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.