Film Awards Special 2012

human rights film awards 2012

Spanish documentary duo Roser Corella and Alfonso Moral were awarded the top prize at the Fourth Annual ICCL Human Rights Film Awards Gala, which took place on Thursday, 28 June 2012. The Light House Cinema very kindly hosted this year’s Gala Screening and Awards ceremony, which played to a capacity audience in Screen 1.

The winning film, Machine Man, exposes the working conditions of some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in our globalised world. The film invites us to follow the lives and hear the voices of manual workers in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, where millions of men and women carry out all manner of labour in the streets, factories, building sites and on the sea shore. These “machine men” and women are the engine that keeps this bustling metropolis running, and their work allows consumers in developed countries such as Ireland to enjoy “bargain” prices for goods produced at immense human cost.

Corella and Moral have an accomplished background in documentary making, photography and video journalism, having

collaborated with NGOs and news agencies around the world in locations as diverse as Lebanon, Mozambique, Bangladesh and Senegal.

Accepting their prize, Corella and Moral said:

“This Award comes at just the right time to encourage us to continue working on these important issues. The recognition that this Award gives to Machine Man, gives us that extra motivation to keep working in the defence of human rights, through documentary filmmaking”.

Joint second place awards went to films Hold on Tight by Anna Rodgers and Zlata Filipovic, and to Padres, Directed by Liz Lobato. A further prize, for the competition’s youth-focussed ‘Under a Minute Challenge’ was presented by RTÉ’s Sinéad Kennedy and Chief Executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, Tanya Ward, to Laura and Robert Gaynor for their minifilm On the QT.

Actress and ICCL Human Rights Film Awards Jury member Victoria Smurfit in a publicity shot for the 2012 Awards, Los Angeles, June 2012. Photo credit: A. Rentmeester

Former Film Awards shortlistee Aoibheann O’Sullivan and Senator David Norris with joint second prize winners Anna Rodgers and Zlata Filipovic

The ICCL Human Rights Film Awards 2012 JuryBrenda Fricker Grainne Humphreys John Kelleher Rebecca Miller Tomm Moore James Morris Senator David Norris Stephen Rea Kirsten Sheridan Victoria Smurfit Rod Stoneman Ken Wardrop

The Film Awards Panel:

Siobhán Cummiskey Suzanne Egan Michael Finucane Alan Fitzpatrick John Maguire Alicia McGivern Marc O’Sullivan Conor Power Donald Taylor-Black

The Human Rights in Under a Minute Challenge Jury:

Sarah Bolger Sinéad Kennedy Ruairí McKiernan Robert Sheehan Tanya Ward

Jury members Tomm Moore and John Kelleher with joint second prize winner Liz Lobato

The Gala reception in level -3 of Dublin’s Light House Cinema

RTÉ’s Sinéad Kennedy (left) and Tanya Ward, Chief Executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance (right), present Laura and Robert Gaynor with their Human Rights in Under a Minute Challenge prize

Roser Corella and Alfonso Moral, who were unable to attend the Gala due to filming commitments in Bangladesh

Machine ManDirector: Roser CorellaThis documentary by Roser Corella is an

elegant exploration of the role of manual human labour in a globalised 21st century world. The film follows the lives of various workers in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, where millions of men and women carry out all manner of labour in the streets, factories, building sites and on the sea shore. These “machine men” are the engine that keeps this bustling metropolis running, and this film is a glimpse at the lives they lead.

Chen Guangcheng - Caged Bird

Producer: Adam Shapiro; Director/ Illustrator: Trish McAdam

Chen Guangcheng, a blind, self-taught lawyer, began his human rights work in China by defending the economic rights of farmers and arguing for the rights of the disabled. He was also active in exposing the practice of forced abortions and sterilisations in China’s Shangdong Province. Since 2005, Chen and his family have been subject to frequent prosecutions and periods of imprisonment and house arrest. This film, inspired by the poetry of Maya Angelou, and built around the animation of Trish McAdam, was made as part of a campaign by Front Line Defenders calling for an end to Chen Guancheng’s captivity. In May 2012, Chen and his family fled to the United States; however extended family members face continued harassment and pressure from the authorities.

Leave to RemainDirector: Anna ByrneSince the late nineties, hundreds of unaccompanied

minors have arrived in Ireland seeking refuge. These children are termed Separated Immigrant Children. Up until December 2010, these children were housed in residential hostels in the greater Dublin area. This is one man’s account of his experience in Ireland as a separated immigrant child.

