Last night, the 16th Human Rights Film Festival (FICDH) opened in Buenos Aires. Films and activities will take place at more than ten venues across the city until 24th June. In addition to a list of over a hundred films in sections such as Gender Views, Childhood and Youth, Migrants, Panorama, Environment, and Native Cultures, the festival agenda also includes round tables, photo exhibits, performances, workshops—and even a chance to get tattooed!
From the film ‘El Regreso’
The theme of this year’s festival is ‘EnREDando, identidades en contacto’, which emphasises the importance of networking, media, and the connections among people in spite of geographical and cultural distances. In highlighting the importance of these connections, the festival will be hosting Human Rights Tattoo, a Dutch project that invites the public to get a tattoo for human rights. Nearly 7,000 people across the world have already gotten their tattoo, which consists of a single letter from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Tattoo artists Mandinga Tattoo, Guillermo Caldentey, Bruking, Daniel Demilio, Black Queen, Popiz Urrere Pon, and Agostina Perrone will be taking their turns today and tomorrow at the Centro Cultural Ricardo Rojas from 5-10pm, and on Sunday at the Fundación Mercedes Sosa from 2-8pm. Definitely a whole new way of experiencing a festival!
But let’s get to the films themselves. This year, a new theme section has been added: Sports and Human Rights. The movie at the top of the list is ‘Boxing for Freedom’ (Juan Antonio Moreno and Silvia Venegas), about Sadaf Rahimi, a female boxer from Afghanistan, and her struggle to have a career in boxing in a country where women’s opportunities are so narrow. Naturally, it would be difficult to have a a festival section on sports without a film on football, and so ‘En el nombre de la Copa’ (Diego Marín Verdugo) will be screened, a film that recounts the underside of Brazil that did not appear on television screens during the World Cup matches. In ‘Giovanni and the Water Baller’ (Astrid Bussink), a young boy fights against another kind of discrimination when he decides to join a synchronised swimming team. In addition to the films, there is a rugby clinic scheduled for Saturday at 2pm at the Centro Cultural de la Memoria Haroldo Conti at the Centro de Memoria ex-ESMA.
Some of the films use different multimedia formats, such as animation in the case of ‘Atrás de la Vajilla’
In the year where gender has come to the forefront in Argentina through the massive protest #NiUnaMenos, the Gender Views section should be a particular focus during the festival. On Sunday, the Fundación Mercedes Sosa (Humberto Primo 378) will host Espacio Mujeres, redes y maternidad. Three short films (‘Puja’, ‘Las formas de nacer. Historias de mujeres por el parto respetado’, and ‘Las que en vida fueran’) on giving birth, obstetrics, and respecting women’s choices during this critical life moment will be screened at 4pm. After the screenings, there is a play, ‘Parir-Nos’, directed by Eugenia Díaz, followed by a debate on the topic. On Tuesday, the topic turns to abortion at the Centro Cultural Ricardo Rojas, with a screening of the film ‘A quiet inquisition’ (Holen Sabrina Kahn and Alessandra Zeka), a presentation of a book on abortion and feminism by Mabel Belucci, and a roundtable debate. Other films in different sections of the festival also touch on gender, such as ‘Vestido de Novia’ (Marilyn Solaya), a film in the feature-length competition, which explores the entrenched machismo in Cuban society.
The festival is also a chance to see Argentine documentary filmmakers focusing on a wide range of human rights topics. A few from this selection include ‘Mujeres de la Mina’ (Loreley Unamuno and Malena Bystrowicz), on three women who work in the Cerro Rico mines of Potosí, Bolivia, which is included in the Argentine competition. Another, ‘Tacos Altos en el Barro’ (Rolando Pardo) follows six indigenous transvestites in the province of Salta. One of the Argentine short films in competition, ‘Invisible’ (Juan Manuel Echalecu) focuses on the issue of human trafficking through a woman and her baby in captivity.
From the film ‘Born in Gaza’
For more information on all the screenings and other activities during the week of the festival, check out the festival’s Facebook page and website—or check back at the Independent for updates on all the happenings!
Lead image from the film ‘Just Kids – The Lion and the Brave Mouse Nora’
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