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The Gazette (Montreal)
March 10, 2007 Saturday
Final Edition
International affairs 101 and bucket of popcorn: Second edition of
human-rights film festival covers spectrum, with drama and
documentary
JOHN GRIFFIN, The Gazette
The gods know we have our share of festivals in this city, but here's
one we can really use.
It's called the Montreal Human Rights Film Festival (Festival de
Films sur les Droits de la personne de Montreal, FFDPM), and an
expanded second edition is set for Cinema du Parc, March 23 to 29.
As might be expected from its title, the 115 films from 34 countries
gathered in this collection are selected to promote awareness and
respect for fundamental freedoms. These fiction features and shorts,
comedies and documentaries tackle a wide range of topics that plague
our stay on the planet.
They include labour, exploitation and globalism; the endless
Israel-Palestinian conflict; the rights of children, prostitution and
the plight of women; environmental refugees; genocide in Rwanda,
Darfur and Armenia; immigration and issues of status; and, just
because they won't go away, racism and intolerance of any stripe.
"Making documentaries starts with an obsession, an affection for
people, for the mysterious strength they show in the face of
adversity," committed Quebec documentary filmmaker and festival
spokesman Hugo Latulippe writes in the press kit.
"Bringing together films from all corners of the world, the FFDPM is
a necessary festival. It represents the need to open our borders and
our doors to people who come to Quebec, the need to be open."
On that note, the festival scores a coup this year with the
opening-night local premiere of Bamako, by Malian Abderrahmane
Sissako. There have been rave reviews for the fictional drama about a
family who puts the World Bank and the I.M.F. on trial in their
backyard for the organizations' role in Africa's economic and social
chaos.
The New Yorker review praises the director's "light touch, dry wit,
vast sympathy." Sissako is in town for the occasion.
"I'm noticing a big difference in the festival's profile in its
second year," festival programmer Diya Angeli said this week. "We are
better known internationally, and got a lot of really good film sent
to us. That's a great development, but it makes it really hard to
make the final selection."
More than 300 films were sent for consideration, and the festival
made a decision to expand from three days to seven. In January, it
also became a member of the Human Rights Film Network, a global
partnership established in Prague in 2004 to increase the number of
human rights films in festivals and make them accessible to as many
people as possible.
For the record, it should be noted that ticket prices in this human
rights fest are $5, or approximately the cost of a fancy coffee you
really don't need.
And local content is a given. They include Faisal Lutchmedial's very
fine My Cultural Divide, about the personal effects of globalism; and
the equally excellent Les Refugies de la planete bleue, an NFB doc by
Helene Choquette and Jean-Philippe Duval about what happens to people
displaced by things like tsunamis and hurricanes. Alexandre
Kozminski's short Le Nerf de la paix, will have its world premiere as
part of the closing-night program.
Other items you may want to experience include Screamers, Carla
Garpedian's British feature about the history of genocide denial,
with music by System of a Down. Mystelle Brabbee's Highway
Courtesans, looks at one Central Indian community's tradition of
sending the eldest daughter to work in the sex trade.
Darfur Diaries: Message from Home relates the experiences of three
independent filmmakers as they travel to Darfur in late 2004 to check
out the situation on the ground.
Cinesoumoud: 28 Short Films for Lebanon and Palestine is the result
of a call upon filmmakers from around the world to weigh in on the
conflict.
Israel, meanwhile, sent many films for consideration this year,
including Don Quichotte a Jerusalem, by Dani Rosenberg, and Keep Not
Silent: Ortho-Dykes, by Ilil Alexander.
"Our mission is to alert, inform and enlighten people about events
that shape all our lives," said Angeli. "They don't only point
fingers. They offer solutions."
The second edition of the Montreal Human Rights Film Festival runs
from March 23 to 29 at Cinema du Parc, 3575 Park Ave. Tickets are now
on sale at the cinema or www.cinemaduparc.com. The program and
schedule is available free of charge, or at www.ffdpm.com.
