Maitisong - Annual Human Rights Film Festival

The Maitisong Festival 2010

is proud to host

the

10TH ANNUAL HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL

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18^th March Official Opening and Screening only: University of Botswana Faculty of Business Studies Auditorium

19th – 31st March 2010 at The AV Centre, Maru a Pula School

P 25 per ticket. Tickets available at Maitisong and at the door. All films free for students. Film programme also on www.ditshwanelo.org.bw

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL LINE UP

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Thursday 18 March

Official Opening and Screening only: University of Botswana Faculty of Business Studies Auditorium

6.30 – 7.00 p.m. Snacks and Drinks

7.00 – 7.15 p.m. Welcome by Vice-Chancellor of The University of Botswana, Prof. Bojosi Otlhogile

Official Opening by Minister Kedikilwe, Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources

Introduction to the film by Tanya Dunne, The Director, The British Council

7.15 – 8.45 p.m. The Age of Stupid screening - free admission

8.45 – 9.30 p.m. Discussion

Theme: Climate Change

The Age of Stupid. UK (2009) 89 minutes. Director: Franny Armstrong. Celluloid Dreams. Courtesy of British Council.

Why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?

The Age of Stupid is the new documentary-drama-animation hybrid from Director Franny Armstrong and Oscar-winning Producer John Battsek. Oscar-nominated actor Pete Postlewaite stars as the founder of The Global Archive in the devastated world of 2055. The archive is located in the (now melted) Arctic, preserving all of humanity's achievements in the hope that the planet, ravaged by runaway climate change, might one day be habitable again. He watches ‘archive’ footage from 2008 and asks: Why didn't we stop climate change when we had the chance?

Nominated: British Independent Film Awards - Best Documentary 2009.

Friday 19 March

Theme: Zimbabwe

7.00 – 7.26 p.m.

House of Justice. Zimbabwe (2009) 26 minutes. Simon de Swartdt. Research and Advocacy Unit. Courtesy of Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU), Zimbabwe.

"House of Justice" is a 26 minute documentary on human rights violations which have taken place on the farms in Zimbabwe which are supposedly protected by the SADC Tribunal. The documentary focuses on three farms in the Chegutu area of Zimbabwe which were all part of an important SADC Tribunal case where the farms and the people living on them were afforded protection by the Tribunal, and the Zimbabwean government was ordered to stop violating the rights of its citizens. Despite this ruling the farmers and farm workers have suffered serious violence since November 2008. The documentary pays special attention to the experiences of farm workers who have been some of the worst affected victims of Zimbabwe's land reform process, but whose story has remained largely untold to date. It is narrated and framed by Getrude Hambira, the General Secretary of GAPWUZ (the General Agricultural and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe), which is still the largest trade union in Zimbabwe with 25 000 members. (Prior to land reform GAPWUZ had 150 000 members.) The film questions what the ultimate point of SADC is if member states will not stand up for justice and the official SADC court.

7.26 – 8.51 p.m.

Mugabe and The White African. UK (2009) 90 minutes. Directors: Andrew Thompson and Lucy Bailey. Arturi Films. Courtesy of Andrew Thompson and Lucy Bailey and Arturi Films.

In 2008 Mike Campbell - one of the few remaining white farmers in Zimbabwe to have held fast in the face of the violent 'Land Reform' programme - took the unprecedented step of challenging President Robert Mugabe before the SADC International Court (SADC - South African Development Community) to defend his farm, which is also home to 500 black workers and their families, and to charge Mugabe and his government with racial discrimination and with violations of Human Rights.

Shortlisted: Oscars Academy Documentary – One of 15 Feature Documentaries 2010; Nominated: BAFTA Awards - BAFTA Film Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer 2010; Winner: British Independent Film Awards - British Independent Film Award 2009; Winner: SILVERDOCS Documentary Festival – Sterling World Feature Award 2009; Finalist: The London Film Festival - Grierson Award 2009.

8.50 – 9.30 p.m. Discussion

After the screenings The General Secretary of The General Agriculture and Plantation Workers’Union of Zimbabwe will lead discussion about the issues raised in the films and about the current situation in Zimbabwe.

Saturday 20 March – free admission

Theme: Children and Youth in South Africa

7.00 – 8.10 p.m.

