Charm City (2018) Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2018

With all the films about the troubles in Baltimore the last thing you’d think we need is another film about them. On the other hand when you have a film like CHARM CITY you suddenly realize that most of the other films are the ones that aren’t needed.

Focusing on one of the poorer neighborhoods in the city the film follows several community activists, a couple of police officers and a city councilman from the area, and all, except one police officer are African American.

There is so much to say abou the film I’m not sure where to start. Perhaps with the glorious sense of place. Rarely in any documentary, have I had the sense of actually being in the place as I did in CHARM CITY. We really are there and we really get a sense of it and the film’s subjects and everyone around them. This is due entirely to director Marilyn Ness who clearly spent a great deal of time with her subjects and in the area. Its clear from watching how events transpire that she was there for the long haul. That may not sound like much but there have been several recent films where the directors really wren’t around their subjects much. But in CHARM CITY Ness seems to be there and capturing it all with the result that the film gets under your skin and moves you

I love that there are no easy answers given other than creating a sense of community to change the mind space. I love how the point is made clear that we need strong people and great leaders because when activist Mr C ends up in the hospital things devolve into bloodshed. People matter.

You’ll forgive the lack of discussion beyond that but there is so much here that I will require a second and third viewing to truly do the film justice. This is a glorious film. Highly recommended.

For tickets and more information go here.

Naila and the Uprising (2017) Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2018

This excellent portrait of Naila Ayesh, and her role in the first Intifada is filmmaking at the highest level.

The film recounts Naila's life from a child when she became politically active because of her living in Gaza, through her marriage (to a man her parents were afraid would end up in jail) to her organizing of resistance and her role in the the first uprising which changed how the world saw the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.

A beautiful marriage of talking heads, news footage and animated recreation the film does everything that a great documentary should. We are introduced to some amazing people and we watch how their lives unfolded and changed the world. It is an amazing story that grips us from the first instant and carries us to the last.

What can I say about the film that will make you understand how good the film is? Perhaps simply I can't wait to not only see the film again but add it to my collection. This is a film that you will want to revisit not only because it's a hell of a tale but also because it is good time with good people.

I apologize if this review isn't deep discussions and explanations of what I think of the events depicted. You don't need my thoughts when the film speaks for itself. All you need do is simply buy a ticket and take the ride.

NAILA AND THE UP RISING is another truly great film. It was on my best films of 2017 list It plays this Wednesday in New York  at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival. For tickets and more information go here.

The Distant Barking of Dogs (2018) Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2018

THE DISTANT OF BARKING DOGS may very well be one of the most haunting films of the year. It certainly is one of the best films at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival. It probably is also one of the best films about children and war I've seen

This is a portrait of  Oleg, who lives in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. This means he isn't far from where the Russian backed troops are fighting the Ukrainian forces for control of the country.  Not only is his world filled with the sound of dogs but also gun fire and explosions in the distance. At night he can see the rockets and fire in the distance. Still he is a kid and along with his best friend he putters through this day, going to school and getting into trouble-- which in this case could be deadly.

I am in awe of this film. A beautiful shot look at childhood and not so distant war this is a film where the images burn into your brain. Beginning with dash cam footage of a mortar attack we are instantly thrown into the war. The film then cuts to the country where we meet Oleg and the war. The juxtaposition allows the war to remain distant but still always present. It colors everything we see.

Controlling all out emotions is young Oleg. This quiet young boy is the sort of fellow that we all can identify with. He is wonderfully still a kid, though one that has to wrestle with what the war really means. The incident with the gun makes it clear he doesn't fully understand the danger. He possess one of the greatest faces ever to be on the screen. Think of him as the real life counterpart to Aleksey Kravchenko in the shattering COME AND SEE or Christian Bale in EMPIRE OF THE SON. If you want to see how right they got their roles, watch Oleg.

This film left me not so much moved but changed. I don't know what or how or why I only know that coming out on the other side of the film I felt different. How I see the world and war shifted. This is a film that not only opened my eyes but altered how I see the world.

