The annual Human Rights Watch Canada Film Festival, celebrating its 21st year, in partnership with Hot Docs Cinema, will present a program of four films covering a range of human rights topics from March 21-28, 2024. The films will be presented from March 21-23 in person at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, and March 24-28 on the HRWFF digital platform.
The films address the plight of the Yazidis - a small religious and ethnic minority in northern Iraq persecuted by Islamic State (ISIS) - Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth in Canada, Indigenous forest guardians in the Amazon, and refugees attempting to reach Europe. Following the tradition of past festivals, all tickets for both in-person and digital screenings are free and accessible to everyone in Canada with internet.
"Suffering and injustice are on the rise globally, and one essential step in reversing these terrible truths is to witness and to document wherever and whenever people's rights are in jeopardy," said Jennifer Baichwal, filmmaker and festival programming committee member. "This is the work of both Human Rights Watch and the brave filmmakers who have brought us the compelling narratives that make up this year's festival."
"The festival strives to prioritize space for identities, viewpoints, forms of expertise, and experiences either silenced or marginalized in the film industry, news, and media," said Nicholas de Pencier, filmmaker and festival programming committee member. "We should learn from these stories and be inspired to take up their causes."
The energy and power of young people in the fight for human rights take center stage in two films this year, beginning with the opening night film, Mediha, a heartfelt and intimate account of a teenage Yazidi girl recently returned from ISIS captivity, who turns the camera on herself as she initiates investigations into the crimes committed against her, standing up for her family and the Yazidi people in the process. With a very different energy, Summer Qamp is an uplifting, funny, and moving look at Camp fYrefly in the forests of Alberta, Canada, where LGBTQ+ teens explore their authentic selves, make friends, and build community, far away from the fierce political battle being waged against them.
We Are Guardians presents the powerful and dangerous work of Indigenous forest guardians battling governmental indifference, politically connected agribusinesses, cattle ranchers, and illegal loggers as they fight to protect their traditional land in the increasingly vulnerable Amazon rain forest.
In this year's drama, the cinematic Green Border from acclaimed filmmaker Agnieszka Holland unfolds a complex set of struggles being faced by a small group of refugees caught in the middle of larger political machinations between Belarus and Poland as they attempt to reach Europe.
The festival is committed to expanding opportunities for audience members to enjoy the events together, and works to create features that increase accessibility, including for people who are blind or have low vision, and for those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Three of the four films this year will feature descriptive video and play with open captions, with live transcription for the conversations to follow two of the films. Please refer below or visit the festival website for accessibility specifications and information on panel discussions for each film in the lineup.
Learn more about the full festival lineup here.
