The First Gate
Karama Beirut Human Rights Film Festival (KBHRFF) will open in October in its 6th edition. Under the label “The First Gate ”, this yearโs edition will focus on conciliation with the past as a gate for a better future. With the current state of the world, it has become necessary to address the generation of young people who are still stuck with unanswered questions about their past and constantly inquiring about their destinies, in countries beset by violence.
Todayโs world constantly reminds us that โ beyond ideologies and economic theories, that it has become essential for humanity to adopt a new, more humane formula in order to establish viable, sustainable and peaceful societies. Conciliation is key to manage different visions and diversity, and to move towards building a modern state that fosters equal citizenship, where individuals secure their rights and fulfil their existence. Conciliation is the pre-condition, the first agreement in the social contract to build communities capable of understanding themselves, and able to drastically remove aggression and violence from gowatchseries.
Conciliation is the first gate to make people, especially the youth, able to hope for positive control over their destinies.
The festival will take place at the Sunflower theatre, Tayouneh. As in every year, debates and Q&As will be organised after almost every screening with filmmakers from all over the world.
Once again, we are collaborating with the UN Information Centre in Beirut (UNIC Beirut), and this year, in the run-up to the United Nations Day, which is the day when the organization celebrates its establishment when the UN Charter entered into force on the 24 October 1945. The causes and values that Karama Beirut film festival upholds are aligned with the main principles of the UN Charter, mainly maintaining international peace and security and preventing situations which might lead to a breach of peace.
The third day, (October 4) will be organised and hosted in collaboration with UMAM Documentation and Research (UMAM D&R) and its initiative MENA Prison Forum. It will include film screenings and a panel discussion under the title โFourth Perspective: Narrating MENA Prisons from Beirut.โ Simultaneous translation from Arabic to English will be available for the panel.
Reference Websites
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http://hoangkhanh.xyz/
http://hygienicplusservices.nl/
https://innovativebisolutions.com/
https://isharanga.com/
https://izone-ld.com/zone/
http://jyotishmath.com/
https://kamidante.com/
https://karamabeirut.net/
http://www.kosmoholz.com/
From 2 to 4 October
At Sunflower Theater Tayouneh Beirut
Free Entrance
FILMS
Young Plato
English with Arabic subtitles. Doc, NI/BEL/IRL/FR, 102 min-2021
Directors Declan McGrath, Neasa Nรญ Chianรกin
SYNOPSIS
Itโs all about school boys and their inner world – what is the boyโs role when social roles
are negotiated anew, and how are they reacting to their changing place in society? The
central character is an ambitious philosophy teacher, who brings Plato and Nietzsche to
an all-boys Catholic primary school. Teaching the boys to connect with their feelings, to
a class of children who grew up in Belfast, an environment where violence keeps
interrupting their daily life.
About the Directors
Neasa Nรญ Chianรกin
Neasa Nรญ Chianรกรญn, director, is one of Ireland’s most established documentary talents.
Neasa trained at the National College of Art & Design in Dublin, and worked as a
freelance Art Director on Irish feature film and television projects, before switching to
docs in 2001. She has directed 9 single docs (4 feature length) and one tv series.
Declan McGrath
He has taught film in Queens University Belfast, Dundalk Institute of Technology and
University College Dublin and has written two books on the craft of cinema (Screencraft:
Editing & Post-Production and Screencraft: Scriptwriting) for Focal
Press/Butterworth Heinnman (each book was translated into five languages). Declan also
regularly contributes to the fmovies journal Cineaste.
One Second Forever
Czech with English & Arabic subtitles. Doc, CZ, 84mn-2021
Director Vรญt Klusรกk
Synopsis
One second is all it takes to completely turn a life upside down – ONE SECOND
FOREVER explores excessive speeding by telling the stories of five motorists who have
caused serious and deadly car accidents. A feeling that one cannot even begin to imagine,
yet many drivers casually admit to speeding on a regular basis. By recreating the
accidents, director Vรญt Klusรกk takes the drivers on a journey to confront their guilt and
turn it into a message of prevention.
About the Director
Vรญt Klusรกk
Czech Republic, Director and producer Vรญt Klusรกk, graduated from the Department of
Documentary Film at FAMU (Film and Television School of the Academy of Performing
Arts) in Prague, since 2005 he has been teaching in the same department. In 2004 he co-
directed with Filip Remunda successful film CZECH DREAM broadcasted by more than
30 international TV channels.
He runs the independent production company Hypermarket Film Ltd. which is one of the
leading production companies in Central and Eastern Europe, founded in 2003.
Hypermarket Film has produced feature documentaries for cinemas, TV series and
recently co-produced a multi-platform project Farewell, Comrades! made in broader
European co-production.
Only ocean between us
Arabic/English subtitles. Doc, Jor/Peru, 87mn-2021
Directors: Khaldiya Ali, Marah Alkhateeb, Karoli Pizarro
Christy Silvano
Synopsis
Two Syrian directors in Zaโatari Refugee Camp, Jordan and two Indigenous Shipibo-
Konibo directors in Lima, Peru correspond through film diaries in a cross-border project
from Another Kind of Girl Collective. ONLY THE OCEAN BETWEEN US tells four
profoundly personal stories of motherhood, displacement, and the power of both personal
and communal resistance.
