YBCA Presents Human Rights Watch Docs in March
Women’s experience of war and civil upheaval is the dominant motif in series of four documentary film programs presented by the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts this month, in collaboration with the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival. With the films in this series, the co-presenters aim to “put a human face on threats to individual freedom and dignity, and celebrate the power of the human spirit and intellect to prevail,” according to a press release put out by the YBCA last month.
The programs themselves principally feature Israel, Nepal, and the contested borderland between India and Pakistan, Kashmir.
To See if I’m Smiling (2007) is an hour-long documentary about women in the Israeli army — the only army in the world that drafts 18-year-old girls into compulsory service. The women are veterans who were stationed in Gaza and the West Bank during their tours of duty: for this film, many of them spoke openly for the first time about their disturbing experiences and the actions they took to maintain the occupation of Palestinian territories. If you found Waltz with Bashir compelling, this film explores similar themes; it’s a raw, uncompromising look at gender and moral responsibility. Check out what Variety had to say. Screens at 7:30 PM March 5th, with reception to follow.
Youth Producing Change (2007), the one exception to the women-and-war theme, is a 78-minute program of short films presented by Adobe Youth Voices, a philanthropic initiative (underwritten by the software company) that aims to empower disadvantaged youth by putting the tools of digital media into their hands. Directed and produced by youth from all over the world, these films explore the human rights issues they and their communities face. Screens at 7:00 PM March 12th, with reception to follow.
The Sari Soldiers (2008) is a 90-minute documentary that finds many different perspectives from women during war: women as civilians, soldiers, and insurgents during a time of political chaos and upheaval. It examines the efforts of six women to shape the future of Nepal, between a crackdown on civil liberties on the one hand, and an escalating civil war between Maoist insurgents and Monarchist forces on the other. It begins when Devi, who has seen her niece tortured and murdered by the Royal Nepal Army, speaks publicly about it. The Army retaliates by abducting Devi’s daughter, and Devi begins a three-year struggle to discover her daughter’s fate. The other five women include officers from the Royal Nepal Army and the Maoist forces, a human rights lawyer, a student activist, and a rural monarchist who leads a rebellion against the Maoist forces in her community. Variety goes into more detail. Screens at 7:30 PM March 19th.
Project Kashmir (2008) is the final film in the series. It’s about two American women, one a Muslim from Pakistan and the other a Hindu from India, who go to Kashmir to explore the rivalry between their homelands. The film interweaves personal stories of the Kashmiris they encounter with the womens’ own stories. Ross Kauffman, the director and cinematographer of Born Into Brothels, was the producer and cinematographer on this film, so you can expect a lot of beautifully-shot scenes as counterpoint to he drama of two women trying to reconcile their divergent heritage. Screens at 7:30 PM March 26th.
All tickets are $8 regular price, $6 for students, seniors, teachers, and YBCA members. Info and ticketing at the series homepage.
[This post was originally published on SF Appeal.]
posted: 09 March 2
under: The Next Frame