Ukrainian film ‘Outside’ wins Human Rights Film Festival Berlin competition / Iranian lawyer Shirin Ebadi presented with honorary award
Berlin, 21 October 2022. The documentary ‘Outside’ by Ukrainian director Olha Zhurba about the turbulent youth of 13-year-old street kid Roma has been awarded the Willy Brandt Documentary Film Prize. Moreover, Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi has received the Honorary Award for Democracy and Freedom on behalf of the countless courageous women who are protesting against the regime in Iran.
‘“Outside” brings a literal misfit into the mainstream – and into our hearts. He does this with a great cinematic performance. Director Olha Zhurba takes us on the incredible personal journey of her protagonist Roma – an orphan living outside society. The film develops a gripping emotionality that leaves the viewer hoping for rescue right up to the last minute,’ said Wolfram Hoppenstedt during the award ceremony for the Willy Brandt Documentary Film Prize for Freedom and Human Rights. Hoppenstedt is the Managing Director of the Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt Foundation, which donated the prize.
The film tells the story of street boy Roma, who ended up on the front lines of the Maidan uprising during the 2014 revolution in Ukraine. A cobblestone in his hand, his eyes full of anger, he suddenly became the face of the revolution. Five years later, Roma is back on the streets and slipping into crime. His future seems decided. In telephone conversations with director Olha Zhurba, he ponders the question: can you ever escape your childhood?
The opening film ‘Ithaka’ by director Ben Lawrence received the Audience Award. ‘This film is a haunting and moving portrait of the family of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. It shows that the West also commits injustice and human rights violations. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are central pillars of a free and democratic society. Uncovering war crimes is not a crime,’ says Jan Sebastian Friedrich-Rust, Managing Director of Action Against Hunger and founder of the festival. The jury made special mention of the film ‘Backlash: Misogyny in the Digital Age’ by Léa Clermont-Dion and Guylaine Maroist.
Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi was awarded the Honorary Prize for Democracy and Freedom by the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin – on behalf of the countless courageous women who are fighting for freedom and justice in Iran. ‘Shirin Ebadi has inspired generations of activists and women’s rights activists from around the world through her work as a human rights lawyer and her commitment to women’s rights. She has also inspired the women and men who are taking to the streets against the brutal regime in Iran at this moment, raising their voices against oppression and injustice and fighting for freedom and democracy,’ said Anna Ramskogler-Witt, Director of the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin. To mark this occasion, the festival is hosting the German premiere of the documentary ‘Shirin Ebadi: Until We Are Free’ on 23 October at 7.30 p.m. at the Colosseum cinema.
The award ceremony will take place on 21 October at 7.30 p.m. at Villa Elisabeth, Invalidenstr. 3, 10115 Berlin. Press photos will be available to download from 8.30 p.m. and can be used by stating the copyright © Dovile Sermokas / Human Rights Film Festival Berlin: https://aktiongegendenhungerggmbh.box.com/s/xvb057gphl9xjl204qpt755pf66…
A special screening of the film ‘Shirin Ebadi: Until We Are Free’ will take place on 23 October at 7.30 p.m. at the Colosseum cinema, Schönhauser Allee 123, 10437 Berlin. Tickets are available at www.hrffb.de
