In response to cinema closures affecting cinemas and human rights film festivals across the globe, our friends at Together Films have created #StayHomeWatchTogether: a cornucopia of powerful films and discussions curated by a dedicated group of impact producers, distributors and documentarists.
From April 14th – April 30th, the #StayHomeWatchTogether programme offers viewers across the globe daily online screenings and Q&As or panel discussions with film directors and producers. Below are our top picks from this impressive line-up.
Head to the website for the full list: stayhomewatchtogether – and remember to spread the word!
Sat 18 April | The Rescue List
In a hidden safehouse in the Ghanaian forest, social workers help two children recover from a childhood enslaved to fishermen on Lake Volta – the largest man-made lake on Earth.
Sun 19 April | All the Time in the World
In one of our “sleeper hits” from TOAFF16, three kids (aged 10, 8 and 5) spend nine months self-isolating with their family in the Yukon wilderness over a long northern winter, choosing isolation in a small cabin. With no friends, no internet, no phone, no electricity and no clocks, they never once said, “I’m bored”. Find out why
Mon 20 Apr | Cooked: Survival by Zip Code
This fascinating documentary offers a searing exploration of the politics of “disaster,” blending investigative reporting about the deadly 1995 Chicago heat wave with a potent argument that the best preparation for a disaster may start with investing in racial and economic justice.
Wed 22 April | Water Warriors
When an energy company begins searching for natural gas in New Brunswick, Canada, indigenous and white families unite to drive out the company in a campaign to protect their water and way of life.
Fri 24 April | For Sama
A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her.
Sun April 26 | Activized
A powerful new documentary following six first-time activists working on gun violence prevention, voting rights & immigrants’ rights. ‘In the short ten months that @AMarch4OurLives has existed over 60 gun laws have been passed by young people. We have a lot to say, we are powerful and we are enacting change’ – Vikiana Petit-Homme
Mon April 27 | Your Turn
When Brazil’s crisis deepened, students protested and occupied hundreds of schools, demanding better public education. The film depicts the Brazilian student movement from the protests of 2013 until the election of the new president, Jair Bolsonaro, in 2018.
Tues 28 April | Sumercé
Sumercé follows veteran activist Don Eduardo, rising political leader César Pachón and agricultural educator Rosita as they fight their government’s decision to allow companies to carve up the campesinos birthright in rural Colombia and the country’s access to fresh water.
Tues 28 April | Cine São Paolo
Directed by Felipe Tomazelli and Ricardo Martensen, Cine São Paulo thrills and delights. It is difficult, during its 78 minutes, not to manage two feelings: enchantment by Mr. Chico’s passion for the theatre, which has a strong affective memory; and the air of resistance that arises, along the edges, from the protagonist’s act of overlapping the media that seems to swallow the art of going to the cinema. Two strong and complimentary feelings.
Wed 29 April | The Edge of Democracy
A cautionary tale for these times of democracy in crisis, the personal and political fuse to explore one of the most dramatic periods in Brazilian history. Combining unprecedented access to leaders past and present, including Presidents Dilma Rousseff and Lula da Silva, with accounts of her own family’s complex past, filmmaker Petra Costa (ELENA) witnesses their rise and fall and the tragically polarised nation that remains.
Thur 30 April | Enough with Catcalling
Were cities made for women? Raquel, Rosa and Teresa live in three different Brazilian cities. Through activism, art and poetry, their story proposes new ways of living in the public space.