Freedom From Despair
A world premiere at the Amnesty International Film Festival
Here is an update for you to check out Amnesty IFF if you would like:
Brenda Brkusic’s feature documentary Freedom From Despair will have a world
premiere in the Amnesty International Film Festival which runs May 12-17 at
the DGA Theatre in Hollywood. Brenda’s film is the only student film they
selected and they are screening it among the professional docs. According to
their website, they are the “largest Human Rights organization in the world”
and the films that they screen are “powerful stories of human struggle,
sacrifice, and triumph – some of the most noteworthy and celebrated
documentary films made here in the U.S. each year, including many that will
go on to air on PBS, HBO, or other networks.” For more information, visit
their website at
FREEDOM FROM DESPAIR
Director: Brenda Brkusic
Music by Nenad Bach
2004. USA/Croatia. 90min. English and Croatian, subtitled. WORLD PREMIERE
FREEDOM FROM DESPAIR explores the untold history of Communist Yugoslavia through first
hand interviews, stock footage, news reels, and narrative recreations shot in the US
and Croatia. The film portrays the incredible journey of Kruno Brkusic, who as a young
man risked his life to flee from a regime that punished independent thought and
suppressed Croatian culture. In exploring the atrocities committed and hidden by the
Communist government of Yugoslavia, the filmmaker pieces together a shocking world
that lay silent with a generation of survivors for the past 50 years. The film is a
celebration of culture, democracy, and the abiding strength of the human spirit.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/filmfest/weho/2004/may14.html#freedomfromdespair
