Young activists have always collaborated with the festival team. They become volunteers, participants of the festival components, as well as leading experts on human rights today. We are proud of the young horizontal, participating Leadership in the format of Art and Human Rights.
We do remember 2007, the year of persecution of activists, journalists, and dissidents… We remember that all participants of a peaceful rally at Ala Too square were captured by the police, forcibly put in different police cars and taken somewhere... And it was a closed, old building of the MoI reception center near the "old market"...
Four women human rights defenders and more than 25 young leaders, members of the youth movement "I don't Believe" experienced different kinds of humiliation, equivalent to torture... "All the actions against falsification of the parliamentary elections results were interrupted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the participants of the actions were arrested, they were imprisoned for several days, administrative fines from 1,000 to 2,000 soms were imposed on them. The trials of the detainees were held behind closed doors, without the participation of lawyers and the media, as well as their relatives"
It was then that the idea arose to organize a festival of documentaries on human rights in order to widely spread the truth through documentaries, discuss the reasons for the persecution of dissidents, find alternatives to ensure expanding civic participation and broad monitoring of violations of human rights and freedoms in Kyrgyzstan. Every year, fans and viewers of the festival watch more than 30 documentary stories not only from the Central Asian region. After the screenings, they discuss documentaries from around the world to promote the universality and values of human rights and freedoms, promoting partnership and horizontal leadership to each other through solidarity networks.
A small festival conducted in 2007, today has become a broad pluralistic platform, working at the levels from local to global, bringing together talented people, activists, human rights defenders, leading human rights experts from around the world. The pandemic could not prevent the organization and holding of the Fest-2020, thanks to the TV1 team. We used their website to conduct the Fest-2020 program, which was successful and inspiring.
The Fest-2021 program brought together talented documentary filmmakers, young filmmakers with innovative ideas and new approaches to the preparation of the Fest-2021 program, including analysis of both systemic and new global risks, conflicts and disasters, such as COVID-19.
Radical climate changes negatively affect vulnerable groups, such as women and children. In Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, people living in risk zones have been suffering for 30 years from the "legacy" of the Soviet past. There are more than 92 uranium tailings storage sites in the KR, and the city of Mailuu Suu is listed among the 10 most dangerous places in the world.
We understand radical global challenges, risks and conflicts, we know and see gaps between people and key decision makers, we responsibly declare that horizontal, participatory Leadership and equal access of citizens to politics and resources, the values of human rights and freedoms will save our planet and each of us.
Together, for positive changes and sustainable development! Good luck to the Festival-2021 Human Rights During the Period of Risks and Disasters! We are waiting for you, dear partners, fans and viewers of documentaries on human rights!