The Human Rights Film Festival Berlin returned to the capital for the sixth time from 11 to 22 October 2023. Under the theme The Good Fight, we presented more than 40 international documentaries, sharing moving and powerful stories of people dedicated to fighting for a better world. The festival was organised by Action Against Hunger in partnership with Greenpeace.
The festival opened with the German premiere of 20 Days in Mariupol by Ukrainian journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Mstyslav Chernov. Together with his colleagues, Chernov spent 20 days in the besieged port city of Mariupol, documenting shocking war atrocities, including the bombing of a maternity hospital and attacks on civilians. In 2024, the film won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.
Honorary Patron 2023 – Enissa Armani
The German-Iranian comedian and human rights activist Enissa Amani is the daughter of a writer who was imprisoned during her studies and a doctor who was politically persecuted in Iran; the family fled to Germany in 1985.
HUMAN RIGHTS FORUM
Alongside the public programme, the Human Rights Forum took place for the fourth time in 2023, offering a high-level professional platform for filmmakers, journalists, activists, and civil society actors. The forum explored key themes such as Storytelling & Impact and Climate Storytelling, featuring interactive discussions and workshops. A new format enriched this year’s programme: Masterclasses, where experienced and inspiring personalities shared their life journeys, knowledge, and expertise with participants.
COMPETITION
The documentary While We Watched von Vinay Shukla which follows Indian television journalist Ravish Kumar, won the Willy Brandt Documentary Film Award for Freedom and Human Rights in 2023. The Special Award for Democracy and Freedom was presented to the campaign "End Gender Apartheid", which calls on the international community to recognise gender apartheid as a crime under international law.
The Audience Award went to Transition by Jordan Bryon and Monica Villamizar, which follows journalist and trans man Jordan Bryon in Afghanistan. For the first time, the Youth Award was also presented. The award went to The Mind Game by Eefje Blankevoort, Els van Driel & Sajid Khan Nasiri, which tells the story of Sajid Khan Nasiri, who fled Afghanistan alone at the age of 14, documenting his perilous journey on his mobile phone.
IMPRESSIONS