Padres (Parents)Director: Liz LobatoIn this charming short film by Spanish director Liz Lobato,

we see the emotional struggle of a couple as they attempt to navigate Spain’s bureaucratic adoption process. Still wracked with doubt as to whether or not they are making the right choice, the adoption agency reveals at the last minute that their prospective adoptee is not alone, leaving the couple with an important choice to make.

Hold on Tight Producer: Zlata Filipovic; Director: Anna RodgersHolding hands and kissing in public isn’t

for everyone. When it comes to same-sex relationships, showing your love outside of the home is sometimes a complicated personal choice. This short documentary moves between the public and the private spaces in which lesbian and gay couples live, and explores small gestures of human connectedness. These gentle interactions not only carry a huge personal significance, but also the potent power to create social change. Yet for most people, being affectionate beyond the hall door isn’t intended as a political statement – it’s an expression of love.

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the 2012 iCCl human rights film awards shortlist

These films are available to view via

www.humanrightsfilmawards.org. The

ICCL is partnering with Access Cinema

for nationwide screenings of a selection of

shortlisted films from the past four years

of the ICCL Human Rights Film Awards.

Watch this space for further details.

Jury members John Kelleher and Senator David Norris at a photocall marking the announcement of the 2012 shortlist at the Irish Film Classification Office (IFCO), 30 May 2012

Jury members Ken Wardrop, Brenda Fricker, David Norris, Kirsten Sheridan and John Kelleher

Brenda Fricker and her dog Mr. O’Flaherty with Senator David Norris

human rights film awards 2012

Rights News, Issue 22, Summer 2012

ISSN 1649-9530

Rachael Ball William J. Barrett Michael Barron Krisztina Benczedi Daniel Bevan Noeline Blackwell Marguerite Bolger Alan DP Brady Saoirse Brady Cormac Breatnach Denise Brett Suzy Byrne Emma Byrne-MacNamee Silvia Caggiano Lesley Anne Carey Mary Ciesielski Alma Clissmann Barry Collins Vittoria Colonna Tara Connolly Clare Creely Vivian Cummins Architects Siobhán Cummiskey Fergal Cunningham Linda Dagge Stephanie Dickenson Tom Donegan Elizabeth Donovan Mark Ellison Frances Feeney Zlata Filipovic Dara Gallagher John Gaynor Dearbhla Glynn James Glynn Moninne Griffith Mustafa Gundogdu Claire Hamilton Matt Hird Iseult Honohan Maria Ann Hylton Aine Hynes Anna Irvin Lucy Jayawardene Dennis Jennings Edward Keegan

Paul Kelly Mark Kelly Jo Kenny Gearóid Kilgallen Carla Killeen Ronan Lupton Tim Magennis Roderick Maguire Neil Manifold Sheila Kathleen Martin Paul McBride Dearbhail McDonald Ciara McKenna Kieran McLoughlin Martin McNicholl Brid Moriarty Niall Mulligan Jean Murnane Lianne Murphy Mal Murphy Fíona Ní Chinnéide Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha Pól Ó Murchú Caoimhe Ó Riagáin Joan O’Connell Barry O’Donoghue Conor Power Oisín Prendiville Edel Quinn Ana Rangel Jeni Ringland Fergus Ryan George Simkin Ailbhe Smyth Derek Speirs John Stanley Lee Stella John Stokes Aoife Terry Liam Thornton Esra Turk Judy Walsh Tanya Ward Yvonne Woods Katherine Zappone Thank you!

The ICCL Human Rights Film Awards would not be possible without the generosity, time and expertise of our sponsors, competition entrants, Jury, Panel, volunteers, interns, members and supporters. We are very grateful for their continued support.

This year, the ICCL also launched our very first crowdfunding campaign with Fundit.ie to raise funds in support of the project. The

ICCL was delighted to exceed its target, raising a total of e4,495. The ICCL would like to extend a special thanks to all of our supporters (over 100 of them!):

On the Red Carpet

Senator Katherine Zappone and Dr. Ann Louise Gilligan

Erney Breytenbach and Vivian Cummins, who both featured in second place film ‘Hold on Tight’

Jury members John Kelleher and Kirsten Sheridan

Sinéad Kennedy with her colleague Stephen Plunkett from RTÉ Young People’s Programming

Guests Dara Robinson and Catherine Almond

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