In 1996 seven of the nine monks from the monastery of Tibhirine in Algeria were abducted by rebels and killed, possibly during a rescue attempt by government soldiers. Ten years later, Etienne Comar began to turn their story into a film script – Of Gods and Men. A devout Catholic, Comar was fascinated, not by the execution of the monks, but by their decision to stand by the small, rural, Muslim community that they served [...]

Saturday July 17th saw the world premiere of THE INSATIABLE MOON – a kiwi film written/co-produced by Mike Riddell and directed by his wife Rosemary Riddell. They’ve created a deeply emotive movie and when you consider the difficulties they overcame you realize what a remarkable achievement it is. Mike’s novel – published in 1997 – is outstanding and controversial. It was based on his experiences working with psych patients in halfway houses while he was [...]

Many of us have grown up hearing stories about the holocaust through school, television, film, books and museum trips. There is a sense where sometimes it feels too familiar; that the horror of the event is just another of those tales we hear of the past and thus the horror of the catastrophe of the second world war loses it’s human face – a face of darkness and suffering. Shoah is a 9 hour catalogue [...]

Written By Jacob Powell (Film Critic) Reprinted with permission from Filmguide. For more reviews from the NZ Film Festival or more reviews by Jacob Powell, visit Filmguide. Chances are you’ve seen some of the shocking photographs of torture, humiliation and death that emerged into the wild from the goings on of the American military prison in Abu Ghraib, Iraq; or at least you’ve heard of these pictures via the media aftermath that followed their release. [...]

The Humanitarian Chronicle received this email regarding the New Zealand Human Rights Film Festival: Dear Human Rights Supporter “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” The Human Rights Network of Aotearoa is proud to present the fourth annual New Zealand Human Rights Film Festival – a cinematic event celebrating extraordinary people striving for success and achievement amidst the most difficult circumstances and conditions. 2008 is a particularly special year for [...]