‘Meet the World’ – Join the Asser Institute at the Movies that Matter Festival 2018

Justice, violence, dignity, corruption, punishment, forgiveness, evidence, truth. Big themes that constantly need to be researched, discussed and visualized in order to be understood. Themes that are best explored together. To do so, the Asser Institute joins forces with the Movies that Matter festival, taking place from 23-31 March 2018, in The Hague. 

The Movies that Matter Festival annually presents a nine-day programme of around 70 films and documentaries about human rights and social justice, and serves as a platform for debate and discussion. Specifically, the Asser Institute supports the Camera Justitia programme. This is one of the festival’s main competition programmes, and includes eight films (documentary and fiction) on international law and justice. During the festival, 34 film screenings and over 20 Q&A’s with filmmakers and experts shed light on legal dilemmas, searches for justice, and the fight against impunity.

The Asser Institute and the Movies that Matter festival are both firmly rooted The Hague, city of Peace and Justice. Both organizations believe in the power of making connections, of reaching beyond one’s own circle, and of meeting others. At the festival, we aim to create a space where filmmakers can meet lawyers, where politicians can meet artists, where activists can meet academics, and where students can meet judges. Unexpected encounters that can help us to gain new insights and mutual understanding.

Camera Justitia Masterclass

Most importantly, the Asser Institute co-organizes this year’s Camera Justitia Masterclass, delivered by Kathryne Bomberger, Director-General van de International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), and presented by Asser’s researcher Dr. Sofia Stolk. In this Masterclass, Ms. Bomberger will talk about her career and the work of the ICMP, illustrated by excerpts from this year’s film selection. The Masterclass takes place on Thursday 29 March at 16:00h in the Foyer of Theater aan het Spui, and is free of charge. 

The Masterclass includes segments from the documentary Truth Detectives. The full documentary is screened before the Masterclass, at 13.30h, and after the Masterclass at 20.00h (tickets available from 8 March at the box-office).

Kathryne Bomberger has worked in the field of international relations, human rights, politics and conflict prevention for the last 20 years.  Since 1998, she has led the development of ICMP, which is today the world’s leading human rights and rule of law organization dedicated exclusively to helping governments address missing persons issues arising from war, human rights violations, migration, organized crime, natural disasters and other causes. She was appointed ICMP Director-General in 2004.

Camera Justitia Film Selection

Film is a very powerful tool to get us to think about the world, to explore the grey zones, to come to understand the struggles of others, and to gain new perspectives. Film can broaden our knowledge or have us emphasize with a personal experience. Some films in the Camera Justitia programme attempt to unravel a complex problem, like the root causes of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Others intimately portray how the law, or the lack of it, impacts the daily lives of individuals in for example Mexico, Japan or Tunisia. These films shed light on the bright but also the darker sides of legal systems. Law can bring justice but can equally create unjust effects. 

You can read more about the eight selected films in the 2018 Camera Justitia programme here. 

The Movies that Matter Festival takes place in Filmhuis Den Haag and Theater aan het Spui, The Hague. In 2018, the festival dates are 23-31 March. The programme will be announced on the website late February. Ticket sale starts on Thursday 8 March.