Festival Programme

Please do not forget to sign up to our mailing list, on the left-hand side of the page, to receive We The Peoples 2008 Film Festival e-mail updates and advance notice of the We The Peoples 2009 Film Festival.

In addition, contact info@wethepeoples.org.uk to help sponsor this year’s festival.  Sponsorship opportunities are still available for individuals and companies.

For a listing of the selected films in alphabetical order, click here.

Monday 24 November, 7 p.m.

CLIFFORD CHANCE LLP, CANARY WHARF

10 Upper Bank Street, Canary Wharf, E14 5JJ [Tube: Canary Wharf]

60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Stories on Human Rights UK Premiere

The film is a series of short films made by the world’s leading directors specially commissioned by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). It features twenty-three 3 minute films shot by 26 of the world’s leading film-makers and video artists, from 23 different countries. Each film relates to one of the six main themes arising from the UDHR: Culture, Development, Dignity and Justice, Environment, Gender and Participation. Each film has been shot in the director’s original language with subtitles of the six official languages of the UN. A panel session with some of those associated with the project will follow and then, a reception kindly provided by Clifford Chance LLP

Tickets (free admission) must be booked through info@wethepeoples.org.uk

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Monday 24 November, 7.30 p.m.

The Frontline Club

13 Norfolk Place, W2 1QJ [Tube: Paddington]

The Fixer Aaron Rockett (46 minutes)

Film-maker Aaron Rocket follows BBC journalist, Sean Langan and his fixer, Sami Sharaf, in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Fixers are locals used by journalists to set up interviews, interpret conversations, and provide links and leads to people and stories. Sami is the fixer, and through his journey to bring his family back to Afghanistan from Pakistan after 20 years living as refugees, you learn about his history and see Afghanistan through his translation and eyes. The film puts viewers into the streets and countryside of both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Later, both Langan and Sami were captured and held by the Taliban for three months. Following the film, Aaron Rockett will participate in a Q & A session.

Tickets must be booked through the Frontline Club. 020 7479 8950 - www.frontlineclub.com

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Tuesday 25 November, 6.30 p.m.

St Ethelburga’s

Bishopsgate, EC2N 4AG [Tube: Bank; Liverpool Street]

Train of Freedom, Karina Correa (50 mins)

Some of Europe’s most glamorous trains travelled through Kosovo - it was used for trade and tourism - but during the war, nearly one million Albanians were forced into packed cars and deported to Macedonia, driven away by Serbian forces. The railways remained grim until the launch of “The Freedom of Movement Train”, a programme of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) to promote multi-culturalism and post-war reconciliation among all the communities in Kosova including Albanians, Serbs, Romas and Ashkalis. The train runs from Fushe Kosove through the conflicted area of Mitrovica up to the Serbian border. This documentary presents the voices of all communities alike and portrays passengers, conductors, ticket takers and workers who ride the train daily. These are the people that set an example of the hopes and challenges for the future Kosovar society.

La Funa de Victor Jara Nèlida Ruiz & Cristian Villablanca (30 minutes)

In Chile, “Funa” means to denounce in public the murderers and those who committed tortures during Pinochet’s regime. Pinochet’s arrest in London led to the “Funa Commission”, an organisation charged to reveal the criminals who violated human rights in Chile. Victor Jara was the most popular singer-songwriter during the 70’s in Chile. He was murdered four days after the Pinochet’s coup. This is the story of the “Funa” against Edwyn Dimter Bianchi, known as “The Prince”, charged for the murder of Victor Jara .

Suggested donation £5. If you are coming, please email simon@stethelburgas.org

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Tuesday 25 November, 7.30 p.m.

Kings College London

Room K2.40, Strand Campus
London, WC2R 2LS. The Strand [Tube: Temple; Holborn]

Kidnapped Childhood Claes Herrlander (28 minutes)

In Northern Uganda the children dare not sleep at home. They fear being abducted by the rebels. During 20 years 20,000 children have been kidnapped and made soldiers and sex slaves by the brutal Lord’s Resistance Army. Some of them come back alive and are able to tell their stories.

Between Hope and Fear David Gough,IRIN (10 minutes)

It’s been three years since a peace accord put an end to the civil war between north and south Sudan. The conflict, which began in 1983, displaced millions of civilians. Many fled to neighbouring Uganda. Now there’s a steady flow of refugees returning to Sudan. This film, produced in July 2008, tells a very different story to that of Darfur and reminds us of the size of Sudan and the complexity of its challenges.

