Universiteit van Amsterdam Faculty of Humanities, Department of Media Studies MA: Preservation & Presentation of the Moving Image The Power of the Imaginary: The Role of Narrative Fiction Film at the Human Rights Film Festival Ruth Sweeney Student Number: 10849475 Supervisor: Dr Marijke de Valck Second Reader: Christian Gosvig Olesen June 26th 2015 The Power of the Imaginary: The Role of Narrative Fiction Film at the Human Rights Film Festival TABLE OF CONTENTS ———————————————————————————————————————— 1. INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………………2 1.1 Observational Overview 2 1.2 Aims and Objectives 4 1.3 Structure 5 1.4 Methodology: Legitimations and Limitations 7 1.5 Historical Context 9 1.5.1 Human Rights 9 1.5.2 Film Festivals 10 2. AN ANALYSIS OF HUMAN RIGHTS FILM ………………………………………………..13 2.1 Origins of the Human Rights Film 13 2.2 Ethics of Spectatorship 16 2.3 The Prominence of Non-Fiction Documentary Film 21 2.4 Interrogating “Truthfulness” 24 3.THE POWER OF THE IMAGINARY: A CASE FOR NARRATIVE FICTION FILM…..26 3.1 The Advantages of Narrative Fiction Film in the Human Rights Context 26 3.2 Reaching New Audiences 30 3.3 Utilising Emotional Engagement for Pedagogical Purposes 34 4. MOVIES THAT MATTER, THE HAGUE……………………………………………………..37 4.1 Festival Background 37 4.2 Overview of Programming: 2015 Edition 39 4.3 Narrative fiction films at Movies that Matter 41 4.4 Film in Focus: Timbuktu, Abderrahme Sissako, France/Mauritania, 2014 46 5.CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………………..48 BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………………………52 !1 1. INTRODUCTION ________________________________________________________________________________ 1.1 Observational Overview No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls. - Ingmar Bergman (1918 - 2007)1 Fig. 1, Ingmar Bergman in the 1970s, Source: Pressens Bild via The New York Times, 2007 The above quote, by the legendary film director Ingmar Bergman (fig.1), encompasses the idea shared by many human rights film festivals and their organisers: that the medium of film is powerful enough to tap into our innermost selves. Such human rights film festivals are motivated by the belief that, by penetrating our conscience, film is impacting enough to provoke change and therefore plays an important role in the global quest for justice.2 The notion that what is seen on- screen can be translated into “action” off-screen encapsulates the nature of human rights film festivals, and as Sean Farnel points out, justifies their existence.3 Whilst a number of human rights 1Ingmar Bergman as quoted in Marcel Danesi, Popular Culture: Introductory Perspectives (Plymouth: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers,2012), 141. 2Dina Iordanova, “Film Festivals and Dissent: Can Film Change the World?” in Film Festival Yearbook 4: Film Festivals and Activism, ed Dina Iordanova et al. (St Andrews: University of St Andrews Film Studies Department, 2012), 13. 3Sean Farnel as quoted in Alex Fischer, “Hot Docs: A Prescription for Reality: An Interview with Sean Farnel, Former Director of Programming at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival” in Film Festival Yearbook 4: Film Festivals and Activism, ed Dina Iordanova et al. (St Andrews: University of St Andrews Film Studies Department, 2012), 228. !2 film festival programmers, activist filmmakers and film festival theorists refer to this notion of the transformation of the viewer into an “active” spectator, I want to clarify that such festivals are not necessarily aiming to transform all those who attend the festival into fully fledged frontline activists. The purpose is more subtle: to alert consciousness, to spur thought processes and to shape opinion. In this sense having a viewer “act” may not mean that he/she becomes an “activist” but rather that the viewer becomes part of a growing body of opinion that can indeed lead to, or influence, political change. Unlike mainstream film festivals such as Cannes, Venice or the Berlinale, this transformative element is one of the primary features of human rights film festivals. Whilst the larger festivals may programme individual films, or smaller sections within the broader festival agenda which cover similar topics, film festivals focusing specifically on human rights issues are designated platforms for social advocacy. Such festivals seek to highlight the “social impact of film,” whilst simultaneously aiming to mobilise the festival goer into action by presenting films which expose human rights violations and social injustices.4 Film festival theorist Sonia M. Tascon observes, along with other scholars writing on the topic, that such festivals predominantly screen non-fiction documentary films over narrative fiction films.5 This suggests that the non-fiction documentary film is generally regarded by film festival programmers as a more powerful pedagogical tool than the narrative fiction film, and in turn is more likely to drive the spectator to act. Deriving from the fact that documentary is the predominant medium, film