HRFF ZURICH | 10TH EDITION 27th March – 2nd April 2025 | RIFFRAFF

On the outskirts of Paris, there’s a circus tent, and in that tent lives a stern, compassionate, 21-year-old trapeze artist named Camille. Meanwhile, out in the streets is a stubborn, drunken homeless man. He’s the father of Spartacus, age 13, and Cassandra, age 10. After the government’s child services branch intervenes, these young Roma siblings must acclimate to life with the tough-loving Camille while trying to figure out what to do about their unreliable, reckless father, who seeks to leave the country. Firsttime director Ioanis Nuguet’s enthralling debut latches onto its creative, charismatic protagonists and tells their story in a collaborative fashion. The audacious, inspired result vibrates with life, deftly alternating nail-bitingly tense scenes with glorious, impressionistic montage. (CB, True-False Film Fest)

‘Spartacus & Cassandra opened the first HRFF Zurich in 2015. Still children at the time, the title characters are now adults and the documentary becomes a poignant home movie flashback.’ (Sascha Bleuler)

RE-LOVED There are some films we have shown at past festival editions that have never let us go. They have touched us, shaken us, awakened us and deserve - then as now - to be made accessible on the big screen: We proudly present: RE-LOVED - three unforgettable films from past festival editions.

Three members of an extended Afghan family start their lives over in Iran as refugees, unaware they face a decades-long struggle ahead to be “at home.” Nearly 5 million Afghan refugees live in Iran, often with such tenuous legal status that any unexpected event could lead to forced deportation, family separation, or worse. Starting in 2001, these three stories elegantly and movingly capture the plight of people living their lives with hope and joy, but trapped under a state that constantly threatens police brutality, administrative violence, and armed conflict. In their feature debut, co-writers and directors Raha Amirfazli and Alireza Ghasemi dazzle as a new voice in Iranian cinema. But the lasting power of In the Land of Brothers lies in the indelible performances of its actors, whose humanity lends a specific perspective on the struggle of living as a refugee in Iran — but that will be recognizable around the world. (SS, Sundance Film Festival)

On the outskirts of Paris, there’s a circus tent, and in that tent lives a stern, compassionate, 21-year-old trapeze artist named Camille. Meanwhile, out in the streets is a stubborn, drunken homeless man. He’s the father of Spartacus, age 13, and Cassandra, age 10. After the government’s child services branch intervenes, these young Roma siblings must acclimate to life with the tough-loving Camille while trying to figure out what to do about their unreliable, reckless father, who seeks to leave the country. Firsttime director Ioanis Nuguet’s enthralling debut latches onto its creative, charismatic protagonists and tells their story in a collaborative fashion. The audacious, inspired result vibrates with life, deftly alternating nail-bitingly tense scenes with glorious, impressionistic montage. (CB, True-False Film Fest)

‘Spartacus & Cassandra opened the first HRFF Zurich in 2015. Still children at the time, the title characters are now adults and the documentary becomes a poignant home movie flashback.’ (Sascha Bleuler)

RE-LOVED There are some films we have shown at past festival editions that have never let us go. They have touched us, shaken us, awakened us and deserve - then as now - to be made accessible on the big screen: We proudly present: RE-LOVED - three unforgettable films from past festival editions.

Daje is 17 years old and growing up in an all-black neighbourhood of St. Louis. She gets into trouble at school because of her rebellious behaviour and is summoned to juvenile court with her mother. However, her situation only gradually becomes clear when she sees the names of her friends scribbled on her exercise book - followed by an R.I.P. and a fresh date. With her boyfriend, she ponders whether they will also die so young; many of her male friends are already dead - gunned down by police officers or gang members. For two years, the directors accompanied their protagonist through her everyday life, which is characterised by stigmatisation, and make it possible to experience what it means to be young and black in America. (sb)

«A film that tells of structual racism, a story that is even more relevant in the day and age of US politics today. Daje is a character that shows us the battle of youth, the struggle to know where we belong, and who in the end, will protect us. The intimate caption of her story touched us and is therefore one to be re-loved.» (Josephine Tedder)

RE-LOVED There are some films we have shown at past festival editions that have never let us go. They have touched us, shaken us, awakened us and deserve - then as now - to be made accessible on the big screen: We proudly present: RE-LOVED - three unforgettable films from past festival editions.

