Human Rights Watch International Film Festival - 2009 Program

The Human Rights Watch International Film Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2009 with an outstanding program of socially relevant documentaries from around the world, with subjects ranging from the treatment of war-wounded children to concerns about environmental issues. The 2009 Festival dates are June 11 to 25, at Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center, New York City.

•Afghan Star (2008) New York Premiere

After 30 years of war and the Taliban’s repression, Afghan Pop Idol is taking the nation by storm. But this is more than just a TV show. In Afghanistan you risk your life to sing.

Director: Havana Marking
Running time: 87 mins.
Distribution: Zeitgeist Films

•Back Home Tomorrow (2008) - US Premiere

A gripping and exquisitely filmed documentary about two boys--one in Afghanistan, the other in Sudan--whose lives are critically impacted by the environment of war, and who struggle bravely to overcome their dire circumstances. Hope prevails in even the most desperate of settings.

Directors: Fabrizio Lazzaretti and Paolo Santolini
Running time: 90 mins.

•Born Into Brothels (2003)

This 2008 Oscar winner follows a group of unforgettable Calcutta children who embark on a transformational journey with photographer Zana Briski as they learn to document their own lives.

Directors: Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman
Running time: 85 mins.

•Crude (2009)- New York Premiere

The inside story of the "Amazon Chernobyl" case in the rainforest of Ecuador, the largest oil-related environmental lawsuit in the world.

Director: Joe Berlinger

Running Time: 101 mins.

•Ford Transit (2002)

A reality check on the daily life of a man who drives a taxi in Ramallah and is constantly caught between checkpoints and politics.

Director: Hany Abu-Assad
Running time: 80 mins.

•Good Fortune (2009) - New York premiere

An investigation to see whether massive international charitable efforts to alleviate poverty in Africa undermine the very communities they're intended to benefit.

Directors: Landon Van Soest and Jeremy Levine
Running time: 85 min.

•In the Holy Fire of Revolution (2008) - US Premiere

A look at Putin’s Russia from the perspective of Garry Kasparov, chess champion turned political activist.

Director: Masha Novikova
Running time: 113 mins.

•Iraq in Fragments (2006)

A highly acclaimed documentary that illuminates post-war Iraq in three acts, building a vivid picture of a country pulled in different directions by religion and ethnicity.

Director: James Longley
Running time: 96 mins.

•Jung: In the Land of the Mujaheddin (2000)

A surgeon and war correspondent collaborate to establish a hospital to deal with the consequences of war ("jung") in Afghanistan.

Director: Alberto Vendemmiati and Fabrizio Lazzaretti
Running time: 114 mins.

•Look Into My Eyes (2008) - US Premiere

Israeli filmmaker Naftaly Gliksberg travels across the US and around the world exposing outrageous instances of outright or latent anti-Semitism by asking people whom he encounters randomly what they really think of Jews and what they think of him when they’re told he’s Jewish. Is anti-Semitism a thing of the past, or is there legitimacy to outcries that it’s again on the rise?

Director: Naftaly Gliksberg
Running time: 80 mins.