Human Rights Watch Film Festival

This week TIFF is hosting the annual Human Rights Watch Film Festival. Each night a different documentary is screened. Each night also features a different human rights issue. Last night I went to see "Burma Soldier". Honestly, this was one of the best docs I've ever seen. The film tells the story of a Burmese man named Myo Myint who joined the army at a young age. He was appalled by the civil war, and eventually became an activist for democracy and peace. Most of the footage of this doc had to be smuggled out of Burma. Some of the scenes in this film were so shocking. I couldn't believe some of the footage of Burmese soldiers raping and pillaging their own people. Definitely worth checking out!!!

Tonight I went to see "This Is My Land... Hebron". This film was extremely eye opening. I would like to think that I already had a pretty good understanding of the Israel/Palelistine conflict, but apparently not. The film tells the story of the city of Hebron. In Hebron, Palestineans vastly outnumber the couple of hundred Israeli's who have settled there. However, this film makes it very clear who is in control. I have seen many documentaries that show graphic depictions of violence, rape and the aftermath of war. However, I found this film particularly hard to watch despite that there is no blood and guts. The hatred in the young childrens voices and eyes as they hurl rocks at women, children and the elderly will haunt my dreams for a while to come.