Awards Ceremony Press Release 2014: Geneva, March 16th, 2014

Awards Ceremony Press Release 2014:
Geneva, March 16th, 2014 FIFDH.
Record attendance: “With more than 25,000 festival attendees, 2,000 more than in 2013, the role of the International Film Festival
and Forum on Human Rights has never had such an effective impact at the international level in relaying the words of those who
resist oppression and commit their lives on the ground. We dedicate the 12th edition of the FIFDH to the political dissidents and
young bloggers, citizens that rebel, peacemakers and all those who commit their lives on the ground in favor of human rights",
stated the Director General of the FIFDH Leo Kaneman.
Highlights: This year, the FIFDH continues to grow: with more than 150 speakers, 17 debates, and special screenings have
contributed to an unforgettable event. In particular, we remember how the former French minister Robert Badinter and the
Cameroonian lawyer Alice Nkom rose up together to condemn discrimination and threats facing LGBT people.
During the evening Yes We Scan, Julian Assange (via Skype) and his lawyer Baltasar Garzon denounced the excesses of cybermonitoring. Thanks to new technologies and social media, our role as a forum is even more interactive and dynamic. During the
evening The new breath of revolution, bloggers from Syria, Venezuela and Bahrain were able to join the discussion via Skype and
Twitter. The festival also provided a forum to denounce the mass crimes in the Central African Republic, as well as the attacks
against human rights defenders in Kazakhstan and Belarus. Pussy Riot member, Maria Alekhina urged us to engage in support for
political prisoners in Russia. March 8th was an opportunity to denounce again and again sexual violence through events on
trafficking in women in Europe and wartime rape.
The involvement of artists was underlined during these past 10 days. Forty films, including 28 in competition, have demonstrated
once again that the creative process of the filmmakers is an essential vector for human rights.
The 2014 edition of FIFDH proves again that cinema can challenge the order of things. Three world premieres and numerous
prestigious films premiered in Switzerland, including “The Missing Picture” by Rithy Pahn, awarded at Cannes serve as a strong
example for the FIFDH. Geneva is now a choice destination for filmmakers to launch and discuss their films.
The Winners: In unanimously honoring “Return to Homs” by Syrian director Talal Derki, the Creative Documentaries Jury
stressed "the urgency with which the film engrosses the viewer and thus contributes to combatting indifference, finding a perfect
match between content and cinematic form". The jury was composed of Rachida Brakni, Joumana Haddad, Jean-François
Amiguet, Mark Gibney and Jean-Pierre Kapp. Offered by the State of Geneva, the FIFDH Grand Prix rewarded CHF 10'000. The
jury also awarded a special mention to the documentary “Sound of Torture” by Keren Shayo. The jurors added, "the accuracy with
which the director plunges us into a world of injustices and atrocities gives us an awareness of an overlooked problem. We note the
quality in the selection of films on human rights that reflect the state of the world through different artistic and narrative forms”.
The Gilda Vieira de Mello prize, in honor of her son Sergio Vieira de Mello, donated by the Barbara Hendricks Foundation
for Peace and Reconciliation, was awarded to “Art War” by Marco Wilms, "for the reflexion that the film provokes about the role
of artistic intervention and Egyptian women in the Arab Spring."
The Grand Prize of the World Organisation against Torture (OMCT) was awarded to Global Gay, by Frédéric Martel and
Rémi Lainé. "The film reminds us of fundamental points: We are far from equal rights for lesbians, gay, bisexual or transgender.
The reality is the criminalization of same-sex sexual relations in over 60 states, ranging from threats to arbitrary detention, torture of
more subtle forms of discrimination. But the virtue of the film is the message of hope and discussion of advances around the world,
such as Nepal and Cuba, a first resolution adopted by the Council of Human Rights of the United Nations that recognizes the
equality rights of LGBT people, which are evidence of a growing LGBT movement and, "said the Secretary General of the OMCT,
Gerald Staberock.
The Fiction and Human Rights award, offered by the Barbour Foundation, was awarded to the feature film “A Stranger”,
by Croatian director Bobo Jelcic. "The finesse and simplicity of this subtle work is extremely moving. A peace treaty was signed
in Bosnia - Herzegovina, but the road remains long. For each of the victims of the conflict, daily life is a perpetual search for
resilience; a struggle for life and survival." The jury was composed of Peter Scarlet, Andrea Staka and Philippe Cottier.
The Youth Jury for the Fiction category, composed of Estelle Bourderiat, Naomi Debakakidadu, Lucie Emch, Leonardo Rafael,
Anna Rossman Kiss and Nelson Zawadzki awarded Clio Barnard’s film “The Selfish Giant”. According to the young jurors "the
choice was not easy, but this film’s poignant realism and ability to stir emotions all the while provoking reflection has convinced us.
With sensitivity and aesthetic appeal, “The Selfish Giant” offers an immersion into a world of instability that is too often forgotten."
The Youth Jury for Creative Documentaries awarded its prize to Mehdi Ba and Jeremy Frey for their film “7 Days in Kigali”, "An
unforgettable film. This documentary has invoked a sense of responsibility to remember. The intensity of the visual content as well
as the moving testimonies had a powerful psychological impact on all of us. The chronological structure of the film produces a
crescendo of brutal events. Deeply moved, we particularly noted the contrast between the beauty of the images and the violence of
the testimonies, "stated the young jurors Yaëlle Aeschimann Raphael Bernardez, Fabian Vargas De Pury, Marie Gueundjian,
Camilla Junod and Miaïna Razakamanantsoa.
The winners, photos, videos and the complete program: www.fifdh.org - also Follow FIFDH on Facebook and Twitter.
Contacts:
Leo Kaneman, Director - l.kaneman @ fifdh.ch - +41 (0) 22 809 69 01
Luisa Ballin, Head of Media & Communication - l.ballin @ fifdh.ch +41 (0) 22 809 69 08 Elisabeth Pfund, Press - e.pfund @ fifdh.ch
- +41 (0) 022 809 69 03