The Valencia International Film and Human Rights Festival, Humans Fest, organized by Fundación por la Justicia since 2009, has presented the official programming for your XIII edition. In total, in Valencia they will be screened between June 9 and 18 more than 60 films and documentaries international organizations that address the complexity of migrations and the right to shelter from an anti-racist and gender perspective.
“We have received nearly 400 proposals from many corners of the world. It has been a complicated selection process, but we believe that the chosen works respond to the objective that we have set for ourselves in 2022: addressing migration as a fundamental human right, showing diverse realities and experiences in that sense, as well as sparking a constructive debate about our attitude as global citizenship,” explained Majo Siscar, director of Humans Fest, at the event held this morning at the Diputació de València.
Mentxu Balaguer, deputy for International Cooperation of the Diputació de València, also participated in this presentation; José María Tomás y Tío, president of the Foundation for Justice; and Miguel Monkc, designer and illustrator in charge of this year's poster; who have agreed to point out the need for a festival like this to raise awareness and demand. In the words of José María Tomás y Tío: “At Fundación por la Justicia we are convinced that cinema is a fundamental tool for raising awareness and reporting because it reaches everyone.”
“The festival, which began in 2009 and has held 12 editions, has achieved a balance between the defense of human rights and the denunciation of their violations around the world, values that we share from the Diputació and that we express with the collaboration of the festival with a aid in competitive competition for social sensitivity projects in 2021. For the Diputació de València it is an honor that they kick off at the Palacio de los Scala and that different activities this year are carried out at the MuVIM”, stated Mentxu Balaguer.
For his part, Miguel Monkc has highlighted the importance of making migrant perspectives visible, as well as normalizing their inclusion in culture and society. Monkc, who migrated from Cuba to Valencia in 2019, has acknowledged that the commissioning of the official Humans Fest poster especially excited him to see that the festival defends “non-stigmatization” and “positive diversity.” “Through design and illustration I also want to contribute to a social transformation in that sense,” he concluded.
THE OFFICIAL SECTION AND THE 2022 JURY
Humans Fest consists this year of six sections in competition, which comprise a total of 62 productions from multiple origins, such as Spain, Lebanon, Peru, Bulgaria, Iraq, Greece or Syria, among other countries. Specifically, as best fiction feature film Seven films are competing, including the European premiere of The Pampa and the premiere in Spain of A long way.
For their part, there are seven proposals that aspire to best documentary feature film and eight to best fiction short film, of which three are also premieres in Spain: Better half, Footsteps on the wind y Us. On the other hand, seven candidates are vying for the prize best documentary short, Meanwhile he best Valencian short film It will be decided between eight films, of which three are documentaries and five are fiction. The latter are also eligible for the EDAV award for best Valencian short film script.
Regardless of the category, many sessions in the official section will be accompanied by a colloquium later together with directors and performers. Likewise, Humans Fest stands out in 2022 for its firm commitment to animation. Proof of this is that, for example, the closing screening will be the multi-award-winning Flee, which has been nominated for the Golden Globes and a favorite for the Oscars.
The winning works will be selected by a jury formed by 20 professionals from the cinematographic, journalistic and social sectors; such as the director Giovanna Ribes, the director of the Mostra de València-Cinema del Mediterrani, Eduardo Guillot, the journalist Miquel Ramos or the actress and activist Asaari Bibang.
“A LA FRESCA” PROJECTIONS AND MUCH MORE
The festival has taken an important leap in 2022, since it will also organize free outdoor screenings in three neighborhoods of Valencia: Plaza de Patraix, Plaza del Santísimo Cristo de Nazaret and Plaza Jardín La Ermita de Orriols. Added to this are 15 special screenings out of competition, like the winner For Sama for the inauguration.
These will be the prelude to different round tables in which key issues regarding migration will be addressed, such as war, persecution, reception or cinema's look at conflicts. This will be the case of, for example, Bring it to the people, a World Premiere which addresses how racism has conditioned covid vaccination in New York.
Likewise, the 13th edition of Humans Fest includes a photojournalism exhibition in collaboration with the Ruido Photo collective and 5W magazine. Under the title “Marked by Hate”, this exhibition addresses the social consequences of far-right speeches that fuel discrimination in all its forms. It can be visited in the Plaza de Manises, where it will remain from June 9 to 20.
A CINEMATOGRAPHIC EMBRACE FOR UKRAINE
Humans Fest, which is part of the Human Rights Film Network, has decided to give a space in its program to Docudays UA, Ukraine's international human rights documentary film festival. Usually, this is celebrated every year during the month of March in kyiv, but in 2022 it has not been possible due to the war with Russia. For this reason, the Valencian festival will screen two works of Ukrainian production and will also include a meeting to analyze the current situation of said conflict and the role of institutions and international civil society in building peace.
The Humans Fest festival, organized by Fundación por la Justicia, celebrates its 13th edition thanks to the support of the Generalitat Valenciana, the Valencia City Council, the Valencian Provincial Council and Caixa Popular; in addition to the multiple collaborations of organizations, entities and, especially, volunteers who have supported Humans Fest. À Punt, the Valencian regional radio and television station, is the official media of the festival.
HUMANS FEST 2022 SUMMARY IN NUMBERS
- 62 movies in total
- 6 competitive sections:
- Best fiction feature film (Humans Fic): 7 films are competing, one of them is a European premiere (The Pampa) and another, premiere in Spain (A long way)
- Best documentary feature film (Humans Doc): 7 documentary films compete
- Best fiction short: 8 films with three premieres in Spain (Better half, Footsteps on the wind y Us)
- Best short documentary: 7 films, among which there is a premiere in Spain (Igor)
- Best Valencian short: 8 films, of which 5 are fiction and 3 are documentaries
- EDAV Award for best Valencian short script: the 5 Valencian fiction films that also compete for best Valencian short
- Section 1 minute, 1 border: 10 microfilms made by students of the Comenius Center Educatiu
- 15 films in parallel screenings, including the award-winning ones For Sama (inauguration) and Flee (closing), as well as a premiere in Spain from Ukraine (Plai. A mountain path) and a world premiere: Bring it to the people.