In October 2019, Iraq sees the eruption of its largest protests since the war’s end. Khalili, a young film-maker, finds himself right in the middle of them and discovers that his camera is the most powerful weapon, capturing things he can barely put into words. Milo also takes part. As a woman, she faces many restrictions and dangers, eventually finding the freedom she has long sought by wearing her brother's clothes. She attends the protests dressed as a boy. Both protagonists are members of a generation that grew up surrounded by war and is now increasingly calling for freedom. (Dokumentale Berlin)

Mexico is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists. But courageous reporters continue to do their work regardless; without the press there would be no one revealing the extent to which crime and politics are intermingled. The judicial system hides behind claims of insufficient evidence to prosecute crimes, while journalists are the ones who provide such evidence. In State of Silence four journalists discuss their work. One of them investigates illegal logging and environmental pollution, while another writes about police violence against migrants attempting to cross the border. The risks are great, and threats are commonplace. Almost 200 reporters have disappeared or been murdered since 2000. A law was passed under President López Obrador enabling journalists and human rights activists to seek refuge in the US—but doesn’t leaving everything that you love behind you, mean the criminals have won? Some of the journalists return to Mexico because their work is too important. “When a journalist is murdered,” says one of them, “society’s right to be informed dies, too.” (IDFA)

In a home in Columbia, ten young women take a seat, one after another, and close their eyes. They are asked to picture Alis, an imaginary friend, and to bring her story to life in a creative dialogue with the filmmakers. Like the interviewees, Alis used to live on the streets of Bogotá. This imaginary companion is the seed for an extraordinary documentary format, serving as a reflective and delicate point of entry to the protagonists’ own stories. Alis becomes a surface for the projection of past traumas, or the travails of companions who fell by the wayside, and also for life visions and desires for the future. The imaginary friend is a blank slate for exploring individual ideas of freedom, as well as battles that have yet to be fought. (Berlinale)

«Alis testifies to the power of fiction to free itself from the ruins of a traumatic past. Honest, raw and courageous, the protagonists break with social role models. The unusual approach and sensitive handling of the stories make Alis an inspiring work that rightly won the Prix Célestine at HRFF Zurich 2022.» (Nina Oppliger)

RE-LOVED There are some films we have shown at past festival editions that have never let us go. They have touched us, shaken us, awakened us and deserve - then as now - to be made accessible on the big screen: We proudly present: RE-LOVED - three unforgettable films from past festival editions.

The popular quiz format TRICKY JUSTICE, moderated by filmmaker and illustrator Sarah Binz and accompanied by culinary delights from Afghan Anar, will be a hotly debated and puzzling affair. Come alone or as a team, prove your knowledge and win cool prizes! Registration until 22nd March at josephine.tedder@humanrightsfilmfestival.ch

Russian soldiers call home to their mothers, sisters and partners from the battlefields of Ukraine. They never mention where they are—because somebody could be listening in. The soldiers talk about the villages and towns they plunder, the prisoners they torture, the corpses they see. On the other end of the line we hear sobbing, or cheers … or just silence.
The Ukrainian intelligence service has intercepted thousands of phone calls since Russia’s massive invasion of the country. Intercepted shares some of the conversations that were tapped from March to November 2022. While the Russian soldiers tell their stories and seek support from their loved ones back home, the images we see bear witness to both the devastation they have wreaked and the unyielding determination of ordinary Ukrainians to continue their daily lives among the ruins.
While the extended static shots are crystal clear and serene, the short conversations are jumbled and intense. It’s a disturbing combination—one that evokes the sinister psychology of war. (IDFA)

Daje is 17 years old and growing up in an all-black neighbourhood of St. Louis. She gets into trouble at school because of her rebellious behaviour and is summoned to juvenile court with her mother. However, her situation only gradually becomes clear when she sees the names of her friends scribbled on her exercise book - followed by an R.I.P. and a fresh date. With her boyfriend, she ponders whether they will also die so young; many of her male friends are already dead - gunned down by police officers or gang members. For two years, the directors accompanied their protagonist through her everyday life, which is characterised by stigmatisation, and make it possible to experience what it means to be young and black in America. (sb)

«A film that tells of structual racism, a story that is even more relevant in the day and age of US politics today. Daje is a character that shows us the battle of youth, the struggle to know where we belong, and who in the end, will protect us. The intimate caption of her story touched us and is therefore one to be re-loved.» (Josephine Tedder)

RE-LOVED There are some films we have shown at past festival editions that have never let us go. They have touched us, shaken us, awakened us and deserve - then as now - to be made accessible on the big screen: We proudly present: RE-LOVED - three unforgettable films from past festival editions.

