WLP’s Kyrgyzstan partner Bir Duino organized the 2016 International Festival of Documentary Films on Human Rights in Kyrgyzstan. The event, which ran from October 31 through November 4, is the only festival in Central Asia dedicated specifically to promoting human rights awareness.
The poster for the ninth Human Rights Film Festival hosted by Bir Duino.
The 19 films selected for screening were released between 2011 and 2015, covering stories in Afghanistan, China, France, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Netherlands, Peru, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Syria, and Uzbekistan. Topics ranged from human trafficking and educational rights to environmental health and child labor. Films were shown at schools, universities, and state institutions in numerous regions of the country.
In the spirit of the festival’s emphasis on inclusivity and accessibility, admission to the screenings was free of charge. Vulnerable groups—such as migrants, youth, and minorities—were encouraged to participate in discussions on justice, corruption, fair governance, and civil rights. These conversations aimed to promote a culture of tolerance and activism in ethnically diverse societies like Kyrgyzstan, which celebrated its 25th year of independence from the Soviet Union in 2016. Bir Duino dedicated the Festival to this anniversary in acknowledgement of the milestone.
This is the ninth Human Rights Film Festival that Bir Duino has hosted since 2007. As in years past, the goal was to make complex human rights topics more understandable through art. It also served as an opportunity to promote the work of documentary filmmakers focusing on human rights issues and highlight the work of human rights defenders.
Festival partners included the Embassy of Switzerland in the Kyrgyz Republic, the British Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and others.
Winners from the 2016 International Festival of Documentary Films on Human Rights:
The Grand Prix “For Freedom and Human Rights”
Daughter of the Lake, Peru
Ernesto Cabellos Damián
Best Film on Protection of Women’s Rights
Sonita, Iran
Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami
Best Film on Human Dignity
Zhanaozen: The unknown Tragedy, Kazakhstan
Julia Mazurova
Best Film on Protection of Children’s Rights
Migration Victims, Kyrgyzstan
Aigerim Berdibaeva
Best Film on Civil Right for Access to the Resources and Prize of Audience Recognition
Miners Shot Down, South Africa
Zivia Desai Keiper
Best Film on Civil Right for Access to Information
A Haunting History, South Sudan
Ilse van Velzen and Femke van Velzen
Special Jury Award
On the Rim of the Sky, China
Xu Hongjie
Award of the Human Rights Movement “Bir Duino-Kyrgyzstan” and partner network “People Changing the World” for the contribution to protection of human rights
Invisibles, France
Guido Freddi
OSCE Award - Special Commendation Certificate
for raising the issues of sex trafficking of women from
Cenral Asia
Slavery on the Silk Road, Georgia
Tsovinar Nazarova and Vakhtang Kunzev-Gabashvili
OSCE Award - Special Commendation Certificate
for raising issue of corruption and using torture in Kyrgyzstan
The Man Without a Past, Kyrgyzstan
Abdymomun Mamyraimov