On the International Human Rights Day on December 10th, the Dutch Embassy in Tirana has made it a tradition to hold, in cooperation with Amnesty International and other partner organizations, the human rights film festival ‘Movies that Matter’. A total of seven movies will be screened by different civil society organizations and educational institutions both in Tirana and other major cities.
‘Movies that Matter’ introduces the public with movies related to human rights issues, aiming to raise awareness among viewers and initiate public debate. This year’s festival novelty will be the screening of two short Albanian movies, one related to school bullying and the other to domestic violence.
Both subjects are of great importance to Albanian society. Domestic violence has long created debate, but, lately, the issue has received parliamentary attention due to the increased number of domestic violence victims. Many have called for urgent measures against this phenomenon, making the screening of the movie Faji à«shtà« i qiellit (‘the Sky is to Blame’) even more relevant.
School bullying, an issue which only lately has begun to receive public attention, is just as much of a problem. Its hidden nature and the general assumption that bullying is just ‘children’s play’ makes the promotion of the movie Tà« Tjerà«t (the Others) necessary in explaining the real nature of bullying and its devastating effects.
Just as important, the other foreign movies treat issues such as women’s rights, the LGBT community, religious rights, etc, in a combination of art and responsibility that manages to convey their creators’ humane message much better than politics is ever able.
Tà« Tjerà«t (the Others)
This movie will be screened in Tirana on Friday, 8/12, at the Mehmet Akif Girls College (10)
‘Tà« Tjerà«t’, directed by Ervin Kotorri, handles the topic of bullying and social expulsion, as seen through the eyes of the children who suffer bullying. It aims to shed light on a little-known phenomenon of Albanian society – bullying – and the consequences this kind of violence leaves children with. This movie was executed in the context of the awareness campaign #UneMbrojFà«mijà«t (I protect children). The movie’s initial plot was written by children and was shot with the children of an elementary school in the city of Elbasan. The movie centers on two best friends and the mocking they have to endure daily, on their way to school and highlights that bullying can only be solved if all actors involved contribute towards its solution.
Faji à«shtà« i qiellit (the Sky is to Blame)
This movie will be screened in Tirana on Thursday, 7/12, at the Radio Bar (12.30)
‘Faji à«shtà« i qiellit’, directed by Ajola Daja, is a movie about domestic violence and, specifically, the negative effects it creates in raising and properly shaping the character of children. This is another movie created in the context of the awareness campaign #UneMbrojFà«mijà«t. The protagonist of the movie is a child, which feels trapped from the daily violence he witnesses in his household. Not only it is impossible for the child to communicate what he sees, but asking for help is just as difficult. While the movie doesn’t aim at giving solutions to the problem of domestic violence, it seeks to shed light on the feelings of isolation and desperation that children experience from domestic violence and from being ignored by the adults in their lives, who overlook the psychological damage domestic violence creates. Moreover, in addition to the short-term psychological effects domestic violence creates in children, the movie explores the long-term way domestic violence frames the future choices and psychology of these children as adults.
What Tomorrow Brings
This movie will be screened in Tirana on Tuesday, 12/12, at the Library of Gender and Family Studies (19.30)
In a remote, conservative village in Afghanistan, independent Razia Jan sets up the first ever girls’ school. This institution gives the girls the chance to learn how to read and write, and serves as a safe environment in which they can dream of a better future. However, traditions, conservative family members and the threat of the Taliban cast a great shadow over their future prospects.
The Borneo Case
This movie will be screened in Tirana on Friday, 8/12, at the Mehmet Akif Girls College (12)
Swiss environmental activist Bruno Manser left for Malaysia in 1984 to protest, along with the population of locals, against logging in the jungle of Sarawak, Borneo. In 2000, a Swedish camera crew followed him during one of his expeditions; they documented the last footage of the activist, who disappeared in May of the same year.
Tickling Giants
This movie will be screened in Tirana on Saturday, 9/12, at the Tirana Times Bookshop (18.30)
This is a comical documentary about the ‘Egyptian Jon Stewart’, Bassem Youssef. During the Arab Spring, he trades his medical career for a life as a talk-show host. Soon, he has his own late night TV-show on Egyptian television. Youssef’s fortunes and misfortunes appear to be very dependent on the quirks of the leaders of the land. This makes the documentary ‘Tickling Giants’ perhaps the funniest history lesson on turbulent modern-day Egypt.
Who’s Gonna Love me Now?
This movie will be screened in Tirana on Sunday, 10/12, at Hemingway Bar Tirana (19.00)
Saar Maoz grew up on a kibbutz in Israel. When members of his family found out about his sexual preferences for the same sex, they ostracized him and he left for London. There, he found work and a partner, and he was able to live in freedom and peace. However, he also discovered he was HIV-positive, and his entire world collapsed. After almost 20 years of living abroad, he finds the strength to face his family again with the support of his friends from the London Gay Men’s Chorus.
