TORONTO – The 15th annual Human Rights Watch Film Festival, co-presented by TIFF  and Human Rights Watch, will feature a diverse lineup celebrating the power individuals can hold in complex social and political situations. The festival is an opportunity for both organizations to come together to recognize the essential role that compelling storytelling plays in helping shine a light on important issues, from citizen journalism in West Africa to the difference spoken-word can make in the Arab world. Of the seven exceptional features that make up this year’s edition, five were directed by women.   The film festival will run from April 18 to 25, 2018 at TIFF Bell Lightbox. Most screenings will be accompanied by exciting discussions with filmmakers, Human Rights Watch researchers, or subject-matter experts to spark conversations around the challenging issues featured in the films.   “In the current political context, we are elated to have such an empowering lineup for the festival’s 15th edition,” said TIFF Artistic Director Cameron Bailey. “We hope that audiences will find the exceptional resilience of the subjects featured in the films re-energizing and inspiring, a reminder that individuals can — and do — make a difference.”   “Our festival is a wonderful way to understand the world we live in, with its problems and with its heroes who never cease exposing abuses wherever they may occur,” said Helga Stephenson, chair of the Toronto Human Rights Watch Film Festival. “It is a celebration of the human spirit, and of the ties that bind us around the globe. From Africa to the Middle East, from Eastern Europe to the LGBTQ+ world, this festival will inform you, shock you, and inspire you become an active citizen as you meet some of the most extraordinary ordinary people who battle for human rights everywhere.”    Click here for tickets: https://www.tiff.net/human-rights-watch/