Published: March 29, 2010
For the past eight years, the Paris International Film Festival on Human Rights (FIFDH) has focused on raising awareness and film education for schools and students regarding the complexities of human rights breaches involving economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights.
This year’s Prix Spécial du Jury was awarded to Buenos Días, Seguimos en Guerra (Hello, Our War Continues) by Anita Blumer (watch a trailer here). The film focuses on Guatemala and the war-like conditions that prevail in the wake of a civil war as the state remains undercut by organized crime. Guatemala has one of the highest murder rates on the American continent and violence claims more than ten lives a day. The film documents urban crime and the people who struggle against it.
The Human Rights Films Network (HRFN)
Since 2004, this film festival network has aimed to promote the protection of human rights on a global level. The network now brings together more than twenty festivals in the world, some of which are backed by major international human rights protection organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
The network strives for better distribution of human rights films and intends to endorse the emergence of new film festivals on human rights, especially in developing countries. Every year, the HRFN attracts a combined audience of more than 200,000 viewers worldwide.
More information can be found at their website, www.festival-droitsdelhomme.org.