The Martlet

What: Victoria Amnesty International Film Festival

Where: David Lam Auditorium

When: Nov. 21-23

How much: by donation

Amnesty International UVic is trying to open people’s eyes to world issues through watching movies.

The group has teamed up with Victoria’s Amnesty International community group to present Victoria’s seventh annual Amnesty International film festival, taking place in UVic’s David Lam Auditorium from Nov. 21-23.

Eight films will be shown over the weekend, covering topics such as civil war, HIV and the use of rape as a weapon.

“The Victoria [Amnesty International] film festival is the second biggest human rights film festival in Canada and allows for the opportunity to not only watch the films but to learn about what we can do as individuals in this time of globalization,” said Mariko Miller, who has organized the festival for the past seven years.

This year’s festival will kick off with the award-winning documentary War Dance, which explores Uganda’s civil war through the eyes of children.

Other festival must-sees include My Daughter the Terrorist, which looks at female suicide bombers and USA VS Al-Arian, a film about a Palestinian-American family attempting to fight terrorism charges.

In addition to film screenings, the festival will include guest speakers who will introduce the films and take questions after the screenings.

Local and international organizations, including War Child, Vancouver Island Human Rights Coalition and Positively Africa will be setting up information tables at the event, to offer information on how to get involved.

Both the UVic and Victoria community branches of Amnesty International will have tables where festival attendees can learn about current campaigns, sign petitions or write letters.

Admission to the festival is by donation, with all money raised going to Amnesty Canada.

A full schedule, completely with synopsis of the films, can be found at www.amnestyfilmsvictoria.ca.