6th Nepal Human Rights International Film festival 2018:
Nepal Human Rights International Film Festival (NHRIFF) has established as a forum for advocating human rights via films. The voices of the people and the issues of human rights are not sufficiently raised in the film in Nepal. Film festival is not targeted in the issues of human rights. So, the project, ‘Nepal Human Rights International Film Festival’ will focus on those issues dealt above. Festival will be dedicated to the vulnerable communities who are historically backward in Nepal.
Selected Films
Even When I Fall
Director: Sky Neal
Co- Director: KATE MCLARNON
Country of Origin: Nepal
Runtime: 89 minutes
Synopsis
Even When I Fall is an intimate, beautiful film that harnesses the visual power of circus to give a unique perspective into the complex world of human trafficking. The film traces the journey of Saraswoti and Sheetal, trafficking survivors, as they confront the families that sold them, seek acceptance within their own country and begin to build a future. They struggle against the odds and without education, but inadvertently these girls were left with a secret weapon by their captors – their breathtaking skills as circus artists. With 11 other young trafficking survivors, Sheetal and Saraswoti form Circus Kathmandu – Nepal’s first and only circus.
OTHER SELECTED FILMS
Children of the Snow Land
Director: Zara Balfour and Marcus Stephenson
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Runtime: 1 hour 30 min
Country of Filming: Nepal
Film Language: English, Nepali, Tibetan
Children of the Snow land tell the story of a group of children born in the High Himalayas of Nepal – a remote area of great natural beauty but where life is extremely tough. From just four years old, some children are sent by their parents to the capital city, Kathmandu, to a school run by a Buddhist monk in the hope that education will give them a better chance in life. For ten years or more they do not see or speak to their parents, due to the remoteness of their villages.
Now, upon graduation, aged 16, the children are making the trek home: an arduous and lengthy journey across mountains that takes them to the highest inhabited place on the planet; a faraway, off-grid land where the way of life has not changed for thousands of years, and where their parents are waiting to see children brought up in a world of mobile phones, social media and most modern conveniences. And then the earthquake strikes. Children of the Snow Land document their scary, moving, funny and humbling stories.
RUWA
Director: SUJATA GURUNG
Country of Origin: Nepal
Runtime: 4 min 45 seconds
“Ruwa” is the story of a woman who aspires to have children and become a mother. But what seems like a normal aspiration for many women is a dream full of challenges for her.
DUST
Director: Deepak Tolange
Country of Origin: Nepal
Runtime: 50 minutes
Film Type: Documentary, Other
Film Language: Hindi, Nepali
Every year during winter thousands of Nepalese and Indians migrate to various parts of Nepal to work in brick factories. Many of these laborers are children who drop out school, engage in hard labor and never return back to school.
Dust is an attempt to find the perspectives of children working in brick kiln areas in Nepal about their life, work and education.
The Colors of Life
Director: Sarah Tamang
Film Type:Experimental, Short, Other
Runtime:3 minutes 15 seconds
Country of Origin: Nepal
The film “The Colors of Life” unfolds the life of a girl. She shares her painful childhood, confused teenage and bitter relationship.
Pink Tiffany
Director: Sophie Dia Pegrum
Film Type: Documentary
Country of Origin: Nepal
Runtime: 44 minutes 20 seconds
A young Transgender woman, Meghna Lama, has built a successful business and works as an advocate and activist for the LGBTI community in Nepal. Bravely facing social legitimacy and family acceptance, as well as sharing her experience transforming from son to daughter, her dauntless attitude and spirited laugh become a powerful reminder of not only what it is to be transgender in Nepal, but ultimately, what it is to be human.
People of the Forest: Orang Rimba
Director: Isaac Kerlow
Film Type: Documentary
Country of Origin: Singapore
Runtime: 14 min 12 seconds
Country of Filming: Indonesia
The ancestral forests of the nomadic Orang Rimba have vanished. In the short span of three decades oil palm plantations have replaced much of the tropical peatland rain forests in Jambi, Indonesia. The People of the Forest, Orang Rimba in their dialect, have nowhere to go.
MEDITERRANEA
Director: Nicolas Sarkissian
Country of Origin: France
Runtime: 14 min 35 seconds
Marseille, a sunny beach, a young dancer attempts to rescue a castaway. While she calls for help, the stranger disappears mysteriously. Has she dreamt it? The enigmatic presence of this shipwrecked man haunts her day and night, evoking echoes of a Mediterranean tragedy.
Footprints
Director: Sarah Duff
Film Type: Documentary, Short
Country of Origin: South Africa
Runtime: 22 min 57 seconds
After centuries of oppression, the ǂKhomani San, one of the last remaining groups of South Africa’s first people, have won back some of their historic homeland in the Kalahari Desert. Voetspore (Footprints) follows their struggle for cultural survival as they capitalize on ancient knowledge of nature to run a wildlife hunting ranch.
