Festival now in its 15th year.

The London leg of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival (March 23 – April 1) will launch at the Curzon Mayfair with a fundraising benefit and reception, featuring a screening of Larysa Kondracki’s The Whistleblower starring Rachel Weisz.

Now in its 15th year, the festival will screen 16 documentaries and five dramas from across the world, all centred around this year’s four themes - Times of Conflict and Responses to Terrorism; Human Dignity, Discrimination and Resources; Migrants’ and Women’s Rights; and Truth Justice and Accountability.

There are also Q&As planned with the majority of the film makers featured at this year’s festival following the screenings of their respective films.

The opening night film will be the Oscar-nominated Incendies, hosted at the Curzon Soho on March 24. Denis Villeneuve’s drama is an adaptation of the play by Wajdi Mouawad of the same name. Justin Chadwick’s The First Grader will close the festival on April 1 at the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton.

Ten UK premieres will take place at the festival including Luc Côté’s and Patricio Henríquez’s documentary You Don’t Like The Truth – Four Days Inside Guantanamo, winner of the Special Jury Award at International Documentary Film Festival, and Feo Aladag’s When We Leave (Die Fremde).

The festival will also host Youth Producing Change section of the festival which will feature 11 short films made by young people, presented by Adobe Youth Voices in conjunction with the festival.

The 2011 New York leg of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival is set to run from June 16-30.

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