and activist's constant commitment to social justice. Driven by his huge sense of urgency to inspire a new generation of artists and activists, the film opens a window onto his public work and his historic struggle for civil rights, while also depicting his more private moments.
- The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos (2024). The Agbajowo Collective. Nigeria-Germany-South Africa-USA
Jawu is a young mother living in one of the floating shantytowns alongside the lagoon that gives the city of Lagos its name. The spirit of the great warrior king Egbaezen has marked her out to take on a terrible responsibility and overcome a trial. The danger threatens her people, as corrupt officials are conspiring to evict thousands from their homes. The spirit of Egbaezen takes on the form of an African grey parrot, triggering a series of events that will change Jawu and her whole community forever.
- The New Year That Never Came (2024). Bogdan Mureşanu. Rumania-Serbia
20 December 1989. Romania is on the brink of revolution. The streets are full of demonstrations, students using art to mock the regime, while the New Year shows glorify Ceauşescu. But in the discomfort of their unheated homes, families face up to personal conflicts and the omnipresent Secret Police. The paths of six apparently unconnected lives unexpectedly cross just as the communist regime collapses.
- The Story of Souleymane (2024). Boris Lojkine. France
While pedalling around the streets of Paris delivering food, Souleymane recounts his story. In two days' time he must face the asylum application interview, which is vital to obtain his papers. But Souleymane is not prepared. 8 nominations to the César Awards.
- Tratado de invisibilidad (2024). Luciana Kaplan. Mexico
Who cleans your city? This documentary narrates the lives and experiences of the women who clean public spaces in Mexico City, building up an intimate portrait of precarious employment and the sense of invisibility, blending a range of narrative tools which veer between documentary and fiction, to create a mosaic of voices and ways of life affected by the structure of subcontracting.
- Waves (2024). Jiří Mádl. Czech Republic-Slovakia
Prague, 1968. Tomáš and Pavel are two brothers growing up without a family. Tomáš is older, and tries not to stand out in the grey Czechoslovakia of the era, while his younger student brother has a more rebellious nature, and is a fan of the international broadcasts of Radio Czechoslovakia, directed by Milan Weiner, without knowing that Tomáš works there. Based on the true story of a group of journalists who attempted during the Prague Spring to maintain the flow of information about what was happening in the country.
