Art, advocacy and activism at the Honolulu Human Rights Film Festival

Starting on Dec. 5, the Doris Duke Theatre at the Honolulu Museum of Art began hosting its second annual Honolulu Human Rights Film Festival, featuring four documentaries – “GMO OMG,” “Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer,” “A River Changes Course” and “Blood Brother” – that will be showing until Dec. 15.

“Human rights (are) a primal part of the soul of our society,” said Joshua Cooper, Director of the Hawaiʻi Institute of Human Rights. “The films feature the essence of freedom, equality, dignity and justice everyone desires.” 

The festival commemorates the 65th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Dec. 10, 1948, which came into fruition after World War II. The goal was to bring the international community together to prevent such atrocities and establish individual rights across the globe.

“The film festival is a force for awakening the people of Hawaiʻi to be a part of the global movement for human rights,” Cooper said. “The festival educates, empowers and engages audiences to become advocates for social change in Hawaiʻi and around the world.”

The Doris Duke Theatre plans to have at least one festival per month in 2014, with a Bollywood Festival in January and an African American Film Festival in the upcoming lineup.

FESTIVAL ORIGINS

Film curator for Doris Duke Theatre Abigail Algar collaborated with Cooper in the inception of both festivals. The first festival originated in bringing the premiere of Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut, “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” to Hawaiʻi and holding discussions on women’s rights and war. Cooper has been volunteering as Director of HIHR since its start 15 years ago and hopes that these films will promote advocacy and activism in Hawaiʻi.

“The power of movies is to build a movement for revolution of the human spirit,” Cooper said. “Film opens our hearts: It is emotional language, not just intellectual. I feel with movies we can tell a story very well or create an image that has the capacity to make us recognize ourselves in each other.”

Algar and Cooper watched many films during the selection process, but eventually narrowed down their selection to four with a range of themes and places.

“Promoting awareness is a big part of what drives these particular documentaries,” Algar said. “This a starting point for something much bigger, though, and I guarantee that people will leave the theatre wanting to know more and to do more.”

ʻGMO OMG’

Jeremy Seifert’s “GMO OMG” explores how the American public is not informed about what they eat and argues for consumer choice and labeling. Seifert’s film is rooted in his concern for the well-being of his children, and this translates to an overall concern for the future.

“Dinner is all about democracy,” Cooper said. “We vote three times a day with what we put on our plates. If we care about calories we put in, we can also have a conscience about what we eat.” 

The GMO issue is very close to home in Hawaiʻi, with Maui signing a pesticide disclosure agreement with Monsanto and Hawaiʻi island banning biotech companies from operating on the island – coincidentally, Algar explained this happened just a few weeks after they confirmed the film for the festival.

‘PUSSY RIOT: A PUNK PRAYER’

This film portrays the feminist punk group Pussy Riot’s subversive February 2012 protest-performance at the Russian Orthodox Church and their resulting arrest, depicting interviews and trial footage including bail and appeal hearings.

Currently, band members Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova are serving two-year sentences, with the latter being recently transferred to Krasnoyarsk, a Siberian prison colony, while Yekaterina Samutsevich has recently been released. In many ways, the film is a testament to the efficacy of art in the political realm and the power of free speech but also scrutinizes its prevention in a space of injustice and unequal rights. Unfortunately, these issues are ongoing.

“The capacity for empathy is far greater in the realm of art more than politics,” Cooper said. “Art can contribute and humanize the issue in a very different way and makes it real.” 

‘A RIVER CHANGES COURSE’

Kalyanee Mam’s documentary depicts the impact of globalization and how modernization undermines cultural traditions. Mam gives a stark portrayal of three lives: Sari Math and his experience fishing; Khieu Mok and how she must work in a garment factory in order to pay a debt for loaning land and water buffalo for her village’s rice harvest; and Sav Samourn and her fear of large corporations and deforestation. Although Mam provides limited narration and context, Algar believes that this film brings necessary attention to Cambodia.

“This film will resonate with a Hawaiʻi audience while at the same time shedding light on a problem and a community that not everyone is familiar with … it highlights how environmental and human rights issues are inextricably connected,” Algar said.

Cooper expressed that “A River Changes Course” conveys how we are all responsible for our environment.

“Aloha ʻaina is essential philosophy for our planet,” he said.

‘BLOOD BROTHER’

Steve Hoover’s documentary follows the journey of his close friend Rocky Bratt, who travels to India for self-discovery and arrives at a HIV/AIDS care center for women and children. Braat decides to stay, dropping his aspiration to become a graphic designer, and instead chooses to make his life count by forming relationships with the afflicted children. This is a very emotional film that celebrates the power of love, the weight of loss, but also the impression that we can leave on those around us.

“One of the things that drew me to this film was the fact the filmmakers are giving any proceeds they receive from the film back to HIV/AIDS initiatives,” Algar said. “While this film brings a human rights issue to light, it also has a message of hope, about how much of a difference one person’s love and compassion can make, especially in affecting the lives of children infected with HIV.”

SHOW TIMES AT DORIS DUKE THEATRE

“GMO OMG”:
Dec. 6 at 1 p.m. & 7:30 p.m

“Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer”:
Dec. 7 at 6 p.m.; Dec. 8 at 4 p.m.; Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m.; and Dec. 12 at 1 p.m.

“A River Changes Course”:
Dec. 8 at 1 p.m.; Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 11 at 1 p.m.; and Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

“Blood Brother”:
Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 11 at 1 p.m.; Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m.; and Dec. 13 at 1 p.m.