A Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival and Irish Council for Civil Liberties Partnership
#RightsOnFilm
Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties officially relaunched the ICCL Human Rights Film Award on 13 February. The prestigious award will be presented by one of Ireland’s foremost activists Eileen Flynn at an intimate gathering on Sunday 3 March at The Merrion Hotel.
ICCL human rights film award jury L-R Bulelani Mfaco, Sorcha Pollak, Aoife Kelleher and Emmet Kirwan. Suzy Byrne will chair the jury.
The shortlist of films will be evaluated by an esteemed adjudication panel (right) including: film and television director Aoife Kelleher; Irish Times journalist and author Sorcha Pollak; actor, playwright and screenwriter Emmet Kirwan, Direct Provision activist Bulelani Mfaco; and disability advocate and ICCL board member Suzy Byrne.
The ICCL Human Rights Film Award will celebrate an outstanding achievement in raising awareness and understanding of human rights through the medium of film. Virgin Media will provide the winner with access to facilities at Virgin Media Television to the value of €1,000, which can include editing, studio time, camera and post audio depending on the needs of the project.
Where can you see the nominated films?
Eight films from the festival programme have been identified as being of special merit in their engagement with the theme of human rights. The aspiring shortlist of films are:
Rafiki by Wanuri Kahiu. Banned in its native Kenya, this film that revolves around two female friends who fall in love. In doing so, they must face the challenges of family expectations and the conservative society in which they live. Rafiki was the first Kenyan film to ever show at Cannes. Thursday, 21 February, 18:15 at Cineworld. WATCH TRAILER
A Girl From Mogadishu by Mary McGuckian: Based on the testimony of Ifrah Ahmed, the Irish-Somali campaigner against Female Genital Mutilation. The film details Ifrah’s astonishing and powerful journey, from her time in a refugee camp to becoming a leading activist. Friday, 22 February, 20:30 at Cineworld.
Land Without God by Gerard Mannix Flynn: His deeply personal documentary feature about himself and members of his own family as they recall the effects of decades of institutional abuse. Thursday 28 February, 20:50 at Lighthouse. SOLD OUT
The Public by Emilio Estevez: A film about a committed librarian, frustrated at a lack of social justice, allows some of his most vulnerable visitors turn his work space into an impromptu homeless shelter. Friday, 1 March, 18:10 at Cineworld. TICKETS WATCH TRAILER
Heartbound: A Different Kind of Love Story by Janus Metz and Dr Sine Plambech: A documentary about a small village in northern Denmark where over 900 Thai women have married and settled. Friday, 1 March, 18:15 at the Lighthouse. TICKETS WATCH TRAILER
Another Day of Life by Raúl de la Fuente and Damian Nenow: A film which centres on an idealistic journalist tasked with covering civil conflict in Angola in the 1970s. Saturday, 2 March, 13:40 at the Lighthouse. TICKETS WATCH TRAILER
Of Fathers and Sons by Talal Derki: A documentary which centres on a radical Islamist family and their harsh existence as war rages around them in Syria. Friday, 1 March, 18:20 at the Lighthouse. TICKETS WATCH TRAILER
Gaza by Garry Keane and Andrew McConnell: A documentary portrait of the resilience of people in the most challenging of circumstances, set among the communities who live in Gaza. Saturday, 2 March, 14:00 at Cineworld. SOLD OUT WATCH TRAILER
Let us know what you think about the films using the hashtag #RightsOnFilm
ICCL has a proud history of with the film sector through our annual Human Rights Film Award which, after a brief hiatus, is returning through a new and exciting partnership with the Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival. We will recognise one film within the festival for raising consciousness on a human rights issue through film. For years ICCL has celebrated the importance of the arts and especially film in raising consciousness of human rights.
ICCL board member Suzy Byrne will chair the jury who will decide on the award