Tuesday 3 February from 15h00 to 17h30
Palais des Nations, room XI
1211 Geneva
We Are The Giant is a gripping documentary film that explores the vital work of human rights defenders in Syria, Bahrain and Libya and the risks and threats they face in their struggle for justice.
We are privileged to host this exclusive diplomatic screening in Geneva with the presence of one of the film's protagonists, Maryam Al-Khawaja, a prominent Bahraini human rights defender who has faced threats, intimidation and imprisonment because of her work.
A panel discussion with Ms Al-Khawaja, together with Nedal Al-Salman of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, will immediately follow the film screening.
ABOUT THE FILM
Since late 2010, more than a dozen nations have experienced popular uprisings that have collectively been called the Arab Spring.
What does it mean to take part in a collective action that has the potential to unseat dictators and bring previously undreamt-of freedoms to a people?
We Are The Giant explores this question through a series of insightful activist portraits: Osama describes how his 21-year-old, Virginia-raised son, Muhannad, fought against Gaddafi's forces in Benghazi. Ghassan and Motaz remain committed to peaceful resistance even as Syria descends into ever-more-hopeless violence. Sisters Maryam and Zainab become pivotal opposition figures while their father suffers in a Bahrain prison.
These stories, underscored by echoes from other human rights heroes—ranging from Mahatma Gandhi to Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela to Aung San Suu Kyi—illustrate what drives human rights defenders and reveal the sacrifices they must make to pursue their causes.
Directed by Greg Barker
Produced by John Battsek, Julie Goldman and Greg Barker
Co-Produced by Razan Ghalayini
Line Producer Diane Becker