Admission is free. Seats are available on first-come, first-served basis.

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Tuesday 25 November, 6.00 p.m.

Kingston University

De Lissa Hall, Room 701, Kingston Hill Campus [Link for Directions]

We will not die like dogs Lisa Russell (54 minutes)

The film profiles AIDS activists from Nigeria, Uganda, Burkina Faso, and Zambia. Honest and provocative testimonies of individuals living with the epidemic include two HIV-positive women fighting stigma and discrimination, a doctor working to care for HIV-infected children in rural villages, and a reggae artist using his status among youth and the media to bring awareness to HIV/AIDS.

Angola in the frame Nigel Bryant for Christian Aid (52 minutes)

John Keane, Britain’s official Gulf war artist, creates new work to record Angola’s recovery from 30 years of civil war.

Rightful Place David Abbott for Witness (16 minutes)

The Endorois people have been forcibly displaced to make room for new Kenyan game parks, losing identity and more.

Admission is free. Seats are available on first-come, first-served basis.

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Wednesday 26 November, 6.00 p.m.

Kingston University

Clattern Lecture Theatre at Penrhyn Road (main campus)[Link for Directions}

Kidnapped Childhood Claes Herrlander (28 minutes)

In Northern Uganda the children dare not sleep at home. They fear being abducted by the rebels. During 20 years 20,000 children have been kidnapped and made soldiers and sex slaves by the brutal Lord's Resistance Army. Some of them come back alive and are able to tell their stories.

Camilo - The Long Road to Disobedience Peter Lilienthal for WDR (85 minutes)

Nicaraguan-born Camilo, enlisted in the US National Guard, refuses to go to Iraq and his story is juxtaposed with that of Fernando whose son Jesus was the first Mexican to die in the Iraq invasion.

Admission is free. Seats are available on first-come, first-served basis.

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Thursday 27 November, 7.00 p.m.

Riverside Studios

Crisp Road, W6 9RL [Tube: Hammersmith]

“Four Steps forward, two steps back”

Six new films, showing advances and setbacks in developing countries;

My name is Kelvin Veena Holkar (12 minutes)

A group of young boys in an orphanage by Lake Victoria have created an extraordinary Aids-awareness show, with songs based on their own lives as HIV orphans and former street children. Through the process of writing and performing to other children in local schools and villages, the boys have found a voice and discovered a sense of purpose - from being victims of the epidemic, they have become agents of change.

Sustaining the Future: Addressing HIV and AIDS and Gender Issues in Agriculture in MalawiCharmaine Wilkerson for the UN Food & Agricultural Organisation (FAO) (18 minutes)

The AIDS epidemic takes farm and factory workers alike, depleting the country’s chance to develop.

Burkino Faso: Protecting the environment by profiting from garbage Beatrice Mann for the International Labour Organisation (ILO) (7 minutes)

Burkino Faso’s first plastic recycling project employs the poor, helps industry and reduces import prices of plastic.

Rupa Manel Silva: A banker for Sri Lanka women Beatrice Mann for the International Labour Organisation (ILO) (5 minutes)

In Sri Lanka, economic empowerment for women is vital for their equal participation

Planting Hope Paul Higgit for CAFOD (13 minutes)

Northern Uganda’s cease-fire brings hope to the returning community, using new tools and with new training.

Missing lives David Abbot for Witness (14 minutes)

The lack of accountability for the enforced disappearances of 3000 people in the Russian north Caucasus.

The session will be followed by a panel-led discussion on the issues raised by the films.

Tickets available through Riverside Studios: online at www.riversidestudios.co.uk or via Booking Office: 020 8237 1111.

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Thursday 27 November, 9.00

Riverside Studios

Crisp Road, W6 9RL [Tube: Hammersmith]

The House of Sharing Hein Seok (84 minutes) UK Premiere

During WWII, eight Korean girls survived kidnapping, torture and sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army. They returned home, only to spend the next sixty years outcast by society. These eight women are among an estimated 200,000 victims. Now in their eighties, the women continue to fight for justice, even as their time is running out. First-time director Hein Seok captured the candid lives of these eight survivors for over a year, as they shared their life stories through heartfelt words, paintings and songs. During their seemingly hopeless ordeals, before and after the war, the women find strength in their outrage. But The House of Sharing also reveals a hidden side to the women, who are simply called “halumni” — grandmothers. They are lively, loving, and unexpectedly humorous. It is all the more poignant as the halmunis are rapidly failing in health.

