Tonight’s Film: You Don’t Like The Truth With Special Guests Luc Cote and Patricio Henriquez

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February 23  |  2011 Film Festival, HRWFF Special Guests, News, You Don't Like The Truth  |   julie

you don't like the truth luc cote and patricio henriquez

Directors Luc Côté and Patricio Henríquez are joined by the Toronto Star‘s National Security Reporter, Michelle Shephard, and Human Rights Watch, Senior Counsel on Terrorism and Counterterrorism, Andrea Prasow, for tonight’s screening of You Don’t Like The Truth: 4 Days In Guantanamo.

The film documents the bungled interrogation of child soldier, Omar Khadr, at the hands of Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) in Guantánamo Bay. Côté and Henríquez got access to seven hours of video footage shot during the four-day interrogation, which they transcribed and ultimately used as the base for their documentary.

“I don’t know if he killed that soldier, and I don’t know what I would have done in his situation,” says Henríquez. “But he was 15 years old at the time. According to the international convention Canada has signed, he is a child soldier and needs to be protected.”

Award-winning journalist Michelle Shephard is the author of Guantanamo’s Child, which chronicles the life of Omar Khadr.

To purchase tickets for tonight’s screening of You Don’t Like The Truth: 4 Days In Guantanamo phone 416-599-TIFF (8433) or 1-888-599-8433. Tickets can also be purchased, in person, at TIFF Bell Lightbox Box Office, Reitman Square, 350 King Street West, Toronto.

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Tonight’s Film: When We Leave With Special Guest, Documentary Filmmaker Shelley Saywell

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February 22  |  2011 Film Festival, HRWFF Special Guests, News, When We Leave  |   julie

when we leave special guest shelley saywell

Tonight’s special guest, Shelley Saywell, explored “honour killings” — the subject of tonight’s feature film When We Leave — in her documentary film, In The Name of The Family, which detailed the killing of Mississauga teen, Aqsa Parvez, at the hands of her father and brother.

When We Leave was also based on a highly publicized “honour killing”, which took place in Berlin in 2005. The story follows ‘Umay’ (Sibel Kekilli) a young Turkish Muslim woman who decides to leave her abusive husband in Istanbul and join her family in Germany.

Shortlisted for the 83rd Academy Awards®, When We Leave has won numerous awards, including the Prix Lux, the European Parliament’s honor for the best European film of the year.

Shelly Saywell will be in attendance for a Q&A following the screening.

To purchase tickets for tonight’s screening of When We Leave phone 416-599-TIFF (8433) or 1-888-599-8433. Tickets can also be purchased, in person, at TIFF Bell Lightbox Box Office, Reitman Square, 350 King Street West, Toronto.

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Tonight’s Film: The Green Wave With Special Guest Dr. Payam Akhavan, Lawyer and Human Rights Advocate

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February 21  |  2011 Film Festival, HRWFF Opening Night, HRWFF Special Guests, News, The Green Wave  |   julie

payam akhavan

Payam Akhavan, Professor of International Law at McGill University in Montreal and co-founder of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre, is tonight’s special guest for the gala opening of the 8th annual Human Rights Watch Film Festival.

Events start at 6 PM with a reception at Malaparte (located on the 6th floor at the TIFF Bell Lightbox) followed by the Canadian premiere of Ali Samadi Ahadi’s powerful and timely documentary, The Green Wave. Host for the evening is Jasmine Herlt, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch Canada.

Dr. Akhavan will be in attendance for a Q&A following the screening.

He previously served as the Legal Advisor to the Prosecutor’s Office of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at The Hague (1994–2000).

For last minute tickets to the gala reception and screening, please call (416) 322-8448 or e-mail ashs@hrw.org. All proceeds from the gala benefit Human Rights Watch.

Tickets for the screening only ($12) can be purchased by phone at 416-599-TIFF (8433) and 1-888-599-8433, or in person at TIFF Bell Lightbox Box Office, Reitman Square, 350 King Street West, Toronto.

The Green Wave opens the 8th annual Human Rights Watch Film Festival. The festival  runs to March 4, 2011 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.

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Video: Dennis Edney, Lawyer For Omar Khadr

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February 17  |  2011 Film Festival, You Don't Like The Truth  |   julie

An impassioned speech by Dennis Edney, the lawyer for Omar Khadr, given at le Festival du Nouveau Cinema in Montreal on October 14th, 2010, following the premiere of You Don’t Like the Truth: 4 Days Inside Guantanamo.

You Don’t Like The Truth: 4 Days In Guantanamo screens Thursday, February 24, 2011, 8 PM, at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, Cinema 3.

To purchase tickets, visit the TIFF Online Box Office or phone 416-599-TIFF (8433) or 1-888-599-8433. Tickets can also be purchased, in person, at TIFF Bell Lightbox Box Office, Reitman Square, 350 King Street West, Toronto.

Filmmakers Luc Côté and Patricio Henriquez will be in attendance for a Q&A after the screening.

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Trailer: You Don’t Like The Truth

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February 17  |  2011 Film Festival, You Don't Like The Truth  |   julie

The documentary You Don’t Like the Truth brings the original footage of a four-day interrogation of Omar Khadr by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) to the attention of the wider public.

Born in Toronto, Omar Khadr was 15 years old when he was taken prisoner by U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Captured in battle and severely wounded he was taken to Bagram Air Force base where he was interrogated and tortured. On October 2002, he was sent to the U.S. military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

The footage — obtained under a Supreme Court of Canada order — is interspersed with interviews of associates, most notably Khadr’s former cellmates, his Canadian attorneys, the former American soldier Damien Calotti (who was charged with prisoner abuse at the Bagram camp), and Toronto Star reporter Michelle Shephard.

Many more get a chance to speak, creating a well-rounded picture of the Scarborough-born Omar Khadr’s background, the conditions at Guantanamo, and the neglect he has experienced at the hand of the Canadian government.

The film won the Special Jury Award at the Amsterdam International Documentary Festival (IDFA) and has been selected in the Best Documentary category at both the Jutra Awards (Quebec) and the Genie Awards (Canada).

You Don’t Like The Truth: 4 Days In Guantanamo screens Thursday, February 24, 2011, 8 PM, at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, Cinema 3.

To purchase tickets, visit the TIFF Online Box Office or phone 416-599-TIFF (8433) or 1-888-599-8433. Tickets can also be purchased, in person, at TIFF Bell Lightbox Box Office, Reitman Square, 350 King Street West, Toronto.

Filmmakers Luc Côté and Patricio Henriquez will be in attendance for a Q&A after the screening.

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