Film is a medium to normalise our varying perceptions of the world as well as to expose audiences to the events around us. A young Afghan girl defies the expectations of her family and expresses her frustration through rap in Sonita. A group of Syrian refugees chronicle their own journey traversing land and sea to find safety and freedom from civil war in The Crossing. Women in the Middle East protest the violence they experience around them even when society attempts to silence them in The Trials of Spring.

These stories are a few among the many selection of narratives screening at the 20^th anniversary edition of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival. The festival aims to bear witness to human rights violations and to create a forum for courageous individuals on both sides of the lens to empower audiences with the knowledge that personal commitment can make a difference. The film festival brings human rights abuses to life through storytelling in a way that challenges each individual to empathise and demand justice for all.

The Human Rights Watch Film festival runs from 9 to 18 March, 2016 featuring 16 inspiring, topical and provocative documentaries and dramas. Visit http://ff.hrw.org/london for all trailers and specific screenings.