Tickets available through Riverside Studios: online at www.riversidestudios.co.uk or via Booking Office: 020 8237 1111.

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Friday 28 November, 12.00

Central London

“Taking advantage of New Media technology”

The We the Peoples Film Festival organisers, BOND (www.bond.org.uk ) and Front of Mind (www.frontofmind.co.uk) are bringing together NGO campaigning and communications managers along with civil society’s leading new media practitioners for a special event in this year’s programme. This gathering will explore how NGOs are and will use new media in promoting freedom from want, freedom from fear and freedom to live in dignity - the themes of the festival. This special event will focus on how NGOs will be using new media in global campaigning and issues-based work in the coming years - a showcase of some leading edge examples with debates and peer exchange sessions for the NGO community.

If you work in campaigning, communications and/or new media for (or with) an NGO working on global issues and would like to attend this event, please contact:
Tim Gee, Campaigns Communications Officer, BOND
Telephone 020 7520 0253 / Email tgee@bond.org.uk

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Friday 28 November, 7.00 p.m.

School of Oriental & African Studies

Khalili Lecture Theatre
School of African and Oriental Studies
Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
[Tube: Russell Square; Goodge Street]

Close-Up Kurdistan Yuksel Yavuz (104 minutes)

Kurdish director Yuksel Yavuz makes a personal journey from Hamburg to Turkey, ending in the north of Iraq, in the refugee camp Maxmur in Iraqi Kurdistan. He meets his parents, old friends, some of whom went to the mountains to become guerrilla fighters, others who fled the country and went into exile. They include the intellectual who, because of his academic research on the Kurdish culture, spent 17 years in prison, the counter-guerrilla in the `dirty war` against the Kurdish resistance and the woman guerilla fighter who left her family to liveand fight in the mountains. The film asks many questions: about Turkey and why was there the bloody civil war? It is also an attempt to bring the Kurdish people and the Turkish population together.

Admission is free. Seats are available on first-come, first-served basis.

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Saturday 29 November, 11.00 a.m.

National Film Theatre

South Bank [Tube: Waterloo]

NFT3

Young Film Makers for Development - Schools screening

A Child’s War Global Kids, New York (7 Minutes)

This year-end project for the Global Kids youth leaders in Queens, New York was part of the Global Kids’ Virtual Video Project, at the Museum of the Moving Image, funded by the MacArthur Foundation. It is based on research done by the youth about the situation of child soldiers in Uganda and the upcoming trial and the International Criminal Court.

G-Town Shaked Kahana (17 minutes)

The story of the Arab rap group G-Town from East Jerusalem. The film follows G-Town as they go into recording studios and hold concerts, and displays the social commitment of the group’s members, together with the cultural debate they provoke.

En La Subterranea Medellin Camilo Restrepo, Colombia (18 minutes)

The director was 14 when this film was made but only months later, he was sent to youth prison facing drugs problems. There, he managed to improve himself and now he has returned to his studies.

Dad between Berlin and Palestine Michael Shamai (11 minutes)

Talah and Dana live in East Jerusalem with their mother, while their father works and resides in Germany. They let us glimpse into the lives of two teenage girls living without their father, into the difficulties and feelings they experience. They discuss the possibility of moving to Germany or staying in Jerusalem, while raising general questions of homeland and identity, and specific issues relating to the delicate political situation in which they are.

Gravel and stones Edward Hoffman and Ben Hollis (28 minutes)

After 30 years of war, Cambodia has one of the highest rates of disability worldwide. Here, three of these use humour and resilience to cope with poverty and discrimination.

Purple Rays Maria Bentiniti and Nantia Mentesi (5 minutes)

A teenage girl is on the verge of taking drugs for the first time in her life when she realises what is going to follow. But what does she decide?

Number 1 in Moldova Mihai for the Moldovan Film Unit (7 minutes)

Life without a father who has travelled to another country to find work.

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Saturday 29 November, 2.00 p.m.

National Film Theatre

South Bank [Tube: Waterloo]

NFT3

Young Film Makers for Development Master Class

Young film Makers will discuss their films with leading directors and producers and NGOs which commission films. Those wishing to attend should contact schools@wethepeoples.org.uk