Voice in Action: Human Rights on Film

VISITING ARTIST—Sometimes a film doesn’t just document history, it makes history. Such is the case with Pamela Yates’ GRANITO. Part political thriller, part memoir, GRANITO tells a haunting tale of genocide and justice that spans four decades, two films, and in many ways, Yates’ own career. Embedded in GRANITO is Yates’ seminal 1982 film, WHEN THE MOUNTAINS TREMBLE, which introduced the world to the tragedy of the genocide carried out against the Mayan people by the Guatemalan government and which propelled Mayan activist Rigoberta Menchú to the international stage. During filming, Yates was allowed to shoot the only known footage of the army as it carried out the genocide. Twenty-five years later, this film and its outtakes become evidence in an international war crimes case against the former commander of the Guatemalan army, and Yates reunites with Menchú, now a Nobel Laureate, and others who continue to contribute their granito (tiny grain of sand) in a continuing quest for the truth. (100 mins.)

Pamela Yates will introduce the film.

Co-presented with the Good Works Film Festival—inspiring stories, enlighting discussions, and inspiring events—taking place in Eugene, October 7-10.

FAMILIA manages to make a universal issue—the plight of the many immigrants who leave behind their loved ones to make a living far from home—personal by focusing on one family in particular: an older Peruvian couple and their grown son, daughter, and young school-age son. Working with a family they have known and filmed for over 35 years, Wiström and Herskovits intimately follow both the matriarch, Nati, as she begins her new life as a hotel maid in Spain, and those forced to fill her void back in Lima. What’s most remarkable, however, is the intimate access the Swedish co-directors get as a result of having known Nati and her kin for more than 35 years. Through familiarity with their subjects and striking image making, the family’s hardscrabble life comes into moving focus. (82 mins.)

VISITING ARTIST—Los Angeles, California has been designated the homeless capital of America with an estimated 48,000 individuals living on the streets. Napper’s empathetic but tough-minded exploration visits a part of the city that many choose to ignore—downtown’s Skid Row. As we meet the residents of this distressed area, their remarkable stories paint a multi-faceted portrait of life on the streets. Residents face undeniable challenges, including mental illness and addiction, with hope and a strong sense of community despite conflicting politics and the “Safer Cities Initiative” which seeks to reduce crime in the area. Residents feel that the policy targets the low-income and homeless population in an effort to pave the way for gentrification. Passionate, polemic, and generous in spirit, LOST ANGELS reveals a unique vitality to life on the streets and an inspiring humanity in those who live there. (77 mins.)

Thomas Napper will introduce the film.

The prevalence and power of social media have increasingly rendered it a tool for political movements worldwide, not least in the case of Iran’s Green Revolution, whose 2009 “Where’s My Vote” campaign on behalf of reformist presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi directly challenged the fait accompli of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s contested re-election. Utilizing frontline YouTube footage from protest events, blog postings, Tweets, Facebook updates, and dramatic re-enactments of events via animated testimonials, Ahadi’s resourceful collage speaks powerfully—as per its director’s dedication to “mankind’s yearning for freedom and dignity”—as it chronicles political rebellion met by government-sanctioned violence. (89 mins.)

Tonight’s screening is co-presented with “New Directions in Human Rights,” October 20-21, a symposium organized by the Portland Center for Public Humanities at Portland State University.

Introducing the film is Greg Mullins, Professor of American Studies and Human Rights at Evergreen State University and a symposium participant.

“With remarkable intimacy, visual style, and musical panache, Rostock’s SING YOUR SONG surveys the inspiring life of singer, actor, and activist Harry Belafonte. From his rise to fame as a singer and his experiences touring a segregated country to his crossover into Hollywood, Belafonte’s groundbreaking career personifies the American civil rights movement. Rostock reveals Belafonte to be a tenacious activist, who worked intimately with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., mobilized celebrities for social justice, participated in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, and took action to counter gang violence, prisons, and youth incarceration. Belafonte’s beliefs elicited unwarranted invasions by the FBI into both his personal life and career, leading to years of struggle with the powers that be. Nonetheless, an indomitable sense of optimism still motivates Belafonte, as he continues to ask, ‘What do we do now?’”—Sundance Film Festival. “A  call to action for viewers to emulate Belafonte’s example of engaging with the world’s problems and searching for solutions, no matter how long-range they may be.”—Hollywood Reporter. (104 mins.)

