HRWFF Special Guests

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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Directors, Writers, Journalists And Advocates Make-Up List of Guests For 8th Human Rights Watch Film Festival

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February 3  |  2011 Film Festival, HRWFF Special Guests, News  |   julie

payam akhavan

Payam Akhavan, Professor of International Law at McGill University in Montreal, is one of over a dozen special guests slated for the 8th annual Human Rights Watch Film Festival.

This year’s list includes directors, writers, journalists, academics and advocates for human rights around the world. Dr. Akhavan, the president and co-founder of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre will introduce The Green Wave, which opens this year’s festival.

Other guests include: directors Luc Côté and Patricio Patricio Henríquez (You Don’t Like the Truth); director Alberto Herskovits (Familia); writer and documentary filmmaker Shelley Saywell; novelist Kim Echlin; CBC foreign correspondent Nahlah Ayed; the Toronto Star’s National Security Reporter, Michelle Shephard; Dickson Eyoh, Associate Professor, Political Science and African Studies, University of Toronto; Alexis MacDonald, Director of External Relations, Stephen Lewis Foundation; Andrea Prasow, Senior Counsel, Terrorism and Counterterrorism, Human Rights Watch; and Samer Muscati, Researcher, Middle East & North Africa Division, Human Rights Watch.

The 8th annual Human Rights Watch Film Festival takes place February 22 – March 4, 2011 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Ten films — both dramas and documentaries — will be screened.

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Tonight’s Film: ‘Presumed Guilty’ With Special Guest Mary Jo Leddy

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March 5  |  2010 Film Festival, HRWFF Closing Reception, HRWFF Special Guests, Presumed Guilty  |   julie

Human Rights Film Festival | Mary Jo Leddy
 
Tonight’s film, Presumed Guilty, will be introduced by Mary Jo Leddy, Director of Romero House and Adjunct Professor, Regis College, University of Toronto. She is pictured above at Romero House with Governor General Michaëlle Jean.
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