Film Summaries and Discussants
Monday 14 November 2011, 7:30 p.m: The Green Wave (Iran)
By providing a backdrop for the urgent blog posts and tweets that became a lifeline to Iranian pro-democracy activists, The Green Wave recounts the dramatic events of one of the most severe domestic crises in the history of Iran. Filmmaker Ali Samadi Ahadi takes viewers into the world of Iranian citizens who risked their lives in the hopes of a better future. Interweaving online posts, video footage caught by those present, and extensive interviews, the film is an artistic portrait of modern political rebellion, an exposé of government-sanctioned violence, and a vision of hope that continued resistance may galvanize a new future.
Discussants: Atsango Chesoni (Kenya Human Rights Commission), Mwalimu Mati (Mars Kenya), and Njonjo Mue (International Center for Transitional Justice)
Tuesday 15 November 2011, 6:30 p.m: You Don’t Like the Truth(U.S./Guantanamo)
Luc Côté and Patricio Henríquez’s shocking You Don’t Like The Truth – 4 Days inside Guantanamo uses seven hours of declassified security camera footage from the Canadian government to show the interrogation of 16-year-old Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen and Guantanamo detainee. The film delves into the unfolding high-stakes game of cat and mouse between captor and captive as it analyzes the political, legal, and psychological aspects of the interrogation through interviews with Khadr’s lawyers, a psychiatrist, an investigative journalist, former Guantanamo detainees, and a former US interrogator.
Discussants: Al-Amin Kimathi (Muslim Human Rights Forum), Mbugua Mureithi (Advocate), Binaifer Nowrojee (Open Society Initiative for East Africa)
Wednesday 16 November 2011, 6:30 p.m.: Impunity (Colombia)
Hollman Morris and Juan José Lozano’s Impunity documents the hearings in which Colombian paramilitary members describe atrocities they have committed as the families of their victims listen and watch on computer screens. Through this testimony, footage of the crimes, and interviews with victims and experts, the brutal history of paramilitary violence comes to light. Yet due to serious irregularities in the justice and peace process, many families express their fear that they will never know the truth surrounding the deaths of their loved ones, and that the perpetrators will escape punishment.
Discussants: Christine Alai (International Centre for Transitional Justice), Margaret Shava (Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission), representative of the Embassy of Colombia in Kenya (invited)
Thursday 17 November 2011: The Team (Kenya)
Patrick Reed’s remarkable The Team brings us behind the scenes of an innovative television soap opera that aims to ease Kenya’s volatile ethnic tensions and set the stage for dialogue and understanding. The story line focuses on a tribally diverse soccer team whose members must find ways to overcome deep-rooted hatred and work together to succeed. Thousands of viewers across Kenya gather around their TV screens to watch the story unfold—building mutual understanding and acceptance with each episode. Yet the message may come too late, as the actors themselves may become victims of the discrimination they have been so passionately seeking to combat.
Discussants: Mburugu Gikunda (Media Focus on Africa), cast members of ‘The Team’
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