We were unable to organize an edition of FLASHPOINT Human Rights Film Festival in 2014 due to lack of funds. if any organization would like to collaborate in terms of fundraising for organizing FLASHPOINT in 2015, please write to solaris.pictures.india@gmail.com
FLASHPOINT Human Rights Film Festival brings together human rights films from around the world to offer hope that change is possible and each one of us can be a flashpointer for change
Schedule : 3rd FLASHPOINT Human Rights Film Festival
Solaris Pictures presents
December 12 – 14,
2013
Alliance Francaise
de Bombay, Mumbai, India
SCHEDULE
Please click on individual titles to see full details and trailer of films |
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THURSDAY
December 12, 2013
|
FRIDAY
December 13, 2013
|
SATURDAY
December 14, 2013
|
|
11.00
am
|
79
min / Germany / 2013
|
86
min / South Africa, Israel / 2012
|
72
min / USA, Mexico / 2012
|
12.30pm
|
38
min / India / 2012
70
min / France, Cambodia / 2012
|
96
min / Switzerland, Cuba, China, Iran /
2012
|
87
min / USA, China / 2012
|
3.00
pm
|
90
min / UK, Sri Lanka / 2013
|
90
min / UK, India / 2013
|
93
min / USA / 2012
|
5.00
pm
|
PANEL DISCUSSION
|
PANEL DISCUSSION
|
PANEL DISCUSSION
|
6.00
pm
|
104
min / Germany, North Korea / 2012
|
83
min / India / 2012
|
105
min / India / 2012
|
Note: Schedule
subject to change at the discretion of the organizers
FREE ENTRY. REGISTRATION AT VENUE
Seating is on a first-come, first-served
basis
Alliance Française de Bombay
40, Theosophy Hall, 1st Cross Lane, New Marine
Lines, Mumbai 400020
Ph: 022 2203 5993
|
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Press Conference - FLASHPOINT 2013
December 10, 2013 - On INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY, a press conference was held to talk about human rights and to announce the 3rd FLASHPOINT Human Rights Film Festival, jointly hosted by Solaris Pictures and Acee ThirdEye. Addressing the media were - noted filmmaker and social activist Mahesh N Bhatt, author & women's rights activist Shereen El Feki, director of Alliance Française de Bombay Alain Zayan, filmmaker Hansal Mehta, filmmaker Vaidehi Chitre, filmmaker Vinta Nanda and festival director Sridhar Rangayan
Media Partner: Naarad PR & Image Strategists
Pics by Tanay Pant & Anusha Naarad
Media Partner: Naarad PR & Image Strategists
Pics by Tanay Pant & Anusha Naarad
Support Messages : 3rd FLASHPOINT Human Rights Film Festival
MAHESH BHATT, Filmmaker, Writer & Rights Activist,
INDIA
“The limits of tyrants are prescribed by
the endurance of those who they oppress “– The Flash Point Human Rights film
festival will hurl you into the hearts and the lives of those brave people who
had the audacity to stand up alone against the tyranny of the oppressor. These
films will ignite in you, a thirst for a fair world, which seems to have
atrophied at the end of the first decade of the 21st century. These movies will
shock you and wake you up to the new realities that we all must understand and
counter. I give my wholehearted support to this festival, which tries to give
us a taste of reality, in these times where everyone else around us is numbing
us with illusions.
When empathy erodes from our society evil
walks tall. I am certain that these deeply felt films made by these brave film
makers and which deal with the issue of man's brutality to man, will jolt us
all and make us take note of the suffering we unleash on our fellow human
beings. Flashpoint Human Rights Film Festival for me is like a solitary lamp in
this dark night. It will ignite hope in the hopeless.
