We selected ten documentaries you cannot miss at the 22nd Seoul Human Rights Film Festival that will take place from June 1st – 4th in South Korea.

A Memory in Three Acts by Inadelso Cossa – Mozambique | 2016 – 65 min.

People who were exploited, dreamt of independence, tortured; People who had to murder another Mozambican or stay silent; These are lives of Mozambican who lived under and fought against Portuguese occupation. Testimonies of collective memories become ‘present’ in the movie. Memories sometimes haunt us and recall experiences of violence. Three acts of memories are now stretched out in front of us.

Schedule
Friday June 2nd – 19:30 pm
Saturday June 3rd – 16:30 pm

All live Olive by Kim Tae-il, Ju Ro-mi – South Korea | 2016 – 92 min.

Wizdan’s family needs a pass to enter their own olive farm. Under Israeli occupation, Palestinian olive farmers are given only few days a year to plant, nurture and harvest olives. Hadsan, a 2nd generation refugee, cannot enter the areas occupied by Israel because he was imprisoned for participating in Intipada. With the expansion of Israeli settlements, economic conditions of Palestinians are getting worse. However, resistance movement against Israel continues in the daily lives of Palestinians.

Schedule
Friday June 2nd – 17:30 pm

Free Cece! By Jaqueline Gares – USA | 2016 – 87 min.

CeCe was walking with her friends when a group of White people started an argument. CeCe stabbed a guy while trying to protect herself. Police and the press only focused on her skin color and biological gender. CeCe, a transwoman, gets locked up in a Men’s prison. Narrative of CeCe gathers people to stand against violence and discrimination that transwomen of color face. Let us fight for freedom of every CeCe around the world.

Schedule
Saturday June 3rd – 17:00 pm
Sunday June 4th – 20:10 pm

Trailer

Again Today by Eunseok Kim – South Korea | 2017 – 60 min.

Capitalists are stuffing their pockets by exploiting the disadvantaged. The movie shows hideous faces of legal forces and landlords, and how lives of the tenants are being demolished by them. Government hired personnel to tear down snack carts and a tripe store. Law is not on the side of the tenants. However, people stand shoulder to shoulder against the exploiters to protect their rights to freely do business.

Schedule
Saturday June 3rd – 20:50 pm
Sunday June 4th – 13:00 pm

Black Code by Nicholas de Pencier – Canada | 2016 – 89 min.

Black Code reveals the violation of information rights by governments. Surveillance unto Tibet independence activists, manipulation of the internet server, and SNS screening are just a few examples of state violence. At the same time, there are people who resist to the state surveillance in their own ways. is about governments trying to control their citizens, whilst people stand strong to protect liberty and democracy.

Schedule
Thursday June 1st – 17:10 pm
Sunday June 4th – 11:00 am

Trailer

Candle in the Wave by Various Directors * – South Korea | 2017 – 111 min.

The movie is about people who gathered at the square to demand resignation of the Park Geun-hye. They came for different reasons; their home is threatened by THAAD deployment, they are temporary workers, they want to revere the memory of ‘Se-wol’ ferry. While following the stories at ‘the square’, we may face a whole new scene that couldn’t be seen at first. Some unheard stories are waiting for a new square to open.

* List of Directors:
Stand in Agora by Kim Cheol-min – 12 min.
Cleaning by Kim Jeong-geun – 18 min.
Chicken in the Square by Hwang Yun – 12 min.
The Blue Butterfly by Park Moon-chil – 9 min.
The Outcry of the People by Lee Chang-min – 9 min.
Who said that youth is beautiful? By Kim Su-min – 11 min.
Thousand Winds by Kim Sang-pai – 14 min.
Feminists of the candle wave protest by Kangyu Garam – 9 min.
The Blue Whale Flies by Hong Hyung Sook – 5 min.
A Little Closer by Choi Jong-ho – 17 min.

Schedule
Thursday June 1st – 19:50 pm
Sunday June 4th – 15:00 pm

Half-Life in Fukushima by Mark Olexa, Francesca Scalisi
Switzerland, USA | 2016 – 61 min.

Half-life means the period needed for a radioactive substance to decay in half. It will take 10,000 years for radiation in Fukushima to go through two half-lives. Mr. Naoto decided to stay in Fukushima, because he could not imagine his life anywhere else. However, his life after the nuclear accident is no longer the same. Streets are now empty and train rails are overgrown with weeds. Nothing is, and cannot be the same.

Schedule
Friday June 2nd – 16:00 pm
Sunday June 4th – 16:40 pm

Trailer

Host Nation by Ko-woon Lee – South Korea | 2016 – 91 min.

Host Nation is about the lives of immigrant women in a military camp town. The movie focuses on women from the Philippines. Women who face poverty in the Philippines move to Korea with E-6(Culture and Entertainment) Visa. To acquire the visa, managers from agencies interview each candidate first, and then a broker conducts short vocal test and records demo tapes. Audiences can witness who are involved in this global process; the process that is hard to escape from.

Schedule
Friday June 2nd – 15:20 pm

Play On by Byun Gyu Ri – South Korea | 2017 – 83 min.

Subcontract workers at the SK Broadband, Inc. began a podcast broadcasting to deliver their strike for job security and improvement of labor condition. Their stories that are told on radio help us to sympathize with the difficulty of achieving dignity as a laborer. Audiences can have a peek into their fights by following their steps in the movie.

Schedule
Thursday June 1st – 14:30 pm

Forgetting and Remembering 2: Reflection by Various Directors *
South Korea | 2017 – 198 min.

In the movie, people remember the “Sewol Ferry” in their own ways. The survivor depicts the scene of disaster. Bereaved families tell how the Special Act on the Sewol Ferry was formed. Private divers explain sharp political conflicts regarding the truth. Five enemies of the Sewol ferry give more significance to recall the memory of the disaster. To build a safer society, we must ‘Stop Walking’ and start remembering.

* List of Directors:
Embarkation by An Chang-gyu – 27 min.
For Today, for now by Park Soo-Hyun – 27 min.
Diver by Park Jong-pil – 50 min.
Five Villains of Sewol by Kim Hwan-tae – 39 min.
Halting our steps by Ju Ro-mi – 30 min.
Touch of Rememberance by Moon Sung-joon – 25 min.

Schedule
Saturday June 3rd – 18:30 pm

To know more about this festival please go to the Festival Profile or to the Official Website.