Programme 2018

Under the guiding theme Access – Zugang , the very first edition of the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin took place from 20 to 26 September 2018. With a focus on Global Refugee and Migration Movements – Faces of Migration more than 20 documentary films on the subject were screened in three different locations during its inaugural year. The festival has been organised by the humanitarian and development organisation Action Against Hunger since 2018. The first HRFFB was opened with the film Watani – My Homeland by Marcel Mettelstiefen, which tells the epic story of a family's journey from war-torn Aleppo to Europe.

Honorary Patron 2018 - Ai WeiWei

At the first Human Rights Film Festival Berlin, it was a great honor and pleasure to have the Chinese conceptual artist, filmmaker and human rights activist Ai Weiwei at our side as honorary patron of the festival.

Filme

A Year of Hope

Mikala Krogh | DK, NL, PH | 2017 | 83 min. | OV with English Subtitles

On the streets of Manila, kids live on their own, exposed to every kind of danger. Most of them are not even 14 years old but they already have a terrible past of sexual abuses and drug addiction and they are haunted by the terrible crimes they have witnessed, such as the murder of their family’s members. Stairway Foundation, a non-profit child-care organisation, takes the street-children under
its custody for one year to change their destiny. The Danish award-winning director Mikala Krogh follows the daily cycle of activities of the boys who are taking part in the project. Will the children be able to benefit from the possibilities they are provided during this year? How will they feel after months of full attention, psychotherapy and normal children’s games? Will they smile again?

Nowhere to Hide

Zaradasht Ahmed | NO, SE | 2016 | 86 min. | OV with English Subtitles

In 2011, as the American troops retreat from Iraq, the country is left in a state of devastation and violence. Nowhere to hide follows
the male nurse Nori Sharif, who lives in Diyala province, one of the most dangerous and inaccessible areas of the world, called “The
triangle of dead”. Armed with a camera and with his sensitive instinct, Nori documents the harsh lives of war survivors and their hope for a better future. When ISIS takes control of Diyala in 2014, Nori himself is suddenly forced to flee with his family and turns the camera on himself.

Of Fathers and Sons

Talal Derkl | DE, LB, SY | 2017 | 98 min. | OV with English Subtitles

Talal Derki, a Syrian director, returns to his homeland looking for answers; he wants to understand what makes people radicalize,
driving them into the hands of the so-called “Islamic State”. Talal gains the trust of a radical Islamist family and observes the daily
life of its members for more than two years. His camera mainly focuses on the children, providing an extremely rare insight into what it means to grow up with a father who is a member of a jihadist organisation. Osama and his brother Ayman both love and admire their father and obey his orders. However, while Osama plans to follow the path of radicalisation, Ayman prefers to go back to school.

Silas

Anjali Nayar, Hawa Essuman | CA, ZA, KE | 2017 | 80 min. | OV with English Subtitles

Silas Siakor is a tireless and charismatic Liberian activist, who fights to defeat corruption and environmental destruction in his country, where multinational corporations oppress the lives of poor peasant families. He soon becomes a symbol of the fight against corruption. Silas is a story of resistance, a tale of one man’s battle that becomes global, with the disarming power to inspire every community to gather and fight against the arrogance of a corrupt political class. It is a celebration of the strength of individuals, who have the right and duty to fight for their rights, for their land and for a better future.

Starless Dreams

Mehrdad Oskouel | IR | 2016 | 76 min. | OV with English Subtitles

After having sought permission for seven years from Iranian authorities, Mehrdad Oskouei finally receives the permission to follow
the lives of a group of Iranian girls in custody in a rehabilitation centre in Teheran. Charged with crimes like murder and drug detention, just to mention a couple, these teenagers spend their days between the desire to return to freedom and the fear of what is awaiting them outside. The director crafts a compassionate film, eye-opening and heart breaking, about the dreams, nightmares and hopes of these young women, living their lives in the misogynous and patriarchal society that Iran still remains today.

Thank you for the Rain

Julia Dahr,  Kisilu Musya | NO, GB | 2017 | 90 min. | OV with English Subtitles

Thank you for the rain is a story about transformation and the power of resolution. Kisulu Musya is a father and farmer in a small
Kenyan village who becomes an environmental activist that presents his findings to the world’s most powerful leaders. He originally
started to use his camera to document the life of his family and the damaging effects of climate change in his village. But when a
violent storm throws him and a Norwegian filmmaker together, we see him gradually transforming into a community leader and
activist on the global stage. Climate change is not an abstract idea but a real issue with huge consequences for people’s lives that can no longer be ignored.