NANDITA DAS, Actor, Filmmaker & Social Activist, INDIA
It is quite disconcerting
that South Asia is a major source and destination for child
trafficking of all forms, where children are used for forced and bonded labour
and children are sold for prostitution. It is usually children from lower
economic strata who are victims of trafficking. While it is illiteracy, poverty
and ignorance among the poor and underprivileged that is the prime reason; it
is also the apathy of the government and the legal system that actually breeds
it. If a change has to be made to end this human rights abuse, there has to be
an outcry from the public, from every strata of society, from people of all
walks of lives. The starting point of this could be very simple – just being
informed and aware. A human rights film festival like FLASHPOINT makes us aware
of the issues and if you are aware, you can possibly make a difference one day.
I support and endorse FLASHPOINT Human Rights Film Festival for urging people
to reflect, react and be flashpointers of change.
TISCA CHOPRA, Actress, INDIA
For any
change to be lasting and genuine. I believe it is crucial that we turn our gaze
inward. Legal institutions guarantee ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’ but the world
today is proof that these are by no means enough. The Flashpoint film festival
is brilliant, in that it brings together films that inspire thought and inner change.
Cinema has the power needed to inspire that change in the individual.
ANANTH MAHADEVAN, Filmmaker, India
Of all
the 16 international fests that Mee Sindhutai Sapkal has been screened,
Flashpoint fest hold great relevance for the film, dealing as it does with
the burning issue of human rights... To transcend a mood of death and give
life a chance is the theme of the film and I am glad that it is the
closing film at such an important event.. Both the fest and the film
complement each other.
TACO RUIGHAVER, Director, Movies that Matter, NETHERLANDS
Movies that Matter is very proud that
Flashpoint Human Rights Film Festival will screen the documentary films of the
A Matter of ACT-programme. Movies that Matter is the international film-and
debate festival in The Netherlands that presents seventy films about human
rights and social justice in The Hague. A Matter of ACT is the main
programme of Amnesty International at the Movies that Matter Festival in
the Netherlands that is entirely dedicated to the work of human
rights defenders. These activists and/or their organizations play a crucial
role in the worldwide protection and promotion of human rights. A Matter of ACT
believes that films can engage viewers in a dialogue about human rights and the
threats to human dignity. Using such a lens, A Matter of ACT aspires to raise
awareness and fight human rights violations, both national and international.
We heartily congratulate Sridhar
Rangayan from Solaris Pictures for organizing this festival. Sridhar was a jury
member in the Netherlands of the A Matter of ACT-programme this year
and he wanted to bring the remarkable films to India. And here you can see
the extraordinary effort of his work.
REBIYA KADEER, Human Rights Activist, Uyghur (nominated thrice for
Nobel Peace Prize)
It is with great pleasure that I send
you this message of solidarity to the Flashpoint Human Rights Film Festival
in India. Although I am unable to attend the festival myself, I strongly
support the festival and its underlying message of giving a voice to the
oppressed through film. Films are a powerful medium through which to tell the
stories of people whose stories might otherwise never be told; films resonate
with audiences in ways that stir emotions and build momentum for change. A
recurring theme of the films showcased by the Flashpoint Human Rights Festival
is the rights of women and children throughout the world; women’s rights and
women’s voices are all too often suppressed. Despite this, women are often the
ones who bravely speak out against human rights abuses and protest against
oppression. In India, you have the freedom to speak out about the
injustices taking place in East Turkestan, Iran,Algeria, and Cuba. After
the screen goes dark and the lights come on, please remember us.Team : 3rd FLASHPOINT Human Rights Film Festival
Team
3rd FLASHPOINT Human Rights Film Festival team :
Sridhar Rangayan
Sridhar Rangayan
Saagar Gupta
Vinta Nanda
Hans KapadiaPratik Punjabi
We need Volunteers and Partners for the festival.
Please write to flashpoint.hrff@gmail.com
Organizers : 3rd FLASHPOINT Human Rights Film Festival
ORGANIZER
Solaris Pictures
Solaris Pictures has
successfully organized FLASHPOINT Human Rights Film Festival in 2010/2011 and
2011/2012, as well as four editions of KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film
Festival (2010 to 2013).
