This spring, Denison University will present a Human Rights Film Festival with selections from the Human Rights Watch Traveling Film Festival. The films, covering topics of human rights in the current social and political global environment, will be shown at 7 p.m. on Tuesday evenings in February in Higley Auditorium. All films are free and open to the public.

Human Rights Watch, an independent organization that works against human rights infringements worldwide, sponsors an annual International Film Festival in London and New York. There, several films are selected for the traveling film festival, and Denison has chosen four of those selections to be a part of its Human Rights Film Festival.

"At times like these, it is important to engage students with larger human rights issues around the world," says the event's organizer Isis Nusair, who is a women's studies and international studies professor at Denison and former Human Rights Watch member. The film series is being co-sponsored by the international studies program, student activities, the office of multi-cultural student affairs, the office of religious life, and international student advising.

The first film,Occupation: Dreamland, from American filmmakers Garrett Scott and Ian Olds, follows a squad of troops from the US Army's 82nd Airborne stationed in Fallujah, Iraq, before the city's fall in the spring of 2004. Through candid interviews, the film depicts the disillusionment and confusion of an American soldier's life in a 21st century war zone.Occupation: Dreamlandwill be shown on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

State of Fear, from American and Peruvian filmmakers Pamela Yates, Paco de Onis and Peter Kinoy, dramatizes the human and societal costs to a democracy waging war against terror. It blends personal testimony, history, and archival footage to tell the story of escalating violence in Peru and how the fear of terror undermined democracy, creating a virtual dictatorship where official corruption replaced the rule of law.State of Fearwill be shown on Tuesday, Feb. 14.

The Education of Shelby Knox, from American filmmakers Marion Lipschutz and Rose Rosenblatt, tell of a 15-year-old self described "good Southern Baptist girl" who questions her school district's stance of teaching "abstinence-only" sex education programs. She becomes an unlikely advocate for comprehensive sex education programs after finding that her county has some of the highest rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. This is a story of political and social issues that transcends the red state/blue state division.The Education of Shelby Knoxwill be shown on Tuesday, Feb. 21.

Mardi Gras: Made in China, from American filmmaker David Redmon, exposes the inequalities of globalization through contrast between the festivities of American Mardi Gras celebrations and the production of the trinkets and decorations in poor Chinese factories. The film follows the stories of four young Chinese women working and living in the largest Mardi Gras bead factory in the world, located in Fuzhou, China.Mardi Gras: Made in Chinawill be shown on Tuesday, Feb. 28.

Denison University,The Human Rights Film Festival presentsState of Fear; 7 p.m., Tuesday (Feb. 14), Higley Auditorium (100 Ridge Road). Free and open to the public. Call 740-587-8537 to confirm information.

Denison University,The Human Rights Film Festival presentsThe Education of Shelby Knox; 7 p.m., Tuesday (Feb. 21), Higley Auditorium (100 Ridge Road). Free and open to the public. Call 740-587-8537 to confirm information.

Denison University,The Human Rights Film Festival presentsMardi Gras: Made in China; 7 p.m., Tuesday (Feb. 28), Higley Auditorium (100 Ridge Road). Free and open to the public. Call 740-587-8537 to confirm information.

Calendar Listing:

CALENDAR LISTINGS: Denison University, Granville -- The Human Rights Film Festival presentsOccupation: Dreamland; 7 p.m., Tuesday (Feb. 7), Higley Auditorium (100 Ridge Road). Free and open to the public. Call 740-587-8537 to confirm information.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

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