WITNESS at Globale Film Festival Brazil

November 18-26, 2011, Rio de Janiero

WITNESS’ work on forced evictions in Brazil will be featured at the first Rio de Janeiro edition of the Globale Film Festival, from November 18-26. Eight videos, co-produced by WITNESS and local partners like Plataforma Dhesca Brasil, Movimento Nacional de Luta pela Moradia, and others, will be screened to illustrate the effects of globalization on the world, a major theme of the Globale Film Festival. These videos offer an inside look at the human stories behind the forced evictions of several long-standing communities in Rio as the city prepares to host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

Powerful images and testimonies, captured by local activists working with WITNESS, show how communities are unlawfully targeted and demolished by government officials, while the needs and demands of residents are largely ignored. Activists and residents interviewed in the videos advocate for the rights of affected communities to receive timely and accurate information, participate in the decision-making processes, and receive fair compensation and adequate resettlement options that maintain or improve their standard of living.

"Forced evictions in the name of mega-events" is one of the many themes that the Globale Film Festival
will explore as it aims to create a space for dialogue and critical reflection on the far-reaching impacts of globalization.

Videos to be featured:

1) WITNESS in Rio: Training Activists to Use Video to Fight Forced Evictions
2) Remoções: 'a expressão do mais perverso da nossa sociedade'
3) Terras indígenas não são para obras da Copa nem Olimpíadas
4) Remoções: 'como arrancar uma planta com raiz e tudo'
5) Vozes da Missão – Restinga
6) Vozes da Missão - Favela do Metrô
7) Vozes da Missão - Morro da Providência
8) Vozes da Missão - Vila Recreio 2