The annual Human Rights Watch Film Festival was launched yesterday at TIFF Bell Lightbox, with a private reception before the Canadian premiere of The Green Wave by Ali Samadi. Documenting the tumultuous Iranian presidential elections in 2009, it is alarmingly timely, with the world now watching the civil uprisings in Libya, Bahrain and Egypt.
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| Helga Stephenson, Chair, addresses the crowd. |
In attendance were a diverse range of people all out, not for enjoyment, not for entertainment, but to acknowledge that crimes against humanity are still being committed in this modern age. Neither is it a rare occurrence, with guest speaker Payam Akhavan, Professor of International Law at McGill University stating, "This is mass murder in slow motion".
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| Prof. Payam Akhavan speaks before the premiere. |
I am not going to beat around the bush. Attending the Human Rights Watch Film Festival is not a play date. But that does not mean you should miss it. We all occasionally need a reminder that we are fortunate to be living in one of the most developed and multicultural cities of the world. We cannot forget about the atrocities committed against thousands of disappeared men, women and children.
The Green Wave was a moving documentary, and as the credits rolled, many in the audience remained in their seats, silent and contemplative.