The Sunrise Storyteller
Director: Kasha Sequoia Slavner
Country of Origin: Canada
Runtime: 1 hour 4 min 25 seconds
Film Language: English
The Sunrise Storyteller follows the hero’s journey of teenage filmmaker & social justice advocate, Kasha Sequoia Slavner, as she sets out for six months on her 16th birthday across the world in search of stories of hope and resilience that shine a light on what it means to be a global citizen and how we can all make a difference.
Two Brothers
Director: Rb Singh
Country of Origin: India
Runtime: 20 minutes
Film Type: Short
In telling the story of two brothers trying to safeguard their dignity during the Punjab insurgency, the film evokes the violence and injustice committed by the state against innocent Sikhs.
Six Year Old Fears
Director: Lauren Anders Brown
Country of Filming: Jordan
Runtime: 15 minutes
A short documentary featuring a six year old Syrian girl as she becomes a big sister in a refugee camp that has the best maternal mortality rate in the world.
G-Face – The Documentary about Nothing
Director: Bafana Monyamane
Runtime: 18:13 minutes.
Country of origin: SOUTH AFRICA
G-Face – The Documentary About Nothing, is a music biography of one Thabo “G-Face” Nthako, a rapper in his early 40’s from a small mining town in South Africa by the name of Kutloanong, still pressuring music success and not finding it, from 1994 G-face has been doing music, we explore why he has not received success or even the recognition his music deserve.
Standing Rock Take Me from the River
Director: Denny Rauen
Film Type: Documentary, Short
Runtime: 29 min 23 seconds
Country of Origin: United States
A glimpse into our future, Like so many others, an overwhelming sense of unfairness being perpetrated led to a small group of like minded activists from “Brew City” (aka Milwaukee, Wisconsin) to travel over 800 miles to Standing Rock’s Oceti Sakowin camp where protecting the water interfered with powerful oil interests. Support grew from hundreds to thousands of folks from around the world. From arresting journalists to silence their voices to excessive and violent attacks on the peaceful resisting water protectors, these actions are documented in this raw and emotional film. This journey into water protecting documents the Standing Rock Sioux struggle in North Dakota to protect their water and sacred sites based on Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 and 1868.
La Cumbre
Director: Dana Romanoff
Film Type: Documentary, Short
Country of Origin: United States
Runtime: 11 min 47 seconds
Country of Filming: Ecuador
La Cumbre unveils the reality of what it means to live as an amputee in the developing world. In partnership with the Range of Motion Project we join world class mountaineer and wounded warrior Chad Jukes on a heartfelt journey to shed light on a public health issue affecting amputee’s world wide.80% of the world’s amputees live in developing countries. Only 2% have access to prosthetics.. La Cumbre aims to shift that percentage.
RIPrivacy
Director: Aycan Basar
Film Type: Animation
Country of Origin: United States
Runtime: 4 min 24 seconds
A slice from our -very much modern addicted- everyday life.
California’s Forgotten Children
Director: Melody C. Miller
Country of Origin: United States
Runtime: 1 hour 32 min 37 seconds
“California’s Forgotten Children” is a feature documentary about child sex trafficking. The film follows on true stories of youth who were commercially sexually exploited in California and are now survivors and brave leaders, fighting for the rights of victims worldwide.
A Girl of No importance
Director: Anya camilleri
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Runtime: 15 minutes
Country of Filming: Italy
A teenager escapes from sex traffickers with her life, and finds herself in the center of medieval Rome, unable to trust anyone.
I Forgot Myself Somewhere
Director: Iker Elorrieta
Country of Origin: Spain
Runtime: 24 min 30 seconds
IFMS is a poetic portrait about the women of Baltistan, and the challenges girls face to access education. Told through the voices of two local women who fight to develop themselves and to improve their lives, despite the social expectations that push them to set aside their own development to take care of their families, homes and jobs in the most extreme conditions.
Compatriot
Director: Mahtab soleimani
Runtime: 25 min 26 seconds
Country of Origin: Iran, Islamic Republic of
Film Type: Documentary
A young woman and her daughter left Afghanistan after the war started in 1979 and came to Iran where she has raised a large family who despite being born here still has emigrant status.
Six Year Old Fears
Director: Lauren Anders Brown
Country of Filming: Jordan
Runtime: 15 minutes
A short documentary featuring a six year old Syrian girl as she becomes a big sister in a refugee camp that has the best maternal mortality rate in the world.
OKSIJAN
Director: Edward Watts
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Runtime: 19 min 8 seconds
Genres: Drama, Thriller, human rights, children’s narrative, youth 7 year old Afghan refugee Ahmad wakes in the dark of a sealed refrigerated lorry, alongside his brother and 13 other refugees. Fleeing war and torture, they’re making a desperate effort to get to the UK. But for the next fifteen hours they’ll face a worse nightmare, as the oxygen inside the truck begins to run out. An incredible true story.
