Human Rights Arts and Film Festival 2016

Overview

Asylum seekers, drone warfare, women's rights and the environment are just a few of the issues under the microscope at this year's Human Rights Arts and Film Festival. With its main arm returning to ACMI in Melbourne (as well as a condensed program for other Australian cities), the latest edition of this socially conscious festival is sure to get audiences all fired up.

Kicking off on Thursday, May 5, the festival begins with the Australian premiere of Chasing Asylum, a confronting and extremely timely look at mandatory detention from Oscar-winning filmmaker Eva Orner. Other highlights include Sundance prize winner The Bad Kids, about at risk high school kids in the Mojave desert, and Prison Songs, Australia's first ever musical documentary about the inmates of the Northern Territory's notorious Berrimah Prison.

Audiences in Melbourne will also get the chance to catch a whole heap of special screenings, ranging from a selection of African heritage cinema curated by the Melbourne Cinematheque, to a special screening of The Pearl Button with a live original score by Dirty Three guitarist Mick Turner.