Human rights cinema

In 1948, the United Nations proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 2 states that "everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status." Article 5 says that "no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." There are 30 articles in total and other conventions, on the rights of children or refugees for example, have since been signed, but human rights continue to be violated all over the world.

The city of Nuremberg in southern Germany is inextricably linked with arguably the greatest violation of human rights ever - the Holocaust. Anti-Semitic hatred was fuelled at the Nuremberg Rallies throughout the 1930s, and this is one key reason why the Allies specifically chose the city to stage the trials against National Socialist criminals after the war. Decades later, Nuremberg now promotes itself as the city of human rights and the International Human Rights Film Festival is the local art house cinema's contribution.

Petitioning in Beijing

This year, some 60 films were presented and a good dozen of them were from Asia. One of the star guests was Zhao Liang, who was awarded the festival's prize two years ago for his "Crime and Punishment," and this time presented "Petition" about the countless Chinese citizens who want to enjoy their "right to equal protection of the law" (Article 7) by petitioning the authorities in Beijing. They live in makeshift accommodation, having come to the capital from all corners of the People's Republic to put forward their case: Their sorrows range from the corruption of local officials, to the unjust imprisonment of a relative, to the eviction from their homes to make way for a business project, or to ill health because of industrial pollution.

The petitioners' complaints are never-ending, the queues are never-ending and the wait is never-ending – they are often hounded or beaten up. One of the most horrifying parts is when the remains of a woman run over by a train as she tried to escape police are picked up piece by piece from the track. A part of her jaw is discovered yards away from her bloody hand.

It is a raw and brutal scene underscoring the inhumanity of a society in which the individual has little value. The funeral ceremony is broken up within 20 minutes because the mourners have no "right to peaceful assembly" (Article 20). If the petitioners are too loud, they are carted off to psychiatric wards, silenced with drugs that one old woman points out makes them "crazy" even if they were not before. This was also a favorite tactic under the Soviets.

Highlighting beauty

This is a common motif - just as the world seems reluctant to learn from the past, the torturers continue to use the same tried-and-tested methods. However, the filmmakers featured at the festival want to make a change, using their cameras as weapons but also as an instrument to highlight the world's beauty amid all its inhumanity, injustice and instability.

The opening scene of Leonard Retel Helmrich's "Position among the Stars" provokes a gasp of admiration. A pitch black sky dotted with bright white stars slowly reveals itself to be a rice paddy - the stars are drops of dew on the tall green leaves in the early morning light. It is a breathtaking shot, one that attests to a force that is larger than life - nature? God? Moments later, another striking take juxtaposes the dome of the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta with the cross of the city's main cathedral.

This very poetic documentary follows the lives of three generations of a Christian family. The sprightly grandmother does her best to ensure her granddaughter will have a better life. Her son converts to Islam to enhance his job prospects but is more interested in his fighting fish than his career. His wife slaves over a stove making mouth-watering meals for passers-by. For festival organizer Mikosch Horn, a human rights film "does not have to be only about suffering but can simply depict everyday life in a particular country." This documentary does exactly that – it explores time-old themes, including the conflict of generations and the struggle to find a position among the stars.

Working like a slave

This is a struggle that most people on today's increasingly close-knit planet can identify with; not least the children in Francis Xavier E. Pasion's "Sampaguita," whose job it is to pick the national flower of the Philippines at dawn before going to Manila to sell them. Their task is thankless and there is little support from the family. One child is actually so scared of being beaten by her mother if she does not sell enough of the delicate white blossom that she negotiates her adoption. One boy would like to buy a cake to celebrate his birthday but cannot afford even a slice. These kids do not enjoy their right to a childhood and their only respite is when a passer-by buys them a mango or some fast-food and they can pretend to be normal children having fun.

In "You Are Served," the 35,000 women who leave Indonesia monthly to work as maids in Asia, the Middle East and Europe are shown to not enjoy the "right to just and favorable conditions of work" (Article 23). At a center in Yogyakarta, women are taught the rudiments of Chinese, Arabic and English so that they know how to address their future "masters" and how to serve them tea.

The idea is that they will spend three years abroad and send back their wages to support their families before coming back (perhaps to bear another child) before their next stint. Their right to rest and leisure and holidays with pay (Article 24) is systematically violated and they are rarely met with sympathy if they have the audacity to complain. "I bought you and if you want to break the contract you will have to pay me the money," one employer tells a maid outright. These women have no money, they cannot break the contract. They are modern-day slaves. Their letters home connect them to their families but offer little comfort. This is a sad film about very lonely existences.

Changing consciousness

By contrast, "Pink Saris" is a rousing documentary about a woman who refuses to be defeated. Sampat Pal is a charismatic woman who has taken it upon herself to rectify all the wrongs made against women in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, where domestic and sexual violence are common.

She is formidable, sticking her oar in the family dramas of others and thus awakening resentment on the part of men and in-laws. She and her Gulabi Gang provide inspiring evidence that change is possible. "My dream is that this film will be part of a change of consciousness," said Kim Longinotto, the film's award-winning director.

Her dream coincides with the festival's overall aim - to change consciousness and provoke thought.

Author: Anne Thomas
Editor: Sarah Berning