Celebrating International Human Rights Day with outstanding documentaries

Eleanor Roosevelt with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (photo: FDR Presidential Library & Museum, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

To mark International Human Rights Day on 10 December, Berlin's Human Rights Film Festival is celebrating the 73rd birthday of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with a series of film screenings and talks. Reserve your tickets now!

Protecting children's rights

"Imad's Childhood" – the winner of this year’s Willy Brandt Documentary Award for Freedom and Human Rights – tells the heartbreaking story of five-year-old Imad, who has spent more than half his life in IS captivity and returns to his family deeply disturbed. If you want to learn more about the film and the situation being faced by children who have been freed, you can listen to Save the Children’s interview with director Zahavi Sanjavi.

Available online between 10 - 19 December 2021.

More information: International Human Rights Day #Imad

In cooperation with Bundeskanzler-Willy-Brandt-Stiftung.

Zero chance for zero hunger?

"The Ants and the Grasshopper" – this screening is to mark the occasion of the Tokyo Nutrition Growth Summit and International Human Rights Day. The eye-opening documentary tells the story of incredibly brave Anita Chitaya who, in order to fight famine in her home Malawi, travels through the United States. On her journey of trying to convince the U.S. that climate change is real, she encounters racism, class and gender struggles.

Available online between 11 - 19 December 2021.

More information: International Human Rights Day #TheAntsandtheGrasshopper

The screening will be accompanied by a virtual panel discussion focussing on the climate crisis and the role it plays in human rights and hunger. The role of the international community and the new German government in reaching the global goal of zero hunger by 2030 will also be addressed. Panelists: MP Deborah During (Bundnis 90/Die Grunen), MP Dr. Christoph Hoffmann (FDP), Esther Lupafya (activist and journalist) and Mike Khunga (Youth Leader for Nutrition).

Livestream on 16 December 2021, 6 pm.

More Information: International Human Rights Day #ZeroChanceZeroHunger discussion

In cooperation with Aktion gegen den Hunger, Save the Children, Welthungerhilfe & Global Citizen.

Migrant rights are human rights

"Shadow Game" –The human rights of refugees at Europe’s borders are increasingly under pressure. Together with the Hertie School’s Centre for Fundamental Rights, we would like to invite you to watch this prize-winning documentary from 6 to 10 December as well as a discussion on the current challenges presented by EU’s migration and border policies. Shadow Game follows the attempts made by children and teenagers to cross Europe’s borders in search of a better future and their numerous encounters with Europe’s violent border and mobility regime.

Available online between 6 - 10 December 2021.

More Information: International Human Rights Day #ShadowGame

The screening will be followed by a discussion that will shed light on the contemporary border and mobility regime documented in the film, with Dr Grażyna Baranowska (Centre for Fundamental Rights, Hertie School), Dr Natalie Welfens (Centre for Fundamental Rights, Hertie School) and Hanaa Hakiki (European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights), chaired by Dr Ashwini Vasanthakumar (Queen’s Law School).

Livestream on 16 December 2021, 6 pm.

More Information: International Human Rights Day #ShadowGame discussion

In cooperation with Hertie School’s Centre for Fundamental Rights.