The Human Touch

Rom-coms are all well and good, but sometimes we hunger for something with a bit more substance than our movie popcorn. If you enjoy your films served up with a side of outrage over the world’s injustices alongside joy at triumphs over adversity, feast your eyes on the Human Rights Arts & Film Festival, touring across the country this month and next. Films shown at the festival cover a diverse range of topics including female taxi drivers in Senegal (Taxi Sister), forced marriages as part of genetic engineering attempts (Red Wedding), Peruvian land disputes (Law of the Jungle) and inspired efforts at generating electricity in a Malawi village via homemade windmills (William and the Windmill). Many of the sessions also include Q&As with directors or protagonists, and the corollary art program features displays of works by women from the Horn of Africa (Mothers & Ink) and a selection of photographs from the Vietnam conflict (Requiem). The festival commences in Melbourne tonight (May 9th) and wraps up in Perth on June 6th. Visit the website for a full program of events.