'No Control' to 'The Uncondemned': A look at Must-Watch Indie films based on Human Rights

Every year, Human Rights Day is celebrated on December 10 all around the world. On this day, the United Nations General Assembly adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in the year 1948, which is a text that describes the fundamental rights of all human beings that must be respected universally, making it the first global enunciation of human rights and also one of the major achievements of United Nations. 

On this day, many governmental and non-governmental organisations that are active in the human rights sector schedule special events to commemorate the day, as many civil and social-cause organisations do. As we celebrate the special day, here we have curated a list of must-watch indie films that are based on human rights. 

Indie films based on Human Rights

Beasts of No Nation 

Helmed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, the powerful film showcases thousands of children, as young as eight-years-old, who are used as soldiers in armed conflicts in all the countries. It is based on the 2005's novel with the same title and gives uncompromising glimpses of the brutal world of civil conflict, violence, dehumanization, and child abuse. 

No control

Helmed by Jessica Solce, the film addresses the efficacy of gun laws and the debate between personal freedom and public safety in a candid discussion of one of the most complex and important issues in American history. 

Sonita 

In the film, filmmaker Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami shows a journey of a determined Afghan teenager who overcomes living as a refugee in Iran, where female singers are banned from singing solo. It shows how her family members plan to sell her into marriage to follow her dreams of becoming a rapper. 

Hooligan Sparrow

Penned, directed and produced by Nanfu Wang, Hooligan Sparrow revolves around a Chinese activist Ye Haiyan aka Hooligan Sparrow, as she protests against a school headmaster who sexually abuses young girls, leading both the director and Sparrow to become targets of government intimidation. 

Growing Up Coy

Directed by Eric Juhola, Growing Up Coy sensitively essays the struggles of a Colorado family in the US, who take on a highly publicized legal battle to fight for their six-year-old transgender daughter’s rights to use the girls’ bathroom.

The Crossing

Filmmaker George Kurian tries to essay the journey of a group of middle-class Syrian families who are forced into harsh choices in a desperate bid for freedom. It shows them looking for home and hope across a sea and five countries, making it to Europe. 

When Two Worlds Collide

2016's release When Two Worlds Collide is helmed by Mathew Orzel, Heidi Brandenburg. It focuses on the dramatic standoffs between indigenous Amazonians and the Peruvian government's intent on exploiting their resource-rich ancestral lands.

The Uncondemned

Directed by Michele Mitchell, Nick Louvel, The Uncondemned is a captivating portrayal of a young group of lawyers and activists who fought to have rape recognized as a war crime in a landmark trial in Rwanda, East Africa. 

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