Migrants’ Rights Network at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival

The Human Rights Watch Film Festival returns to London from 24 March - 1 April with a programme packed full of documentaries and dramas set to inspire, inform and trigger debate. This year, in association with the Festival, MRN is proud to present two extraordinary films that highlight the issues facing those who leave home to seek sanctuary or employment elsewhere, as well as those left behind.

A poignant and powerful documentary, Familia sensitively observes one matriarch's decision to go to work as a hotel maid in Spain and the impact that choice has on her extended family in Peru. Working with a family they have known for over 35 years, filmmakers Mikael Wiström and Alberto Herskovits take an emotional look at the family’s separation due to economic circumstances, providing a unique insight into the experience of thousands of families who do the same each year. We are delighted that they will be present at the screenings for a Q&A following their film.

Olivier Masset-Depasse's Illegal also offers a personal story behind the migration statistics, albeit in a different way. Based on real events, this award-winning drama vividly depicts the harsh reality for those detained in Belgium's detention centres through the experience of Tania, a Russian immigrant who has been working illegally in Belgium for eight years.When Tania is arrested and placed in an administrative holding centre, shebattles a system with the odds stacked against her, fighting for her rights and her freedom.