8th Annual
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS FILMFESTIVAL
November 20
David Lam Auditorium, University ofVictoria
Human Rights Fair in lobby starting eachnight at 6:30 p.m.
Screenings begin 7 p.m.
Few artistic media have the power to reach acrosscultures, languages and even time itself to influence millions of people in thelanguage of our daily lives. Film has that power. Each year, talentedfilmmakers work against long odds, short finances and threatening politics tobring to the screen powerful stories of human struggle, sacrifice and triumph.
We share these powerful films to raise awareness and toencourage people to translate what they have seen into meaningful action.
Thank you, festival volunteers and supporters,filmmakers, guests, and all you who come out to see these important films. Youmake this festival possible!
Festival moderator will be Mariko Miller, founder andcreative force behind the film festival since 2001.
Friday November20, 7 p.m.
Guest speaker: Richard Cook, member of Amnesty International Group 27 Victoria
Eleanor's Dream
LluIs DanEs / Spain / 2008 / 15 min
In a dreamlike atmosphere, over 30 Spanish and Latin American celebritiestalk about the state of human rights today, and the achievements andshortcomings of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as it turns 60. Thefilm pays tribute to Eleanor Roosevelt, advocate of the Universal Declarationof Human Rights, and including some of her most memorable quotes.
Guest speaker: Moussa Magassa, Human Rights Education Advisor, UVic
The Devil's Bargain
Shelley Saywell / Canada / 2008 / 89 min
Small arms are the real weapons of massdestruction, killing more than half a million people a year, spreading like adisease and destablizing entire regions. Beginning in the gun markets ofSomalia, we witness their horrific impact. But no guns are made in Somalia.From France to South Africa, Bosnia, Moldova, the United States and Canada,Devil's Bargain examines the ways in which guns slip from legal to illicitmarkets. From dealers, to pilots, to end-users, to the victims, we discover alargely unregulated trade in what has become the globalization of death. When200,000 AK-47s go missing from Bosnia, activists call for an InternationalTreaty to curb the trade. But it's blocked by the super power, and loopholes"big enough for an Antonov to fly through" continue to allow the flowof guns that destabilize our world.
Discussion period
SaturdayNovember 21, 7 p.m.
GuestSpeaker: Alex Neve has been the Secretary General of Amnesty InternationalCanada since January
Seeking Refuge
Karen Cho / QuEbec, Canada / 2009 / 70 min
Five asylumseekers set out on the lengthy journey to be accepted as refugees in Canada.Plunging into the experiences, hopes and struggles of asylum seekers lookingfor protection, Seeking Refuge follows newly-arrived claimantsawaiting their hearings and captures the lives of those who have been deniedasylum and are facing deportation. From border crossings to refugee shelters, amoving look at the lives of people who navigate Canada's complex refugeedetermination system after escaping war, persecution, rape and politicalunrest.
SUNday November22, 7 p.m.
Guest Speaker: Serina Zapf is a long time Human Rights activist andgrassroots organizer. Currently Vice President Of Amnesty InternationalCanada, Serina also ran the Student Refugee Program at the University ofVictoria and has been involved in radicalizing conceptions of law andrights.
Justicia Now
Martin O Brien and Robbie Proctor/ 2007/31 min
This filmreveals Chevron Texaco's toxic legacy in the Northern Ecuadorian region of theAmazon rainforest - and introduces viewers to a courageous group of peoplecalled Los Afectados (The Affected Ones) who are seeking justice for theensuing cancer, sickness and death in the largest environmental class actionlawsuit in history. Featuring appearances by Daryl Hannah and Stuart Townsend.
Guest speaker: Dr Mary-Wynne Ashford. Mary-Wynne Ashford is a retiredpalliative care physician and past president of the International Physiciansfor the Prevention of Nuclear War. She is the author of Enough Blood Shed: 101Solutions to Violence, Terror, and War, a book in Guy Dauncey's SolutionsSeries.
Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari
Lisa Merton and Alan Dater / USA / 2008 / 80 min
Taking Root tells the dramatic story of Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize Laureate WangariMaathai whose simple act of planting trees grew into a nationwide movement tosafeguard the environment, protect human rights, and defend democracy, amovement for which this charismatic woman became an iconic inspiration. Plantingtrees for fuel, shade, and food is not something that anyone would imagine asthe first step toward winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Yet with that simple actWangari Maathai, a woman born in rural Kenya, started down the path thatreclaimed her country's land from 100 years of deforestation, provided newsources of food and income to rural communities, gave previously impoverishedand powerless women a vital political role in their country, and ultimatelyhelped to bring down Kenya's twenty-four-year dictatorship.
Best Documentary, AudienceAward,2009 Mendocino Film Festival
Henry Hampton Award forExcellence in Film and Digital Media 2009, Council on Foundations
Best Documentary,2009
Audience Choice Prize2008,Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire de Montreal
Ecocamera Award) 2008,Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire du Montreal
The Harold & MargaretBlank Award for Storytelling, 2008 Vermont International Film Festival
Amnesty International DurbanHuman Rights Award, 2008 Durban International Film Festival (South Africa)
Green Cinema Award, 2008 MauiFilm Festival
Audience Award, 2008Projecting Change Film Festival (Vancouver, BC)
Audience Award Winner, 2008Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival
Full Frame Women inLeadership Award, 2008 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival (Durham, NorthCarolina)
Nashville Women in Film &Television Award for Best Feature Length Film Directed or Co-Directed by aWoman, 2008 Nashville Film Festival
Best Documentary Feature,Honorable Mention, 2008 Nashville Film Festival
Discussion period
Specialthanks
SachikoKiyooka of India Ink for poster design
DevinBrown for work on the website
All ourguest speakers
Participatingorganizations
With much appreciation from the UVic Amnesty International Action Group