Derechos: Human Rights Listings

"The Exonerated is now available on DVD!
The Exonerated, originally performed as play, tells the real life stories of six individuals who were wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death for crimes they did not commit. Now this remarkable story is available as a feature length film with a stellar cast including Danny Glover, Susan Sarandon and Brian Dennehy. The Exonerated is a captivating saga, presenting its unforgettable stories in the words of the people who survived them.

This is a great film to show to students, activists, church groups or to anyone interested in the issue of the death penalty. The film is 90 minutes and is now available for purchase at Death Penalty Focus. Proceeds will be donated to Death Penalty Focus and the exonerated individuals featured in the film. "

6th Human Rights Nights Film Festival
Bologna: March 17-30 2006
Forl�: April 1-5 2006
www.humanrightsnights.org

Human Rights Nights Film Festival is an international festival dedicated to the cinema of human rights and presents film-makers who use their camera as instrument of "visual resistance" for a more just world. After having dedicated the first 5 years of Human Rights Nights to highlight denunciations and testimonies of abuses and atrocities, which reflect the worrying human rights situation in the world, this edition is more oriented towards positive and significant alternatives for the respect of human rights and for a deep consideration of the dignity of people. Through films, roundtables and artistic expressions we will strive to understand and investigate the causes and contexts that negate the sense of humanity through aberrant forms of greediness, insecurity and danger, in order to contribute to imagine and promote a vision of the world that is ethical and oriented towards peace.

This year's edition
The theme of this year is Respect. Besides a general overview on the most recent cinematic productions, the films, conferences and external events are centered around the following thematic focus: Latin America, a New Model of Development; Terrorism of War and Structure of Peace; AgriCulture vs. AgroBusiness; Community and Human Rights and Human Trafficking. Other special events will be the visual installations Homeless Museum, an original piece by Dim Sampaio on the the theme of social marginalization, CLAM: 'African Vogue' and beyond..., for the launch of Clam magazine in Italy, and the music event Remember Sharpeville: Politburo Session-50FunkYears with jazz musicians and MC poets from South Africa.

The festival will open on the 23rd March with the screening of the film ARLINGTON WEST by Peter Dudar and Sally Marr. National premieres include: WORKING MAN'S DEATH by Michael Glawogger, THREE ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA by Pirjo Honkasalo, OCCUPATION: DREAMLAND by Garret Scott and Ian Olds, HAMBURG CELL by Antonia Bird. The opening conference, Latin America: a New Model of Development will be a moment of reflection on the new direction of the continent towards new social economic and international policies: from Lula in Brazil, to Chavez in Venezuela, to Morales in Bolivia and Kirchner in Argentina. Luis Sepulveda will participate at the conference, where he will present his new book The Power of Dream.

Useful Information
Go to our new website
www.humanrightsnights.org
to find out more about the festival, the schedule, browse film and artist's details or our archive of past years' editions.
Infoline: +39 (0)51 2194208-4844

Festival passes and entry tickets
Bologna: Cinema Lumi�re (Via Azzogardino 65)
Forl�: Cinema Saffi d'Essai Multisala (Viale dell'Appenino 480)

Single Entrance
Regular: 4.5�
Reduced: 3�

Day Pass
Regular: 7�
Reduced: 6�

Human Rights Nights Film Festival is promoted by Cineteca Bologna, Alma Mater Studiorum-Bologna University, Unibocultura, Bologna City Council, CCSDD, Johns Hopkins University, Bologna County Council / Cultural Department. The festival is also supported by Faculty of Economics, Faculty of Law, CISL Emilia Romagna, Department of Educational Studies, La Linea and collaborates with the Faculty of Agriculture and the School of Modern Languages for Interpreters and Translators in Forl� and Aqua.

6th Human Rights Nights Film Festival
Bologna: 17-30 Marzo 2006
Forl�: 1-5 Aprile 2006
www.humanrightsnights.org

A new international short film festival, AcT�a, has been launched in Spain aimed at raising awareness of the Control Arms campaign, while also discovering new cinema talents.

The films will explore the culture of violence, such as perceptions of insecurity and the need for protection; forgotten conflicts; the most vulnerable populations; or victims of violence, especially women and children.

Organised by Interm�n Oxfam, the AcT�a festival will take place between 8-10 June in Madrid. Films up to 30 minutes, made after June 2001 in any language, are eligible

For information about submiting a film visit: http://www.iansa.org/regions/film-festival.htm

Powerful documentary TROOP 1500:
Girl Scouts Beyond Bars features a groundbreaking national program that brings girls into prisons to meet with their inmate moms�offering them a chance to rebuild their broken relationships. TROOP 1500 poignantly reveals how an inspired and innovative effort by the 94-year old Girl Scouts organization is working to help these at-risk young girls deal with their unique circumstances.

