By Carol Busch

Some of the world’s most powerful cinematic stories of struggle and hope will be told when Colorado State University’s Department of Communication Studies hosts the inaugural ACT Human Rights Film Festival April 15-22, on campus and at the Lyric Cinema Café in Fort Collins.

The festival is the city and state’s first-ever weeklong film festival dedicated to human rights documentary and narrative fiction cinema. The event showcases 18 curated films that cover a spectrum of human rights issues, from hunger, homelessness and women’s rights to the fight for democracy, GLBTQ rights in Africa, and art as resistance and cultural resilience.

The festival’s opening weekend at CSU’s Lory Student Center Theater begins Friday, April 15, with a 7:30 p.m. screening of Burden of Peace. From Monday through Thursday, films will screen at the Lyric Cinema Café at 300 E. Mountain Ave. The Harmony Library will also host a free community screening on Sunday, April 17. The festival closes on Friday, April 22, at the Lory Student Center.

Tickets on sale March 28

The complete festival program and schedule will be announced in late March. Tickets go on sale March 28 at www.actfilmfest.org. Tickets to general screenings cost $5 for students and $9 for the general public. Opening and closing night gala screenings cost $8 for students and $12 for the general public.

The majority of films selected for the first annual film festival have been produced within the last two years and are not available in wide release. The festival also features the recent and current work of local filmmakers and Usama Alshaibi and Kyle Rasmussen. Countries represented by the films include Yemen, South Korea, Russia, England, Guatemala, Switzerland, Mexico, India, the United States, Cameroon, Kenya and Iran.

The purpose of ACT is to expose audiences to aspects of life that are often ignored in mainstream cultural productions, enlightening them and perhaps leading to a more engaged citizenry. Screenings will be hosted by a variety of moderators who will provide context-setting introductions and lead post-screening Q&A, or “talk back,” sessions with filmmakers, film subjects and other experts.

There will also be a “Call to ACT” initiative, with more than 20 nonprofit and student organization representatives on hand before and after screenings at the Lory Student Center Theater to help connect film-goers to information and opportunities for getting involved in solutions. Call to ACT was inspired by the Boulder International Film Festival’s Call2Action program.

Keep up to date with the ACT Human Rights Film Festival program, special events, schedule, tickets and more on social media by liking the ACT Facebook page, following @actfilmfest on Twitter and using the hashtags #ACTfilmfest and #takeACTion.

About ACT

ACT is a production of the Department of Communication Studies within CSU’s College of Liberal Arts and inspired by scholarship made possible through the William E. Morgan Chair of Liberal Arts held by Scott Diffrient. The ACT name and brand were conceived by the festival’s founding sponsor, One Tribe Creative, in Fort Collins. All festival partners and sponsors are listed online at www.actfilmfest.org.

For more information, contact Tammy Brislin at 303-753-1883 or tammy@actfilmfest.com.