Film Fest Highlights Police Shootings, Factory Conditions

After three days of films covering topics such as the death penalty, digital espionage, stripping of natural resources and domestic violence, the San Diego Human Rights Watch Film Festival will close Sunday with two films about unsafe working conditions in China and the police shooting of an unarmed black man in Wisconsin. “Complicit” follows a Chinese factory worker teaching himself labor law to prepare a legal challenge against his former employer for his work-induced leukemia. The film implicates some of the world’s largest brands, including Samsung and Apple. 2 Adults, 1 Child Suffer Smoke Inhalation After House Fire “The Blood is at The Doorstep” is a documentary from San Diego State University graduate, Erik Ljung, about the unarmed police shooting of a man named Duarte Hamilton. Hamilton, diagnosed with schizophrenia, was shot 14 times by a Milwaukee police officer in 2014.“He was approached by a police officer and the situation escalated until, although he was unarmed he was shot and killed,” Jennifer Nebalsky, associate director for audience engagement for the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, told NBC 7. “The documentary is about the family’s quest for justice and is an interesting look into and questions as to how our country trains all professionals with how to deal with mentally ill citizens, but especially the police who are brought into very stressful situations and have to make split-second decisions.” Popular Hispanic Supermarket Partially Reopens After Re-inspection Internationally, there are Human Rights Watch festivals in Amsterdam, Beirut, London and Toronto, and in the U.S. there are festivals in LA, New York and San Diego. The first festival started in New York more than 25 years ago.“We find that film is a really powerful way for people to learn about some of the situations that we’re monitoring and reporting on around the world,” Neblansky said. “By bringing the films and discussions to communities across the country and around the world we are hoping to sort of bring people into the human rights movement by hearing from the activists, the film subjects in the film.” 1 Killed When Hit-and-Run Driver Strikes Couple on Sidewalk Neblanksy said they want to have the tough conversations, “so we can make progress and make change.”Although many of the films being shown are international, documentaries like “Silas,” which is about the government-approved pillaging of natural resources, are relatable for Americans.“A lot of the issues that we’re dealing with and we’re seeing around the world are also hitting close to home these days with discussion of public lands being sold and national parks being given away for companies to use,” Neblansky said.The films are chosen by a screening committee of Human Rights Watch employees and Museum of Photographic Arts staff (where the festival takes place). The films are vetted for accuracy and preferred if they have a local connection.Human Rights Watch teams seek out films from festivals around the world, and they maintain contact with filmmakers they know and often track the progress of projects they’re working on for years. “Sometimes they just reply to our emails with ‘nope, still working on it,’” Neblansky laughed.Although the news can be overwhelming, Neblasnky said this is a time when we need to be having difficult conversations.“When we can have a shared experience of watching a film together and then meeting the filmmaker or film subject, it really allows you to transcend that place where you just feel stuck and confused and concerned and don’t know what to do to a place where you can actually go out and taken action and be part of something,” she said.The Human Rights Watch Film Festival continues through Sunday at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park.Photo Credit: Facebook
Source: NBC San Diego