Ditshwanelo hosts Human Rights film festival
Correspondent | Tuesday March 15, 2016 14:33
The opening and closing films will be screened at Maitisong Theatre. The rest of the films will be screened at the Audio-Visual (AV) Centre, Maru a Pula School. All films are free for students who produce student identity cards.
The Film Festival aims to contribute towards the development of a human rights culture in Botswana. This is done by raising awareness about human rights violations and advocating for positive changes at national, regional, continental and international levels. Post-screening discussions focus on lessons drawn from the films and what they mean to us in Botswana.
The Film Festival will be officially opened at 7.00 pm by Mahube Mpugwa, Managing Director, Puma Energy Botswana. The official closing of the Film Festival will be by United States Ambassador Earl Miller. The opening and closing films are free for all. The themes covered by this year’s Film Festival include: Business, the Environment and Human Rights; Access to Justice; Music and Human Rights; War and Human Rights; Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Human Rights; Business, Poverty and Human Rights and, Gender and Human Rights.
Tickets cost P 30 per session. All films are free for students. Tickets will be on sale at Riverwalk Mall from March 18, 2016. They will also be available at the AV Centre, 30 minutes before the films are screened. The proceeds of the ticket sales will go towards the work of DITSHWANELO.
Post-screening discussions will be facilitated by a number of speakers including Leta Mosienyane, Chairperson, Botswana Business; Vivian Gunda, Lifeline Botswana; Zeus, LeGaBiBo; Dr Sethunya Mosime, University of Botswana (UB); Dr Gabriel Malebang, UB; Nonhle Mbuthuma, Xolobeni community, South Africa; Wilmien Wicomb, Legal Resources Centre, South Africa; Mary Dore; Dr Godisang Mookodi; Elsie Alexander and Lisa Frazer (the Young Women’s Leadership Club - UB) and Ms Rina van Rijsbergen (Amnesty International Botswana – Maru a Pula School). We thank the directors and film distributors. We also thank our sponsors and partners without whom this film festival would not have been possible.
These are AFDA Oodi, Amnesty International Botswana, Bean Bag Café, Duma FM, Fego, Fleming Asset Management, Khan Charitable Trust, Maitisong Theatre, Maru a Pula School, Multichoice Botswana, Puma Botswana Energy Pty (Ltd), Riverwalk Mall, The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, The Embassy of the French Republic, The Embassy of the United States of America, Vigosoft and Yarona Fm.
We would also like to thank you civil society colleagues with whom we shall be working during the film festival – the UPR NGO Working Group (BOCONGO, Kuru Family of Organisations, LeGaBiBo, MISA Botswana Chapter and Rainbow Identity Association) and Pilot Mathambo Centre for Men’s Health.
Ditshwanelo
Gaborone