Can Dündar is the patron of the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin 2024, underlining the festival's thematic focus: the seventh edition of the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin will take place from 4-12 October under the motto ‘Choosing Humanity’ and present a total of 25 outstanding documentaries on the topics of democracy, human rights and freedom of the press - worldwide and on our doorstep.
‘The Human Rights Film Festival Berlin offers an excellent platform to bring together efforts for human rights and democracy from all over the world and I am very happy to be part of it. We are all watching freedom and democracy lose ground. That is why it is our task to strengthen their importance again and prioritise humanity,’ says Can Dündar, patron of the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin 2024. ’Films can help people to understand. And they can help create empathy.’
Can Dündar is one of the most prominent Turkish-speaking journalists and filmmakers. As editor-in-chief of the newspaper Cumhuriyet, he reported on arms shipments from the Turkish secret service to Syria, whereupon he was sentenced in absentia to over 27 years in prison for betraying state secrets. He narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in front of an Istanbul courthouse. Today he lives and works in exile in Berlin and heads Correctiv's #ÖZGÜRÜZ (We are free) project. Dündar has written several books, made highly acclaimed documentary films and has been honoured with numerous awards, including European Journalist of the Year and winner of the Reporters Without Borders Human Rights Award - main partner of the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin 2024.
‘We are delighted that Can Dündar is enriching this year's film festival with his outstanding personality and expertise. We are facing major challenges around the world: Democracy, freedom of the press and freedom of expression are under threat. At the same time, crises and conflicts continue to characterise world events. We must not close our eyes to this,’ says Jan Sebastian Friedrich-Rust, who co-directs the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin with Lydia Spiesberger. Spiesberger adds: ‘With our festival, we want to send a powerful signal and put the stories of people who are fighting for justice, democracy and freedom centre stage. This is what our patron Can Dündar stands for with his work. Films have the potential to bring about change. We want to use this to move from vision to action together.’
Opening film Democracy Noir
The Human Rights Film Festival 2024 will open on 4 October with the film Democracy Noir by Connie Field. The film uses the example of Hungary to illustrate how authoritarian forces can operate in the shadow of democracy and corrode it from within: Freedom of the press is systematically restricted, independent judicial systems are weakened and civil rights are curtailed. The film focuses on three women who resolutely oppose these developments and fight for a free society. The film is a wake-up call and makes it clear that autocratic practices do not stop at Europe's borders and that democracy is not a matter of course. Emmy award-winning and Oscar-nominated director Connie Field and one of the film's protagonists will be present at the opening.
The full programme of the festival can be found here: www.humanrightsfilmfestivalberlin.de/en/programme-2024
About the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin
The Human Rights Film Festival Berlin was founded in 2018 by Jan Sebastian Friedrich-Rust, Managing Director of the humanitarian and development organisation Action Against Hunger. Today, it is the most important German human rights film festival with international appeal. The film festival shows films from all over the world that tell of human rights violations and the resistance against them in an impressive way. With a comprehensive accompanying programme, the festival also offers a unique platform for exchange and networking between NGOs, filmmakers, activists, politicians and the public. Prominent human rights activists, politicians and artists such as Ai Weiwei, Nadia Murad, Filippo Grandi, Loujain al-Hathloul, Gesine Schwan and Enissa Amani have taken on the patronage of the festival in recent years.
The HRFFB 2024 will take place from 4-12 October and is organised by Action Against Hunger in partnership with Reporters Without Borders, which campaigns for freedom of the press and information worldwide.
Save the Date
Opening of HRFFB: 4 October 2024
Award ceremony: 11 October 2024
both at the cinema in the KulturBrauerei, Schönhauser Allee 36, 10435 Berlin.
Note to the editorial offices: We are happy to answer any questions, interview requests or background discussions.
Further information about the festival: www.hrffb.de
Press accreditations and contact:
Vassilios Saroglou / Markus Winkler
presse@aktiongegendenhunger.de
030 279 099 776