The film premieres March 21 on Emmy-award winning series Independent Lens on most PBS stations. For more information and local schedules, visit www.itvs.org

Women and the Criminal Justice System

TROOP 1500 is part of a growing collection of films on women and the criminal justice system, including new release FREEDOM ROAD and 900 WOMEN (from the producers of The Farm).

Available for booking
and for purchase!
Women Make Movies
462 Broadway, Suite 503E
New York, NY 10013
P/212-925-0606 x360
F/212-925-2052
orders@wmm.com

"Through My Eyes" - A Documentary About Rwandan Youth
A Special Benefit Film Screening Sponsored by Global Youth Connect

WHAT: "THROUGH MY EYES"
A Documentary about Rwandan Youth

"Through My Eyes" looks at Rwandan youth in the aftermath of
the genocide and is an expression of the youth of Rwanda to
overcome a dark history and heal through art, music and dance.
The film documents Rwandan youth's vision of and hope for a
better future.

Q&A with Rwandan filmmaker Eric Kabera, GYC Executive Director
Jennifer Kloes, and Rwandan youth activist Stella Umutoni

Reception to follow.

WHEN: April 7, 2006
7:00 p.m.

WHERE: Sony Wonder Technology Lab
56th Street and Madison Avenue

COST: $12 per ticket

All proceeds from ticket sales will benefit projects serving Rwandan
youth and will be matched by a private foundation.

Tickets are only being sold IN ADVANCE and will not be available for
sale at the door. Limited seating is available and will be sold on a
first-come, first-served basis until 5 p.m. on April 6th or until sold out.

To more information and to purchase tickets today:

www.globalyouthconnect.org/rwanda_film

We hope you will join us for this very special event in honor and
support of Rwandan youth. Thank you!

Best wishes,

Jennifer Kloes
Executive Director
Global Youth Connect
www.globalyouthconnect.org
Acting together for compassion, human rights and responsibility

Commemorating the 1994 Rwandan genocide and investigating the post-conflict struggles the country now faces, these events are part of a year-long cycle on �Considering Forgiveness� at the Vera List Center for Art and Politics

Rwanda�Understanding Conflict through Film
PART I: �Hotel Rwanda,� with director Terry George
Thursday, May 4, 2006, 6:00-8:30 PM, Free admission
The New School, Swayduck Auditorium, 65 Fifth Avenue @ 13th Street, New York City
Presented as part of the 2006 Dorothy H. Hirshon Film Festival.

�Hotel Rwanda� (2004, 120 mins.) is director Terry George�s graphic, harrowing and widely honored film based on the true life heroism of Paul Rusesabagina during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The screening will be followed by a question and answer session between Terry George and Carol Wilder, Associate Dean and Chair, Department of Media Studies and Film, The New School.

* * * * * * *

Rwanda�Understanding Conflict through Film
PART II: Examining Post-Conflict
Tuesday, May 9, 2006, 6:30-9:00 PM, Free admission
The New School, Wollman Hall, 66 West 12th Street, New York City
Presented in cooperation with the Graduate Program in International Affairs, The New School

This program, introduced by Alison Des Forges, examines the role of documentary film in raising awareness of rebuilding processes after catastrophic ethnic conflicts, specifically the effects of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Filmmakers Anne Aghion and Kimberlee Acquaro will be joined in a post-screening discussion by Alison Des Forges, a senior advisor at Human Rights Watch and expert witness in numerous trials at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

5:00 PM Pre-Event Screening: Anne Aghion�s influential film �Gacaca, Living Together Again in Rwanda?�(2002, 55 mins.) captured the testimonies of both survivors and killers in the remote community of Ntongwe, as the government was preparing the Gacaca tribunals, a new system of citizen-based justice intended to handle over 100,000 genocide suspects languishing in detention.

6:45 PM Screening: Aghion returns two years later with �In Rwanda, We Say...The Family That Does Not Speak Dies,� (2005, 55 mins.) as close to 16,000 suspects, still untried, are released across the country. Having confessed to their crimes and having served the maximum sentence the Gacaca tribunals would eventually impose, perpetrators of appalling crimes are sent home to plow fields and fetch water alongside the people they victimized.

7:45 PM Screening: The Rwandan genocide left the country nearly 70% female, handing Rwanda�s women an extraordinary burden and an unprecedented opportunity. An inspiring story of loss and redemption, Kimberlee Acquaro�s 2006 Academy Award-nominated �God Sleeps in Rwanda� (2006, 28 mins,) tells the story of women survivor�s spirit to overcome the genocide�s devastating legacy. The film follows five courageous women as they rebuild their lives, and, in doing so, redefine women�s roles in Rwandan society.

Don�t miss your opportunity to see this powerful documentary on the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Help us spread the word and raise awareness about human rights and gender equality!

Academy-Award� Nominee GOD SLEEPS IN RWANDA premieres AUGUST 10th on HBO
Tune in and HELP SPREAD THE WORD about this essential human rights title!

