Event: Human Rights Watch London Film Festival 2013
The Human Rights Watch Film Festival will take place in London from 13 to 22 March 2013.
Through its Film Festival, Human Rights Watch bears witness to human rights violations and empower audiences with the knowledge that personal commitment can make a difference.
In selecting films for the festival, Human Rights Watch concentrates equally on artistic merit and human rights content. The festival encourages filmmakers around the world to address human rights subject matter in their work and presents films from both new and established international filmmakers.
Among its 19 films, the festival includes Alias Ruby Blade: A Story of Love and Revolution.
“Alias Ruby Blade: A Story of Love and Revolution” by Alex Meillier
This film is the inspiring story of Kirsty Sword who, moved by the plight of the Timorese, risked her own life to support the resistance movement.
Using the pseudonym “Ruby Blade,” she smuggled video equipment, computers, and audio cassettes to their leader Gusmão, who was serving a life sentence in the notorious Cipinang Prison in Jakarta.
Meanwhile, the communication between Kirsty and Xanana became more intimate and through correspondence, they fell in love.
They ultimately marry and become President and First Lady of the new independent country of Timor-Leste.
Through archival footage, accounts from friends, and interviews with Kirsty Sword herself, the film not only explores their remarkable relationship, but also the history of a decade of resistance that ultimately led to the UN-organized referendum on East Timor in 1999 and the country’s independence.
Alias Ruby Blade will be playing on Tuesday 19 March at 21.00, Ritzy, Brixton and Wednesday 20 March at 18.40, Curzon, Soho.
