Irish Film Institute Evening Course - Film and Human Rights: Screening Realities

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | press release Friday September 26, 2008 17:29 by Irish Film Institute lucy at irishfilm dot ie

‘Dignity and justice for all of us’

The theme of the year-long campaign marking the 60th Anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights informs our six-week evening course this term. With a range of titles covering aspects of human rights, the Anniversary is an ideal opportunity for us to engage with filmmakers and human rights practitioners on the significance of this genre of filmmaking.

Our course will feature six documentaries, previously unscreened in Ireland. Each evening, a special guest from the world of film or human rights will speak on the film and their own work. The course will be of interest to IFI members and friends, film enthusiasts, human rights workers and all who are interested in challenging and provocative cinema.

Oct 7th 6.30 pm
Opening Address by director and writer, Alan Gilsenan, one of Ireland’s most prolific and respected documentarists and filmmakers. With work that includes The Importance of being Irish, The Hospice, Paul Durcan: The Dark School, Asylum, Timbuktu and Zulu 9, Alan will introduce the course and talk about documenting stories in a human rights context.

Screening: Taking Liberties
Filmmaker Chris Atkins has been compared to Michael Moore for this unflinching examination of how Britain’s New Labour has systematically eroded basic civil liberties. Combining real situations, many of which have resonance for us here, with stunts and comments, he offers a scathing attack on what serves for British democracy today.

Chris Atkins will attend the screening.

UK /2007 /101 mins /Documentary/Director: Chris Atkins

Oct 14th 6.30 pm
The Devil came on Horseback

Darfur in Sudan, is the subject of this gripping documentary, where former US Marine Brian Steidle served for six months as an unarmed military observer for the African Union. With broader access than a journalist, Steidle observed and recorded the systematic destruction of the black African population by the Government backed Janjaweed militia. Frustrated at the inaction of the international community, he resigned and returned to US to expose the images he’d recorded and provoke people into action.

US / 2007 /85 mins /Documentary /Director: Annie Sundberg & Ricki Stern

Prof. William A. Schabas OC MRIA Director, Irish Centre for Human Rights National University of Ireland, Galway will attend the screening.

Highly renowned and respected, Prof Schabas will talk about his work in Sudan, on film and human rights and the issues arising from this film

Oct 21st 6.30 pm
Till The Tenth Generation

Dublin resident Tomi Reichenthal survived Belsen concentration camp where he was deported in November 1944, travelling for seven days in cattle carriages along with 12 family members. Only five survived. Tomi first began to speak out about his experience when ethnic and racial tensions began to emerge in a changing Ireland. This challenging documentary brings him back to his home village in Slovakia and then to Belsen for the first time since 1945.

Tomi Reichenthal and director Gerry Gregg will attend the screening.

Ireland /2008 /85 mins /Documentary/Director: Gerry Gregg

October 28th 6.30pm

Suffering and Smiling
Femi Kuti is a Nigerian political activist, trying to change lives through his music. Son of legendary and highly politicised Fela Kuti, Femi continues his work, travelling up and down Nigeria, using his songs to speak out against the country’s corrupt leaders. Filmmaker Dan Ollman contrasts the upbeat tempo and message with images of the lives of poverty led by many Nigerians, despite the oil-wealth of the country.

US/Nigeria /2006 /65 mins /Documentary /English/English subtitles / Director: Dan Ollman

Benedicta Attoh, Chairperson, board of directors of the Africa Centre and founder, Women from Minorities Network, will speak about the film and her own experiences in Nigeria.

Also showing: Under Pressure. Short film by Eamon deStaic on Willie Corduff, Shell to Sea campaigner.

Nov 4th 6.30 pm
Manufactured Landscapes
World renowned photographer Edward Burtynsky’s depictions of destroyed natural landscapes are the subject of this oddly beautiful documentary. Recreating massive scenes from as far afield as a breaking yard in Bangladesh or a factory in China, director Jennifer Baichwal’s camera also reveals the human participants in this grand portrait of the ecological disasters brought about in the pursuit of progress.
Canada /2006 / 86 mins / Documentary /Director: Jennifer Baichwal

Nov 11th 6.30pm
Waltz with Bashir
Director Ari Folman’s animated feature manages to convey the tragedy, violence and futility of war in this unique, must-see film about the Sabra and Shatila massacre of the 1982 Lebanon War. Spurred on by a friend’s recurring nightmare years later, which the men connect to their wartime Israeli army mission, Ari tries to recall the period, needing to discover the truth about the time and about himself. Events are recreated using a bold and graphic animation style, under the Art Direction of David Polonsky. David Polonsky will attend the screening and participate in a follow-up Q&A about the film’s style and the use of animation and film to deliver a political narrative.
Israel/Germany/France /2008 /90 mins /Documentary/Animation/Biography /Director: Ari Folman

Cost: €120 (€105 concessions).
BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL
For more information and to sign up for the course, please call (01) 612 9415

All Evening Course events take place in the Irish Film Institute, 6 Eustace Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2.