Bulgarian-American photojournalist Mimi Chakarova’s revealing film is a first-person investigation of the modern slave trade ravaging the countries of the former Eastern Bloc. Hundreds of thousands of women, many of them from the poorest former Soviet countries, are subjected to abuse, poverty, imprisonment, and rape while living illegally and against their will as prostitutes in developed countries. Chakarova illuminates how even though some women escape to tell their stories, the commercial commodification of women—by people and governments in some of the wealthiest countries in the world—continues to make human trafficking a thriving business. (73 mins.)

Nestor Almendros Award Winner, 2011 Human Rights Watch Film Festival.

Challenging our preconceived notions of evil, justice, and faith, this fascinating story of one man’s remarkable journey will resonate with anyone who has ever questioned his or her capacity to forgive. A naked, gun-toting murderer who led an army to massacre thousands during the Liberian Civil War, Joshua Milton Blahyi (known to his victims as “General Butt Naked”) has repented of his actions. Reinvented as a firebrand evangelist, he now preaches love, forgiveness, and tolerance to those he himself once brutalized. But what are the limits of forgiveness for a mass murderer? Is his quest to make amends real or merely a way to evade justice? “A compelling portrait of an extraordinarily complex personal odyssey, a film that explores both the power and the limitations of faith and forgiveness.”—Los Angeles Times. (84 mins.)

Hebron is the largest city in the occupied West Bank, home to 160,000 Palestinians. It is also home to one of the first Israeli settlements in the West Bank—the only one right in the heart of a Palestinian city. Once a bustling hub of activity, the tension-filled city center is now home to a colony of 600 Israeli settlers who require a garrison of more than 2,000 Israeli soldiers to defend them. It’s a war between neighbors where the main goals are to conquer one more meter of the city, to keep the enemy at bay, and to simply stand one’s ground. Featuring interviews with both Israelis and Palestinians living in Hebron, as well as activists on both sides, members of the Israeli parliament, and prominent Haaretz journalists, THIS IS MY LAND lifts the lid on Hebron as it is today—a city fraught with violence and hate. “A startling glimpse into life at ground zero of the Israeli occupation.”—Slant Magazine. (75 mins.)

In a world plagued by stolen elections, secret government agendas, and a renewed interest in the exploitation of African natural resources, what value does democracy offer, particularly in the tumultuous region of West Africa? For Ghana, a nation that has been Africa’s barometer of political stability, democracy may mean the difference between peace and prosperity on the one hand and murderous chaos under military coup on the other. Granting viewers an inside perspective on the political, social, and economic forces at play during Ghana’s 2008 presidential elections, the film captures the intrigue and the ethical delimmas of electioneering, the intensity of the vote-counting process, and the mood of the countrymen whose fate lies precariously in the balance—all of it unfolding with the tension of a political thriller. AN AFRICAN ELECTION illuminates a beacon of hope for Africa and for the value and vitality of democracy today. (89 mins.)

Matt Essieh, Ghana native, activist, and philanthropist, will introduce the film.

With community support from the World Affairs Council of Oregon.

The challenges of community conflict and resolution, citizen rights and responsibilities, come into insightful scrutiny in this compelling tale of a battle over wind turbines. Clean, renewable, sustainable, and emissions-free—how could wind energy possibly be anything but the safe, exciting future of green energy? The well-meaning residents of tiny Meredith, New York—most of whom are organic farmers facing serious economic struggles—initially see wind turbines as the answer to their prayers: while being paid for their unused land, they can contribute positively to the environment and global economy. But upon investigation, some residents are surprised to find that industrial wind farms have been associated with chronic health problems, life-threatening accidents, and damage to local ecosystems and wildlife. Soon, town residents are pitted against each other in a struggle for the very future of their community and its environment. Nuanced and complex, WINDFALL is a must-see for anyone interested in the future of energy and the dynamics of community action. (83 mins.)