FLASHPOINT Human Rights Film Festival, only film festival in India focussing solely on human rights, returns to the city
On December 10th today which is the International Human Rights Day, noted filmmaker and activist Mr.Mahesh Bhatt, being one of the very few fortunate Indians who has met Nelson Mandela, remembered what the late leader had told him, “It would be preposterous for me to give any advise to India. Just live the words of Gandhi” Mr.Bhatt who announced the 3rd FLASHPOINT Human Rights Film Festival to be held in the city from Dec 12th – 14th, 2013 at Alliance Française de Bombay said, “When empathy erodes from our society evil walks tall. I am certain that these deeply felt films made by brave film makers, will jolt us all and make us take note of the suffering we unleash on our fellow human beings. Flashpoint Human Rights Film Festival for me is like a solitary lamp in this dark night. It will ignite hope in the hopeless”.
Mr.Bhatt, who is the Festival Patron of FLASHPOINT Human Rights Film Festival, and supporter since its inception in 2010, said “You cannot have peace without justice. I support Flashpoint Human Rights Film Festival because it fights for human dignity.”
In the third edition, the festival brings together a collection of volatile and incisive 13 Indian and international films on human rights films.
Elaborating on the programme, festival director Sridhar Rangayan said, “This year’s films deal with a wide gamut of issues – from discrimination against women, to war crimes, to forced disappearances. Highlight of this year’s festival are several films that highlight cyber activism by women and youth on social media networks, using mobile phones, cameras and laptops, to create revolution. This is the spirit which our festival acknowledges and salutes. We want people to become ‘flashpointers’ of change. Every action counts to create a movement”.
The festival which is a free event open to public at large, is an initiative by Solaris Pictures, who also organize the iconic KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival.
Vinta Nanda, Managing Director, of ACEE – The Third Eye, who have come on board this year as co-organizer said, “In times such as these ones, when technology has unleashed an invasion of the democracy of voice, much before a state could have inculcated a tolerance for diversity; a patience for multiplicity of languages; a resilience for a medley of cultures; an endurance for contradictions in the politics of truth and lies; and a stamina among its people for the variance in the comprehension of morality, it is festivals of films on human rights, like FLASHPOINT that bring meaning to the discourse and quicker justice to the marginalized and disenfranchised by moving empowered societies towards action” The film festival is supported by Movies That Matter in Netherlands, an arm of Amnesty International.
The films set in India that highlight local human rights issues are ‘Shahid’ by Hansal Mehta about the lifestory of the brave lawyer who was murdered; ‘Inshallah, Kashmir’ by Ashvin Kumar about forced disappearances in Kashmir; ‘Salma’ by Kim Longinotto about a woman who was kept locked up for 13 years by her family, and ‘Bottle Masala in Moile’ by Vaidehi Chitre about displacement of the East Indian community in Mumbai.
3rd FLASHPOINT Human Rights Film Festival
December 12 – 14, 2013
11 am to 8pm
Venue:
Alliance Francaise de Bombay
40, New Marine Lines Road
Mumbai 400020
Phone: 022 2203 5993
Entry Free. Registration at venue.
Seating on first come first served basis.
Festival Contact: FLASHPOINT Human Rights Film Festival
Email: flashpoint.hrff@gmail.com
