Oxford Brookes University Annual Film Festival

The Oxford Brookes University Human Rights Film Festival is an initiative of post graduate students on the MA course in Development and Emergency Practice.

In attracting diverse audiences to each of our screenings, the Festival has achieved its objective of raising awareness about a range of human rights concerns among students and across the wider Oxford community. In previous years guest speakers have included award winning Lebanese filmmaker, Jean Chamoun; former Beirut hostage John McCarthy, legendary musician Annie Lennox and the Director of Liberty, Shami Chakrabati.

10th Annual Festival:
27th Feb - 2nd March 2012

For film trailers, information on speakers and organisations please see www.oxfordhumanrightsfestival.org

All screenings are completely free and open to the public.

Monday 27th February - Africa

1pm, Brookes Hub, Turl St

Kuchus of Uganda, Mathilda Piehl (2008, Documentary, 45mins)

In a country where homosexuality is still illegal, the members of 'Sexual Minorities of Uganda' have the courage and persistence to face vicious and public discrimination in the fight for human rights. This documentary gives us a shocking view of government-sanctioned homophobia and the proud Ugandans who risk their lives for a more tolerant world.

Speaker: Marcie Shaoul, Head of External Affairs, Commonwealth Foundation

6.30pm, Ultimate Picture Palace

Pray the Devil Back to Hell, Gini Reticker (2008, Documentary, 72mins)

The inspirational story of thousands of Liberian women, Muslim and Christian, who came together to help force an end to the country's atrocious civil war, leading to the removal of murderous warlords from power and a new path for the Liberian people towards peace and democracy. This award-winning documentary shows how a unified voice – women's voice – can prevail over violence and madness. Featured prominently are Leymah Gbowee and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, two winners of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. www.praythedevilbacktohell.com This screening is held in conjunction with the Oxford Institute of Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict

Speakers:
Mike Wooldridge, BBC World Affairs Correspondent;
Ruairi Nolan, Head of Asia, Peace Direct;
Wendy Fenton, Humanitarian Practice Network Co-ordinator, Overseas Development Institute;
Dr Hugo Slim, Visiting fellow, Oxford Institute of Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict

Tuesday 28 Feb – The Americas

1pm, Brookes Hub, Turl St

You Don't like the Truth: 4 Days inside Guantanamo, Luc Cote & Patricio Henriquez (2010, Documentary, 99mins)

A stunning award-winning documentary based 7hours of security camera footage from an encounter in Guantanamo Bay between a team of Canadian intelligence agents and a Canadian citizen, 16yr old Omar Khadr. The film analyses the political, legal and psychological aspects of the 4 day interrogation offering an unusual insight into a world where 'the truth' itself is often negotiated. www.youdontlikethetruth.com

6.30pm, Ultimate Picture Palace

Crude, Joe Berlinger (2009, Documentary, 105mins)

This documentary tells the story of an international fight for environmental justice in the Ecuadorian rainforest. The indigenous people who live around the 'Lago Agrio' oil field, working with a team of lawyers, filed a $27 billion dollar lawsuit against Chevron corporation. This film follows the lawsuit over several years as it attracts increased media and political attention, both in Ecuador and abroad. An award-winning documentary, 'Crude' will give you a new way of looking at globalization. www.crudethemovie.com

Speaker: Rob Holtom, Environment and Sustainability Co-ordinator, Student Hubs

Wednesday 29 Feb – Europe

1pm, Brookes Hub, Turl Street

Welcome, Phillipe Lioret (2010, Drama, 109mins)

Bilal is a 17 year old Kurdish boy from Iraq who has spent the last three months travelling illegally across Europe, in an attempt to reunite with his girlfriend Mina who has moved with her family to England. His long journey is almost over when he finally reaches Calais but with all legal options exhausted, Bilal, who can literally see his destination from across the Channel, resolves that his only option is to learn to swim and make the dangerous crossing himself. www.welcomemovie.com.au

Speaker: Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty (The National Council for Civil Liberties)

6.30pm, Ultimate Picture Palace

The Whistleblower, Larysa Kondracki (2011, Drama, 112mins)

A controversial film based on real events, 'The Whistleblower' tells the story of a policewoman [Rachel Weisz] who discovers a sex trafficking operation in post-war Bosnia and must fight U.S. private contractors and the UN to uncover it. Weisz is joined by Vanessa Redgrave, Benedict Cumberbatch, David Straitharn and Monica Bellucci in a thriller in which everyone deserves suspicion. This film is thoroughly entertaining, but it also asks a lot of uncomfortable questions about Western involvement in the Balkans. www.thewhistleblower-movie.com

Thursday 1 March – Middle East

1pm, Brookes Hub, Turl Street

Frontier of Dreams and Fears, Mai Masri (2001, Documentary, 56mins)

This powerful documentary paints a story of a friendship between two Palestinian girls in refugee camps against the backdrop of the Middle East conflict. The two girls, Mona and Manar, share their experiences living in Lebanon and Israel and dream of meeting one day. This film is filled with warmth, and reminds us that children are children, no matter where they are in the world or what is going on around them.

Speaker: Dr Antony Kingsley, Deputy Director, Refugee Resource

6.30pm, Ultimate Picture Palace

Son of Babylon Mohamed Al Daradji (2009, Feature Film, 90mins)

Northern Iraq, 2003. Two weeks after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Ahmed, a 12-year-old boy begrudgingly follows in the shadow of his grandmother. On hearing news that prisoners of war have been found alive in the South, she is determined to discover the fate of her missing son, Ahmed's father, who never returned from the Gulf war. From the mountains of Kurdistan to the sands of Babylon, they hitch rides from strangers and cross paths with fellow pilgrims, on all too similar journeys. Struggling to understand his grandmother's search, Ahmed follows in the forgotten footsteps of a father he never knew. This journey will lead the boy to come of age. www.sonofbabylon.co.uk

Friday 2 March – Asia

1pm, Brookes Hub, Turl Street

Burma Soldier Nic Dunlop, Ricki Stern, Anne Sunberg (2010, Documentary, 70mins)

Narrated by Colin Firth, 'Burma Soldier' tells the unforgettable story of a courageous former soldier, who risked everything to quite literally swap sides. The documentary provides a rare glimpse of a brutal dictatorship from inside the heart and mind of Ko Myo Myint who lays bare an understanding of a brutal regime, and the political and psychological power of the junta over his country. www.burmasoldier.com This screening is held in conjunction with Oxford Burma Alliance and the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust.

6.30pm, Ultimate Picture Palace

Halaw - Ways of the Sea, Sheron Dayoc (2010, Drama, 78mins)

Tackling the theme of exploitation and human trafficking 'Halaw' follows the journey of a group of diverse people bound by a common goal, an opportunity to earn a living, as they take an illegal boat ride from certain poverty in their homeland of Mindanao to an uncertain future in Malaysia.

For film trailers, information on speakers and organisations please see www.oxfordhumanrightsfestival.org

See the following links for the listings and awards from the 9th annual festival held in 2011, the 8th annual festival held in 2010, the 7th annual festival held in 2009 or the 6th annual festival held in 2008.