HBO Cinemax | August 10 | 7 PM (ET)
See more screening times & info at: http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/godsleepsinrwanda/index.html
For more information about the film and its broadcast, visit www.wmm.com/godsleepsinrwanda

In the next few days IRIN will be releasing the latest of its short documentary films and we are requesting interested parties to notify us if you wish to receive a copy.

The film is titled "Gem Slaves: Tanzanite's Child Labour" and tells the story of the child miners of Mererani in northern Tanzania who are daily forced underground in terrible conditions, by both desperate poverty and the global hunger for this precious gem.

From Omer Ismail:

Seventeen years ago I fled Darfur.

But not a day goes by when I don’t think of my family and friends who remain in the region – along with the millions of other Darfuris currently suffering at the hands of a genocidal regime.

Yet, despite the devastation, we must not give up hope. There is something we can do to stop this genocide. It begins with raising awareness to help build pressure on our political leaders to act.

Good afternoon. My name is Robin Sanders, and I work at CBS News.

I'm writing to tell you about an upcoming "60 MINUTES" piece set to air this Sunday, December 3, that I thought you might be interested in. It's the story of Immaculee Ilibagiza, a Rwandan woman who survived the genocide in her country 12 years ago, and has found it in her heart of forgive the man who murdered two of her relatives -- as well as the people who carried out the massacre of 800,000 members of her Tutsi tribe.

It's an inspiring tale of both horror and redemption, and Ilibagiza hopes that by sharing her story, she will be able to help prevent future atrocities.

We're trying to get word out about this story to as many people as possible, so it would be great if you would consider sending something out to your listserve and/or putting something on your web site. The piece will be broadcast on CBS stations at 7:00 ET/PT on Sunday, December 3. Further details and other information to be posted on our web site: http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml

OMCT - PBI: Invitation to a side event: Presentation of the documentary "The weapons of impunity" - Human rights defenders in South Kivu

The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) has the pleasure to invite you to the presentation of the documentary

THE WEAPONS OF IMPUNITY

on Tuesday 12th June 2007 from 13.00 until 14.30, room XXII - Palais des Nations


Round-table:

- Reine ALAPINI-GANSOU: Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders- ACHPR (African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights). (To be confirmed)

- Titinga Frédéric PACÉRÉ: Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (To be confirmed)

- Marcel WETSH OKONDA KOSO: Avocat RDC (To be confirmed)

- Pascale BOOSTEN: Information & Video Advocacy of Protectionline. Director of “ The Weapons of Impunity”

- Eric SOTTAS : Director of OMCT (World Organisation Against Torture) MODERATOR

Two daughters lost in conflict. Two mothers searching for answers. Two nations divided by the land they share. HBO Documentary Films presents the story of two young casualties of terrorism, and of older wounds that have yet to heal: To Die in Jerusalem

To Die in Jerusalem recounts the heart-wrenching story of two teenaged girls – one a 17-year-old Israeli student named Rachel Levy, the other an 18-year-old Palestinian student/suicide bomber named Ayat al-Akhras – who died together in a Jerusalem market in March 2002. The horrific incident ignited international outrage because of the age and similarities of the two girls, and set in motion a quest on the part of Rachel’s mother, Abigail Levy, to arrange a one-on-one meeting with her counterpart, Um Samir. The result was an underscoring of the tension and resentments that persist among Israelis and Palestinians – and undermine the desire on both sides to find common ground and forge lasting peace.

See the promo and other advanced clips from To Die in Jerusalem here: http://www.dailymotion.com/hboclips

Don’t miss the premiere of To Die In Jerusalem TONIGHT, November 1st at 9 p.m.—only on HBO!

We are pleased to present the 8th edition of Human Rights Nights - a festival of cinema and arts dedicated to human rights - taking place in Bologna and Forlì from 12 to 20 April 2008.

This year's theme is Resistance, and will feature films, conferences, art exhibits, performances and music. We dedicate this years festival to Resistance as an homage to everyone who struggles to survive in situations of war, colonialism, slavery, poverty and in everyday life difficulties and alienations in contemporary society. We will focus on the strength of the people involved in Resistence movements, who are empowered by their acts of defiance and human dignity. It is thus a positive perspective on those who at times are viewed instead simply as victims. Human Rights Nights celebrates warriors of peace and justice.

The following is an announcement for a film. We have not seen it:

Follow Emmy-Award Winning Filmmaker Lisa Jackson

As She Travels Alone Through the War-Torn Jungles of Eastern Congo

When The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo Premieres TONIGHT, April 8 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HBO

Since 1998, a brutal war has ravaged the Democratic Republic of Congo, killing over 4 million people. Over the same time, tens of thousands of women and girls have been systematically kidnapped, raped, mutilated and tortured by soldiers – both from foreign militias and the Congolese army that is supposed to protect them. In the last ten years, hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been raped – but their suffering goes unacknowledged. Instead, they are invisible, shamed and mute.