Solaris Pictures is
the only Indian film production company that has consistently been making award
winning films on issues such as homosexuality and gay rights, films that engage
the audience and initiate dialogues on issues dealing with health and
sexuality, human rights, and the LGBT community. Solaris Pictures believes in
pushing the envelope - both as producer and as distributor, and in partnering
with grassroots NGOs and CBOs in India, and international collaborators from
around the world. Solaris Pictures is not only producing films, but also
distributing short films and documentaries of other queer filmmakers in order
to encourage such endeavors that address underserved issues.
CO-ORGANIZER
ACEE - The Third Eye
ACEE in partnership with HH&S, Norman Lear Center, University of Southern California, launched the project The Third Eye in early 2013, a platform that builds the bridge between creative communities and the priorities of our time. ACEE has gone further to establish a network of young leaders emerging from the poorest and most marginalized societies of India to create awareness through entertainment to those who live beyond the reach of present media. The Third Eye is in the process of creating that content in partnership with various talents from the film and television business, which is crafted to empower the disenfranchised. The Third Eye in partnership with FICCI, Film Writers Association of India, The Producers Guild of India, The Film & Television Directors Association of India and various Media Schools and Research Organizations has successfully found the inner voice of the industries of media and entertainment in India, the voice that guides itself to address the priorities of our times accurately when speaking to the rest of the world through its different forms and expressions across all platforms.
PRINCIPAL PARTNERS
Movies That Matter, Netherlands
Movies that Matter screens and promotes films that draw our attention to human rights and situations in which these are at stake. The foundation is based in Amsterdam and is an initiative of the Dutch section of Amnesty International.
The foundation's peak activity is the annual Movies that Matter Festival, taking place at the end of March in The Hague, International City of Peace and Justice. The Movies that Matter Festival is the Netherlands' main platform for engaged cinema, with over seventy documentaries and feature films of inspired film makers being screened every year. Apart from the regular film programme, the festival hosts daily talk shows and debates, musical performances and exhibitions. Along the festival, Movies that Matter initiates a number of other projects including events, educational programmes and a growing number of international activities. It promotes human rights film screenings worldwide, offers advice and assistance and stimulates the exchange of knowledge and experience.
Through its Support Programme it offers modest monetary assistance to initiate human rights film festivals and to help circulate and exhibit human rights films in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Movies that Matter believes that film screenings are a powerful instrument to further the dialogue on human rights, freedom and justice.
www.moviesthatmatter.nl/mtm/
Alliance Française de Bombay
Established in Mumbai in 1938, the Alliance Française de Bombay has evolved in sync with the geographical and cultural expansion of the city, by opening no less than seven new centers in 'Maximum City', yet preserving its headquarters in south Mumbai, the historical and administrative heart of the city. Collaborating closely with the other prestigious cultural centers, it promotes cultural exchanges between France and India, initiates a dialogue of ideas and debates through contemporary creation that is accessible to all: your gateway into Europe, French speaking countries and their cultures.
http://www.bombay.afindia.org
http://www.bombay.afindia.org
SUPPORTED BY
Nuremberg International Human Rights Film Festival
Nuremberg International Human Rights Film Festival (NIHRFF) is Germany’s oldest and biggest human rights film festival. With its art house cinema background, it is the leading forum for outstanding feature films, documentaries and animated productions, which have human rights as their main focus.
The biannual festival features an international competition, which presents artistically exceptional human rights films, an international forum, an extensive supporting programme, exhibitions and international guests. NIHRFF presents the Nuremberg International Human Rights Award (worth EUR 2500) for the winner of the International Competition, an Audience Award (EUR 1000) for the most popular film from Competition and Forum (EUR 1000), and the Open Eyes Youth Jury Award (EUR 1000).
One of NIHRFF’s hallmarks is its successful school film project which includes school screenings, a youth jury, and youth reporters.
