Human Rights Film Festival Mirrors Uncertain Future For International Geneva

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Since 2003, Geneva's International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (FIFDH) has put the spotlight on abuses and crises around the world. This year, the festival also reflects a crisis at home for International Geneva. Select your language

Generated with artificial intelligence. Listening: Human rights film festival mirrors uncertain future for International Geneva This content was published on March 28, 2026 - 10:30 8 minutes Sarah Toms

Italiano it Il festival del cinema sui diritti umani rispecchia il futuro incerto della Ginevra internazionale Read more: Il festival del cinema sui diritti umani rispecchia il futuro incerto della Ginevra internazi Português pt Festival de cinema em Genebra expõe crise do multilateralismo global Read more: Festival de cinema em Genebra expõe crise do multilateralismo g

Taking the stage to cheers and applause after the screening of Disunited Nations, Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, spoke of her anger and frustration over the failings of the global community to prevent widespread death and destruction in Gaza.

At the sold-out event, the discussion offered behind-the-scenes insights about the film that follows Albanese for two years as she documented violations of international law in the Gaza war under intense political pressure.

“International law is not dead but it's not [a matter of being] dead or alive,” she told the audienceExternal link alongside Disunited Nations director Christophe Cotteret at one of the most anticipated sessions of this year's International FIFDHExternal link in Geneva.

“It's an instrument. There's no point being romantic and saying international law is going to stand up with its sword, slay the evil in the world, and save us all. No, the fact is we aren't capable of exercising the power that we have, even in democracy,” she said.

External Content A film, a subject, a debate

The annual film festival – launched in 2003 as a“platform against indifference” and timed to coincide with the main session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva – brings together filmmakers, international organisations, human rights activists, journalists, academics, philanthropists and audiences from all walks of life.

From March 6 to 15, people packed into screenings of 54 films from 40 countries, plus the forums and community events that embody the FIFDH concept of“a film, a subject, a debate” as a collective way to defend human rights, raise awareness and inspire commitment to universal values.

“The films bring us to issues through their stories. Then we have this format of the forum, the panel discussion that follows the screening to make sense of the geopolitical challenges for multilateralism,” Laura Longobardi, FIFDH's editorial co-director, told Swissinfo.

For audiences, it was a chance to share in the lives, struggles and hopes of people dealing with the perilous state of human rights and international law all over the world – from the scars of colonialism and the plight of the displaced to violence fuelled by natural resources and the dangers of technology for democracy and mental health.

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