By Deardra Shuler
The Film Society of Lincoln Center and the
IFC Center
are co-presenting the 2013 Human Rights Watch Film Festival. Films will be
shown at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, located at
144 West 65th St. in NYC and the
IFC Center,
located at
323 Sixth Ave.
(at
West 3rd St.).
The Benefit Screening and Opening Night film will be shown at the Film Society
of Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater, at
165 W. 65th St., NYC. The Festival runs
from Thursday, June 13 thru Sunday, June 23, in NY.
I spoke with the Deputy Director of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival,
Andrea Holley, whose organization will be presenting 20 films. Born in
Miami and raised in
Texas,
Andrea Holley has worked with Human Rights Watch Film Festival since 1999. She
has worked in Africa,
Eastern Europe,
United Kingdom and the
Middle
East.
“People like me who become involved in the human rights movement do so due
to personal experience or they live in a certain place that brought about some
sort of awareness. For me personally, growing up in
Texas made me highly aware of a number of
different human rights situations. Also, I was able to travel abroad when I was
relatively young and got a better understanding of the different frameworks
that apply in different places around the world. Therefore, I became much more
enlightened to the fact there are a number of different systems and ideologies
out there. I came to understand that the human rights framework proved to be a
lens which allowed me to see things in a perspective that is not always as
politically charged as others. In
Texas,
for example, they still have the death penalty. This is relates somewhat to one
of the films in the festival, “An Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story.”
Fortunately Mr. Morton did not face the death penalty but his case involved
wrongful conviction. The conviction was eventually overturned due to DNA
evidence and a series of investigations. But sadly wrongful convictions are not
unusual,” remarked Andrea.
Human Rights Watch has a number of divisions. There is an Africa division,
as well as a Europe and
Central Asia division,
etc., for the various global regions. These divisions handle children’s right,
women’s rights, health and human rights and work collaboratively to cover a
variety of issues. The film festival functions as an outreach tool wherein
topics in the films generally correspond to aspects of the work Human Rights
does. “Our role as staff is to find and select films. A big component of our
festival is to have discussions after films to help folks process and reflect
on what they have seen in order to gain more information. The Festival will
showcase 20 films in NY covering a wide variety of themes and topics. Our key
themes this year focus on traditional values in human rights, crisis and
migration, human rights in the
United States,
and also focus on
Asia,” explained Holley.
Films featured include: “Deepsouth,” regarding southern communities dealing
with the HIV crisis. “Fatal Assistance,” a look at
Haiti since the earthquake and the
complexities resulting once humanitarian aid is dispersed. Also “The Act of
Killing,” a documentary on
Indonesia,
regarding paramilitary responsible for a number of atrocities in
Indonesia.”
Anita (about Anita Hill); In the Shadow of the Sun, highlights the treatment of
Albinos in Tanzania; The New Black depicts how the African American community
deals with the marriage equality movement; Camera/Woman covers the lives of
women in Morocco. For further scheduling and film info go to ff.hrw.org.
The director of the film “Tall as the Baobab Tree,” Jeremy Teicher, also
talked with me. Jeremy is a Student Academy Award nominated director whose
first feature film “Tall as the Baobab Tree” was ranked in the top 20 out of
170 feature films in
Rotterdam.
“I traveled to
Senegal
when I was a 19 year old university student. What I knew about
Africa back then were merely the images I had seen from
media. While in
Senegal,
I met teens my age. They are the first people from their town to get an
education. We quickly became friends. I was inspired by their determination and
optimism. I was struck how different my experience in real life was from what I
saw in the media. That discovery is what sparked all the filmmaking I’ve done.
I’ve worked with the same students about 5 years now. We did a documentary film
entitled “This is Us,” about their daily lives. We did all sorts of different
topics” said Jeremy.
Tradition plays a major role within the African community. That is important
to understand. “My film, ‘Tall as the Baobab Tree,” which features early
marriage by young girls (age 10-14), is a traditional practice that no longer
fits with modern society. This is not a black and white situation which might
be seen as evil and needs to be stopped, it’s not that simple. Even though the
students I work with are modern and seek to make changes, they too are part of
a culture with traditions. I think change needs to be approached from a
position of understanding and empathy rather than condemnation. That is the
approach we took in the film,” explained Teicher.
“We shot the film in a real village. The film blends reality with fiction
but is based on the students’ individual experiences. All the other roles are
played by their family members who are basically the same person as the
character they play but in a slightly fictional scenario. The film is an
interesting blend. It allows folks to hold up a mirror to view and examine what
is happening in their culture, which right now is at the crossroads of change,”
said the young director.
For info on this film see
www.tallasthebaobabtree.com
For tickets to the 2013 Human Rights Watch Festival visit ff.hrw.org or see
https://twitter.com/hrwfilmfestival.
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