Human Rights Watch Film Festival

This film is a rare insight into the world of 10-year-old Dujuan, an Arrernte/Garrwa boy living in Alice Springs who is a child-healer and speaks three languages yet is “failing” in school. Made in collaboration with Dujuan and his family, the film is an illuminating and hopeful look at the plight of Indigenous peoples in Northern Australia, and an examination of how negative educational reinforcement takes a toll on young people everywhere, but especially Indigenous children. (HRWFF)

The screening will be followed by a Q&A.

Film website

The citizen journalists at Bellingcat.com use open source investigative tools to test the limits of seemingly ironclad international news stories. Who are the white nationalists leading violent attacks in Charlottesville? Was it a Russian missile that took down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17? When and where was a Syrian bombing video actually recorded? These “truth seekers” take high risks from their unimposing living rooms, diving headfirst into mountains of dangerous detail to identify culprits, geolocate atrocities and verify accuracy. Determining fact, fiction or fake news means solving mysteries and exposing myths. Go behind the scenes to witness how this volunteer collective became a thorn in the side of governments the world over. Bellingcat – Truth in a Post-Truth World lifts the veil on journalism, puts the audience in the anchor’s chair and gives new meaning to the phrase "breaking news." (Hot Docs)

The screening will be followed by a Q&A.

Film website

What is it like to be a Muslim female athlete in the world today? Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir broke records and barriers on her way to become the first Division I basketball player to play wearing a hijab. When a controversial ban on religious headgear ends her chances at playing professionally, she is forced to re-examine her faith and identity as a Muslim American. Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir lost her dream of playing professional basketball because of the ban—but now millions of girls in Muslim majority countries can play basketball because of her successful fight to overturn it. (HRWFF)

The screening will be followed by a Q&A.