Locked In
Director: Nadira Murray
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Genres: Political, social drama, human rights, asylum
Runtime: 15 minutes 24 seconds
Samira and Nazim, asylum seekers who fled after torture find themselves in the UK again detained by the state. They are on the fast track system, soon to be deported. With the clock ticking, the memories of their torture and what waits on their return torment them. Will they be able to gain asylum in time?
In the anchor print
Director: Leandro Navall & Mercedes Chanquia Aguirre
Genres: Videodance, videodanza, videoart
Runtime: 6 minutes 46 seconds
Country of Origin: Argentina
Migration and human rights.
Release from Heaven
Director: Ali Noori Oskouei
Runtime: 1 hour 16 minutes
Country of Origin: Iran, Islamic Republic of
In a war torn country, a female writer and teacher has to accompany two of her students on a life changing journey.
RESISTANCE IN PEACE
Director: EDISON SANCHEZ
Film Type: Documentary, Short
Runtime: 7 minutes 30 seconds
Country of Origin: Colombia
Arnobio Allín Blandon is one of the survivors of the worst slaughter of Colombia´s armed conflict in Bojayá, a black and indigenous community in the Chocó jungle where 119 civilians were killed seeking refuge in the local church. This October Colombia voted NO to an already signed peace deal. The regions that lived the war first-hand voted YES. Bojayá, voted 96% in favor of the peace deal. This documentary is a vision from Bojayá daily life, constructed through the first-hand witness account of a survivor of the massacre.
Sawubona
Director: Lungelo Kuzwayo
Film Type: Short, Student
Runtime: 10 minutes 18 seconds
Country of Origin: South Africa
Mbali, a charming and adventurous 7 year-old South African, defies the norm by making a new friend; thus sparking a journey of transformation.
Siti Bajao
Director: Vipul Salunkhe
Runtime: 5 minutes 18 seconds
Country of Origin: India
Currently working in zee marathi’s serial Mazya navaryachi bayko as an actor. Done various ad films, TVC’s, print shoots, films and serials. Worked as a writer, director and actor for many theatrical plays (commercial and experimental)
GIRL FACT – A teenage guide to survive sex slavery
Director: Maël G. Lagadec
Runtime: 17 minutes
Country of Origin: Belgium
Genres: Short, Society, Women
In the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, rape is used as a “weapon of war” for more than 15 years. Martha writes a teenage girl’s guide to surviving sex.
YALLA KHARTOUM
Director: Frederic Leitzke, Andreas Lamoth
Film Type: Documentary
Runtime: 1 hour 5 minutes
Country of Filming: Sudan
Country of Origin: Sudan
Life as an artist is tough in Sudans buzzing capital Khartoum, esp. for women. Inside the safe boundaries of an intercultural exchange program, the participants develop concepts to overcome the archaic norms of society. A film about the power of creative expression that aims to serve as a peaceful catalyst for emancipation & social change.
OUTSIDE: PEACE, INISIDE : WAR (K. Berls)
Director: Katja Berls
Film Type: Documentary, Short, and Other
Runtime: 29 minutes
Country of Origin: Germany
More than 70 years after the end of WW2, Hilde and her surviving sister speak about their experiences of sexual and physical violence perpetrated against them and their sisters by soldiers during the war. This film speaks about and to the violence and trauma perpetrated against women and girls in war and crisis zones around the world, both past and present, and its impact on women’s lives.
So-Khin
Director: Chaweng chaiyawan
Film Type: Short
Runtime: 18 minutes
Country of Origin: Thailand
So and Khin, a married couple from Myanmar, are employed on a on a rubber plantation within southern Thailand. Exploited by their employer due to the high competition for work in the area, the couple faces the struggle of overly demanding labor and persecution from unemployed locals. Their harrowing situation is staged in the midst of political unrest between the three southern Thai provinces.
Perween Rahman: The Rebel Optimist
Director: Mahera Omar
Film Type: Documentary
Runtime: 1 hour 6 minutes 57 seconds
Country of Origin: Pakistan
“No one is safe in this city. Those who think otherwise are living in a fool’s paradise”, says Perween’s best friend and colleague Anwar Rashid as he navigates the chaotic roads of Karachi. An architect and urban planner, Perween Rahman dedicated her life for the poor of Pakistan. She was shot dead by armed assailants on her way home in March 2013. When she joined the Karachi based Orangi Pilot Project, founded by Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan, Orangi’s lanes were full of filth and choking gutters. Back in the early 80s, the people of Orangi, most of them migrants from India and Bangladesh, were taking their own steps to improve sanitation. Dr. Khan assigned Perween the task of developing a low cost sanitation model for Orangi. Perween’s pioneering work in Orangi led her on a collision course with the various mafias in the city. She surveyed the water supply to Karachi and pinpointed locations from where water is being stolen from the bulk supply lines. She mapped and documented Karachi’s informal settlements to provide the poor security against land grabbers. Perween had an alternate vision for the development of Karachi. “Development doesn’t come from concrete. Development is not five star hotels and mega road projects. What we need is human development.”