Your Neighborโs Son – the making of torturer
Greek with English subtitles. Doc, DEN, 55mn-1976)
Directors Jรธrgen Flindt Pedersen, Erik Stephensen
Synopsis
The documentary dramatizes the recruiting and training of a young men into the Greek
police during the 1967-1974 military junta rule. Seemingly decent young men are
selected based on traits viewed as exploitable by the recruiters : illiterate, anti-
communist, young and male. The film interviews Michailis Petrou, one of the Greek
policeman involved in the tortures who agreed to testify against his peers in exchange for
a reduced sentence. Petrou’s testimony reveals that the training methods themselves were
brutal and often torturous and was viewed as a necessity to ensure the robotic and brutal
obedience of the trainees. During the dramatic reenactments of the training camps, the
directors draw parallels to modern military boot camps and the methods used in the
training of soldiers.
The Jailer and the Prisoner
Arabic with English subtitles. Fic, LYB, 15mn-2019
Director Muhannad Lamin
Synopsis
โPrisoner and Jailerโ tells the story of two contrasting Libyans: a key official in
the former regime and one of the most prominent figures of the post-revolutionary
period in Libya. Through these two characters, we discover the circumstances
surrounding one of the most influential events in modern Libyan history: The Abu
Salim Prison Massacre.
About the Director
Muhannad Lamin studied directing and scriptwriting at Tripoliโs Arts Institute.
He has been involved in producing a number of public-awareness campaign
projects for clients including the Electoral High Authority, the Ministry of Justice,
the Warriorsโ Affairs Commission, BBC Media Action and several NGOs. He has
also been involved in several documentary projects such as โPoet of the Seaโ
(2012), โBetween the Ropesโ (2013), โFreedom Fieldsโ (2018), and ‘After a
Revolution’ (2018).
Angles of Sinjar
Arabic and English subtitles. Doc, POL/GER, 109mn-2022
Director Hanna Polak
Synopsis
Hanifa and Saeed barely survived the hell that ISIS inflicted on them and their people.
Hanifa escaped kidnapping, but her younger sisters were enslaved by the Islamic State.
Hanifa embarks on a mission to find them and bring them home.
About the Director
Hanna Polak
*1967 in Katowice/Poland
Auteur-director Hanna Polak has an Oscar and Emmy nominations under her belt for
โChildren of Leningradskyโ and the Producer Guild of America nomination for
โSomething Better To Comeโ, amongst many other awards and accolades. Her emotional
bond with her protagonists allows her to deliver visceral, poetic films that celebrate the
power of human spirit and that portray the beauty of humanity in the most adverse
circumstances.
Parallel Activities
ุงูุฃูุดุทุฉ ุงูู ูุงุฒูุฉ
Panel Discussion – MENA Prison Forum
The Fourth Perspective: Narrating MENA Prisons from Beirut.
Moderator: Mina Ibrahim (MPF Coordinator)
Participants:
Alaa Rachidi, Hanna Jaber, Marwan Abi Samra, Muhannad Alamin,
Jad Yateem.
The panel will shed light on the importance of merging art, academia, and
advocacy work while debating cultures and histories of incarceration in the
MENA region – Live interpretation, English/Arabic.
Festival Team
Haytham Chamass – Festival Director
Najwa Kondakji – Program Manager
Najib Nseir – Content Coordinator
Nourhan Hussein – Coordinator
Claude Younan – Coordinator
Carine Zahabi – Graphic Designer
Zeinab Rahal – Financial Officer
Rami Kassabieh – Videographer/Promo
Chirine Barakat – Social Media
Bassel Saade – Web Developer
ูุฑูู ุงูู ูุฑุฌุงู
ููุซู ุดู ุต – ู ุฏูุฑ ุงูู ูุฑุฌุงู
ูุฌูู ููุฏูุฌู – ู ุฏูุฑุฉ ุงูุจุฑุงู ุฌ
ูุฌูุจ ูุตูุฑ- ู ูุณู ุงูู ุญุชูู
ููุฑูุงู ุญุณูู – ู ูุณูุฉ
ูููุฏ ูููุงู – ู ูุณูุฉ
ูุงุฑูู ุฐูุจู – ู ุตู ู ุฉ ุบุฑุงููู
ุฒููุจ ุฑุญุงู – ู ุณุคูู ู ุงูู
ุฑุงู ู ูุณุงุจูุฉ – ุฃุดุบุงู ููุฏูู
ุดูุฑูู ุจุฑูุงุช – ู ุณุคููุฉ ุงูุชูุงุตู ุงูุงุฌุชู ุงุนู
ุจุงุณู ุณุนุงุฏุฉ – ู ููุน ุงููุชุฑููู
Festival Guests
๏ปฟ
Declan McGrath: Director – Young Plato – Irland
Hanna Polak: Director – Angles of sinjar – Poland
Hanifa khalaf: Protagonist – Angles of sinjar – Iraq
Muhannad Lamin: Directorโ Prisoner & Jailor – Libya
Sawsan Darwaza: Festival Director – Karama Human Rights Film Festival, Jordan
Ehab Khatib: Artistic Director – Karama Human Rights Film Festival, Jordan
Alaa Rachidi: Writer – Syria
Mina Ibrahim: MPF Coordinator
Hanna Jaber: Director of Lokman Slim Foundation – Lebanon
Marwan Abi Samra: Researcher & Expert in Development Issues – Lebanon
Jad Yatim: Strategic Communication Consultant – Lebanon