Newsarchives of 2003

S 21 - THE KHMER ROUGE KILLING MACHINE BY RITHY PAHN HAS WON THE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS FILM AWARD

On Friday 26. September the federal minister Renate Schmidt awarded the International Human Rights Award of 5000 Euros to the film "S 21 - The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine." The extraordinary documentary by Rithy Pahn, who lives in Paris, opposes victims and perpetrators in the former Khmer Rouge torture centre "S 21".

Excerpt from the jury's statement: "Among other outstanding works of the highest quality the jury has unanimously decided to give the main award to the film that brings together victims and perpetrators of the genocide in Cambodia. This drama like situation questions most profoundly the roots of violence and evil. The jury was impressed by the commitment, persistency and discipline by which the filmmaker and participants forced themselves to go through the painful process of reconstruction of horrors that the human beings are capable of doing. The jury finds the film extremely powerful, disturbing, courageous and masterfully directed.

Rithy Pahn was very happy about the jury's decision and "would like to dedicate the award to all victims of the Khmer Rouge and especially those of 'S 21'. We made the film for them and also for our young generation. We want them to know what happened in our country."

OTZENRATHER SPRUNG BY JENS SCHANZE HAS WON THE "SPECIAL JURY AWARD"

The Special Jury Award was given to the film "OTZENRATHER SPRUNG" by Jens Schanze who lives in Munich. The process of resettling several Ruhr villages which have fallen victim to open-cast mining of brown coal is impressively documented in the film. "The people, landscapes and arguments are presented in such an empathetic way and with such strength of imagination in "OTZENRATHER SPRUNG" that maybe the people concerned themselves can only recognise the overall extent of the loss by watching such a film." (From the jury's statement)

 

Katja Riemann is the patron of the Perspective - International Human Rights Film Festival

We are very pleased that actress and UNICEF ambassador Katja Riemann is accompanying the festival as a patron.

The entire festival programme available online
From 26.08.2003 all the films and events of the festival can be found on the Internet at the official website: www.fitame.de

This year eleven films, from nine different countries, are participating in the competition for the "Nuremberg Human Rights Film Prize", endowed with 5,000 Euros.

Focal points in the International Forum this year are India and Pakistan (the homes of the two journalists and holders of the Humans Rights Prize of the City of Nuremberg, Mrs. Teesta Setalvad and Mr. Ibn Abdur Rehman), the conflict in the Middle East, and confrontation on film with the dictatorships of Latin America.

Apart from the Competition and the International Forum, the festival pays tribute to the creative work of two directors. We are presenting a homage in remembrance of the great documentarist and poet of the cinema screen, Johan van der Keuken, and a retrospective with films by the "filmmaker, writer and voter" Michael Moore (Roger and Me, Bowling for Columbine).

In the special series, "Docs in Europe", the European Coordination of Film Festivals and the festival are presenting documentary film classics from various decades, and from various European countries. In addition, the festival is cooperating, for the first time, with the Documentation Centre at the former Nazi Rally Ground, and is screening films at historic locations on the subject of National Socialism and Shoah. Another premiere is the collaboration with the multiplex cinema CineCittą, where classic "human rights films" such as All Quiet on the Western Front or Malcolm X will be shown.

The festival will be enhanced by the photo exhibition "Not" [Emergency], by photojournalist Till Mayer, and by discussions and lectures.

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