Breakthrough is proud to present the 5th Tri Continental Film Festival, India 2009—"Human Rights in Frames".
The 5th Tri Continental Film Festival 2009 will open in Delhi on January 15th and will be inaugurated by critically acclaimed actor and social activist Nandita Das. Documentary films will be screened at the India Habitat Centre and the Alliance Francaise de Delhi till the 18th. The festival will then travel to Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore and Kolkata.
Tweet-- The festival will open in Delhi on January 15th and will be inaugurated by critically acclaimed actor and social activist Nandita Das. Documentary films will be screened at the India Habitat Centre and the Alliance Francaise de Delhi till the 18th. The festival will then travel to Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore and Kolkata.
Every year Breakthrough has endeavoured towards expanding the visual platform for human rights issues from the global South. Breakthrough is an innovative, high-impact international human rights organisation, using the power of popular culture, media, and education to transform public attitudes and promote values of equality, justice, and dignity around the world. We are a non-profit organisation and are currently working in India and the USA.
This year we bring to you 28 films from more than 20 countries.
There are 11 Asia premieres, 8 India premieres and one World premiere.
The four sections in the festival this year are:
Body · Public –Six powerful films from five countries. Four are from India and two co-productions from Spain/South Africa and Canada/Iran. The films explore the engagements of the human body with the public space. How the body then comes to embody the social, political and even economic consequences. These often take the form of exploited sexualities, restricted social interactions, silencing of self-expression and physical and psychological violence.
Not All in Good Faith – Seven films from nine countries probe and bring to the forefront the indignity and exploitation rendered by neo-liberal development ventures and businesses across the globe.
The Line That Defines – Dwelling on the post-modern subject of border crossing this section comprises of four films from five countries. In different ways, the films trace the role of the political border in the making of a refugee, an exile or an illegal immigrant.
Zones of War – Any area marked by extreme violence can be broadly termed as a war zone. Eleven films from nine countries explore these zones of violence and aggression in various historical and contemporary circumstances around the world.
This year the five-member jury comprises Aruna Vasudev (India), Nick Deocampo (The Philippines), Madhusree Dutta (India), Amir Muhammad (Malaysia) and Anurag Kashyap (India). They decide the winners of the prestigious Jury Award for Best Film and the Jury Special Mention Award.
The Tri Continental Film Festival began in Latin America in 2002, in Africa in 2003 and in Asia in 2004. It has become the primary platform for human rights cinema for the three continents that form part of the global South. In India, the Tri Continental began in 2004.
“This years selection of 28 films from more than 20 countries not just represent these protagonists but also gives them a voice that we are sure will resonate with our own circumstances close to home” says Alika Khosla, Associate Director
- Alika Khosla, Festival Director
"These films open up a world which many of us didn't realize exists. I have suggested that we will support this kind of festival so that people continue to make issue based films. And I do hope in time many people would like to come here."
- Shiela Dixit, Chief Minister, New Delhi
Notes to Editor
Breakthrough is an international human rights organization that uses media, education and pop culture to promote values of dignity, equality and justice.
Breakthrough is Building Human Rights Culture
Our organization uses creative tools to teach others about human rights. These rights make up the daily fabric of our lives, of how we tend to live individually and as a community. The rights to life, food, shelter, freedom of expression, freedom from violence, religious freedom – these are all human rights to which we are all entitled. The United Nations has codified many human rights in documents called conventions and treaties, which are ratified by member countries that promise to adhere by their rules. They are described in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Guaranteeing these rights for us and for others is what building a human rights culture is all about.
Breakthrough themes include: women’s rights, sexual and reproductive rights, immigrant rights, racial, ethnic and caste equality and religion and peace.
Breakthrough works through affiliate offices in India and the United States.