The Forum of this year’s Human Rights Film Festival Berlin (13-23 October) will unspool in the German capital and online from 14-19 October. Defined as “a place for encounter, exchange and inspiration” by festival director Anna Ramskogler-Witt, the event will host a series of conferences and workshops.

The conference programme will run from 17-19 October. On day 1, dubbed “Don’t Starve Our Future”, panellists will zoom in on the fundamental connections between the climate, justice and peace. The day will begin with a keynote speech and a dialogue about the role of environmental rights, forgotten crises and hunger, involving Yolande Wright and Thin Lei Win, followed by the panel “Breaking the Vicious Cycle of Hunger – Does Food Security Contribute to Peace?” Other highlights for this day include a conversation with Volker Schlöndorff and the panel “Talking Humanity – Development and Diplomacy: With Feminism Against Hunger?”

On day 2, “New Narratives”, panellists will aim to find answers to questions such as: how do we get rid of (post)-colonial stereotypes? And how do we free ourselves from misogynistic approaches? The highlights of day 2 are the panels “How Do We Tell Stories – Status Quo and the Effects on Society”, “Who Tells the Story – Making Unheard Perspectives Visible” and “Why Do We Need New Narratives – Including Intersectional Feminist Angles”.

Day 3, “Open Societies”, will centre on how to combat dis- and misinformation, how to protect journalists and filmmakers at risk, and how to communicate data and facts so that they cannot be misinterpreted or misused. Among day 3’s confirmed highlights are the panels “Storytelling in Times of Crisis” and “The Hidden Power of Data Lies in Storytelling”.

Meanwhile, the workshop programme will run from 14-16 October. Day 1 will focus on climate storytelling, during which experts such as Juan Auz and Anne Thoma will share best practices and explore the power of humour and constructive storytelling. On day 2, collaborative work will take centre stage, and experts Nicolas Janowski, Irena Taskovski, Vivian Schröder and Annie Slemrod will introduce new ways to produce and distribute content individually and collectively, highlighting the need to understand the political dimension that collaborative work implies. On day 3, Leslie Thomas, Ines Kaizik-Kratzmüller, Paul Rieth, Josephine Schmidt and Martina Dase will explore how storytelling can decolonise the minds of our societies.

Commenting on the mission of this year’s forum, Ramskogler-Witt told Cineuropa: “Worldwide, we are seeing how fears about the future are spreading and how fundamental values like the rule of law, human rights, and the freedom of art and science are being called into question. At the same time, we see people taking to the streets around the world to protest and stand up for these values, fighting for a tolerant, cosmopolitan, peaceful society. That takes courage – the courage to stay active and not to close our eyes to the challenges of our time. We believe that stories are the key to courage. Stories have the power to inspire and empower, to denounce grievances and injustices, and reveal solutions. They can play an essential role in peace processes and make a major contribution to rethinking society. That’s why it’s important who tells them and, above all, how: storytelling matters!”

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