The sixth annual Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, co-presented with Cinematheque Ontario, opens on February 24 with Amos Gitaï’s Plus tard, tu comprendras (One Day You’ll Understand). Starring Jeanne Moreau, Gitaï’s latest film is an exploration of the Holocaust, memory and loss that makes deep emotional connections.
This year’s festival, continuing through March 5, brings together eight powerful films that address major global issues and show personal struggles against difficult odds.
“This is an exceptional lineup of films that from diverse angles reaffirm the importance of historical memory and recognize the enormous courage of people fighting for justice around the world,” said Helga Stephenson, chairperson of the festival. “The Human Rights Watch International Film Festival continues to be a vital meeting place for Torontonians with an interest in and commitment to human rights.”
The programme includes Malcolm Rogge’s Under Rich Earth, an account of Ecuadorian farmers fighting against the forces of globalization; the Canadian premiere of Jawad Metni’s Remnants of a War, a documentary about leftover cluster-bomb munitions that continue to cause carnage in Lebanon; and Julie Bridgham’s The Sari Soldiers, the story of six women’s efforts to shape Nepal’s future in the violent wake of the royal coup in 2005. These three directors will be at the screenings of their films.
Plus tard, tu comprendras will open the festival, which features strong female characters, such as the grieving mother and the courageous activists in The Sari Soldiers, the anti-heroine who exploits illegal immigrant labourers in Ken Loach’s It’s a Free World…, and the women grappling with recent atrocities in the Balkans in Aida Begi?’s Snow.
Both Lee Isaac Chung’s debut feature, Munyurangabo, a drama about vengeance and redemption in Rwanda, and Patricio Guzmán’s documentary The Battle of Chile, a chronicle of the overthrow of Salvador Allende’s government, compel viewers to engage with issues of historical memory and moral responsibility.
The Opening Reception will be held at McKinsey & Co., 110 Charles Street West, 6 pm on Tuesday, February 24. Tickets are $100. The Closing Reception will take place on Thursday, March 5 at the Moose Factory Gallery, 22 Grange Avenue at 6 pm. Tickets are $30. To purchase tickets for either reception, please call the Human Rights Watch office at 416-322-8448.
The opening-night screening will take place at the Isabel Bader Theatre, 93 Charles Street West, Toronto at 8:00 pm. All other films will be shown at the Art Gallery of Ontario‘s Jackman Hall, 317 Dundas Street West (McCaul Street entrance). Advance tickets for the sixth Annual Human Rights Watch International Film Festival can be purchased online at cinemathequeontario.ca, by phone at 416-968-FILM (toll-free at 1-877-968-FILM) or in person at the TIFFG Box Office, located at 2 Carlton Street, West Mezzanine level (College subway station). Hours of operation are Monday to Friday, 10 am to 7 pm.
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is one of the world’s largest independent research and advocacy organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. It conducts fact-finding investigations into human rights abuses in more than 90 countries around the world and publishes those findings in numerous reports each year. By generating press reporting and advocacy, Human Rights Watch seeks to shame abusive governments, change policies and practices, and inform the public about important human rights issues. For 30 years, Human Rights Watch has worked to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world. Human Rights Watch Canada thanks its supporters McKinsey & Co. Hero Ventures Ltd., Sonia and Arthur Labatt and Deluxe.
The Canada Committee
The Human Rights Watch Canada Committee was formed in 2002 and is part of a network of committees across 13 cities in Europe, Canada and the United States. These committees seek to increase awareness of local and global human rights issues, and enlist the public and influence governments to support basic rights for all. Composed of opinion leaders and activists from a variety of backgrounds, the committee was formed out of the belief that an engaged constituency is essential for the defense of human rights. Canada Committee members are regularly briefed by Human Rights Watch investigators, senior government officials and informed observers. 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
Cinematheque Ontario 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 300 films annually, including acclaimed directors’ retrospectives, national and regional cinema spotlights, thematic programmes, exclusive limited runs, and classic and contemporary Canadian and international cinema, including many new and rare archival prints.
Cinematheque Ontario thanks its supporters Bell, RBC, 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 and/or press interviews, please contact:
Cinematheque Ontario/Toronto International Film Festival Group Communications Department:
Tel: 1-416-934-3200
E-mail: proffice@tiffg.ca
Human Rights Watch:
Lija Skobe: 416-322-8448 or skobel@hrw.org
Karin Lippert: 416-923-4707 or klippert26@aol.com
