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Festival coverage

Human Rights Watch Film Festival

18 March – 27 March 2015

Gael Garcia Bernal in Rosewater
Gael Garcia Bernal in Rosewater

This international film festival aims to showcase the stories of activists and survivors from across the globe.

Now in its 19th year, it brings together documentary and fiction films with the intention of galvanising those who watch them to join those taking action against injustices many face every day.

This year's London arm of the festival will run from March 18 to 27 at the Barbican, Curzon Soho and Ritzy Picturehouse. The gala benefit is at the British Museum. The festival will include live music performances following screenings of Beats of the Antonov and No Land’s Song and a Guardian Masterclass focusing on human rights reporting and digital storytelling. The opening night film (on March 19) will be The Yes Men are Revolting, attended by Laura Nix and the Yes Men.

Other years (17)

Box office and information

Latest reviews

  • (T)error
    Review preview for (T)error

    What unfolds is a comedy of (t)errors with a central character who shifts very quickly between dubious but likeable guy, buffoon and sociopath.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    The first film to document on camera a covert counterterrorism sting as it unfolds.
  • 3½ Minutes, Ten Bullets
    Review preview for 3½ Minutes, Ten Bullets

    Silver exposes is an underlying, deep-seated prejudice rather than some sort of murderous instinct.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
    Documentary about the trial of Michael Dunn, who shot an unarmed teenager and claimed a 'stand your ground' defence.
  • Cartel Land
    Review preview for Cartel Land

    One person's armed vigilante is another person's guardian angel and the border between these two ideas is wafer thin and easily crossed as Matthew Heineman's beautifully shot and probing documentary shows.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
    Vigilantes on both sides of the Mexican Border with the US take on the drug cartels.
  • The Black Panthers: Vanguard Of The Revolution
    Review preview for The Black Panthers: Vanguard Of The Revolution

    The film is an interesting, timely, though ultimately dispiriting look at how the twin forces of institutional bigotry and internal discord fragmented one of the key organising forces in black America.

    Owen Van Spall · 4 out of 5
    Story of the rise and fall of the Black Panther Party.
  • The Look Of Silence
    Review preview for The Look Of Silence

    Oppenheimer boils down the atrocity to the experience of a single family, leaving us to extrapolate back up.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
    Consideration of Indonesian genocide.
  • Democrats
    Review preview for Democrats

    At turns inspiring and troubling, Democrats is ultimately a fascinating study of the dangerous grassroots work that changing a harsh political system requires.

    Owen Van Spall · 4 out of 5
    Documentary tracks power brokers in Zimbabwe who are trying to compose a new constitution.
  • Beats Of The Antonov
    Review preview for Beats Of The Antonov

    This is a film more interested in life than death, even if death is often hovering above.

    Owen Van Spall · 4 out of 5
    Documentary, capturing the lives of Sudan's displaced population.
  • The Yes Men Are Revolting
    Review preview for The Yes Men Are Revolting

    Charming and heartfelt.

    Owen Van Spall · 3 out of 5
    The political pranks by the Yes Men - and the toll it has taken on their relationship.
  • No Land's Song
    Review preview for No Land's Song

    It is significant that No Land's Song in some ways mirrors that inclination for layering female voices by only presenting Sara's thoughts and opinions through conversation with others.

    Rebecca Naughten · 3 out of 5
    The Islamic revolution of 1979 banned female singers from appearing in public in Iran. Now Ayat Najafi tries to revive tradition, planning an evening of Iranian and French female soloists to rebuild shattered cultural bridges - but can it work?
  • Life Is Sacred
    Review preview for Life Is Sacred

    The second half shows that the director played the long game by returning a year later once the dust had settled, and then again in 2014 for the next set of presidential elections.

    Rebecca Naughten · 3.5 out of 5
    Antanas Mockus, the former Mayor of Bogota, challenges the normal violent political practice by running an unusually positive campaign in Colombia's 2010 presidential elections.

A–Z of Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2015 reviews

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