One of the world’s leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights, Human Rights Watch works tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep rooted change and fights to bring greater justice and security to people around the world. The annual Human Rights Watch Film Festival bears witness to human rights violations and creates a forum for courageous individuals on both sides of the lens to empower audiences with the knowledge that personal commitment can make a difference. The festival brings to life human rights abuses through storytelling in a way that challenges each individual to empathize and demand justice for all people.

This year’s festival is organized around four themes: Health, Development, and the Environment (Bidder 70, Bitter Seeds, Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare); Migrants’ Rights (Color of the Ocean, Special Flight); Personal Testimony and Witnessing (Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, Brother Number One, Little Heaven, Reportero, Silenced Voices, Words of Witness); Reporting in Crises (Reportero, Silenced Voices, Words of Witness); and Women’s Rights (Habibi, The Invisible War, Salaam Dunk).

Please note: The festival launches on June 14 with a fundraising Benefit Night for Human Rights Watch, featuring Kim Nguyen’s War Witch, an emotionally powerful drama about a 14-year-old girl abducted by a rebel army in sub-Saharan Africa. Tickets and more information can be found on the Human Rights Watch websiteThe main program will begin on June 15 with the Opening Night presentation of Alison Klayman’s festival favorite Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, an up-close look at renowned Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei and his ongoing battle with the Chinese government.