Projects in genres: Human Rights

Synopsis

Seven inhabitants of a de facto state on the Black Sea unfurl a web of stories about loss and displacement through re-imaginings of their dreams and memories of the 1992-93 war in Abkhazia. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2021 - Experimenta - World premiere

Synopsis

Olivia, a trainee professional, finds herself opposing the British government who are bent on criminalising her mother.

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My grandmother was a T'ung-yang-hsi. It is a tradition of pre-arranged marriage, selling a young girl to another family to be raised as a future daughter-in-law. The audiences may glimpse the past, imagine women's situation in our times, and look forward to striving for real gender equality in the future. Official Selection Hot Docs Festival 2021 - World premiere

Synopsis

The film revolves around atrocities on women in Syria.

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A sobering and powerful imagining of a dystopian near-future. "In collaboration with actor-musician-activist Riz Ahmed, this work transcends the genre confines of a music video to create an incisive conceptual accompaniment to the title track from Ahmed’s personal album of the same name. Set in a speculative future of a risen right-wing and rampant post-Brexit racism, Riz unpacks his feelings towards his country in a powerful, gut-punch monologue of rap and spoken word." (London Short Film Festival)

Synopsis

Captured just before and during the Coronavirus outbreak and in the lead up to Brexit, DIVIDED BY LAW bears witness to binational families and couples trying to cope with the UK’s hostile immigration environment. From multiple locations across the world, we hear personal accounts of how the interviewees navigate their way through the UK family immigration regulations, encountering prolonged periods of separation from their partners and families with distressing consequences.

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While millions of migratory birds fly free in the skies above, a dynamic Palestinian refugee yearns for the ancestral homeland she is denied. She challenges her friend to find the ancient mulberry tree that stands as witness to her family’s existence, guided only by inherited memories, a blind man and a two-headed dragon. Spanning fifteen years, this story of a friendship that stays connected across a fragmented land and a divided people, reflects on freedom of movement, exile and the hope of return.

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A film collating the testimonies of six survivors from five of the worst events in living memory to build a picture of the human experience of war and genocide.

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Abdullah is exiled in London. His family are trapped in Syria. This is their existence.

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In the mid-'80s, Swedish mining company Boliden exported hazardous waste to the town of Arica in northern Chile, turning a blind eye towards its mismanagement. This has devastating consequences for the health of the local community, heavily affecting young children as well as adults. Arica by Lars Edman and William Johansson Kalén plunges us into the lawsuit against the mining giant, as the underprivileged demand justice and petition the company to take responsibility for the case. Official Selection IDFA 2020 - Frontlight - World premiere

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An elderly man meets a young woman in a café, and the deal that follows will alter their lives forever. NED AND ME explores the complexity of euthanasia and human transactions.

Synopsis

More than one in three Turkish women have experienced domestic violence and the number of femicides is rising. But some Turkish women are fighting back. Ipek Bozkurt, a courageous lawyer, is determined to challenge this misogynistic violence by putting abusive men behind bars. Working with a group of activists, Ipek is fighting to get justice for two survivors of horrific violence- Arzu, married off at 14 to a farmer ten years her senior and Kubra, a successful and glamorous TV presenter. From very different backgrounds, both were lucky to survive the attacks by their partners. In the middle of these case, Turkey is rocked by an attempted coup that shakes Ipek’s world and puts her in jeopardy. Lawyers start to be threatened by an increasingly repressive government looking to crack down on all opposition. She must fight for democracy while continuing to fight for Kubra and Arzu. Filmed over 5 years, DYING TO DIVORCE takes viewers into the heart of Turkey's gender-based violence crisis and the recent political events that have severely eroded democratic freedoms. Through intimately shot personal stories, the film gives a unique perspective on the struggle to be an independent woman in modern Turkey. Official Selection Hot Docs Festival 2021 - Persister - North American premiere