Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2016
Among The Believers Among The Believers
Among The Believers and Mustang
Among The Believers (Country: US, Pakistan; Year: 2015; Director: Mohammed Naqvi, Hemal Trivedi; Writer: Jonathan Goodman Levitt)
An exploration into the spread of the radical Islamic school Red Mosque, which trains children to devote their lives to holy war, from a very young age.
At Home In The World (Et hjem i verden) (Country: Denmark; Year: 2015; Director: Andreas Koefoed; Writer: Andreas Koefoed)
Stories of five refugee children during their first year at a Red Cross school in Denmark.
The Crossing (Country: Norway; Year: 2015; Director: George Kurian; Writer: George Kurian; Stars: Nabil Hilaneh, Angela Al Souliman, Rami Aramouni, Mai Alsouliman, Marcel Alnaanaa, Afaf Alkamel, Mustafa Sayed Eissa, Alia Isaa, Salwa Zaher, Najib Mazloum, Maan, Ahmad Alsaleh, Manal Alsaleh, Shaima Alsaleh, Saddam Shkair)
A first-hand account of the perilous journey made by a group of Syrian refugees.
Frackman (Country: Australia; Year: 2015; Director: Richard Todd; Writer: John Collee, John Collee, Trish Lake, Simon Nasht, Sarah Rosetti, Sarah Rosetti, Jonathan Stack, Richard Todd, Richard Todd; Stars: Drew Hutton, Dayne Pratzky)
Story of an accidental activist who took on the big corporations over fracking.
The Hard Stop (Country: UK; Year: 2015; Director: George Amponsah; Writer: George Amponsah, Dionne Walker; Stars: Marcus Knox Hooke, Kurtis Henville)
Documentary about the death of Mark Duggan and the difficulty of finding work for young black men in Tottenham
Hooligan Sparrow Hooligan Sparrow
Hooligan Sparrow and The Hard Stop
The High Sun (Zvizdan) (Country: Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia; Year: 2015; Director: Dalibor Matanic; Writer: Dalibor Matanic; Stars: Tihana Lazovic, Goran Markovic, Nives Ivankovic)
Three different love stories, set in three consecutive decades, in two neighbouring Balkan villages burdened with a long history of inter-ethnic hatred
Hooligan Sparrow (Hai Nan Zhi Hou) (Country: China, US; Year: 2016; Director: Nanfu Wang; Stars: Ye Hainan, Wang Yu)
A portrait of women's rights activist Ye Hainan, detailing her struggles with the Chinese authorities.
The Idol (Ya Tayr El Tayer) (Country: Occupied Palestinian Territory; Year: 2015; Director: Hany Abu-Assad; Writer: Hany Abu-Assad, Annemarie Jacir, Sameh Zoabi; Stars: Tawfeek Barhom, Ahmed Al Rokh, Hiba Attalah, Kais Attalah, Abdel Kareem Barakeh, Nadine Labaki, Ahmad Qasem, Saber Shreim)
The story of Mohammad Assaf – Gazan winner of Arab Idol.
Inside The Chinese Closet (Year: 2015; Director: Sophia Luvara)
The difficult decisions young LGBT individuals must make when forced to balance their quest for love with parental and cultural expectations in China.
I Am Sun Mu (Country: US, South Korea, China; Year: 2015; Director: Adam Sjöberg; Writer: Adam Sjöberg)
Documentary about the North Korean defector and pop artist.
Sonita Sonita
Sonita and P.S. Jerusalem
Larry Kramer In Love And Anger (Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Jean Carlomusto)
Author, activist, and playwright Larry Kramer is one of the most important and controversial figures in contemporary gay America, a political firebrand who gave voice to the outrage and grief that inspired gay men and lesbians to fight for their lives. At 78, this complicated man still commands our attention.
Mediterranea (Country: Germany, US, UK, France, Italy; Year: 2015; Director: Jonas Carpignano; Writer: Jonas Carpignano; Stars: Koudous Seihon, Alassane Sy, Joy Odundia, Vincenzina Siciliano, Sinka Bourehima, Mimma Papasergio, Koffi Appiah, Annalisa Spirli, Pomodoro, Susannah Amato, Pio Amato, Aisha, Adam Gnegne, Ernest Zire, Mary Elizabeth Innocence)
Drama tracking African migrants in Italy.
Mustang (Country: Turkey, France, Qatar, Germany; Year: 2015; Director: Deniz Gamze Erguven; Writer: Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Alice Winocour; Stars: Günes Sensoy, Doga Zeynep Doguslu, Elit Iscan, Tugba Sunguroglu, Ilayda Akdogan, Nihal G. Koldas, Ayberk Pekcan, Bahar Kerimoglu, Burak Yigit, Erol Afsin, Suzanne Marrot, Serife Kara, Aynur Komecoglu, Serpil Reis, Rukiye Sariahmet)
Coming of age story about five Turkish girls.
P.S. Jerusalem (Country: Canada, Israel; Year: 2015; Director: Danae Elon; Stars: Luai Musa Hatib, Amos Touitou Elon, Andrei Touitou Elon, Tristan Touitou Elon, Philip Touitou)
Filmmaker Danae Elon grew up in Jerusalem as the daughter of writer Amos Elon, then relocated to New York City. In this film, she chronicles what happens when she and her husband Philip, a French-Algerian Jew who never lived in Israel, move their family to Jerusalem.
Sonita (Country: Germany, Iran, Switzerland; Year: 2016; Director: Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami)
The story of an aspirational young Afghan rapper whose family plan to sell her into marriage.
At Home In The World At Home In The World
At Home In The World and Inside The Chinese Closet
The Trials Of Spring (Country: US, Egypt; Year: 2015; Director: Gini Reticker)
Three women in Egypt fight for the original goals of the Arab Spring.
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