And that I think is all one needs to know about the film- it will change something inside you.

GO see it.

THE DISTANT OF BARKING OF DOGS plays the New York leg of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival June 18 and 19. For tickets and more information go here.

Human Rights Watch 2018 Short Takes: WOMEN OF VENEZUELAN CHAOS, SILENCE OF OTHERS and A THOUSAND GIRLS LIKE ME

WOMEN OF VENEZUELAN CHAOS
Low key look at the lives of five women who are contemplating their future in Venezuela where the economic crisis has resulted in staggering inflation, food and medicine shortages and increasing levels of dangerous violence. Do they stay or do they go?

Low key film is focused entirely on the women and not the world outside. Director Margarita Cadenas turns her camera on the women and lets them talk with the result we come to understand the madness of the country on a human level.

Worth a look when it plays June 15 and 16.

SILENCE OF OTHERS
After the death of dictator Francisco Franco the Spanish government pass a law saying that the past terrors of the Franco years were to be forgotten. There would be no prosecutions or memorials just a false forgetting of what happened. Now forty years on those who didn't live through the terror have have no idea what happened. However some people can't forget and thy are taking steps call for an accounting and find out what happened to missing loved ones.

Solid look at at how it is never too late to ask for justice. We get sucked in as victims try to get the government to address the past by filing human rights lawsuits in countries outside of Spain. I sat riveted for the 90+ minutes as the story unfolded and things slowly moved forward.

Definitely worth a look when it plays June 19 and 20.

A THOUSAND GIRLS LIKE ME
A portrait of Khatera who was the first woman to attempt prosecution under a 2009 Afghani law that seeks to prevent sexual abuse of women. In this case Khatera wants to prosecute her father whose repeated abuse has left her pregnant.

This film give a real on the ground look at what is happening in Afghanistan. Its a film that lays out the cost on human terms not only of the abuse but also of the countries refusal to change it's ways. Its both chilling and sad. It will move you to tears and pisss you off.

The film plays June 19 and 20.

For ticket and more information on these or other films at the festival go here.

Human Rights Watch 2018 Short Takes: ANOTE'S ARK, ANGKAR, and THE CLEANERS

ANOTE'S ARK
Portrait of Anote Tong's battle to save Kiribati, a Pacific island nature that will be wiped from the face of the earth within decades (if not sooner) if climate change isn't stopped.

Gorgeous looking film brings home the dangers of rising ocean levels by putting a very human face on the problem. We watch as the islanders struggle to keep the sea out of their homes  as their leader travels the world to try and make people listen to their plight.

While the film doesn't break any new ground, it does make clear the danger we are all in.

ANOTE'S ARK plays June 15 and 18

ANGKAR
Neary Adeline Hay documents her father's return to Cambodia 40 years after he fled the killing fields of the country to see who is left of his friends, family and the men who tortured him four decades before.

A frequent dream-like exercise in memory this is a film that brings us into one man's past life. Part documentary, part memory play, this is a film that grabs you by the lapels and makes you an active fellow traveler.

The strength of the film is in it's showing the line between what is and what we remember (Hay says he doesn't remember many of the people who see to know him). It is here the film stakes out it's own territory and reveals itself to be something special.

ANGKAR plays June 16 and 17

THE CLEANERS
A look at some of the people who act like moderators for big sites such as Google, Facebook, You Tube, ect and remove any content that is deemed inappropriate such as the work of terroristic organizations. It raises the question of if we really do have free speech or just an approximation.

This was curates egg of a film. While I absolutely loved the discussions, when they happened, and I love the issues raised by the film (such as who are these people to make the decisions) I found the presentation, while occasionally nicely moody, ultimately much too distracting. How many times do we really need to see people walking or just sitting at a computer? While I understand some of it is here to set a mood, after a while some of this seems like to be filler.

Ultimately this is a good but unremarkable film with a vital discussion at its core.