List of Films and Panel Discussions
Dec 12 | 11.00 am
Germany,
2013, 79 min | Dir: Anne Kodura
German with
English subtitles
About 40,000
refugees, including families with children, live sometimes about more than ten
years in camps throughout Germany, very isolated and in poor living conditions.
They are only tolerated in their own “homeland” and can be deported at any
time. Filmed in luminous black and white, a compelling documentary about
refugee children in a German province focused entirely on the way these
children see things and how it feels to be a refugee caught between
worlds.
Dec 12 | 12.30 pm
India, 2012,
38 min | Dir: Vaidehi Chitre
English,
Marathi, Hindi with English subtitles
A collection of individual stories of the descendants of the indigenous population of Mumbai- the East Indian community that is no longer significant to the modern, homogenising narrative of a metropolis. The documentary paints the tensions between traditional livelihoods that depend on terrain and geography, and the advance of urban infrastructure, which values concrete above mangroves, time above space, and access above all.
Dec 12 | 1.15 pm
France, Cambodia, 2012,
70 min | Dir: Vincent Trintignant-Corneau and Christine Chansou
Khmer with
English subtitles
A group of
women in post-communist Cambodia fight an uphill battle against forced evictions.
The government
grants land concessions to powerful companies to use for commercial purposes. Some of these
lands belong to the people, who facing threats, intimidations, and a corrupt
justice system, dare to protect their land at the risk their lives.
Dec 12 | 3.00 pm
UK, Sri Lanka, 2013, 90
min | Dir: Callum Macrae
English,
Sinhala, Tamil with English subtitles
In summer of
2008 the Sri Lankan Government decided to finish the 30-years civil war against
Tamil rebels at any cost – which meant: irrespective of the sufferings of the
civilian population. The documentary is the culmination of three years of
journalistic investigation and deeply disturbing evidence of the century’s
worst crime against humanity and of the failure of the international community
to prevent this catastrophe.
Dec 12 | 5.00 pm
Panel
discussion:
Whether it
is between nations, states or around one’s personal homes, boundaries are
always thorny issues. What happens when brutal government forces infringe upon
one’s personal space, breaking personal boundaries, or conversely when state
agencies build boundaries that imprison innocents?
Dec 12 | 6.00 pm
Germany, North Korea,
2012, 104 min | Marc Wiese
Korean,
English with English subtitles
Born inside
a North Korean prison camp as the child of political prisoners, Shin Dong-hyuk
was raised in a world where all he knew was punishment, torture and abuse
beyond imagination. After more than two decades of imprisonment, Shin escaped
the camp in 2005 - but life on the outside proved to have its own challenges. A
powerful story of survival and an evocative character study, showing the
feelings of guilt, anger, remorse and complicity that are shared between both
abused and abusers.
------------------------------------------------------------
Dec 13 | 11.00 am
South
Africa, Israel, 2012, 86 min | Dir: Miri Laufer and Erez Laufer
English,
Hebrew with English subtitles
An Israeli
mother's emotional search for reconciliation with the Palestinian sniper who
killed her son in an ambush on Israeli police post. Can cooperation and
dialogue between victims and perpetrators change both sides' approach to the
past and encourage new ways of dealing with an open wound? A thought-provoking
journey through South Africa, Israel and Palestine - three lands that have been
scorched and burned for generations.
Dec 13 | 12.30 pm
Switzerland, Cuba, China, Iran, 2012, 96 min | Barbara Miller
English, Spanish,
Cantonese, French, Farsi with English subtitles
Their voices
are suppressed, prohibited and censored. But influential cyber feminists from
Cuba, China and Iran keep blogging about the dictatorial regimes in their
countries. Putting their lives at great risk, these fearless women stand for a
new, networked generation of modern rebels who use social media like Facebook,
YouTube and Twitter as their tools to denounce and combat the violations of
human rights and freedom of speech in their countries.
