LMH hosts Film Premiere

LMH will next week play host to the first UK screening of new film Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, starring Ewan McGregor, in aid of Oxford based charity Refugee Resource.

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Source: Cherwell.org

Refugee Council launches film for Human Rights Day

On Human Rights Day, the Refugee Council is launching a short film commemorating the people the charity has protected and supported over the last 60 years.

The film, “60 years of refugee protection”, features the testimonies and views of refugees who fled conflicts around the world and rebuilt their lives in the UK, in each decade since 1951 – the year the charity came together to offer support and advice to refugees. With British actress Zoe Wanamaker’s voiceover, the film features a refugee from each decade from Hungary, Kenya, Chile, Ghana, Kosovo and Liberia.

The film is the culmination of the Refugee Council’s 60th anniversary celebrations in 2011, as well as the 60th year of the UN Convention for Refugees.

You can watch the film here.

On behalf of refugees thank you for your support.

If you haven’t already donated to the Colin Firth appeal, you can give a gift here.

Search for refugees who came to the UK in the 1960’s

Do you know any refugees who came to the UK in the 1960’s?

The Refugee Council is looking for someone who may be willing to take part in a short film we are making for our 60^th Anniversary year and to commemorate the 60^th Anniversary of the UN Convention for Refugees.   We are looking for someone who came here as a refugee in the 1960’s and settled here.

In practical terms it will involve a couple of hours of a person’s time at a location convenient to them.

It would involve talking about the person’s experience of coming to the UK, and how the person was able to rebuild their life here thanks to the UN Convention for Refugees.  The actual camera time will be very short because this is only a short film.

The main aim of our film is to highlight the lives saved by the UN Convention over the last 60 years and in the future, as well as to highlight the work of the Refugee Council. We plan to raise awareness’ and to help us build support for the important work we do.

Please email us as soon as possible if you can help!

West Midlands Human Rights Film Festival 2011

Birmingham International Film Society presents the regions first ever Human Rights Film Festival.

* Tuesday 6 September 2011 – Tuesday 4 October 2011

* At venues across the Midlands

The Festival will be screening a wide range of films that investigate the notion of human rights in the 21st Century as measured against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For more information see the programme of events (http://www.birmingham-film.org/page/news/153).

Slave – A Question of Freedom

Slave – A Question of Freedom is a true story about a young Sudanese woman who was enslaved in London, managed to escape and is now living in freedom. On from the 6th September to the 1st October at the Riverside Studios, Hammersmith, the producer is keen to give refugee groups the chance to see this for free, and therefore people who work in refugee organisations and refugees and asylum seekers can come for FREE to the 6th and 7th September shows at 7.30pm. The shows on 9th, 10th, 13th, 14th, and 15th at 7.30 and the matinees on 14th and 15th at 2.30pm are FREE for refugees and asylum seekers only.

For further information or to request tickets please email [email protected]

Deportation reconstruction as aid to action

By Dasom Lee| Institute of Race Relations

An overseas student reviews an unflinching film by augenauf, a Swiss human rights organisation, re-enacting a deportation.

To my mind, many of those who support anti-racism, multiculturalism, asylum seekers and refugees speak from an easy, privileged, white, middle-class position. Hence, it is often pity that they feel towards BME communities and asylum seekers rather than a sense of the need for complete equality. Such a patronising attitude is surprisingly common especially when artists discuss the themes of asylum seekers and refugees. More often than not these ‘victims’ are not portrayed as actors in their own right determining their fate but people to be looked after by those who know better. They are infantilised.

The film reconstruction of the deportation process in Switzerland produced by augenauf (http://www.augenauf.ch/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=127&Itemid=30 ), which is available on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16He1I274Xk ), successfully provides the emotional distance necessary for the viewer to grasp the reality. Clips are not shadowed by or overrun with sorrowful music or tears of detainees but show what happens in the process of deportation in a blunt and direct manner. Detainees are treated as objects that need to be removed, and cuffing, putting on a helmet seems rather benevolent compared to the trussing up of people with countless plastic ties to a rolling chair – the type used in warehouses to move heavy goods. There is a lack of communication between the detainee and the officers who are handling him. This is rare as many visual pieces on asylum tend to show the use of violent and racist languages towards detainees. The silence works well, nevertheless, as it shows a clear structure of power and encourages us to think about the possible solutions regarding the violation of human rights rather than leaving us feeling helpless just reaching for a box of tissues.

In one scene, detainees are referred to by number, a common method used to dehumanise. This method was used in systems of slavery and indentured labour and now in Guantañamo as a lingering reminder of colonisation. However, it is not just detention centres that reproduce colonial discourse, it is also there in western attitudes towards asylum seekers – the feeling of superiority while ‘helping’ someone from an ‘unfortunate country’. This film avoids personal judgements and helps us to understand the process of deportation which leaves us with a clear mind. After watching the film, I was not blinded by emotion but wanted to actively do something to create a more equal society where no human is treated in such a way ever again.

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FOOTNOTE

‘Reconstruction of a forced deportation carried out by the Swiss authorities’ by augenauf (http://www.augenauf.ch/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=127&Itemid=30 ) can be watched here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16He1I274Xk ).

HAT News is precluded from expressing a corporate view: any opinions expressed are therefore those of the authors.

