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The WebTexan April 8, 1998 THE HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH GLOBAL SHOWCASE Documentary Film Festival Brings International, Domestic Human Rights Issues to Light Government, Lies, Politics, Abuse, Death Rene Penalosa-Galvan Daily Texan Staff Documentary films that take a stand on political issues have often been stigmatized as propagandistic by both filmmakers and audiences. As a result, many of today's political documentaries are bland, foregoing analysis and criticism in an ill-conceived attempt to appear objective. Caught between propaganda and superficiality, documentarians face a daunting task when dealing with politically-charged subject matter. For a five-day span, running today through Monday, The Human Rights Watch Global Showcase will show films that meet this challenge, tackling pressing issues head-on. The festival, locally sponsored by Amnesty International to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, will give viewers a chance to encounter a unique and rarely-seen type of cinema: films that vividly incarnate key human rights issues currently affecting societies around the world. "These are issues that are all hard to deal with," explains Tammy Arnstein, one of the showcase organizers. "Saying, 'Well, I'm not going to go and watch these films because they have a political angle,' I think, is the easy way to dismiss them." The program's most prominent offering is also the one that hits closest to home. Waco: The Rules of Engagement is a shattering look at the numerous, appalling governmental irregularities that surrounded the Branch Davidian fiasco. Far from advocating sensationalistic conspiracy theories, the film undertakes a convincingly thorough and intelligent analysis. Off-screen narration is kept to a minimum as interviews are intercut with congressional hearings and video testimonials made by the Branch Davidians during the ordeal, imbuing the documentary with a chilling immediacy. Its unmitigated disclosure of government negligence was most likely what denied this superb work the Oscar it was nominated for. By addressing these U.S. human rights violations, such a documentary dispels the widespread myth that such issues pertain solely to underdeveloped or developing countries. "In general, human rights seem to be very distant, like someone tortured in Cambodia or in Argentina or in Brazil," says Susana Kaiser, another festival organizer. "What I think is important about this festival, if you look at the program, [is that] four films are about this country." Besides Waco, the remaining U.S. films deal with issues ranging from domestic violence (It Ain't Love) to immigration legislation in California (Fear and Learning at Hoover Elementary). For its part, Blacks and Jews provides some fresh insight into the inescapable issue of racial tension. The festival also addresses human rights in yet another country that doesn't normally figure into discussions on the topic -- Japan. Barizogon explores economic corruption on the island by focusing on the case of an unsafe nuclear plant and the man who tried to unveil the cover-up. Blacks and Jews explores relations between the two groups using five riveting stories of rage, courage and hope. The film plays Sunday at 5 p.m. In addition to exposing pressing human rights issues in developed countries, the festival also deals with better-known -- yet equally important -- issues. Such films offer viewers a true understanding of issues that have received fragmented, superficial coverage in the mainstream media. Along this vein, Chronicle of a Genocide Foretold sheds much-needed light on the circumstances leading to ethnic war in Rwanda, suggesting the disturbing possibility that 500,000 deaths could have been prevented. The festival also examines the Chechnyan war (The Betrayed); the "disappearance" of political dissidents in Brazil (15 Children); American encroachment on national sovereignty in Latin America (Devils Don't Dream!); and human rights in the Middle East (Stories of Honor and Shame and Jerusalem: An Occupation Set in Stone). Finally, Cuba and Russia provide a landscape of fading and faded communist revolutions in Ricardo, Miriam, and Fidel and Bye, Bye, Babushka, respectively."The point is to try to connect particular issues," Susana Kaiser, one of the festival's organizers, explains. "The challenge is to say, 'OK, this is happening over there in that place, but how about in our societies?'"As part of the effort to promote local awareness and understanding of human rights, the screenings (besides being free to the public) will also include a brief introduction to the issues within the ensuing film, provided by a specialist on the topic and complemented by a discussion afterwards. "Every film has a viewpoint," says Donna Lovong, a representative of Amnesty International, one of the co-sponsors of the festival. "People can have opinions on the films ... they might not even agree with the films -- that's the whole point." Slanted or not, the filmmakers whose documentaries will make up the festival have certainly left behind the limitations of entertainment and art in favor of a nobler -- and perhaps more substantial -- task: to meaningfully and directly affect the plight of their subjects through their work. Copyright ©1998 The WebTexan

 



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