March 10, 2007 Saturday
Final Edition
International affairs 101 and bucket of popcorn: Second edition of
human-rights film festival covers spectrum, with drama and
documentary
JOHN GRIFFIN, The Gazette
The gods know we have our share of festivals in this city, but here's
one we can really use.
It's called the Montreal Human Rights Film Festival (Festival de
Films sur les Droits de la personne de Montreal, FFDPM), and an
expanded second edition is set for Cinema du Parc, March 23 to 29.
As might be expected from its title, the 115 films from 34 countries
gathered in this collection are selected to promote awareness and
respect for fundamental freedoms. These fiction features and shorts,
comedies and documentaries tackle a wide range of topics that plague
our stay on the planet.
They include labour, exploitation and globalism; the endless
Israel-Palestinian conflict; the rights of children, prostitution and
the plight of women; environmental refugees; genocide in Rwanda,
Darfur and Armenia; immigration and issues of status; and, just
because they won't go away, racism and intolerance of any stripe.
"Making documentaries starts with an obsession, an affection for
people, for the mysterious strength they show in the face of
adversity," committed Quebec documentary filmmaker and festival
spokesman Hugo Latulippe writes in the press kit.
"Bringing together films from all corners of the world, the FFDPM is
a necessary festival. It represents the need to open our borders and
our doors to people who come to Quebec, the need to be open."
On that note, the festival scores a coup this year with the
opening-night local premiere of Bamako, by Malian Abderrahmane
Sissako. There have been rave reviews for the fictional drama about a
family who puts the World Bank and the I.M.F. on trial in their
backyard for the organizations' role in Africa's economic and social
chaos.
The New Yorker review praises the director's "light touch, dry wit,
vast sympathy." Sissako is in town for the occasion.
"I'm noticing a big difference in the festival's profile in its
second year," festival programmer Diya Angeli said this week. "We are
better known internationally, and got a lot of really good film sent
to us. That's a great development, but it makes it really hard to
make the final selection."
More than 300 films were sent for consideration, and the festival
made a decision to expand from three days to seven. In January, it
also became a member of the Human Rights Film Network, a global
partnership established in Prague in 2004 to increase the number of
human rights films in festivals and make them accessible to as many
people as possible.
For the record, it should be noted that ticket prices in this human
rights fest are $5, or approximately the cost of a fancy coffee you
really don't need.
And local content is a given. They include Faisal Lutchmedial's very
fine My Cultural Divide, about the personal effects of globalism; and
the equally excellent Les Refugies de la planete bleue, an NFB doc by
Helene Choquette and Jean-Philippe Duval about what happens to people
displaced by things like tsunamis and hurricanes. Alexandre
Kozminski's short Le Nerf de la paix, will have its world premiere as
part of the closing-night program.
Other items you may want to experience include Screamers, Carla
Garpedian's British feature about the history of genocide denial,
with music by System of a Down. Mystelle Brabbee's Highway
Courtesans, looks at one Central Indian community's tradition of
sending the eldest daughter to work in the sex trade.
Darfur Diaries: Message from Home relates the experiences of three
independent filmmakers as they travel to Darfur in late 2004 to check
out the situation on the ground.
Cinesoumoud: 28 Short Films for Lebanon and Palestine is the result
of a call upon filmmakers from around the world to weigh in on the
conflict.
Israel, meanwhile, sent many films for consideration this year,
including Don Quichotte a Jerusalem, by Dani Rosenberg, and Keep Not
Silent: Ortho-Dykes, by Ilil Alexander.
"Our mission is to alert, inform and enlighten people about events
that shape all our lives," said Angeli. "They don't only point
fingers. They offer solutions."
The second edition of the Montreal Human Rights Film Festival runs
from March 23 to 29 at Cinema du Parc, 3575 Park Ave. Tickets are now
on sale at the cinema or www.cinemaduparc.com. The program and
schedule is available free of charge, or at www.ffdpm.com.