12th Karama Human Rights Film Festival concludes

AMMAN – The 12th edition of Karama Human Rights Film Festival, under the title of “Human Rights in a Virtual World”, concluded on Sunday evening at the Royal Cultural Centre.

This year’s theme examined the changes in structures and attitudes with the prevalence of virtual human communication. It discussed how current events, such as the pandemic, impacted “human rights’ values and laws”, while focusing on “our freedoms of speech and participation in the decision-making process,” the festival’s director Sawsan Darwaza told The Jordan Times.

The eight-day festival opened with a number of film screenings in the “Neighbourhood Cinema” for the second year in a row, said Darwaza.

The festival featured screenings of 53 diverse films from 28 countries, a musical concert by the Egyptian band “Emdan Al Nour”, and an exhibition titled “Conscience of Art”. 

The festival’s outreach programmes included “Karama Children” in Haya Cultural Centre, in addition to film screenings in universities and schools, according to organisers.

Karama involved discussions, meetings, and symposiums, such as “We Need a Meeting” and “Human Rights and Freedoms in a Virtual World”, said Darwaza, noting that “Karama” always creates intellectual programmes around “carefully chosen” films.

“We do that so we can examine the films with experts and provoke the audience into posing questions and looking for answers,” because the purpose of the festival is not to entertain, but “to advocate for human rights issues through cinema,” she said.

As part of the closing ceremony, Karama Feather Awards were given to winners within four categories.

Karama Feather Award for Best Animated Film went to “Night” from Palestine and Jordan by director Ahmad Saleh, and Karama Feather Award for Best Short Film went to“Cuckoo!” by director Jörgen Scholtens from the Netherlands.

“Fadia’s Tree” from Palestine by director Sarah Peddington won Karama Feather Award for Best Feature Documentary and Karama Feather Award for Best Feature Fiction was given to the Egyptian film “Feathers” by director Omar El Zohairy.

Anhar Award for Best Arab Human Rights Film, which has been part of “Karama” Festival’s closing ceremony for the last five years, was won by “The Stranger” from Palestine and Syria by director Ameer Fakher Eldin.

Anhar is an Arab network for human rights film festivals in the Arab world, according to its website. 

During the closing ceremony, ‘Karama’ Festival Artistic Director Ehab Al Khatib pointed out that the festival has presented more than 900 films from all over the world, over the past 12 years.