21 Up South Africa: Mandela’s Children. South Africa (2007) 70 minutes. Director: Angus Gibson. Courtesy of Angus Gibson and ITV Productions. In English, Afrikaans, Xhosa, and Zulu with English subtitles

In South Africa a group of children, first filmed in 1992 at the age of 7, are now 21. Rich and poor, black, white and mixed race, these fascinating and revealing portraits offer unique insights into the social and political upheavals that have occurred throughout South Africa since the crumbling of apartheid. From township slums to apartheid-era mansions to the bushveldt, these children, now young adults, have experienced a multitude of change. See them age from 7 to 21 and learn that AIDS has claimed the lives of three of these children.

Monday 22 March

Theme: Indigenous People

7.00 – 7.17 p.m.

Rightful Place: Endorois’ Struggle for Justice. USA (2007) 16.19 minutes. CERIMIDE and WITNESS in collaboration with Minority Rights Group. Courtesy of WITNESS.

In 1974, the Endorois community was evicted from its land by the Kenyan government to make way for a game reserve and tourist resort. From generation to generation, the community continues to struggle for reparation for its loss and restitution to its land. Yet, its efforts have been met by successive Kenyan governments only with denial, harassment and further eviction – this time to make way for mineral mining. Today, the Endorois community has taken its claim to the highest regional human rights body, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, demanding recognition as a distinct indigenous group and asserting its basic human rights.

Rightful Place

tells, through the personal stories of members of the Endorois community, of the impact of displacement on individual, identity and community and of the struggle of the Endorois peoples to reclaim their rightful place.

Theme: Poverty and Development

7.20 – 8.35 p.m.

Good Fortune. Kenya (2009) 73 minutes. Directors: Landon van Soest and Jeremy Levine. Transient Pictures. Courtesy of Landon van Soest and Jeremy Levine.

This film explores how massive, international efforts to alleviate poverty in Africa may be undermining the very communities they aim to benefit in Kenya. Through intimate portraits of two Kenyans battling aid organizations to keep their homes, the film presents a unique opportunity to experience foreign aid through the people it is intended to benefit. In the rural countryside, Jackson’s farm is being flooded by an American investor who hopes to alleviate poverty by creating a multi-million dollar rice farm. In Nairobi, Silva’s home and business in Africa’s largest squatter community are being demolished as part of a United Nations slum-upgrading project. With a broad scope and intimate style, the film portrays surprising stories of human perseverance.

Winner: SILVERDOCS Documentary Festival Witness Award 2009; Recipient: Sundance Documentary Fund 2007; Winner: IFP Market - The Fledgling Fund Award for Socially Conscious Documentaries 2007; Recipient: A Fulbright Grant in the Creative and Performing Arts.

Wednesday 24 March

Theme: Middle-East and Human Rights

7.00 – 7.29 p.m.

This Palestinian Life – stories of Palestinian nonviolent resistance. (2009) 29 minutes. Director: Philip Rizk. Courtesy of Philip Rizk.

THIS PALESTINIAN LIFE is a film about people who persevere despite the odds stacked against them. The film documents specifically the aspects of perseverance or steadfastness of the Palestinian nonviolent struggle against Israeli occupation and the deliberate, ongoing, illegal annexation of Palestinian land. An Arabic term used for everyday acts of nonviolent resistance is sumoud – steadfastness, perseverance. In the film, Egyptian activist and filmmaker, Philip Rizk, tells the stories of Palestinian villagers who attempt to remain steadfast, to persevere, in the face of settler violence, the injustice and duplicity of the Israeli government, and the ambivalence of the international community.

7.30 - 9.08 p.m.

The Heart of Jenin. Germany (2008) 98 minutes. Directors: Leon Geller and Marcus Venter. Eikon Films. Courtesy of Eikon Films.This film follows the tragic events of November 2005 when a 12 year old Palestinian boy, Ahmed Khatib, was shot by an Israeli soldier in the refugee camp, Jenin. He was killed because the soldier mistook the plastic gun he was playing with for a real one. Taken to an Israeli hospital, the boy had no chance of surviving injuries to his head and chest. His devastated parents were faced with the option of donating his organs so that other would have a life. The film traces the remarkable journey of Ahmed’s father, Ismael Khatib, as he creates a youth centre to protect and distract Jenin’s youth from the violence around them. He travels into Israel and the occupied territories to meet three of the five children of the “enemy” inside whom his son lives on. The film is a rare portrait of humanity within conflict and proves that the sublime can stubbornly survive hate, war and suffering.