THE CLEANERS plays June 17 and 18

For more information for these or any films playing at the festival and tickets go here

Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2018: VOICES OF THE SEA

Portrait of Mariela and her husband Pita who live is a small village on the coast of Cuba with their four children. They lead a hard scrabble existence fishing. She want to leave and travel to America however her husband is reluctant to do so. When neighbors leave for America tension develops between the pair.

Sweet little film is a good portrait of a couple looking for a better life. It is one of the very rare films that I've run across that really put us into present day Cuba.  It is a film that will make you truly understand what is like to live in the country that seems to floundering in existence.

On top of everything else the film is stunningly beautiful. This is an absolutely gorgeous film where every image is one you'll want to hang on the wall. While it looks good, it is perhaps a little too good since it makes Cuba a lace you want to go to not flee from.

VOICES OF THE SEA plays June 15 and 17. For tickets and more information go here.

Human Rights Watch Film Festival Announces 2018 Line Up

THE 2018 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH FILM FESTIVAL Co-presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and IFC Center June 14-21, 2018 15 Films & Discussions Showcase Courageous Activists During Challenging Times   (New York, May 9, 2018) – The Human Rights Watch Film Festival will present 15 timely and provocative films, from June 14-21, 2018, that shine a bright light on bravery and resilience in challenging times. In a year when women collectively raised their voices against discrimination and abuse, Human Rights Watch will present films offering incisive perspectives and critical insights on human rights issues impacting people around the world. 12 of the 15 films are directed or co-directed by women.   Now in its 29th edition, the Human Rights Watch Film Festival is co-presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and IFC Center. All screenings will be followed by in-depth  question-and-answer sessions with filmmakers, film subjects, Human Rights Watch researchers, and special guests.   This year’s festival turns the spotlight on strong women who take great risks to push back against powerful forces within their respective societies. And, at a time when the use of personal data by institutions is front-page news, this year’s program explores governmental and corporate regulation of information, and how, by burying the truth and creating their own narratives, these gatekeepers are uniquely positioned to abuse their power and control the populace. “In a year when women have spoken out against abuse, harassment and oppression, the festival highlights the outstanding work of women filmmakers telling epic stories of women fighting injustice with resilience and courage.” said John Biaggi, the Human Rights Watch Film Festival creative director. “The festival will also probe the headline-breaking questions of corporate and government control of information at a time when the use of personal data has outrun the limits of the law and ethics.”   The Opening Night screening of the documentary On Her Shoulders introduces Nadia Murad, a 23-year-old Yazidi survivor of atrocities by ISIS who makes it her life’s mission to fight for justice and freedom for her people.   Two documentaries highlight women’s rights in Afghanistan. A Thousand Girls Like Me follows a young mother seeking justice from a legal system designed to criminalize sexual abuse survivors like her. Facing the Dragon (winner of the festival’s Nestor Almendros Award) profiles two intrepid Afghan women — a member of parliament and journalist — who risk the safety of their families to bring change and accountability to their country.   Naila and the Uprising features courageous Palestinian women activists who played a pivotal role in the First Intifada, and in Women of the Venezuelan Chaos, five resilient women find creative ways to defend their fellow citizens, their families and their own lives amid the national crisis that has enveloped their country.   