The Chapter of Ionela
Director: Christoph Lacmanski
Genres: Drama, Thriller, Human Rights
Runtime: 9 minutes 58 seconds
Country of Origin: Germany
Iana is waiting in her red, old Audi in front of the agreed post office. Hours passed by. She seems nervous. She is watching the cars driving by and the faceless people rushing into the office. The weather is misty, the buildings grey and bleak. Suddenly a big black car parks in front of hers. The door on the passenger‘s side opens, a young thin girl with tousled hair slides out. That has to be Ionela. Her driver won‘t desist from focusing her until she‘s gone into the office. Iana has been waiting for this moment. It‘s the point of no return. Iana runs a women‘s shelter and helps girls like Ionela to escape from forced prostitution. Will her plan succeed this time?
WOMEN OF VARANASI
Director: MAMTA SINGH
Film Type: Documentary
Runtime: 52 minutes
Country of Origin: India
Hidden within the intricate cobwebs of the narrow alleys of Varanasi are stories of the women in this Film. Through their struggles and life choices, they continue to evolve, even as they work towards bettering the socio-cultural and political spaces they find themselves in. This is a journey with them as they push forward towards positive change.
Pink
Director: Mahboobeh Mohammadzaki
Film Type: Animation, Short
Runtime: 5 minutes
Country of Origin: Iran
This animation is a slice of a woman’s life and routine with breast cancer in the technological world. She tries to overcome the disease hopefully.
An Extraordinary Mother
Director: Patar Simatupang
Film Type: Documentary
Runtime: 1 hour 17 minutes 36 seconds
Country of Origin: Indonesia
His story follows Sari, 37 years, pregnant, saves pennies to pay a midwife. Her incredible strength and courage has brought this mother to life, and to continue to be responsible for the family. For her there is no way out, quitting from her job as an unofficial traffic attendant is not an option. Pregnant for the 5th time puts Sari in to an event busier schedule. She is traumatic and doesn’t trust hospitals. Then the answer is simply to work more hours to save pennies to pay a midwife she trusts.
Colors of the Alphabet
Director: Alastair Cole
Genres: Human interest, Observational, Africa
Runtime: 1 hour 20 minutes
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Country of Filming: Zambia
An inspiring, bittersweet film on language and childhood, following three Zambian children and their families over their first year of school, and asking: Does the future have to be in English?
Steward, Elizabeth and M’barak are 6 year olds struggling to make sense of an educational system where the language they speak at home is different from the language used in the classroom. When nearly 40% of the world’s population lack access to education in their own language, the film offers an intimate, moving and often humorous insight into a global phenomenon from the unique perspective of three innocent children.
Threads of Hope
Director: William Knowles
Genres: Documentary, Short, Non-Fiction, Activist
Film Type: Documentary, Short, Student
Runtime: 9 minutes 23 seconds
Country of Filming: Nepal
This is a short documentary film about the lives of home-based workers in Nepal. The film follows three women: Nirmala, Chandra, and Apsara. Learn about these women and their journey towards financial stability and raising awareness for Gender Equity in Nepal. These women were aided by the organization Sabah Nepal, which employs home-based workers and gives them an above-average wage. Sabah Nepal also advocates for home-based workers rights. Shot on location in Nepal.Help change the lives of women in Nepal and sign the petition! In less than a minute, you can be the difference in raising awareness of this issue to the Government of Nepal. Thank you.
The Blind of the Cathedral
Director: Nadine Asmar
Assistant Director: Hiba Harmouche
Film Type: Short, Student
Runtime: 17 minutes 35 seconds
Country of Filming: Lebanon
In front of a cathedral, fate led to Hala and Bachir’s meeting. At first sight, they share nothing in common: she is a 15-year-old student, she is Muslim and she sees. Whereas Bachir is 27, he plays the lute, he is Christian and blind. In a country ruled by hatred and conflicts, division and exacerbated sectarianism, and just before the burst of the civil war, two pure souls meet. Hala and Bachir will go through an adventure that will empower their innocent love. But a dark fate awaits them.
LONGING
Director: Dejan Karaklajić
Film Type: Short
Runtime: 27 minutes
Country of Origin: Slovenia
Young violinist, Katarina, has a dream to play like her idol, world famous Lauren. One day Lauren has a concert in town where Katarina lives, but tickets are too expensive. On a TV quiz, Katarina won a free ticket and now the only obstacle is how she will get to the concert hall. It is Sunday, no special transportation for her, since she is
disabled and moves around in a wheelchair. There are no buses with special platform, and the complications begin.
There is a robbery, robed person gets arrested, thieves love classical music, bus driver likes a classy passenger, and grocery stand owner is a cowboy. Katarina gets to play with Lauren.