Winner: Cinema For Peace - Most valuable documentary of the year Award 2009; Winner: Valladolid International Film Festival – 1st Prize Time of History section 2009; Winner: Movies that Matter Film Festival Amnesty International Den Haag - Audience Award 2009; Nominated: The European Film Awards - Prix Arte for Best Documentary 2009; - DEFA-Furtherance Award DOK Leipzig Festival Germany, 2008; Winner: Dubai International Film Festival - Audience Award 2008

Thursday 25 March

Theme: International Justice and The International Criminal Court

7.00 – 8.35 p.m.

The Reckoning. USA. (2009) 95 minutes. Directors: Pamela Yates, Paco de Onis and Peter Kinoy. Skylight Pictures. Courtesy of Paco de Onis.

The International Criminal Court represents the most ambitious attempt ever to apply the rule of law on a global scale and to protect the most basic human rights. The Reckoning follows ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo for three years across four continents as he and his team tirelessly issue arrest warrants for Lord’s Resistance Army leaders in Uganda, prepare to put Congolese warlords on trial, challenge the UN Security Council to bring Sudan's president to justice for the Darfur massacres, and shake up the Colombian justice system. Moreno-Ocampo has a mandate but no police force. At every turn he must put pressure on the international community to muster political clout for the cause. Will the court succeed and will the world ensure that justice prevails?

Official selection: Sundance Film Festival 2009.

8.35 – 9.00 p.m. Discussion

The Attorney General, Dr Molokomme, will lead a discussion about the ICC and the position of the Government of Botswana on the role of the ICC

Friday 26 March

Theme: The Death Penalty and the Criminal Justice System in The United States of America

7.00 – 8.30 p.m.

In Prison my whole life. UK/USA (2007) 90 minutes. Director: Marc Evans. Made in collaboration with Amnesty International. Courtesy of Colin Firth, Livia Giuggioli, Domenico Procacci and Lee Daniels.

A look at the life of imprisoned political activist and former Black Panther member, Mumia Abu-Jamal, whose death sentence for killing a police officer was overturned in 2001 due to errors made during his original 1982 sentencing hearing. The film engages intellectuals, musicians and writers in an attempt to find the truth about justice in America for black activists and Mumia in particular. Those interviewed include Alice Walker, Noam Chomsky, Mos Def, Snoop Dog and Steve Earle.

Nominated: Sundance Film Festival - Nominated - Grand Jury Prize, World Cinema Documentary 2008.

Saturday 27 March

Theme: Gender and Female Genital Cutting

7.00 – 8.00 p.m.

Mrs Goundo’s Daughter. USA/Mali (2009) 60 minutes. Directors: Barbara Attie and Janet Goldwater. Attie & Goldwater Productions. Courtesy of Barbara Attie and Janet Goldwater. In English, Bambara and French with English subtitles.

Mrs. Goundo’s Daughter is the sensitively told story of a Malian mother’s fight for asylum in the US to protect her two-year-old from female genital cutting. To stay in the US, Goundo must persuade an immigration judge that her US-born daughter, Djenabou, will suffer this procedure if Goundo is deported. In Mali, where 85 percent of women and girls experience clitoral excision, Goundo and her husband are convinced they would be powerless to protect their daughter from her grandparents, who believe all girls should be excised. The film bridges Goundo’s two worlds, expertly interweaving scenes from Mali of girls preparing for an excision ceremony and scenes from Philadelphia where those who have survived the procedure share their stories.

Official Selection: The Human Rights Watch International Film Festival and the Urban World Film Festival 2009.

Sunday 28 March

Theme: War and Rape

7.00 – 8.00 p.m.

Weapon of War – Confessions of Rape in Congo. The Netherlands (2009) 59 minutes. Directors: Ilse van Velzen and Femke van Velzen. IF Productions. Courtesy of Ilse van Velzen and Femke van Velzen.

