The War on Terror Film Festival takes people back to the gloomy days

Hyderabad: The ‘War on Terror Film Festival 2021’ has begun on October 1. The month-long virtual public event will feature about 20 award-winning films made over the last 20 years – that document abuses, highlight crimes, and satirises absurdities of the “war on terror”. Since the 9/11 terror attacks, filmmakers have also shined a spotlight […]

Hyderabad: The ‘War on Terror Film Festival 2021’ has begun on October 1. The month-long virtual public event will feature about 20 award-winning films made over the last 20 years – that document abuses, highlight crimes, and satirises absurdities of the “war on terror”.

Since the 9/11 terror attacks, filmmakers have also shined a spotlight on the wars on Afghanistan and Iraq, indefinite detention at Guantanamo Bay prison, torture, surveillance, and also the targeting of Muslim communities in the US and Europe. Such films focussing on the subject “war on terror” will be screened online every weekend from October 1 to 31.

With four films screened per weekend, each of these film screenings will be accompanied by a live discussion with filmmakers, survivors, actors, scholars, journalists, and resistors, who will reflect on the challenges of living through the policies of the “war on terror” and telling these stories.

“The War on Terror Film Festival showcases some of the most important films over the last twenty years that take viewers on a journey to bear witness to the devastation of America’s wars and security state. Together, these films paint a picture of the experiences of those who bore the brunt of America’s post-9/11 policies, as well as their pain, trauma, hope, and resilience,” the film festival’s website read.

The confirmed panellists for the film festival also include Edward Snowden, Michael Moore, Rory Kennedy, Kate Davis, Noam Chomsky, John Pilger, Laura Poitras, Dan Reed, Chris Morris, Amy Goodman, Jehane Noujaim, Glenn Greenwald, Alex Gibney, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, Mat Whitecross, Jeremy Scahill, and many others.

For the ones interested, the festival is entirely free and accessible at wotfilmfestival.com