Human Rights Arts and Film Festival 2018

Overview

For its 2018 edition, Melbourne's Human Rights Arts and Film Festival is starting as it intends to go on: with a topical film about an important subject that's certain to get audiences talking. The movie in question is After the Apology, an Australian documentary that explores the aftermath of Kevin Rudd's apology to the country's stolen generations — and the fact that forcible removals of Indigenous children have increased in the years since.

Leading a lineup that spans more than 50 movies and events, it's just one of HRAFF's eye-opening features from a program that casts its eyes across a broad spectrum of human rights issues. Other films of note include closing night's Last Men in Aleppo, which earned an Oscar nomination for its examination of life in Syria; local effort Guilty, an intimate portrait of the final 72 hours of Myuran Sukumaran's existence before his execution; and global festival favourite A Better Man, a personal doco from a woman coming to terms with domestic violence.

Or, viewers can ponder women's reproductive rights courtesy of the US-focused Jackson, witness the on-the-ground reaction to the Brexit vote in Brexititannia, step through war-torn Africa in This is Congo and tackle food waste in Food Fighter. Panels, shorts, exhibitions and a selection of movies for younger audiences also form part of this year's fest, which screens at ACMI, Cinema Nova, Lido Cinemas and The Sun Theatre from May 3 to 17.