film festival, PhD, Wild Things

What: The Human Rights Arts & Film Festival
When: Monday 3 June – Wednesday 5 June 2013
Where: National Film and Sound Archive, McCoy Circuit, Acton, Canberra

The College of Arts and Social Sciences is a proud sponsor of the Human Rights Arts & Film Festival (HRAFF) which will screen for the first time in Canberra next month.

The festival takes place over three nights between Monday June 3 and Wednesday June 5. The festival opens with the documentary In the Shadow of the Sun. The debut feature by British filmmaker Harry Freeland looks at the harrowing reality of ritual Albino killings in Tanzania.

Albinos in Tanzania are traditionally perceived as mythical beings: ghosts who cannot die; the embodiment of a family curse. Shot over six years, In the Shadow of the Sun is the story of a man who stands up to persecution, putting his life on the line to change the world in which he lives.

Audiences will also have the opportunity to see a coming-of-age drama like no other in Sally El Hosaini’s My Brother the Devil. A story about brotherhood and belonging, My Brother the Devil is a slick and energetic portrayal of migrant youth pushed to the fringe.

Intrigue, romance and revolution all come together in Canberra’s closing night film, Alias Ruby Blade. This action-packed documentary chronicles the tumultuous birth of a new nation in East Timor and the remarkable relationship between, Kirsty Sword, a young Australian activist, and the incarcerated enigmatic leader of the Timorese resistance in Jakarta, Kay Rala "Xanana" Gusmão. Alias Ruby Blade captures their incredible story and demonstrates the astonishing power of individuals to change the course of history.

More information

More information and tickets are available on the HRAFF website.