Friday, June 12, 2009

HRW: International Film Festival - New York Opens TODAY June 12-25, 2009



Due to project deadline I am posting this rather quickly but looks like a Can't Miss if you are in NYC! Please check out the Calendar at the website: here and tell your friends! Perhaps you will want to file/save some of these titles and see the previews by podcast/online for select items. Notice the variety and also note the many with youth appeal and the many omen directors.

The Human Rights Watch International Film Festival celebrates its 20th Anniversary in New York. Tickets are now on sale.

THE FESTIVAL OPENS ON JUNE 12 with The Reckoning, an insightful documentary that follows two riveting dramas-the prosecution of unspeakable crimes and the International Criminal Court's fight for justice.

View Festival Calendar here or download the program as a PDF file (4 Mb).here

Check out HRWIFF's new PODCASTS featuring interviews with filmmakers Joe Berlinger (CRUDE), Paco de Onis (THE RECKONING) and a 2009 film festival preview.

Afghan Star (New York premiere): After 30 years of war and the Taliban’s repression, Afghan Pop Idol is taking the nation by storm. But this is more than just a TV show. In Afghanistan you risk your life to sing.

Back Home Tomorrow (US premiere): A cinematically stunning examination of two lives affected by conflict that illustrates how hope prevails in even the most desperate of settings. Director: Fabrizio Lazzaretti and Paolo Santolini

Born Into Brothels: The story of a group of unforgettable children who embark on a transformational journey with photographer Zana Briski as they learn to photograph their own lives. Director: Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman

Crude (New York premiere): The inside story of the “Amazon Chernobyl” case in the rainforest of Ecuador, the largest oil-related environmental lawsuit in the world. Director: Joe Berlinger

Eden is West - Benefit Gala - Master filmmaker Costa-Gavras crafts an epic story of our times — the journey of an emigrant in search of a better life — full of heart, humor, and wondrous complexities.

Ford Transit: A portrait of the day-to-day reality of a Ramallah taxi driver caught between checkpoints and politics. Director: Hany Abu-Assad

Good Fortune (New York premiere): Are massive international efforts to alleviate poverty in Africa undermining the very communities they aim to benefit?
Directors: Landon Van Soest and Jeremy Levine

In the Holy Fire of Revolution (US premiere): A unique take on Putin’s Russia as seen through the experiences of chess champion turned activist Garry Kasparov. Director: Masha Novikova

Iraq in Fragments: A film that illuminates post-war Iraq in three acts, building a vivid picture of a country pulled in different directions by religion and ethnicity. Director: James Longley

Jung: In the Land of the Mujaheddin: A tour de force look at a surgeon and a war correspondent who join forces to set up a hospital to deal with the humanitarian consequences of war in Afghanistan. Director: Alberto Vendemmiati and Fabrizio Lazzaretti

Kabuli Kid (US premiere): Barmak Akram’s incisive look at daily life in Kabul follows the adventures of a taxi driver and his new-found ward. Director: Barmak Akram

Look Into My Eyes (US premiere): Is anti-Semitism a buzz-word for all kinds of real or imagined slights? Is it an arcane expression that should be retired, or is there legitimacy to outcries worldwide that anti-Semitism is again on the rise?
Director: Naftaly Gliksberg

Mrs. Goundo's Daughter (New York premiere): The moving story of a West African mother’s fight for asylum in the US to protect her two-year-old daughter from female genital cutting. Directors: Barbara Attie and Janet Goldwater

My Neighbor, My Killer (New York premiere): When peace comes, how do you make it right again? An epic emotional journey in search of coexistence in Rwanda.
Director: Anne Aghion

Photo Exhibition - Long Story Bit by Bit: Liberia Retold

Regret to Inform: One filmmaker's personal odyssey to Vietnam, where her husband died and where she discovers an unexpected sisterhood of widows from the ‘other side’. Director: Barbara Sonneborn

Remnants of a War (New York premiere): When the war ends, the work to save the land begins. Director: Jawad Metni

Snow (New York premiere): A stunning debut feature depicting the drama of life in a post-war Bosnian village. Director: Aida Begić

Tapologo (US premiere): A moving story of women in South Africa who have turned their tragedy into a tool. Director: Gabriela Gutierrez Dewar and Sally Gutierrez Dewar

The Age of Stupid (New York premiere): Why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance? Director: Franny Armstrong

The Reckoning: The Battle for the International Criminal Court (New York premiere) - Opening Night An insightful documentary that follows two riveting dramas—the prosecution of unspeakable crimes and the International Criminal Court’s fight for justice. Director: Pamela Yates, Paco de Onis, and Peter Kinoy

The Yes Men Fix the World (New York premiere) - Closing Night - The screwball true story of a couple of activists who infiltrate the world of big business and pull off outrageous pranks to expose corporate greed and its impact on society.
Director: Mike Bonanno, Andy Bichlbaum, and Kurt Engfehr

Youth Producing Change (World premiere): Young people are on the frontlines of many of the world’s human rights crises, but it’s all too rare that we get to hear their point of view.

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