KABUL - An international film festival kicks off in the Afghan cities of Kabul and Bamyan next week, with the aim of highlighting to audiences human rights issues and advocating against social inequality, injustice, discrimination, war and violence.

A total of 65 documentary, fictional and animation productions centred on the issues of human rights, in short- and long-formats, will be screened at the second Afghanistan Human Rights Film Festival, which runs 5-10 October. The theme of this year’s festival is ‘We dream of a red apple that is shared with every citizen of the world.’

“Creative art, particularly cinema, can contribute significantly in a war-torn country to efforts to achieve peace and social justice, as well as promote democratic values,” one of the event’s organizers, Yasin Negah, said at a press conference in the capital, Kabul, today.

“We received 380 documentaries, fictional and animation films, out of which we selected the 65 which will be screened during this second edition of the festival,” said another organizer, Sahara Mosavi, who is also an Afghan filmmaker.

The festival is an initiative of the Afghanistan Cinematic Club (BASA), and is supported by several national and international organizations, including the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). A five-member jury, made up of international film experts, will review the films and select the top eight on the basis of artistic merit and human rights themes and messaging. The winning filmmakers will receive awards and cash prizes.

UNAMA’s role involves the Mission’s Human Rights and its Strategic Communications and Spokespersons’ Units, which provide technical support and production advice to the festival’s organizers and some of the filmmakers, in addition to holding workshops – which will take place during the festival – focussed on various human rights issues and the role that film can play in relation to human rights, especially on women’s right.

“We have a long way to go for promoting the culture of film-viewing,” said Diana Saqib, another organizer speaking at the press conference. “Besides rejecting war and discrimination, we want to promote positive things in society through the films.”

UNAMA will also co-screen the films at one of its compounds for the benefit of members of the international community based in Kabul.

“We will provide a venue to screen the films and host question-and-answer sessions with the filmmakers,” said an UNAMA video producer, Ariadna Alvarado. “It is a great opportunity for the international community and the filmmakers to network and share first-hand their stories and experiences involving human rights.”

Of the productions submitted for screening at the festival, 24 films were produced in Afghanistan and the rest were made abroad, including several from the country’s neighbours, including Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Iran and India.

Ms. Mosavi said that another of the aims behind the festival was to create a safe-haven for filmmakers and artists of the region, especially those belonging to countries which may encounter censorship and lack of freedom of expression.

In this year’s festival, besides international and national films, another category has been created for students so that can have an opportunity show their work and gain exposure. The three best films from the students’ category will receive wider screening during the festival.

The first Afghanistan Human Rights Film Festival was held in Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif in 2010. That event was also the first film festival held in a Central Asian country. The week-long event screened 32 Afghan and 18 foreign films, out of a total of 200 productions which were submitted.