HUMAN International Documentary Film Festival

HUMAN International Documentary Film Festival is Oslo’s largest documentary film festival and a significant forum in the Norwegian capital’s cultural, academic and organizational life, which engages and encourages debates about human rights and other social issues of current interest. The festival is a unique meeting place where activists, experts, filmmakers, artists, students, NGOs, think tanks, and a general audience actively participate.

 The festival’s film program consists of more than 40 new Norwegian and International documentaries, categorized in three sections:

• A competition program for new Norwegian documentaries.
• A competition program for international documentaries with a particular human rights focus.
• A curated international program consisting of new documentaries addressing a variety of social and political topics of current interest.

These films engage audiences and create a good starting point for debates and discussions. All of the festival screenings are associated with an introduction, a discussion or a debate.

The festival has also a comprehensive Live program, consisting of debates, Q&As, art exhibitions, theatre plays, concerts, performances and more. Every year the festival collaborates with between 60 and 70 NGOs, universities, think tanks, newspapers, and others, who contribute in the making of talks and debates and with their active participation in panels.

Besides the film and Live programs, the festival hosts a seminar for documentary filmmakers and NGOs, which addresses important questions about the future of social and political documentary. Attendees are human rights advocates from all over the world, who connect with Norwegian human rights organizations and audiences.

The festival also facilitates school screenings, with the aim of increasing human rights awareness amongst teenagers.