In the profoundly moving and poetic Angkar, a filmmaker traces her father’s journey home to Cambodia to seek out his Khmer Rouge persecutors while confronting his country’s collective amnesia regarding their horrifying past. In The Silence of Others, survivors of the Franco dictatorship’s crimes against humanity refuse to relent in their pursuit of justice, despite Spain’s “pact of forgetting,” which has denied Franco’s victims legal recourse. The Cleaners reveals a murky world of digital “cleaning,” in which giant social media companies employ workers to delete internet content deemed inappropriate, raising essential questions over internet control and the life-threatening impact of erasing entire resistance movements from the world’s gaze.   As always, the festival features critical human rights issues in the U.S., this year with three timely films. Charm City moves between community members, police and local officials during a period of heightened violence in Baltimore, exposing layers of disconnect and distrust that need to be addressed to move their city forward. TransMilitary focuses on the largest employer of transgender people in the country – the U.S. military – and the efforts of four brave people as they come forward to demand much-needed change. The Closing Night film, The Unafraid, introduces three high school students in Georgia, banned by the state from attending top state universities due to their unauthorized immigration status, and their passionate fight to pursue their dreams of higher education.   The festival continues its partnership with MUBI, a curated online streaming platform reaching a community of film lovers across the globe. MUBI will feature select films from the festival online while the New York program is in progress. Learn more at mubi.com.   Complete Program and Schedule Information:   Public screenings and special programs will take place at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center (144 W. 65th St) (FSLC) and at the IFC Center, 323 Avenue of the Americas (IFC). The opening night film, On Her Shoulders, will screen at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater, 165 W. 65th St.  (WRT) (between Amsterdam and Broadway    Public Screening Schedule Thursday, June 14 7 p.m. – On Her Shoulders (94m) — WRT Friday, June 15 6:30 p.m. – Voices of the Sea (99m) — FSLC 7 p.m. – Anote’s Ark (77m) — IFC 9 p.m. – What Will People Say (106m) — FSLC 9:15 p.m. –Women of the Venezuelan Chaos (83m)  — IFC                                                           Saturday, June 16 3:30 p.m. – Women of the Venezuelan Chaos (83m)— FSLC 6 p.m. – Angkar (71m) — FSLC 7 p.m. – Naila and the Uprising (76m) — IFC 9:15 p.m. – What Will People Say (106m) — IFC Sunday June 17 6 p.m. – Facing the Dragon (80m) — FSLC 6:45 p.m. – Angkar (71m) — IFC 8:15 p.m. – The Cleaners (88m) — FSLC 8:45 p.m. – Voices of the Sea (99m) — IFC Monday June 18 6:30 p.m. – Anote’s Ark (77m) — FSLC      7 p.m. – Facing the Dragon (80m) — IFC 8:45 p.m. – The Distant Barking of Dogs (90m) — FSLC 9 p.m. – The Cleaners (88m) — IFC Tuesday June 19 6:30 pm – The Silence of Others (96m) — FSLC 7 p.m. – The Distant Barking of Dogs (90m) — IFC 9 p.m. – A Thousand Girls Like Me (76m) — FSLC 9:15 p.m. – TransMilitary (92m) — IFC Wednesday June 20      6:30 p.m. – TransMilitary (92m) — FSLC 7 p.m. – A Thousand Girls Like Me (76m) — IFC 9 p.m. – Charm City (106m)  — FSLC 9 p.m. – The Silence of Others (96m) — IFC Thursday June 21 7 p.m. – The Unafraid (85m) — IFC  TICKET INFORMATION: Ticket On Sale Date:  May 18 – Tickets on sale to the General Public. Tickets will be available on the festival website at ff.hrw.org/new-york, or directly from the cinemas at filmlinc.org for the screenings at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and ifccenter.com for the IFC Center. Tickets can be purchased in person at the box offices of each cinema. Film Society of Lincoln Center: $15 General Public, $12 Seniors, Students and Persons with Disabilities, $10 FSLC Members. IFC Center: $15 General Public, $11 Seniors and patrons with the MTA reduced-fare MetroCard for people with disabilities, $10 IFC Center Members. A 3+ film discount package is also available for screenings at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. For more information, visit ff.hrw.org, or the respective websites for the Film Society of Lincoln Center and IFC Center. Ticket On Sale Dates: May 16 – Pre-sale to Film Society of Lincoln Center and IFC Center Members. May 18 – General Public. For discounted tickets and festival updates, sign up for the mailing list at www.hrw.org/filmconnect. Follow the festival on Twitter and Instagram @hrwfilmfestival PROGRAM DETAILS