Freedom
Director: Kyan Kiani
Film Type: Short
Runtime: 10 minutes
Country of Origin: Australia
A girl has been trafficked and trying to gain her freedom but Can she?
The Foolish Old Man
Director: Antón Calderón and Diego Torres
Film Type: Documentary
Runtime: 60 minutes
Country of Origin: Spain
Country of Filming: China
‘The Foolish Old Man’ tells the story of four social activists in China: a poverty-alleviation campaigner (Deng Fei), an environmental activist (Dashi), a labor organizer (Zhang Zhiru) and a pro-democracy dissident (Hu Jia).
The film addresses their complex relationship with the Government in Beijing and the different, sometimes conflicting, paths of action they choose to take: from those who confront the Government to those who believe that avoiding conflict can bear more fruit.
‘The Foolish Old Man’ defies the widespread prejudice that no citizen can make his voice heard under the rule of the Communist Party. Civil society does exist in China. Many people fight for a better country and their work has achieved progress in some areas. However, civil society is always limited, often sabotaged and sometimes violently crushed by a system that prioritizes its own survival to anything else.
Bhikkhuni Buddhism, Sri Lanka, revolution
Director: Małgorzata Dobrowolska
Film Type: Documentary, Short
Runtime: 24 minutes
Country of Filming: Sri Lanka
“Main contemporary world religions don’t allow women to hold high-ranking positions in the monastery hierarchy. My interest in women who break with such convention has brought me to Sri Lanka. It is here where a quiet revolution of the Buddhist order begins.” Małgorzata Dobrowolska Women in Theravada countries have a chance to become bhikkhunis (fully ordained Buddhist nuns) since recent years. They regained this right after 1000 years long break. The main characters of the film are: Ven. Bhikkhunī Kusuma (Sri Lanka), Ven. Bhikkhunī Dhammananda (Thailand) and Ven. Bhikkhunī Gautami Samayiki (Bangladesh). They are the first bhikkhunis in their own countries. There are two versions of the film: a feature-length (1 hour) and a short one (24 minutes).
MISS HOLOCAUST
Director: Michalina Musielak and Irena Siedlar
Film Type: Documentary, Short
Runtime: 22 minutes
Country of Origin: Poland
Country of Filming: Israel
Old women prepare for an event. They are told how to walk; they wear numbers and try to succeed in the selection process. These women are Holocaust survivors. And the event is a beauty pageant.
During the course of the preparations the ladies reveal their motivations to take part in the pageant. Some of them do it to forget, to live a normal life or to be in the spotlight at least for this short moment. Others – to remind young(er) people of Holocaust, because history repeats itself when people forget.
The evening has come: the Contestants are nervous, the announcer too. The bizarre show takes its course. Madonna is coming off the player and the ladies do their „job“. But nobody seems to be interested. The food is too good. The jury is too busy texting messages.
The dishes are rattling, the audience is chattering loudly. More than once, the host begs the spectators to listen to the women. With little success, their messages to the world are said and fade away in the insignificance. At last a new Miss Holocaust is elected. The joy is brief. The ballroom is tied up quickly. Tomorrow is another day. The ladies can go home. How can one sustain the remembrance of Holocaust, when the interest in the stories of the survivors is so little? Are we fed up? Have we seen too much of it? Is the Holocaust celebration only an end in itself? And reminding of: „that it will never happen again“is meaningless?
Belonging to untouchable god
Director: anuj kumar
Film Type: Documentary, Short, Web / New Media
Genres: documentary
Runtime: 26 minutes
Country of Origin: India
Film is about a Dalit women named Ramkali Devi, borne to the inferior caste in Bihar (Musahars), in past she was a bonded labor to upper caste, having a history of deep atrocities in different forms to her and her entire community members. Generations after generation their entire lifecycle used to go in serving their master as bonded labor to get food and pennies of money which their masters (upper caste people) use to give them.
But today things have changed for Ramkali Devi and her entire community, they have costed many things to reach position, where they enjoy freedom from bonded labor and are living a life of equality- they now are independent farmers and are no more dependent on the upper caste to live a life- all these unfolds in the story through events and instances created by and for them.
The story is constantly woven through journey of Ramkali and her community from today’s perspective to the past, which focuses on taking the story ahead through various storytelling tools.
A local NGO has played important role in this transition, but the boundaries of Ramkali Devi and her community members aren’t restricted to NGO, they are rather working on entire community upliftment.
We put story of Ramkali and her community, as a small example of as to how mere with small efforts even the grassroots of India is undergoing a process of change to give a glimpse of India shining.
THE ALL SEEING BLIND
Director: NURI CIHAN OZDOGAN
Film Type: Short
Runtime: 17 minutes
Country of Origin: Turkey
The gold’s of Saddam, the last booties of the Iraqi war, are smuggled into Turkey by hidden in the cotton. Blind workers are used to pick the gold from the cotton. The smugglers try to prevent any possible thefts by telling the workers that it is rock they are picking from the cotton. They don’t know that there’s a seeing eye among the blind workers.
