other activities
Every year Movies that Matter hosts various other activities to further stimulate the distribution of human rights films worldwide. For instance, on the 10th of December human rights films are screened on many Dutch embassies to pay attention to the International Day of Human Rights. Movies that Matter also presents film programmes on other film festivals.
Furthermore, Movies that Matter coordinates the Human Rights Film Network, a partnership of more than 30 human rights film festivals from all over the world.
200 human rights documentaries broadcast in Burma
Over the past two years, the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) produced voice-overs for about 200 documentaries on human rights issues. All these documentaries were broadcast in Burma via DVB satellite TV allowing millions of people to watch them.
This project took place in a time of political reform and a changing media landscape and thus made an impact in Burma. Now that it has become less dangerous to distribute this material in Burma, community libraries and educational institutes have also started to screen these films in public venues. Building on the audiovisual trainings that were also part of this project, DVB will start to work more on the production of human rights documentaries in the future. This project was supported by Amnesty International and Movies that Matter with technical assistance, advice on film selection, and a grant from the Dutch National Postcode Lottery.
African Human Rights Film Festivals meet at Ciné Droit Libre
Ciné Droit Libre, the human rights film festival in Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso organised a meeting for African human rights film festivals on 2 and 3 July 2012. The meeting aimed at facilitating more cooperation and sharing of good practices between African and international film festivals. It puts a special emphasis on exchange and learning from each other's strengths. On of it's goals was to create a framework that brings together African and international actors.
Matthea de Jong of Movies that Matter took part in the meeting and presented some of the workshops. The meeting was attended by festivals from Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Libya, Uganda, Niger, Swiss, Czech Republic, and Tunesia. The workshop focused on many different issues, such as programming, fundraising, and itinerant festivals. The workshops were much appreciated by the participants. Sabrina Mahtani of Open Your Eyes in Sierra Leone stated: “Before, we had so many dreams, but we thought it might not be possible. Not it feels much more realisable. We are encouraged through this workshop and happy that we are now part of the film festival family.”
This year, Adboulaye Diallo, director of Ciné Droit Libre, is chairing the Human Rights Film Network.
Screening 'Justice for Sale' and ‘Our School’ at One World Brussels
On Tuesday May 15th 2012 at 6:30 pm Movies that Matter and the One World Festival will present the documentary Justice for Sale at the European Parliament in Brussels.
After the screening, the audience is invited to pose their questions to filmmakers Ilse en Femke van Velzen.
On May 18th 2012 at 7 pm Movies that Matter and the One World Film Festival will present the documentary Our School at the Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the EU. The film will be presented to the general public and policy makers. Afterwards Roma communities, Amnesty International and the Open Society Institute will be available to have a discussion with the audience.
Everyone is most welcome to attend these free-of-charge film screenings and participate in the debates afterwards. Visitors are requested to register as soon as possible (at least one week in advance).
These screenings are part of the One World in Brussels 2012 film festival. Read more.
Screenings at Dutch ambassies and consulates - worldwide
In collaboration with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Movies that Matter enabled Dutch embassies to host a screening and devote attention to human rights at the occasion of International Human Rights Day on December 10th.
Movies that Matter provides a film menu that consists of five special and present movies on human rights from which the embassies can make a selection.
In 2010 embassies and consulates of 22 countries ordered one or more DVDs. In total, about 37 screenings were organized. Many of the screenings were followed by a debate.
In 2011, a similar film project will take place in cooperation with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
A Matter of ACT at Flashpoint Human Rights Film Festival
The 2nd FLASHPOINT Human Rights Film Festival was an event that brought together 17 extraordinary films from around the world that dealt with human rights issues. The festival screened a selection of films from the A Matter of ACT section of the Movies that Matter Festival, like Redlight, Song For Amine, Suddenly Last Winter, The 10 Conditions of Love, The Sari Soldiers, To Shoot an Elephant, Women in Shroud, and Women in White. These films urge us to reflect, react, revolutionalize and catalyze us to act as a ‘flashpointers’ to ignite change.
Panel discussions were held on the roots of war, corruption, and violence with eminent speakers like Nandita Das, Savita Singh, and Dolly Thakore.
The festival was organised at the Alliance Française in Mumbai (8-10 December 2011) and Delhi (3-5 February) in India.
a matter of act - worldwide
In collaboration with Amnesty International, Movies that Matter presents the A Matter of ACT competition programme during the yearly Movies that Matter Festival.
This programme consists of ten documentaries on human rights defenders. After the festival, Movies that Matter encourages its partners in the countries where the story takes place to show the films in their home country as well.
In 2010 this resulted in screenings of Sari Soldiers in Nepal and of Redlight in Cambodja. The Flahslight Festival in India was completely dedicated to A Matter of ACT documentaries.