Dec 13 | 3.00 pm
UK, India,
2013, 90 min | Kim Longinotto
Tamil with English
subtitles
Poignant
portrait of well-known Indian Tamil poet Salma. She spent twenty-five years of
her life behind closed doors, at first in her elderly home and later in that of
her parents-in-law. A fate that is common to many Muslim women around the
world. Salma fought back, however, and regained the freedom that had been taken
away from her at such a young age. Master
documentarian Kim Longinotto of PINK SARIS fame tells yet another extraordinary
story of a woman’s courage and resilience.
Dec 13 | 5.00 pm
Panel
discussion:
In many
parts of the world, women are no more the suppressed gender. They have
struggled and claimed equality in almost all spheres of society. But in many
other parts of the world, where dominant patriarchal societies rule, taboos and
social mores have been thrust upon them to make them invisible under a veil of
silence. It is in these bastions of male dominance that we hear the rumble of
change now - women rising up to protest, agitate to reclaim their voices,
bodies and independence. But will misogynists, religious fundamentalists and
bigoted governments allow them to break free?
Dec 13 | 6.00 pm
India, 2012,
83 min | Dir: Ashvin Kumar
Kashmiri,
English, Hindi, Urdu with English subtitles
Winner of the
National Award 2012 for Best Investigating Film, this documentary is an
unflinching account of the conflict recounted as personal history, and that of
present-day Kashmir. With the
series of counterpointed testimonies, the heartbreaking coming-of-age of a
people brutalized by two decades of militancy and its terrible response, the
film reflects many faces of the troubled region of Kashmir. One of those rare
documentaries in which Kashmiris openly recount how their freedom is conceded
and replaced by fear and institutionalized oppression.
----------------------------------------
Dec 14 | 11.00 am
Mexico, USA,
2012, 72 min | Dir: Bernardo Ruiz
English,
Spanish with English subtitles
In Mexico,
investigative journalism can be a life-threatening profession. A veteran
reporter and his colleagues at an independent newsweekly challenge the powerful
drug cartels and corrupt local officials to continue reporting the news – at
the risk of their lives.
Dec 14 | 12.30 pm
China, USA,
2012, 87 min | Dir: Stephen Maing
Mandarin
with English subtitles
This
documentary follows two bloggers on their journalistic road trips across China.
They denounce social abuses using mobile phones, cameras and laptops, with the
authorities constantly breathing down their neck.
Dec 14 | 3.00 pm
USA, 2012,
93 min | Dir: Jim Hubbard
English
An eye
opener documentary combines startling archival footage that puts the audience
on the ground with the activists and the remarkably insightful interviews from
the ACT UP Oral History Project, to explore how a small group of men and women
of all races and classes, came together to change the world and save each
other’s lives during the AIDS crisis.
Dec 14 | 5.00 pm
Panel
discussion:
The constant
friction between the governments and people is centuries old – those in power
have always exploited the masses. In this chessboard of money and power, people
have been the pawn sacrificed. However with low cost technology and global
spread of social media, people seem to have found a new weapon to fight the
powerbrokers. How effective are these cyber weapons, and can they fight
oppression effectively?
Dec 14 | 6.00 pm
India, 2012,
105 min | Dir: Hansal Mehta
Hindi with
English subtitles
True story
of slain human rights activist and lawyer Shahid Azmi, an ordinary citizen with
an extraordinary commitment to justice. From attempting to become a terrorist
to being wrongly imprisoned under a draconian anti-terrorism law to becoming a
criminal lawyer Shahid traces the inspiring personal journey of a boy who
became an unlikely messiah for human rights while following the rise of
communal violence in India.
Note: Schedule subject to change at the discretion of the organizers
FREE ENTRY. REGISTRATION AT VENUE
Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis
Dates: December 12 – 14, 2013
Timings: 11am to 8pm
Venue: Alliance Française de Bombay
40, Theosophy Hall, 1st Cross Lane, New Marine Lines, Mumbai 400020
Ph: 022 2203 5993
Facebook: http://facebook.com/FlashpointHRFF
Twitter: http://twitter.com/FlashpointHRFF
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