During the decades of conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, possibly hundreds of thousands of women and girls were brutally raped. In Weapon of War military perpetrators unveil what lies behind this brutal behaviour and the strategies of rape as a war crime. An ex-rebel explains how he raped. Like for many ex-soldiers, starting a normal life again is a struggle filled with trauma. In an attempt to reconcile with is past, he decides to meet one of his victims in an attempt to obtain forgiveness. Captain Basima is working as a priest in Congo’s army and confronts perpetrators of rape. He urges them to change. Just as he did.

Monday 29 March

Theme: Gay and Lesbian Rights and the Church

7.00 – 8.40 p.m.

For The Bible Tells Me So. USA (2007). 100 minutes. Director: Daniel Karslake. Cinema Vault Releasing International Inc. Courtesy of Cinema Vault Releasing International Inc.

Can the love between two people ever be an abomination? Is the chasm separating homosexuals and Christianity too wide to cross? How can the Bible be used to justify hate? This provocative, entertaining film concisely reconciles homosexuality and a literal interpretation of Biblical scripture. Through the experiences of five very Christian, very American families — including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson — we see how people of faith handle, or sometimes tragically fail to handle, having a gay child. Informed by such respected voices as Bishop Desmond Tutu, Harvard’s Peter Gomes, Orthodox Rabbi Steve Greenberg and Reverend Jimmy Creech, this film offers healing, clarity and understanding to anyone caught in between scripture and sexual identity.

Winner: GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Media Award – Outstanding Documentary 2008; Winner: Full Frame Documentary Film Festival – Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights 2007; Winner: Provincetown Film Festival – HBO Audience Award 2007; Winner: Seattle International Film Festival – Audience Award Best Documentary 2007; Winner: Outfest – Audience Award 2007; Nominated: Sundance Film Festival – Grand Jury Prize Documentary 2007.

8.40 – 9.00 p.m. Discussion about the rights to sexual orientation in Botswana.

Wednesday 31 March

Theme: Apartheid – human rights and responsibilities

7.00 – 7.24 p.m.

The Highgate Hotel Massacre. South Africa (2009). 24 minutes. Director: Mark Kaplan. Courtesy of Mark Kaplan and SABC.

One night in 1985, the convivial atmosphere at The Highgate Hotel in East London was instantly and brutally transformed by a gang of men wielding rifles and other combat weapons. Random fire tore flesh apart and left behind a trail of dead, wounded and permanently damaged. Nobody has come forward to admit responsibility. This film serves to bear witness to this crime, to prevent us from forgetting.

7.25 – 7.50 p.m.

Maduna Road

. South Africa (2009). 24 minutes. Director: Mark Kaplan. Courtesy of Mark Kaplan and SABC.

In 1985, the townships of Langa and KwaNobuhle in Uitenhage became increasingly violent as confrontation between UDF-aligned youth and The Black Council Administrators (BLA) councillors intensified. A number of youth were shot dead by the security forces. A funeral planned for the weekend of 19 March 1985 was banned by the local magistrate. Residents moved the funeral to 21 March, the date of the Sharpeville massacre commemorated through a stayaway. When this was realized by the security forces, the funeral was banned once again, but too late to prevent people from gathering in Langa and beginning to march to Kwa Nobuhle where the funeral was to be held. Armoured vehicles blocked

Maduna Road

leading from Langa and police opened fire onto the crowds. More than twenty people were killed. Mrs Nika-Jonas testified before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission about the deaths of her three sons, Thembinkosi, Vusumzi and Sabelo Nika. They were arrested and killed on the same day, in the aftermath of the massacre, by policemen who took their bodies away. She pleaded with the YRC for information about where they had been buried. The TRC failed to corroborate this incident. The sons were not listed as victims of gross human rights violations. Mrs Nika-Jonas did not receive any information from the TRC about the whereabouts of her sons; no information about who was responsible for their deaths and no compensation or reparations for the loss which she suffered. Even her TRC record which should be in the National Archives is missing.

7.50 – 8.30 p.m. Discussion

After the screening of both films, Director Mark Kaplan will lead a discussion about the ‘so then, what’ of documenting and screening films about human rights violations. Mark Kaplan is executive producer of documentaries at Grey Matter Media and has been involved in video production and training work since 1979. He has been the recipient of numerous international awards for single documentaries and series. In August 1982, after two months of detention in solitary confinement, Kaplan was deported to Zimbabwe. In 1986, Kaplan co-founded Capricorn Video Unit in Harare, Zimbabwe, providing production and training facilities to the Southern African region.

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