21 DAYS TO NAWROZ

2nd FLASHPOINT Human Rights Film Festival

21 DAYS TO NAWROZ  

Dir: Michelle Mama

2009, 74 min / Canada, Iraq

English, Kurdish / English Subtitles

Kurdistan, The Other Iraq, has been held up as a shining example of peace in the Middle East since U.S.- sanctioned protections were put in place in 1992, but how has this experimental democracy really affected women?  The film explores the lives of three very different Kurdish women, as they prepare for the ancient New Year feast, by reckoning with the past and looking to the future. One of them Alwan was an 8 year-old girl who lost everything and witnessed unspeakable horrors when Saddam Hussein dropped a chemical bomb on the city of Halabja in 1988, killing 5,000 Kurds instantly.  The 20th anniversary of the tragedy is here, and she must play host to dozens of visiting dignitaries, all the while harboring resentment at the corruption and greed that have left these victims living an impoverished existence in rubble.  21 DAYS TO NAWROZ is study of evolution, hope, and courage, in the most unlikely of places.

Awards: Best in Show at 2009 Accolade Competition

Website: http://production.triconfilms.com/properties/4
Trailer: http://vimeo.com/15057080

Curated by: Paul Lee

21 DAYS TO NAWROZ - 1 Hour Documentary from Tricon Films and Television on Vimeo.

Festival Contact

FLASHPOINT Human Rights Film Festival

Email: flashpoint.hrff@gmail.com

Website: www.flashpointfilmfestival.com

ENTRY FREE. REGISTRATION AT VENUE

Women In Shroud

Dir: Farid Haerinejad / Mohammad Reza Kazemi

2009, 73 min. / Iran, Canada / Farsi / English Subtitles

Imagine a 21-year-old woman being forced into prostitution by her mother since she was nine years old, and frequently being raped by her brothers. What would be an appropriate punishment in a case like this? In Iran, the death penalty is applied. For the 21-year-old woman, that is. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the Iranian legal system has been all but favourable to women. Women accused of adultery can be stoned to death – even without proof of guilt. Although stoning to death has been officially abolished since 2004, it still occurs. The documentary 'Women in Shroud' follows a group of Iranian lawyers and human rights defenders that campaign against these unfair convictions. Their activism is not without danger, though. The central figure in the documentary, Shadi Sadr, was arrested in 2007 during a peaceful protest, and in the summer of 2009 she was beaten up by militias while she was on her way to the Friday prayers. In 2009, Sadr received the Human Rights Defenders Tulip from Dutch foreign minister Verhagen, and she will be a guest of honour at this year’s Movies that Matter Festival.

Awards: Cinema for Peace Human Rights Award- Berlin International Film Festival 2010;  Golden Butterfly, Amnesty International’s A Matter of ACT Award for the most impressive human rights activist / organization: Shadi Sadr - Movies that Matter Festival 2010

Screening at FLASHPOIHT Human Rights Film Festival:

Alliance Francaise, Mumbai:
Thursday, Dec 9, 2010 4.30 pm
Friday, Dec 10, 2010 2.00 pm | Followed by PANEL DISCUSSION on Rise of Religious Intolerance and possible legal action against that

Alliance Francaise, New Delhi:
Friday, Jan 21, 2011 4.30 pm
Saturday, Jan 22, 2011 2.00 pm | Followed by PANEL DISCUSSION on Rise of Religious Intolerance and possible legal action against that

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