24 February 2021
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has announced six films are in the running for the 2021 Human Rights on Film Award as part of the Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival.
The winning film will be decided by a five-strong jury chaired by advocate and educator Sinéad Burke. Sinéad is joined on the panel by actor Brian Gleeson, campaigner and podcaster Andrea Horan, Direct Provision activist Bulelani Mfaco and film director/writer Aoife Kelleher.
The six nominated films are:
Five young people with autism spectrum disorder share their accounts of living with the condition in Jerry Rothwell’s critically acclaimed documentary. The film serves as a vital supplement to Naoki Higashida’s deeply personal account of living with autism and won both an audience award and Special Jury Prize at Sundance.
Filmmaker and activist Bryan Fogel follows the shocking case of Jamal Khashoggi, the murdered journalist and prolific critic of Saudi Arabian governance, in his latest feature. Featuring unprecedented access to those closest to him, Fogel’s investigative documentary untangles the extraordinary circumstances of his death and his life’s work.
A Serbian man goes on a journey in the hope of regaining custody of his children in Srdan Golubovic’s latest drama. Following shocking events early in the film, the children of Nikola (Fargo’s Goran Bogdan) are taken away by social services and he’s not allowed to see them. After exhausting other avenues, Nikola goes on an epic journey by foot, motivated by love and the need to fight for his children.
The legendary Trans-Siberian Railway forms the backbone of this documentary about the LGBTQ+ experience. Irish director Paul Rice and producer Liam Jackson Montgomery travel through six cities in order to give voice to those who have experienced what it means to be queer in Russia. Told through the accounts of various people within the community, the emerging testament is shocking, poignant and deeply personal.
Four asylum seekers await word of their futures while staying on a distant Scottish island in Ben Sharrock’s award-winning comedy/drama. Waiting to hear of their fate, they endeavour to embrace the very different people, climate and culture which represents their new home. In telling their story, Sharrock mines elements of deadpan humour, satire and humanity as the refugees aim for a sense of identity and camaraderie in this strange new place.
In Romania’s Bucharest Delta, a large rural family is forced to move to the city after two decades of living peacefully off the land. Investigative journalist Radu Ciorniciuc’s detailed and empathetic documentary explores the societal demands of an urban lifestyle and the struggle of a family to maintain freedom in a modern world. The film received high praise at Sundance, winning the Special Jury Award for Cinematography in World Cinema Documentary.
ENDS/
Brian Gleeson is best known for his roles in PEAKY BLINDERS and LOVE/HATE, and was nominated for an IFTA for the latter. He also played Jimmy Mahon in RTE’s Rebellion and has a wealth of theatre experience. He will soon be seen in Channel 4/Amazon comedy FRANK OF IRELAND, which he wrote with Domhnall Gleeson and Michael Moloney. Brian is passionate about how film can tell the story of human rights. He previously sat on the ICCL film award jury in 2014.
Andrea Horan is a campaigner and changemaker. She is the founder of Tropical Popical, The Hunreal Issues, No More Hotels, and co-presenter of Don’t Stop Repealin’ and United Ireland with Una Mullally. She worked in strategic communications for 15 years and gave a Tedx talk on ‘Escaping the Economy of More’. She held the exhibition ‘Renailssance’ at the National Gallery of Ireland, awarded ‘Most Innovative Collaboration’ and was awarded the Irish Tatler Woman of the Year 2019 in the Influence category.
Bulelani Mfaco is spokesperson for the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland. MASI is a grassroots campaign group which campaigns against direct provision and deportations, defends the fundamental right to seek asylum, and agitates for a more humane asylum process. He cut his campaigning teeth in his native South Africa where from an early age he was involved in protests for adequate housing, access to land, healthcare and improved policing. Bulelani is a Board Member of ICCL.
Aoife Kelleher is a film and television director. Her debut documentary feature film, ‘One Million Dubliners’’, about Glasnevin Cemetery, received numerous awards, including Best Irish Feature Documentary at the Galway Film Fleadh, Best Irish Film of 2014 by The Irish Times and an IFTA award. In 2018, Aoife was IFTA-nominated for Best Director for the RTÉ documentary, We Need To Talk About Dad. In 2019, she made the radio documentary, The Case of Majella Moynihan, which was awarded Best Documentary at the 2020 IMRO Radio Awards. She has since co-written Majella Moynihan’s memoir, A Guarded Life, which was published by Hachette and nominated for an Irish Book Award.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) is Ireland’s oldest independent human rights campaigning organisation. We monitor, educate and campaign to secure human rights for everyone in Ireland.
For interviews and media queries: sinead.nolan@iccl.ie 087 4157162