NON FOSSILS
Director: Moore Thit Sett Htoon
Film Type: Documentary
Runtime: 23 minutes
Country of Origin: Myanmar
About a single mother from Myanmar.
The Curious Case of Mr. Bhim Thapa
Director: Bhakta Chand
Film Type: Documentary, Short
Runtime: 13 minutes 17 seconds
Country of Origin: Nepal
This documentary centers on a man, myth and his legacy and works both as a biopic and as a timelessly relevant piece of social commentary. Mr. Bhim Thapa has dedicated his life on the idea that people needed to be awaken to bring changes in their lives. He held this idea for a lifetime, painting & inscribing word “khoja” on the pavement, walls, and stones all over Nepal. Now, 96, old and fragile, he is still traveling and writing. It is believed that he has written/inscribed “Khoja” over 8 million times.
Preferentes
Director: nacho recio
Film Type: Short
Runtime: 16 minutes 25 seconds
Country of Origin: Spain
Elderly couples, affected by the scam of the preferred participations are forced to leave the home of all his life, unable to recover the invested capital to afford the payment of the mortgage.‘Referents ‘ relates the last two days of this lovely couple before their eviction, a fighter and innocent couple who, paradoxically, still believe in the goodness of human beings despite being swallowed by an oppressive , corrupt and cruel society without feelings.
HERO STEPS
Director: Henry Rincón
Film Type: Feature
Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes
Country of Origin: Colombia
EDUARDO is a 10 year old child victim of the armed conflict in Colombia, he lost a a leg in middle of the Colombian war, however, that has not been an impediment to achieve what is proposed. In the peasant household in which he lives, the director named LUCIO (60), is a conservative, retrograde and military-looking man who will make life impossible for Eduardo and the boy in turn to him. Together with his music teacher, Eduardo, VALENTINA (9) and his friends, they will overcome several obstacles to achieve their mission, to participate in the children’s soccer tournament without being discovered.
Women of Freedom
Director: Abeer Zeibak Haddad
Film Type: Documentary
Runtime: 58 minutes
Country of Filming: Israel, Palestine, State of
Country of Origin: Israel
Women of Freedom follows the stories of women who were murdered in the name of ‘honor killing’, in the Arab and Palestinian society. This documentary aims to unravel the social and political circumstances that had lead to this troubling phenomenon.
The director, who witnessed such tragedy in her own life, embarks on a journey – wandering through Israel and Palestine, collecting various stories of the victims, the survivors and the killers themselves. The film wishes to encourage a discussion on this silenced and controversial problem that many societies are still inflicted by.
THE SINFUL RED
Director: Rajan Khatet
Country of Origin: Nepal
Runtime: 25 minutes
The practice of women and girls being forced to stay in sheds away from home without touching anyone mostly in mid and far western regions of Nepal is called Chhaupadi. Around 95% of women in the far and mid-western regions of Nepal are affected by this practice. This custom prevails due to social and religious pressure.
This documentary film observes the changing perception of the people of Jumla and Kalikot about the Chhaupadi practice, following the criminalization of the practice by the government. This film is commissioned by the European Union.
Desh Khojdai Jada
Director: Prakash Angdembe
Country of Origin: Nepal
Runtime: 1 hrs 49 minutes
Desh Khojdai Janda film narrates more then 120,000 forgotten Nepali-speaking Bhutanese citizen from Bhutan. Who had lived 2 decades and some are still living in refugee camp in Jhapa and Morang Nepal. Their years of struggle repatriating to their homeland continue with the character Karbari kaka.
Rowing Against the Flow
Director: Belmaya Nepali
Country of Origin: Nepal
Runtime: 4 Minutes
This short film provides a glimpse into the lives and struggles of three Dalit women who are rowing against the flow of expectation in Pokhara, as they compete with men to earn a living by rowing tourists on Phewa Lake.
Educate our Daughters
Director: Belmaya Nepali
Country of Origin: Nepal
Runtime: 8 Minutes
Orphaned at the age of nine, Dalit director Belmaya Nepali had very little formal education. In this personal short film, she explores the status of girls in Nepal and why they get fewer opportunities than boys. Interweaving interviews with feisty students at the Sublime school in Pokhara, her own past story, and the high hopes she has for her 4-year-old daughter, Belmaya shows that girls can be a powerful force. Her mission is for her daughter to have the good education and opportunities that she herself missed out on. Ultimately this film celebrates Belmaya’s own achievement as a filmmaker against all odds.