Hamid is a member of an underground organisation spread across Europe dedicated to finding fugitive war criminals from the Syrian government. Having also lost his wife and young daughter, Hamid was once tortured in the government’s notorious Sednaya Prison near Damascus, adding to his personal commitment to the cause. Now in Strasbourg, the quietly determined Syrian man believes he has located his former torturer, known for performing abhorrent acts on detainees with their heads covered. But is it really the evil-doer he is looking for, or is Hamid just hungry to catch a killer?
Told entirely from the narrative vantage point of its protagonist, Jonathan Millet’s personally affective Ghost Trail will hold your breath hostage and keep you guessing the whole way through. Millet’s documentary background shines through in the film’s confident minimalism, which – rather than fixating on high-tech spy gadgets or shocking narrative turns – is instead laser-focused on Hamid’s psyche as he toes the line between revenge and justice. After all, Hamid is not a spy but a traumatised and grieving man, the leading role performed with subtlety and deep emotion by Adam Bessa, who appears in almost every scene. (Rotterdam)

A Mongolian family lives in a simple camp of tents in the Gobi Desert. They make their livelihood by herding sheep, while the effects of climate change become gradually more noticeable in their homeland. When an extreme storm wipes out their flock of sheep, the young family suddenly sees themselves forced to move to the city, where they illegally fight for survival. A film that tugs at the heartstrings, inspires reflection, and tells the moving fate of a family using beautiful images. 'We often hear in the media that climate change is creating refugees. This film shows how - using the example of a Mongolian nomad family. Heart-wrenching.' (Christian Jungen, ZFF)

In a home in Columbia, ten young women take a seat, one after another, and close their eyes. They are asked to picture Alis, an imaginary friend, and to bring her story to life in a creative dialogue with the filmmakers. Like the interviewees, Alis used to live on the streets of Bogotá. This imaginary companion is the seed for an extraordinary documentary format, serving as a reflective and delicate point of entry to the protagonists’ own stories. Alis becomes a surface for the projection of past traumas, or the travails of companions who fell by the wayside, and also for life visions and desires for the future. The imaginary friend is a blank slate for exploring individual ideas of freedom, as well as battles that have yet to be fought. (Berlinale)

«Alis testifies to the power of fiction to free itself from the ruins of a traumatic past. Honest, raw and courageous, the protagonists break with social role models. The unusual approach and sensitive handling of the stories make Alis an inspiring work that rightly won the Prix Célestine at HRFF Zurich 2022.» (Nina Oppliger)

RE-LOVED There are some films we have shown at past festival editions that have never let us go. They have touched us, shaken us, awakened us and deserve - then as now - to be made accessible on the big screen: We proudly present: RE-LOVED - three unforgettable films from past festival editions.

A young aspiring journalist investigates his father’s mysterious murder within the boundaries of one of Kenya’s largest wildlife conservancies. As a ravaging drought encroaches, his quest to find the killer shifts as the collateral damage of a warming world is revealed. (Autlook)

Lawand is a Kurdish boy who has been deaf since birth. After a perilous journey and a year in a refugee camp in Dunkirk, with the help of a deaf volunteer his family settled in Derby, where Lawand attended the Royal School for the Deaf. As he grows up, the film follows his spectacular progress in learning British Sign Language, revealing a bright, charismatic and inquisitive boy who discovers friendship and a new way of expressing himself. Presented with great compassion and from a child’s point of view, the film is a true cinematic experience, showing how, thanks to access to tools of communication, Lawand is able to open up and gain self-confidence. (FIFDH)

A father and daughter meet in a white room. A single window to the outside world, with a view of the sea, provides some fresh air. An anecdote about a personal encounter with the queen sets the tone; a mental health condition with a stigma attached fills the room. Eleonora Camizzi asks her father with schizophrenia the questions she never wanted or dared to ask before. She uses film as her impetus. Here, in a visually pleasing setting with carefully selected props, she breaks a silence that has lasted for years. The interaction between daughter and father, between the director and her protagonist, gradually reveals the way the father sees the world, the consequences this has had for him in society, and hence the difficulties it has brought for his daughter.
What is it like to have a father who lives in a different reality? And what does it do to you if you have to defend your reality all your life? What begins as an interrogation about the past becomes a meaningful conversation in the present.

The British advocacy organization Hope Not Hate is on the front lines of the fight against the far right, investigating the working methods and finances of various organizations. For this, they regularly go undercover, because members of these groups only really speak their minds behind closed doors. Using hidden cameras and audio equipment, the Hope Not Hate activists film demonstrations, symposiums and closed meetings. They reveal how extreme right activists aim to radically shift mainstream politics, how communities are targeted and how media-savvy influencers popularize racial prejudice for a new audience. Hope Not Hate activists pay a high price for this work: their addresses are circulated among hooligans and white supremacists. Undercover: Exposing the Far Right closely follows a number of Hope Not Hate’s undercover operations. Activist “Chris” manages to gain the trust of the people behind a platform for pseudoscience on race and gender that tries to win over opinion-makers and investors. A picture gradually emerges of a well-organized far-right movement, with branches across Europe and connections to a political party. (IDFA)