Series

In Light Human Rights Documentary Film Festival

In Light Human Rights Documentary Film Festival is known for its dedication to promoting exceptional documentaries that engage a broad and diverse range of human rights concerns across the globe. The sixth edition of In Light will feature thought-provoking documentaries that navigate social and political trauma toward healing. From motherlands in Africa to historic struggles worldwide to narratives of individual struggles, each film promises an intimate lens into compelling stories of resilience and empowerment. Through post-screening discussions with filmmakers, scholars, and community members, In Light 2024 provides a platform to gain deeper insights into pressing human rights issues around the globe.

March 28, 1pm at Buskirk-Chumley Theater: Alien Island. As a wave of UFO sightings—and a military dictatorship—sweep the country, a group of short-wave radio operators receive mysterious communications from a nearby island and learn that a highly developed extraterrestrial race has arrived. Q&A with executive producer Diego Breit to follow.

March 28, 4:15pm at Buskirk-Chumley Theater: Eastern Front. Following volunteers in a first-aid squad on the frontlines of Ukraine, experience the team's drama, despair, fear, hatred, bitterness, love, and, most importantly, faith in victory. Q&A with scholar Anastasia Kostina to follow.

March 28, 7pm at IU Cinema: Ciné-Guerrillas: Scenes from the Labudović Reels. Told through intimate interviews, archival footage, and diary excerpts, discover the incredible and forgotten history of Yugoslav cameraman Stevan Labudović's mission to make films to support the Algerian anti-colonial effort and counter French propaganda in the 1960s. Q&A with filmmaker Mila Turajlić to follow.

March 29, 4pm at IU Libraries Moving Image Archive: No Simple Way Home. As peace in South Sudan hangs in the balance, a mother and her two daughters return home from exile. Q&A with filmmaker Akoul de Mabior to follow.

March 29, 7pm at IU Cinema: Between the Rains. With unprecedented access to the Turkana people, this moving and stunningly photographed coming-of-age story reveals the grave threats facing one of the world's oldest communities. Virtual Q&A with filmmakers Andrew H. Brown and Moses Thuranira to follow.

March 30, 1pm at IU Libraries Moving Image Archive: An Act of Worship. Told through the lens of Muslims living in the United States, this counter-narrative of pivotal moments in U.S. history explores the impact of anti-Muslim rhetoric and policy on young Muslims who came of age after 9/11. Q&A with filmmaker Nausheen Dadabhoy to follow.

March 30, 4pm at IU Cinema: Beba. A poetic and unflinching cinematic memoir in which a young Afro-Latina stares down historical, societal, and generational trauma. Q&A to follow.

March 30, 7pm at IU Cinema: The Taste of Mango. In this cinematic love letter flowing through time and generations, director Chloe Abrahams probes raw questions her mother and grandmother have long brushed aside, tenderly untangling painful knots in her family's unspoken past. Q&A to follow.

For more information, please visit the Center for Documentary Research and Practice's website, the festival's Facebook page, or the festival's Instagram page.

In Light 2024 is curated by Narmeen Ijaz and Khurram Sheikh of The Media School, with support from IU Cinema, Center for Documentary Research and Practice, Redbud Books, Centerstone, Muslim Voices Project, and IU Public Arts and Humanities Grant.