The Deminer

Hogir Hirori, Shinwar Kamal | SE | 2017 | 82 min. | OV with English Subtitles

A portrait of a Kurdish colonel, who disarmed thousands of roadside bombs and mines – armed only with his courage and a pair of wire cutters. In 2003 Fakhir, a father of eight, joins the army to fight against the terror following the fall of Saddam Hussein. Realizing how many innocent lives are lost to mines he decides to dedicate his life to disarming land mines, risking his life day by day.
He seems unstoppable and continues even when his own health is impaired by the explosion of a mine. His ambition to do good is
simply greater than his fear.

The Judge

Erika Cohn | US, PS | 2017 | 81 min. | OV with English Subtitles

Faqih’s life changes forever when she becomes the first female Sharia judge in the Middle East. Islamic jurisprudence has traditionally been a stronghold of male dominancy but suddenly something is moving. Her role provokes a fundamental discussion about
access to education, gender based discrimination and systematic violation of gender rights in Islamic countries. In a society where men rule by law, the film shows us the huge number of obstacles that Kholoud needs to confront. At the same time, she becomes an inspiring figure to all women, giving us confidence that change is possible and already on the way, breaking the stereotype that depicts Muslim women as powerless.

The Venerable W

Barbet Schröder | FR, CH | 2017 | 100 min. | OV with English Subtitles

One of the most influent Burmese monks, known as The Venerable Wirathu, has driven hundreds of thousands of his Buddhist followers into violent action and ethnic cleansing against the country’s Muslim minority. Tens of thousands of Rohingya have lost their homes and fled to impoverished refugee camps at the border to Bangladesh. The followers of the radical nationalist monk believe that the Rohingya constitute a threat to Buddhism and are determined to exterminate them. This violence has grown massively in the past few years and finally resulted in escalation. The film portrays Wirathu, a figure whose existence contradicts the popular belief that Buddhism is the most peaceful and tolerant among religions, and examines the nationalistic violence that has spread in Myanmar.

We are Humanity

Alexandre Dereims | FR | 2016 | 90 min. | OV with English Subtitles

An island far out in the Indian Ocean is the home of the Jarawa, a tribe descending from the first humans who left Africa 70,000 years ago. The Jarawa have refused contact with the outside world for millennia and still live in a primordial ambience. But their natural way of life is endangered by the so-called civilised world, which found out about their existence only a few years ago but is already imposing its rules. The Jarawa are not giving up easily. They try to defend their paradise from tourism and the Indian government. For the first time ever, a film team could observe the Jarawa in their natural environment, documenting a world where freedom is real and human hearts are at ease.

Women of the Venezuelan Chaos

Margarita Cadenas | FR, VE | 2017 | 83 min. | OV with English Subtitles

The portrait of five women dealing with their daily lives in the middle of the Venezuelan socio-economic crisis, the worst crisis in the
last 200 years. Not only is there a shortage of food and medicine, but the population is also at the mercy of police forces, which are given excessive power to decide who is to live or die. Venezuela has become a country where human rights are deliberately ignored under the indifferent eyes of the international community.

8 Borders, 8 Days

Amanda Bailly | LB | 2016 | 88 min. | OV with English Subtitles

Sham, a fierce single mother of two from Syria, wants to provide her children with a safe life and future. When the situation in the
country critically worsens, Sham applies for a resettlement to the US, which is denied. The only possibility she is left with is to flee Syria illegally, risking her children’s lives on an uncertain and dangerous odyssey to increasingly unwelcoming Europe.

8, Lenin Avenue

Valérie Mitteaux, Anna Pitoun | FR | 2017 | 101 min. | OV with English Subtitles

Moved by a desire of justice and truth, the two filmmakers Valérie Mitteaux und Anna Pitoun, follow Salcuta Filan and her Roma
family for over fifteen years. After leaving her home country Romania, the widow and single mother of two, arrives in a little community in the suburbs of Paris. Here she finds a lot of support and is able to start a new life together with her children. Nevertheless, she is faced with everyday xenophobia. The film documents the development of the family and the community while showing how discrimination against Roma people in Europe remains present and is even rising in some parts of the continent.

Erstaufnahme II

Marc Eberhardt, Pablo Ben Yakov | DE | 2016 | 78 min. | OV with English Subtitles

In the end of 2014, the second reception center for refugees in Baden-Württemberg opens its doors in Meßstetten. The village
only counts 5000 inhabitants and while the staff of the reception center start their work, the people in the village start their
talk about the new inhabitants. Soon the refugees of the center become topic number one in Meßstetten.

Human Flow

Ai Weiwei | DE | 2017 | 140 min. | OV with English Subtitles

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei gives us his powerful and inspired representation of the global refugee crisis. A flow of men, women, children who left their houses to escape war, famine or climate change’s effects with nothing left but a bunch of personal belongings bound together with hope. In this film, shot in more than 23 countries, this burning issue of our times meets the language of art to deliver images that strike for their beauty and their brutality together. Weiwei’s approach is clearly not to furnish political explanations, still less political solutions but rather to make the leap of empathy to understand what being a migrant is like in human terms with the hope to make everyone aware that a serious action is needed. Now more than ever.

