Since Amnesty Intl. was founded in 1961 there has been, sadly, no shortage of filmmakers who have been killed or persecuted because of their work. Sixty years on, that danger remains.
In 1975 poet-turned-director Pierpaolo Pasolini was murdered in Italy, possibly by the country’s secret services. More recently, in 2012, filmmaker and activist Bassel Shehadeh was gunned down in Syria by the military, which then prevented his friends from attending the funeral. Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen, for whom Amnesty mounted a strong protest campaign, was put behind bars in China due to his 2008 documentary “Leaving Fear Behind.” He was released in 2014 after serving a six-year sentence.
There are, of course, many more cases.
Recently the Italian branch of Amnesty supported distribution in Italy of “Nasrin,” the clandestinely filmed documentary about Iranian human-rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who is serving a 38-year sentence for alleged offenses including “propaganda against the state.” She was “promoting causes of political prisoners,...
In 1975 poet-turned-director Pierpaolo Pasolini was murdered in Italy, possibly by the country’s secret services. More recently, in 2012, filmmaker and activist Bassel Shehadeh was gunned down in Syria by the military, which then prevented his friends from attending the funeral. Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen, for whom Amnesty mounted a strong protest campaign, was put behind bars in China due to his 2008 documentary “Leaving Fear Behind.” He was released in 2014 after serving a six-year sentence.
There are, of course, many more cases.
Recently the Italian branch of Amnesty supported distribution in Italy of “Nasrin,” the clandestinely filmed documentary about Iranian human-rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who is serving a 38-year sentence for alleged offenses including “propaganda against the state.” She was “promoting causes of political prisoners,...
- 7/17/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
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