LOOKING BACK – LOOKING FORWARD
With a diverse programme, the Human Rights Film Festival Zurich from 1 – 4 December 2022 ensured full cinemas and lively discussions at the Kulturhaus Kosmos. Because Kosmos-Kultur AG filed for bankruptcy on 5 December in the middle of the festival, the rest of the event unfortunately had to be cancelled. There were no alternative planning options on such short notice. Despite the abrupt end, the festival team is taking the momentum of the very well attended 8th edition with them and is looking optimistically to the future: we are very happy to announce that we've already found a new home for our festival in the cinemas of the Riffraff. On 12 April 2023 we already presented the «Human Rights Day» showing the films that had to be cancelled. The 9th edition of HRFF Zurichwill take place from 4–10 April 2024 at Riffraff and the nearby Zollhaus. We will once again create an inspiring meeting place for people who want to engage with a complex world and gain foresight through films and debates.
CONCEPT
Born in 2015, the Human Rights Film Festival Zurich takes place every year. Over seven days, we show artistically strong feature-length documentaries and fiction films that explore human rights issues – avoiding stereotypes or moralistic finger-pointing. Afterwards there are discussions with directors, protagonists and experts. In this way, what we have seen can be placed in a larger context. The programme reflects a variety of human rights themes in different geographic and social contexts. Topics include flight and migration, the war in Syria, women’s rights, LGBTI-rights, responsibilities of multinationals as well as the relation between resources, energy and human rights. Panel discussions after the screenings widen the scope of the programme and offer the possibility to contextualize and discuss the films. The festival thus offers a platform for passionate dialogue between films and human rights. We believe in the power of cinema as an art form and in the film festival as a meeting place for people who want to deal with a complex world.