Daughter of the Curved Moon
Director: Miranda Morton Yap
Country of Origin: Nepal
Runtime: 90 minutes
Nisha Budha is an extraordinary young Nepali woman who takes us on a journey back to visit her family and village in Jumla, a remote mountain district in far Western Nepal. Shot over a period of several years, the film is an expedition into a community steeped in ancient customs and beliefs and a rite of passage for this young woman coming to terms with her struggle against tradition while pursuing her personal dreams.
Blood and the Moon
Director: Tommaso Cotronei
Country of Origin: Yaman
Runtime: 1 hr 14 min 24 seconds
Child bride Soraya escapes her husband to reach a village where no one knows. But the local young school teacher offers her protection and a place to rest until she figures out her next step. This is a story of two young people living in Yemen. A woman from the city and a man from the countryside. Both struggles to overcome incredible obstacles in a country the world seems to have forgotten.
Akkhan
Director: Mitali Ray
Country of Origin: Bangladesh
Runtime: 7 min 44 seconds
The film is set against the backdrop of the Liberation War of Bangladesh (Formerly East Pakistan) against Pakistan (Former West Pakistan), taking place in 1971. Nila (The female lead character) has just gotten married, and is taking the first step towards a new, brighter life. But it all comes crashing down as war breaks loose.
Nila is captured by the Pakistani military and kept in a torture cell. She is humiliated, beaten and raped like hundreds of thousands other Bangladeshi women. One night after regaining consciousness, she finds herself covered in blood and begins to remember bits of her past. But cruel reality brings her back to the dark dungeon.
It Rains Slowly
Director: Saeed Nejati
Country of Origin: Turkey/Iran
Runtime: 15 minutes
Story that happened in 1980’s and its topic are: a teacher teaches the students what freedom is and how to withstand injustice.
Dangphu Dingphu(Once Upon a Time)
Director: Karma Jerry
Country of Origin: Bhutan
Dangphu Dingphu is an authentic contemporary story set in the olden day rural Bhutanese scenario.Leyrab, an eight-year boy, is out-casted by the society and exiled into a deep forest. The reason for such an act against Leyrab by the community remains unknown till the story unfolds in the later part of the film.30 years later, the story unfolds with Leyrab living in a cave and hunting boars. People in the village believe that Leyrab is an evil-born human being whose presence in an around the village can cast evil spell. They believe that natural calamities like storm, flood and hailstones hitting the village are due to presence of Leyrab around the village. Yangki, a beautiful daughter of rich Ap Gangla and Aum Pelzom, happens to encounter Leyrab in the forest when she goes with her friends to collect mushroom. All the girls flee away in fright seeing Leyrab. In the act of running away over a precarious road, Yangki fell off the cliff. Leyrab comes to rescue her. Stunned by the kindness of Leyrab, Yangki discards her belief on Leyrab and discreetly sees him in the forest. Eventually,they fall in love with each other. Yangki becomes pregnant with Leyrab’s baby. Ap Tashi and Aum Gyem are rich, kind-hearted and generous couple in the village to whom all the poor villagers look upon for any assistance and needs. They have a son named Pelden who is head over heel in love with Yangki. Ap Tashi proposes Pelden’s marriage to Yangki, which Ap Gangla agrees promptly. Yangki rejects Pelden’s marriage proposal. Pelden is disheartened. Later he discovers that Yangki is seeing Leyrab. Strom and hailstones destroy the harvest of the village. People come to know that Yangki is seeing Leyrab in the forest and they believe that it is curse of such act that the village is experiencing such destructive calamities. The whole community goes out into the forest to chase away Leyrab and Yangki stands firm behind Leyrab.
The later part of the tells that it is the evil ploy and design of Leyrab’s Uncle Ap Tashi and an astrologer named Tsip Zhaw who made the community to believe that Leyrab is an evil born child. It is the astrologer who performed ritual in the forest conjuring storm and hailstones. The film resolves with the community chasing away Ap Tashi and the astrologer and restoring Leyrab back to his house.
Kami Naach (Black Smiths Dance)
Director: DB Nepali
Country of Origin: Nepal
Runtime: 28 min 19 seconds
The Blacksmith Dance is traditionally performed among kami peoples in the Mid-western and Far-western parts of the country. While mini-kingdoms known as Baise and chaubise (i.e. 22 mini- kingdoms and 24 mini-kingdoms) existed, they used to frequently launch wars against one another. Baliraja of Jumla, one of the kings is said to have created and developed this dance in the process of military exercises.
Besides, this dance is performed as part of ritual; this dance is also performed on festival occasions. Lacking publicity and preservation measures, it is on the verge of oblivion.
Save Gangamaya
Director: Gopal Shivakoti
Country of Origin: Nepal
Run time: 30 minutes
Ms Gangamaya Adhikari and Mr Nanda Prasad Adhikari, a couple from Gorkha (Nepal) who sat on hunger protest in front of Prime Minister’s residence demanding justice for 2004 murder of their teenage son Krishna Prasad Adhikari was forcefully admitted at Bir Hospital, a government hospital in Kathmandu. On September 22, 2014, Nanda Prasad breathed his last at his 333 days of hunger protest. On October 19, 2014, Nepal government promised justice to Gangamaya and ended her 359 days of fast-unto-death. It’s already been very long but the murderers haven’t been brought to book, her only son Nur Prasad is not in her contact, and the last rite of her husband hasn’t been performed yet.
