Opening Film and New Documentary Highlight Abuses in Afghanistan
(Toronto, January 14, 2008) – Human Rights Watch’s 5th Annual Film Festival in Toronto will open February 28, 2008 at the Isabel Bader Theatre with Iranian director Hana Makhmalbaf’s masterful debut film Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame, a study of the effects of years of war on the children of Afghanistan.
The festival, co-presented by Cinematheque Ontario, will run from February 29 to March 5 at Jackman Hall, the Art Gallery of Ontario. Seven new films from six countries will be screened, including Taxi to the Dark Side, which documents the death of a taxi driver in a US military prison in Afghanistan.
“The Human Rights Watch Film Festival has become an important Toronto platform to showcase films and introduce directors who focus on human rights issues around the world,” said Helga Stephenson, the festival chair. “For the first time, children this year figure predominantly in several of the films, and this will highlight the impact of violence and war on young lives.”
The opening night film (preceded by a reception), Hana Makhmalbaf’s powerful Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame, is about a powerful little girl trying to go to school in rural Afghanistan. The festival continues with Ramin Bahrani’s Chop Shop, featuring a young boy surviving on the streets of Queens in New York City; Tahani Rached’s These Girls chronicles the lives of the rowdy and engaging street girls in Cairo as they try to live life to the fullest and Sam Lawlor and Lindsey Pollock’s We’ll Never Meet Childhood Again introduces us to “Ceausescu’s babies”, Romania’s HIV orphans and the heroic families who took them into their homes and their hearts.
Alex Gibney’s powerful Taxi to the Dark Side is an indictment of the US use of torture in Iraq, Guantanamo and secret prisons in other nations. Osvalde Lewat-Hallade’s elegant and accomplished A Love During The War examines the effects of the widespread use of rape as a weapon during the Civil War in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Jawad Rhalib’s El Ejido, The Law of Profit explores the deplorable working and living conditions of the 80,000 Moroccan fruit and vegetable workers in the south of Spain.
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is one of the world’s largest research and advocacy organizations focusing on human rights. It conducts fact-finding investigations into human rights abuses in more than 70 countries around the world and publishes those findings in hundreds of reports each year. By generating press through reporting and advocacy, Human Rights Watch seeks to shame abusive governments, change policies and practices, and inform the public about important human rights issues.
The Toronto Committee
The Human Rights Watch Toronto Committee is one of a network of Human Rights Watch Committees in Europe and North America. The committee strengthens Human Rights Watch and its global defense of essential liberties by contributing financially, attracting potential supporters, and promoting the organization’s message.
Cinematheque Ontario, a division of the Toronto International Film Festival Group (TIFFG) is a year-round screening programme dedicated to presenting transformative world cinema through thoughtfully curated retrospectives, filmmaker monographs, and international programme tours. Cinematheque Ontario presents an ambitious selection of more than 400 films annually, including acclaimed director’s retrospectives, national and regional cinema spotlights, thematic programmes, and exclusive limited runs. Each year, nearly 50,000 tickets are sold for a diverse showcase of classic and contemporary Canadian and international cinema, including many new and rare archival prints. For more information, visit cinemathequeontario.ca.
All Cinematheque Ontario screenings are held at the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Jackman Hall, 317 Dundas St. West (McCaul St. entrance), Toronto. Regular tickets are $5.90 for members and $10.14 for non-members. Limited Runs and Special Presentations are $7.08 for members and $11.56 for non-members. Prices do not include GST, building fund fee or service charges.
Members’ advance tickets are on sale now. Non-members may purchase tickets for any screening starting January 15. Films playing at Cinematheque Ontario that have not been rated by the Ontario Film Review Board are restricted to individuals 18 years of age or older.
To purchase tickets for Human Rights Watch’s 5th Annual Film Festival in Toronto, please go to cinemathequeontario.ca, or the Toronto International Film Festival Group Box Office, located at Manulife Centre, 55 Bloor Street West (street level, north entrance, open Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.), or call 1-416-968-FILM or 1-877-968-FILM.
To purchase tickets for the opening and closing reception, please call the Human Rights Watch office at 1-416-322-8448. The opening screening and reception will be held at the Isabel Bader Theatre, 93 Charles St. West, Toronto.
Cinematheque Ontario thanks its supporters Bell, Ontario Media Development Corporation, Canada Council for the Arts, City of Toronto Economic Development Office, Toronto Arts Council and Ontario Arts Council.
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For more information on Toronto’s Human Rights Watch Film Festival and/or press information, please contact:
Cinematheque Ontario/Toronto International Film Festival Group Communications Department:
Tel: 1-416-934-3200
E-mail: proffice@tiffg.ca
For Human Rights Watch:
Jasmine Herlt: +1-416-322-8448; or jasmine.herlt@hrw.org
Karin Lippert: +1-416-923-4707; or klippert26@aol.com
