By Mabel Pais

The Human Rights Watch Film Festival (ff.hrw.org), now in its 34th year, presents in New York a full edition of 10 groundbreaking new films available nationwide in the United States, from May 31 to June 11, 2023.

The New York festival will be back with a full program of in-person screenings at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center, with in-depth discussions with filmmakers, film participants, journalists, activists and Human Rights Watch researchers. The festival will continue to offer the opportunity to watch all 10 new films online nationwide across the United States with a full digital edition of the film festival from June 5 to June 11. This year’s edition highlights a broad diversity of themes and topics, including the Ukraine conflict, climate gentrification and justice, women’s rights, transgender rights, freedom of the press, and access to healthcare in the United States.

John Biaggi, Director of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, said, “We are extraordinarily proud to present our program of 10 powerful films and conversations in person at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center. This year’s selection covers expansive global ground, spotlighting urgent and timely human rights issues like the war in Ukraine, women’s rights and bodily autonomy, transgender rights, health and human rights, environmental gentrification, and freedom of the press.” He continues, “The festival is also committed to expanding inclusivity for audience members to enjoy the events together and is working to create features that more people can access. The majority of the festival films this year will be audio-described and play with captions, with live transcription for the conversations to follow.”

2023 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH FILM LINEUP

—Draw Me Egypt – Doaa El-Adl, A Stroke of Freedom, Nada Riyadh, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, The Netherlands

—The Etilaat Roz, Abbas Rezaie, Afghanistan

—Into My Name (Nel Mio Nome), Nicolò Bassetti, Italy

—Koromousso, Big Sister, Habibata Ouarme and Jim Donovan, Canada

—Pay or Die, Closing Night Film, Rachael Dyer and Scott Alexander Ruderman, USA

—Razing Liberty Square, Katja Esson, USA

—Seven Winters in Tehran, Opening Night Film, Steffi Niederzoll, Germany, France

—Theatre of Violence, Centerpiece Screening, Lukasz Konopa and Emil Langballe, Denmark, Germany

—We Are Guardians, Edivan Guajajara, Chelsea Greene and Rob Grobman, Brazil, USA

—When Spring Came to Bucha, Mila Teshaieva and Marcus Lenz, Germany, Ukraine

Opening Night

Seven Winters in Tehran

The film is a haunting documentary about Reyhaneh Jabbari, a 19-year-old Iranian woman sentenced to death for killing the man who tried to rape her. The film focuses on the misogyny entrenched in the justice system, where men are in charge and women’s voices are often silenced.

Centerpiece

Theatre of Violence

‘Theatre of Violence’ viewers follow the modern history of Uganda with a charismatic Ugandan lawyer who is defending a former child soldier, Dominic Ongwen, as he faces trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. It becomes clear that this is a trial not just of one man, a victim-turned-perpetrator, but also of a European form of justice imposed on an African country.

Closing Night

Pay or Die, along with two other films, delves into issues of health and human rights. The film follows three families struggling with the crushing financial reality of living with type 1 diabetes in the U.S. It looks at how pharmaceutical companies, bolstered by the government’s lack of regulation, push the price of insulin to exorbitant levels, with devastating impact on millions of Americans.

The two other films delving into issues of health and human rights are Koromousso, Big Sister  and Into My Name.

Koromousso, Big Sister introduces viewers to three passionate activists and survivors of female genital mutilation as they discover a wealth of strength, joy and love—both for their own bodies and for one another—while they work to remove stigma and to challenge cultural taboos surrounding female sexuality, reconstructive surgery and, ultimately, ownership of their bodies. In Nicolò Bassetti’s tender documentary.

Into My Name, executive produced by Elliot Page, we meet four young transgender men in Italy as they seek to determine their own gender identities while dealing with society’s often rigid boundaries and navigating the labyrinthine medical system.

Other Films

The festival takes a close look at Ukraine with When Spring Came to Bucha by the renowned photographer Mila Teshaieva, which powerfully profiles the citizens of Bucha, Ukraine, after the Russian army has left, as they work to rebuild their lives and community while supporting one another and finding moments of joy.

The Etilaat Roz, explores the importance of a free press as a courageous Afghan journalist records his team at Kabul’s largest newspaper while the Taliban takes over Afghanistan in 2021.

Draw Me Egypt – Doaa El-Adl, A Stroke of Freedom highlights the daily struggles of one of the most prominent cartoonists of the Arab world, Doaa el-Adl, who faces censorship, intimidation and death threats as she takes on the patriarchy through her art.

Two films focus on environmental justice and the effects of climate change:. Razing Liberty Square and We Are Guardians.

TICKETS, UPDATES & ACCESS

Tickets are available for members of IFC Center, Film at Lincoln Center and Human Rights Watch and to the general public. Audiences will be able to purchase in-theater tickets online or at the Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center box offices. For ticket prices and more, visit ff.hrw.org/newyork, filmlinc.org, or ifccenter.com.

Virtual tickets can be purchased online, for each film  or a digital festival pass that will provide access to all 10 films online, for the general public and for members. Further discount information is available on ff.hrw.org.

The full festival will be available to rent on the festival streaming site from 9 a.m. EST June 5 until 11:59 p.m. EST June 11, 2023. For details and accessibility options for each digital presentation, visit ff.hrw.org.

To purchase tickets and to access program updates, visit hrw.org/newyork.

 Human Rights Watch Film Festival

Through the Human Rights Watch Film Festival the organization bears witness to human rights violations and creates a forum for courageous individuals on both sides of the lens to empower audiences with the knowledge that personal commitment can make a difference. The film festival brings human rights abuses to life through storytelling in a way that challenges each individual to engage and demand justice for all.

Film at Lincoln Center

For more information, visit www.filmlinc.org and follow @filmlinc on Twitter and Instagram.

 IFC Center

For theater information, current and upcoming program details and more, visit www.ifccenter.com.

(Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Health & Wellness, Cuisine, Spirituality, and Business)