Gangamaya sought justice through the courts as citizens should, but the administration is not up to providing it. So, besides very weak and deteriorating health Gangamaya once again begins her indefinite hunger protest.
Maila Dai- A Man Who Rebuilt a Village
Director: Rajeela Shrestha
Country of Origin: Nepal
Runtime: 6 minutes
Individual contribution can make a huge difference in the society. Maila Dai- a MAN WHO REBUILT a VILLAGE is a documentary about Maila Lama, hero in real life. This documentary is all about the experience, struggle and contribution of Maila Lama who recovered not only his business but also helped in rebuilding the whole village of Thangpalkot, Sindhupalchowk after the massive earthquake hit Nepal in April 25,2015 being victim himself.
Kokh (A Womb)
Director: Subarna Thapa
Country of Origin: Nepal
Runtime: 11 minutes
‘Kokh’ directed by Subarna Thapa, depicts the story about the two young sex workers shot in Patan. In collaboration with NGO to expose the bitter reality that young sex workers face throughout the country with the young, bold and talented stars Namrata Sapkota and Deeya Maskey, the movie tries to aware about the safe abortion.
Rebuilding Trust in Nepal: Dialogue, Mediation and Culture for Peace
Director: Poonam Pachabhaiya and Raphael Vergin
Country of Origin: Nepal
Runtime: 33 min
The film “Rebuilding Trust after a Painful Past – The Share Centers…” shows, how relationships and communities can be rebuild after violent conflict. It offers insights into painful stories of people affected by civil war and solutions to mistrust and rebuilding relationships.
Krishna
Director: Suraj basyal “Sanjok”
Country of Origin: Nepal
Runtime: 13 minutes
Synopsis:
Live representation of how will power leads towards success is shown in documentary ‘Krishna’.The documentary tells the story of a 22 years old differently able boy who is left behind by his father and is trying to become economically independent and getting academic education on his own. With the confidence and caring of his mother, Bishnumaya, Krishna takes a bold decision of selling newspapers in the street of Pokhara to help his mother.
I Can
Director: Sajana Shrestha
Country of Origin: Nepal
Runtime: 7 minutes
The film ‘I Can’ is about Ramesh Khatri who is a resemblance of courage, passion, and resilience, whose life changed after April 2015 earthquake
Closing Film for The 6th NHRIFF 2018, 10th March
Jalgedi
Director: Rajesh Prasad Khatri
Country of Origin: Nepal
Runtime: 14 minutes
Jaalgedi takes her family’s animals, like any other day, to pastures outside her remote village. However, the arrival of a white tourist sends shockwaves among the children of the village who have never seen a foreigner in their lives before. Like all her friends, the inquisitive little girl gets distracted from her responsibilities of a while – following the strange white man around the village – only to find a catastrophe has befallen because of her innocent curiosities.
Winners Of 6th Nepal Human Rights International Film festival 2018
Best International Non-Fiction
Children of the Snow land (UK)
Director: Zara Balfour and Marcus Stephenson
Jury Remark: This Film took us with the young who were coming back from different scenarios to their roots to discover some reason. After their return they weren’t the same person as an earthquake within them.
Awarded: Certificate, Trophy and Cash Prize of NRS 40,000
Best International Non-Fiction Special mention
Perween Rahman : The Rebel Optimist ( Pakistan)
Director: Mahera Omar
Jury Remark: The bravery to tell a story about a brave women.
Awarded: Certificate
Best International Fiction
It Rains Slowly (Turkey / Iran)
Director: Saeed Nejati Michalina
Jury Remark: because talking with the language of cinema both technical and in content.
Awarded: Certificate, Trophy and Cash Prize of NRS 40,000
Best International Fiction Special Mention
Oxijen (UK)
Director: Edward Watts
Jury Remark: Good Portrait of the immigration problem in Europe.
Awarded: Certificate
Best National Non- Fiction
Chharo, Dust
Director: Deepak Tolange
Jury Remark: this film shows how the education can help to remove the heaviness of life from the children shoulders.
Awarded: Certificate, Trophy and Cash Prize of NRS 40,000
Best National Fiction
Badh: Let her Breathe
Director: Shreelata Rana
Jury Remark: The film portrait beautifully the contradiction of a society attitude towards women.
Awarded: Certificate, Trophy and Cash Prize of NRS 40,000
Jury Prize
Jalgedi (Nepal)
Director : Rajesh Prasad Khatri
Jury Remarks: by using all elements of the short cinema through a simple story the director gives a good message to everybody.
Awarded: Certificate and Trophy