Geneva puts spotlight on human rights
Sponsored by high-profile figures – including Robert Badinter, Amos Gitaï, Barbara Hendricks, William Hurt, Ken Loach and Jorge Semprun – the 7th International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (FIFDH) runs from March 6-15 in Geneva.
The event – headed by its founder Léo Kaneman – is structured around the concept A film, a subject, a debate.
According to Kaneman, "Today’s world is so chaotic that the Festival must, regrettably, be selective and pick the most important issues. One life would not be enough to denounce all the injustices and violations and we only have ten days". Ten days in which audiences will be enlightened about Georgian independence, the "ethnicisation" of Bosnia, the use of fundamentalism by the Algerian government and discrimination against women.
Thirty or so documentaries and in-depth reports have been selected. These include Nino Kirtadze’s Géorgie, le châtiment (“Georgia: The Punishment”), Claudia Tosi’s Mostar United, Anne Amzallag’s Haqiqa la vérité (“Haqiqa: The Truth”) and Hadja Lahbib’s Afghanistan, le choix des femmes (“Afghanistan: Women’s Choice”).
The jury – composed of former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, filmmakers Mathieu Kassovitz and Idrissa Ouédraogo, journalist Florence Aubenas and writer Slimane Benaïssa – will award the FIFDH Grand Prize to a creative documentary. Other prizes include the World Organisation Against Torture Award and the Youth Jury Award.
(Translated from French)
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