festival theorist Leshu Torchin describes the human rights film festival to be “a field of witnessing” whereby the programmed films should be regarded as “testimonies” and the festival audiences as “witnessing publics”.6 This analysis relies on the idea that the non-fiction documentary film, like testimonials in a juridical setting, embodies the essence of truth and reality. Arguably, the depiction of real people in the real world encourages audience members to engage on a deeper emotional level with the subjects caught on camera, and consequently the spectator is more likely to actively respond to what they have seen on-screen.7 4Cindy Hing-Yuk Wong, Film Festivals: Culture, People and Power on the Global Screen, (New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2011), 160. 5Sonia Tascon, Human Rights Film Festivals: Activism in Context, (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015), 7. 6Leshu Torchin, “Networked for Advocacy: Film Festivals and Activism” in Film Festival Yearbook 4: Film Festivals and Activism, ed Dina Iordanova et al. (St Andrews: University of St Andrews Film Studies Department, 2012), 3. 7Jeremy Lehrer, “Bringing Abuses to Light: The Human Rights Watch International Film Festival Focuses the Public Eye on Human Rights Abuses” in Human Rights Vol 24, No 3, (1997), 14. !3 Despite the precedence given to the concept of “truthfulness” in this circumstance, a number of human rights film festivals still include in their programme, albeit to a much lesser degree, narrative fiction films. If the presence of non-fiction documentary film at the human rights film festival rests on the assumption of this medium’s closeness to “truth,” then the object of this thesis is to examine the potential contribution of narrative fiction films in the context of such festivals. 1.2 Aims and Objectives This thesis will interrogate whether the inclusion of narrative fiction films in the human rights film festival programme contributes to the desired network of action, focusing on the differences between the way in which the two mediums, non-fiction documentary film and narrative fiction film, mobilise the spectator. Whilst a number of contemporary film festival theorists have explored the dominance of non-fiction documentary film at these festivals, currently there appears to be little published on the topic which attempts such a comparison. Therefore, in order to frame my analysis I will draw on the work of a number of scholars working in the fields of cultural studies and international relations, most notably Safia Swimelar who has published essays in favour of educating on human rights through fiction film. I will expand upon Swimelar’s theories, transposing them into the realm of film festival studies. This will address a gap in the literature of film festival theory. Furthermore Elizabeth S. Anker, argues that in many cases different art forms, due to their existence in the realm of the imaginary, play an important role in shaping moral principles and ideals that “lie at the heart of a culture’s robust respect for human rights.”8 In this thesis I will apply this claim to fiction film, suggesting that precisely because the medium is not shaped by the constraints of truthfulness as is the case with non-fiction documentary film, it nevertheless serves a vital role in human rights advocacy. Arguably, by reminding us of our ideals through fantasy and imagination, fiction film, like art and literature, can indeed nurture popular awareness of human rights abuses, promote “values and expectations” and encourage the active fight against social injustice.9 Following this line of reasoning, this thesis seeks to challenge the apparent choice made by festival programmers to prioritise the notion of “truthfulness” when selecting films for human rights film festivals. Rather, I will aim to demonstrate that ethical considerations, the messages films deliver 8Elizabeth S. Anker, “Human Rights in Literature” in The SAGE Handbook of Human Rights, ed Anja Mihr et al. (London: SAGE Publications ltd, 2014), 460. 9Ibid. !4 and the circumstances in which they are screened and contextualised, are of paramount importance. I will argue that the inclusion of both fiction and non-fiction films at such festivals allows the overall message of the festival to reach a wider audience, proposing that a more balanced combination of both documentary and narrative fiction film helps a human rights film festival to achieve its primary goal: to “educate, enlighten and mobilise” as many viewers as possible.10 1.3 Structure The second chapter examines in more detail the concept of the human rights film, briefly tracing its history and emergence as a film genre. I consider the ethics of cinema and spectatorship, drawing on work by Downing and Saxton who claim that all forms of art, including film, are imbued with ethics.11 I explore the set of ethical and political demands negotiated by both fiction and non-fiction films, when they are presented in the human rights context examining how this differs between the two mediums.