Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2014

In addition to the feature titles, there will also be a screening of Abounaddara Collective Shorts from Syria plus Panel Discussion on 'Emergency Cinema'.

Dangerous Acts Starring The Unstable Elements Of Belarus Dangerous Acts Starring The Unstable Elements Of Belarus
Dangerous Acts Starring The Unstable Elements Of Belarus and Return To Homs
An Episode In The Life Of An Iron Picker (Epizoda U Zivotu Beraca Zeljeza) (Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Slovenia, Italy; Year: 2013; Director: Danis Tanovic; Writer: Danis Tanovic; Stars: Nazif Mujic, Senada Alimanovic, Semsa Mujic)
Life becomes desperate for a scrap merchant when his pregnant wife needs medical help they can't afford.
The Beekeeper (Country: Switzerland; Year: 2013; Director: Mano Khalil)
The story of Ibrahim Gezer, a Kurdish beekeeper from south-east Turkey, and his unusual experience of integration into the seemingly conservative heart of today's Switzerland.
Before Snowfall (Før snøen faller) (Country: Norway, Germany, Iraq; Year: 2013; Director: Hisham Zaman; Writer: Kjell Ola Dahl, Hisham Zaman; Stars: Billey Demirtas, Eva Medusa Gühne, Suzan Ilir, Nazmi Kirik, Jin Musa, Bahar Ozen, Volga Sorgu, Abdullah Taher, Mohammed Tejir, Birol Ünel)
A youngster from Kurdistan tracks his sister across Europe after she flees before her wedding.
Big Men (Country: US; Year: 2013; Director: Rachel Boynton)
For her latest industrial exposé, Rachel Boynton (Our Brand Is Crisis) gained unprecedented access to Africa's oil companies. The result is a gripping account of the costly personal tolls levied when American corporate interests pursue oil in places like Ghana and the Niger River Delta.
Born This Way (Country: US; Year: 2013; Director: Shaun Kadlec, Deb Tullmann; Stars: Alice Nkom)
A visit to a support centre for LGBT people in Cameroon, and the judge who is fighting for their rights.
UK premiere
Watchers Of The Sky Watchers Of The Sky
Watchers Of The Sky and Before Snowfall
Dangerous Acts Starring The Unstable Elements Of Belarus (Country: US, UK, Belarus; Year: 2013; Director: Madeleine Sackler; Writer: Madeleine Sackler; Stars: Pavel Gorodnitski, Nikolai Khalezin, Natalia Koliada, Tatyana Mikhailovna Kaliada, Andrei Andreevich Kaliada, Andrei Sannikov, Oleg Sidorchik, Vladimir Shcherban, Yana Rusakevich, Maryna Yurevich, Lavr Berzhanin, Vika Biran, Irina Bogdanova, Oskar Eustis, Sergei Kvachonok)
Behind the scenes with the Belarus Free Theatre, an acclaimed troupe of imaginative and subversive performers who, in a country choked by censorship and repression, defy Europe's last remaining dictatorship.
UK premiere
E-TEAM (Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: Katy Chevigny, Ross Kauffman)
E-TEAM is driven by the high-stakes investigative work of four intrepid human rights workers, offering a rare look at their lives at home and their dramatic work in the field.
Evaporating Borders (Country: US, Cyprus; Year: 2014; Director: Iva Radivojevic; Writer: Iva Radivojevic)
The lives of asylum seekers and political refugees in Cyprus.
First To Fall (Country: UK, US, Libya, Canada; Year: 2013; Director: Rachel Beth Anderson, Tim Grucza; Writer: Rachel Beth Anderson, Christina Burchard, Timothy Grucza)
Documentary showing how Hamid and Tarek leave their lives as students in Canada and travel to Libya, their homeland, to join the fight to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi.
For Those Who Can Tell No Tales (Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina; Year: 2013; Director: Jasmila Žbanić; Writer: Zoran Solomun, Kym Vercoe, Jasmila Zbanic; Stars: Kym Vercoe, Branko Cvejic, Jasna Djuricic, Boris Isakovic, Damir Kustura, Leon Lucev, Simon McBurney, Sasa Orucevic, Pamela Rabe)
An Australian tourist finds a trip to Bosnia changes her life forever.
UK premiere
An Episode In The Life Of An Iron Picker An Episode In The Life Of An Iron Picker
An Episode In The Life Of An Iron Picker and The Mulberry House
The Mulberry House (Bayt al toot) (Country: Egypt, Syria, UK, Yemen, United Arab Emirates; Year: 2013; Director: Sara Ishaq; Writer: Sara Ishaq)
After 10 years in Scotland, Sara Ishaq travels back to her childhood home of Yemen and takes her camera along.
UK premiere
My Child (Country: Turkey; Year: 2013; Director: Can Candan)
What happens when your child comes out to you? My Child answers this question as it introduces a courageous and inspiring group of mothers and fathers in Turkey, who are parents of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender children.
Nelson Mandela: The Myth And Me (Nelson Mandela: The Myth & Me) (Country: South Africa, Germany; Year: 2013; Director: Khalo Matabane; Writer: Khalo Matabane)
Personal odyssey sees the director question the meaning of freedom, reconciliation and forgiveness—and challenges Mandela's legacy in today's world of conflict and inequality.
UK premiere
Return To Homs (Country: Syria, Germany; Year: 2013; Director: Talal Derki; Writer: Talal Derki)
Documentary about rebel fighters in the besieged Syrian city.
UK premiere
Scheherazade's Diary (Country: Lebanon; Year: 2013; Director: Zeina Daccache; Writer: Zeina Daccache)
Documentary follows women inmates through a 10-month drama therapy/theatre project set up in 2012 by director Zeina Daccache at the Baabda Prison in Lebanon.
UK premiere
First To Fall First To Fall
First To Fall and For Those Who Can Tell No Tales
Sepideh - Reaching For The Stars (Country: Denmark; Year: 2013; Director: Berit Madsen; Stars: Anousheh Ansari, Hadi Hooshyar, Mohammad Hooshyar, Sedigheh Hooshyar, Sepideh Hooshyar, Asghar Kabiri, Javad Nasseri)
Sepideh wants to become an astronaut. As a young Iranian woman, she knows it’s dangerous to challenge traditions and expectations. Still, Sepideh holds on to her dream. She knows a tough battle is ahead, a battle that only seems possible to win once she seeks help from an unexpected someone.
The Square (Al Midan) (Country: Egypt, US; Year: 2013; Director: Jehane Noujaim)
Examination of the revolution in Egypt, from the perspective of a group of activists.
UK premiere
Watchers Of The Sky (Country: US, Netherlands, France, Chad, Rwanda; Year: 2013; Director: Edet Belzberg)
An exploration of genocide and attempts to criminalise it internationally.
European premiere
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