"Speak up 4 Human Rights" - the Documentary

Early this year, we got in contact with the "Initiative Mittel- und Osteuropa" (Initiative Middle and Eastern Europe) because of their project „Speak up for Human Rights! Use new Media!”. In three separate workshop weeks (January-May 2012) they discuss human rights with 30 young adults from Belarus, Germany and Ukraine. In order to form a common basis, the participants learn about the past and present state of human rights as well as about how to promote those rights. All of this is supported by the use of new media.

The consolidation of young, politically interested people, who are of the same generation but come from very different political and social backgrounds, is the project’s priority just like the realisation of human right campaigns.

After the first workshop week in Berlin was a success, it was planned to go to Belarus in March. However, as the Belarussian embassy refused our entry admission, these seminars will now take place in Ukraine. At the end of the project, we plan to create a 30-45 minute documentary which shows the progress of the project and portraits the generation, their living conditions in Central and Eastern Europe, and the limitations they have to face.

The film intents to document the project and its participants who come from different political and cultural systems and represent parts of our European continent. How do they see their joint future, what are their desires, hopes and visions for their countries? What kind of external powers are they facing in their daily struggle to maintain their grounds and their human rights? And how do they relate to each other, what do they talk about, what do they leave aside?

There are 45 big, internationally active human rights organisations. Amnesty International alone is supported by about three million people through funding or volunteering. The interest in human rights spans over all ages and country borders.

We will submit the documentary to festivals and broadcasters in order to reach the largest audience possible. Moreover, we will make it available online.

While human rights should be the basis to our all behaviour, they must not be suppressed by regimes – it is of particular importance that those regimes do not succeed in blurring or cloaking the view on the people of those countries affected.

The documentary of this project shows a small part which stands for a greater part that should concern all of us.

The will for change, the curiosity and the openness demonstrated by the participants created a special atmosphere in the Berlin workshop. It was an atmosphere of collective awakening in hope for better days, in which human rights will not be trampled on or the individual has priority.

As the project is still in its infancy, we need your support in order to be able to document the happenings and eventually make a film that creates transparency and draws attention.

The entire funding goes to the finalization/postproduction of the film, for which we will have to hire costly competences that we ourselves cannot deliver:
- Fine cutting
- Image and audio postproduction
- Coloration
- GEMA-free music production
- Graphic design

The required sum of 4.494 € is calculated tightly. If we achieve to raise more money, we will be able to guarantee for quality improvement. Hence, if we raise more than 100% funding, the money will go the following:

- Application and postal charges for international film festivals
- Allowance for animations
- Allowance for translation of subtitles to German, English and Russian
- Allowance for organisation of film production
- Takeover of smaller and travel expenses
- Takeover of insurance expenses for technology