I am Nasrine – a film about a young woman who is forced to flee Iran

Colleagues may know Bridge and Tunnel who have produced highly effective film and education materials to raise awareness about the experiences of refugees. Their new film I Am Nasrine was made with entirely non-film money. The movie was shot in Iran during the Green Revolution in 2009 and follows the experiences of a young woman who is forced to flee and seek asylum in the UK. They need support to catch the interest of distributors so the film can reach a public.

To see the trailer for the film for yourself please go to: www.vimeo.com/23360044
Please watch the trailer and then visit I Am Nasrine on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/66cenoh. Importantly, click LIKE on their page to join in by showing your support! The film’s producers need to get thousands of ‘likes’ on their Facebook group to prove to distributors that there is a public for this film.

Thanks for your attention to this

UK premiere of ‘Pushing the Elephant’

The Human Rights Watch Film Festival returns to London from 24 March – 1 April with a programme packed full of documentaries and dramas set to inspire, inform and trigger debate.

This year, in association with the Festival, the Refugee Council is proud to present the UK Premiere of Beth Davenport and Elizabeth Mandel’s stunning documentary Pushing the Elephant, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers and film subject, Rose Mapendo.

Having survived personal atrocities during the 1998 conflict in the DRC, Rose Mapendo now lives in the US and uses her experience to campaign for the rights of refugees. This truly astounding film tells the story of Rose’s reunion with Nangabire, the daughter she was separated from during the conflict.

See the film on Saturday 26 March 7.00pm, Ritzy Cinema or on Sunday 27 March 4.00pm, Curzon Soho

After the film (Saturday only) join Congo Now for a night of Congolese music and dancing as well as a screening of the short film “Walk in my Shoes” at the Ritzy Upstairs.

Travels with Malcolm

A book on Malcolm’s X’s visits abroad has been published.

Malcolm X: Visits abroad

From April 1964 until his assassination in February 1965, Malcolm X travelled widely in the Middle East and across Africa and paid a number of visits to France and the UK. In a new book, drawing on data from Malcolm’s own notebooks, his autobiography, many books about him, FBI papers, local newspapers and interviews with those who met him, historian Marika Sherwood recalls all his visits, the impact he made on those who heard him speak and the influences the visits had on his political development.

Malcolm X Visits Abroad: April 1964 – February 1965 by Marika Sherwood can be obtained from shops for £7.50, or direct from the publisher at a discount price of £5 including p&p. Contact Savannah Press at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or the author at ICS, Senate House, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU.

Four films made in the 1980s for Channel 4, now digitally remastered on one DVD, are available to buy on Institute of Race Relations website. The DVD ‘Struggles for Black Community’ includes four films on: Cardiff, Southall, Notting Hill and Leicester and chart the milestones in Black people’s fight for justice in Britain.

For further information see: http://www.irr.org.uk/2008/november/ha000017.html

New film series highlights plight of migrants in Mexico

Mexican actor and producer Gael García Bernal has launched a new series of films depicting the plight of irregular migrants in Mexico.

The four films, called The Invisibles (Los Invisibles) record the journey of hundreds of migrants from the border between Guatemala and Mexico on their way to the United States.

The premiere of The Invisibles, backed by Amnesty International, coincides with the start of this year’s Global Forum on Migration and Development which is taking place in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Every year, thousands of migrants are kidnapped, raped and sometimes murdered in Mexico. Driven by grinding poverty and insecurity back home, they travel through Mexico in hope of reaching the USA with its promise of a better life. But all too often their dreams are turned to nightmares.

The Invisibles exposes the truth behind one of the most dangerous journeys in the world and reveals the untold stories of the people who make the journey north through Mexico.

“The Mexican authorities must protect migrants in our country. The law must protect us all, whether nationals or foreigners. It’s essential Mexico sets a good example in the way it treats migrants”, explains Gael García Bernal.

During several interviews with migrants, Amnesty International registered the experience of abuses against the migrants. Many are raped, kidnapped or killed by criminal gangs, or harassed by public officials. They were the stories of men and women who, despite the dangers, were determined to make it to the USA.

“We made The Invisibles to shine a light on the abuses migrants suffer in Mexico. As the world’s experts on migration gather in Puerto Vallarta for the Global Forum on Migration and Development this week, hundreds of miles away migrants in Mexico are facing terrible dangers” says Sarah Shebbeare, the human rights NGO’s Mexico campaigner and executive producer of the films.

“The Mexican government has promised to improve protection for migrants. It is time to turn that promise into action. As a first step, we are calling on the government to establish a clear action plan and to collect and publish nationwide data on abuses against migrants and on the action taken to hold those responsible to account.” she added.

Nine out of ten irregular migrants come from Central America and Mexico is one of the few countries in the world that is both destination and transit route for migrants.

After the mass killing of more than 70 irregular migrants in Tamaulipas, in August this year, little has changed for those who cross Mexico.

The Invisibles “offers a unique testimony of migrants, aid workers and medical professionals who speak about the danger and hopes of thousands of men and women who cross Mexico in search of a better life”, says its producers.

The Invisibles can be seen on YouTube (www.youtube.com/invisiblesfilms and www.amnesty.org/en/theinvisibles) and other media outlets.

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