Insel 36

Asli Özarslan | DE | 2014 | 65 min. | OV with English Subtitles

INSEL 36 is a documentary about the protests of refugees in Berlin. For one year asylum seekers have been living here in tents by
choice, to take a stand against isolation of refugees. Among them is only one woman, the Sudanese Napuli – her objective: the change of asylum law.

Lost in Lebanon

Sophia und Georgia Scott | GB | 2016 | 80 min. | OV with English Subtitles

The film LOST IN LEBANON follows four Syrian refugees as they fight to rebuild their lives in Lebanon, while the Syrian war flares up. The resolution of the Syrian community that currently makes up the 25 percent of the Lebanese population, is incredibly strong. When the new visa laws issued by the Lebanese government threaten millions of refugees with the risk of detention or deportation, the situation becomes even more hopeless.

Muhi – Generally Temporary 

Rina Castelnuovo-Hollander, Tamir Elterman | IL, DE | 2017 | 86 min. | OV with English Subtitles

Muhi, a young boy from Palestine suffers from an incurable illness. His only hope is a hospital in Israel that can provide him the medical treatment he requires. The conflict in the Middle East is reflected in Muhi’s life story. The film follows Muhi over many years. Together with his grandfather, who is his caregiver and guardian, he lives in the Israeli hospital. Both of them are not allowed to leave the hospital premises. Despite his illness and living conditions, Muhi manages to find joy in life. With his grandfather as the only connection to his Palestine culture, Muhi’s identity is increasingly affected by the culture of Israel. Muhi’s mother rarely receives a permit to visit her son and needs to take care of her other children in Gaza. Imprisoned between two different worlds, Muhi relentlessly tries to find his place in the world.

Return to Afghanistan

Mohammad Mehdi Zafari | AF | 2017 | 41 min. | OV with English Subtitles

Seven refugees once left their homeland Afghanistan. Their escape lasted for generations and took them to many different places.
Now they are returning – from Germany, Pakistan and Iran – for different reasons. Some return voluntarily, while others have
been deported. Some want to help build up their country while others do not see a future for themselves in the midst of conflict and
violence. What are the realities they will face in a country that they once left in order to find a better life?

The Wait

Emil Langballe | DK | 2016 | 58 min. | OV with English Subtitles

In 2010, Rokhsar and her family fled Afghanistan to escape from the Taliban. After six months of straying across Europe they end up
in Denmark, where they finally hope to live a safe and stable life. But the odyssey does not stop here: the family is denied asylum several times and threatened with deportation. Rokhsar, being the only one in her family who can speak Danish has perfectly integrated herself in her new community. She carries on her young shoulders the burden of struggling against authorities and burocracy and starts to fight for the right of her family to a decent life. Six years into their arrival in Denmark, the family is finally expecting a decision: will they be granted or denied asylum? Pressure on Rokhsar and the family is mounting immeasurably.

The War Show

Obaidah Zytoon, Andreas Dalsgaard | DK, FI, SY | 2016 | 100 min. | OV with English Subtitles

In March 2011, radio host Obaidah Zytoon and her friends join the protests against the oppressive regime in Syria. Knowing that what is happening will change their country forever, the group of artists and activists begin filming their lives and the events happening in Syria. However, when the regime’s violent response drives the country into a bloody civil war, their hopes for a better future are diminished by violence, imprisonment and death. Obaidah travels across the country and witnesses the rise of extremism. A deeply personal road movie that captures the fate of Syria through the intimate lens of a small circle of friends.

Watani – My Homeland

Marcel Mettelstiefen | GB | 2017 | 76 min. | OV with English Subtitles

Sometimes even life in a war-torn country can provide a feeling of home. In Aleppo the father of a family of 6 is a commander in the Free Syrian Army. Leaving his homeland is not an option for him. However, realizing the increasing security risk for their children, the mother of the family soon needs to make a difficult choice. Filmed over three years WATANI – MY HOMELAND tells the epic story of a family’s journey from war-torn Aleppo to Europe. Emphasizing the perspectives of the children, the film offers a gripping view on what war can do to people, even when the bombing has stopped.

Welcome to Refugeestan

Anne Poiret | FR | 2016 | 70 min. | OV with English Subtitles

Almost 17 million people – refugees, displaced persons or migrants – live in camps, in a virtual country the size of the Netherlands. Yet the names of these places do not appear on any maps. The UNHCR and NGOs have developed ways of running them that are both efficient and absurd. This film explores the land of camps, from Kenya, to Tanzania, Jordan, and the Greek-Macedonian border. It reveals an immense system – managed by the UNHCR headquartered in Geneva – that combines humanitarian concerns with the management of undesirables people that rich countries want to keep out, whatever the cost.

27. JANUARY 2025