Film and Human Rights
Seminar organized by Mette Hjort and Eva Jørholt, Department of Media, Cognition and Communication, Section for Film, Media and Communication.
Photo: Talib Rasmussen, © Fourhands Film
Programme
13:00 — 13:30 Mette Hjort & Eva Jørholt
Welcome and presentation of book project on African Cinema and
Human Rights (Indiana University Press, 2017).
13:30 — 14:00 Rod Stoneman
Rethinking the frame for human rights in Africa. Using examples from
African cinema, a discussion of the cultural and political context for
formulating contemporary human rights issues.
14:00 — 14:30 Christoffer Glud Grønlund
Is it possible to communicate the fight against torture through moving
pictures without actually displaying torture itself?
14:30 — 15:00 Jakob Kirstein Høgel
Should film culture be a human right? If so, for whom? And what are
the impediments or antagonists to everyone having a rich film culture?
A talk about independent voices, audiences, co-production and the
world map of film artistry.
15:00 — 15:15 Coffee break
15:15 — 15:30 Camilla Magid
Introduction to her film White Black Boy (2012) about Shida, a
9-year-old albino boy who is sent off to a boarding school for
protection (in Tanzania, the body parts of albino children are thought
to have magic powers and are therefore in high demand). The film
follows him as he forms new friendships and gains self-confidence
through education.
15:30 — 16:30 Screening of White Black Boy.
16:30 — 17:00 Kristian Feigelson
Response to film, followed by a general discussion.
Participants
Kristian Feigelson – Sociologist, professor of Film and Media Studies at Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris 3.
Christoffer Glud Grønlund – Head of Communications & Fundraising at DIGNITY – Danish Institute Against Torture.
Mette Hjort – Professor of Film and Media Studies at the University of Copenhagen, with ongoing projects focusing on transnational talent development within a human rights framework.
Jakob Kirstein Høgel – Producer at Meta Film and consultant in film policy and film sector development. Former Artistic Director of New Danish Screen.
Eva Jørholt – Associate professor of Film and Media Studies at the University of Copenhagen, with a particular interest in migration and African cinema.
Camilla Magid – Documentary filmmaker whose films often address human rights issues: From Palestine with Love (2010), White Black Boy (2012) and Transformation (2016).
Rod Stoneman – Emeritus Professor, former Director of the Huston School of Film & Digital Media at the National University of Ireland, Galway. He was Chief Executive of Bord Scannán na hÉireann / the Irish Film Board until September 2003 and previously a Deputy Commissioning Editor in the Independent Film and Video Department at Channel 4.