16th Annual Human Rights Film Festival

Co-sponsor: Middle East and North African Studies Concentration

Director Kasim Abid, Iraq, 2018, 88 min, Doc

Filmed over three decades, this ambitious project explores the lives of 7 Iraqi artists. Following them from graduation, to street art, to recognition, Abid showcases how interwoven the Iraqi’s art and lives are.The film focuses on the artists’ experiences with exile, alienation, creativity, memories, nostalgia, war, and survival.

Director Shalini Kantayya, United States, 2020, 90 min, Doc

MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini discovers a disparity in the accuracy of facial recognition technology and people of color. She examines the racial biases that are encoded in modern algorithms that profile faces on the streets of London and Hong Kong. Artificial intelligence collects data on Americans often without their knowledge or consent. Her efforts are documented as she works to establish laws in the U.S. against biases in algorithms.

Director Jorge Sanjinés, Bolivia, 1969, 70 min, Drama/Crime

This drama focuses on the Quechua Tribe’s struggle against exploitation by U.S. development teams. As the film unfolds, these native Bolivians discover that the Progress Corps has secretly been sterilizing women during other standard health operations. The main character, Ignacio, rallies fellow tribesmen in order to seek revenge and justice. Two years after this film was released, the Peace Corps were expelled from Bolivia in 1971.

Director Rubaiyat Hossain, Bangladesh, 2019, 95 min, Drama

Shimu fled to the capital to avoid an arranged marriage. She works grueling hours for little pay at a textile factory. After a factory fire kills a co-worker, Shimu is approached by a union advocate who gives her a crash course on women workers’ rights and tools to enforce them. Shimu’s unionizing attempt is resisted not only by her patriarchal employers, but also her colleagues who are desperate to keep their jobs.