Organised by Action Against Hunger in main partnership with Save the Children and the Norwegian Refugee Council, the second edition of the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin took place from 18 to 25 September 2019. Featuring 45 films, the festival told stories from all corners of the world. These are stories of courageous individuals, accounts of the horrors of war, hunger, displacement, and environmental destruction. Yet, they are also images that never lose their sense of optimism. All these aspects were explored through three major thematic sections:
Voices From a Troubled World, Global Spotlights and The Future is Now.
The Festival opened 2019 with the documentary FOR SAMA, by Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts – a story of the love between a young woman, her husband and their child, who together experience the horrors of war, survive, and – despite everything – have not lost their unshakable belief in freedom.
Honorary Patron 2019 - Political Scientist Prof. Dr. Gesine Schwan
Many of her publications focus on the topic of “democracy” and who is responsible for democratic processes.
TALKS
The programme of the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin was expanded in 2019 to include industry talks, lunch talks, an exhibition, and various events hosted at the festival centre.
To facilitate networking between stakeholders and experts from the NGO and film sectors and to encourage active knowledge exchange, three industry talks addressing current issues are being held for the first time this year. Open discussion formats provide space for dialogue and invite active participation. The lunch talks feature short keynote presentations on topics related to the festival.
WETTBEWERB
For the first time, three awards were presented at the HRFFB. The Willy Brandt Documentary Film Award for Freedom and Human Rights, awarded in cooperation with the Bundeskanzler-Willy-Brandt-Stiftung, honoured the best documentary film in the programme. In 2019, the award was won by Novaya von Askold Kurov.
Filmmakers at the festival were also supported through the Sustainable Impact Award, funded by the Federal Foreign Office, to help them with future projects. Members of all film teams were eligible to apply with innovative concepts. The award was won by Claudia Oettrich (Filmperlen) for the German release of For Sama. The Human Rights Film Festival Berlin Short Film Award, presented in collaboration with UN Refugee Aid, recognised filmmakers under the age of 24. The 2019 award went to The Fight for Rights (Der Kampf um die Rechte) by August Schüßler, Maximilian Neufeldt, and Kilian Harbauer.
IMPRESSIONS
