On the occasion of the award of this year’s Sakharov Prize of the European Parliament for Freedom of Thought to Ilham Tohti, we cordially invite you to the screening of the film Espero Tua (Re)volta on Fri, 6 December 2019 at 7 pm at the Brunnenpassage (Brunnengasse 71, 1160 Vienna). The event takes place in cooperation with the Information Office of the European Parliament in Austria in the framework of the this human world Festival.

Tohti is considered a proponent of dialogue and advocates the implementation of regional autonomy laws in China. He has been accused of separatism by Chinese authorities and in 2014 was sentenced to life imprisonment. Since 2017, over one million Uyghurs have been detained in internment camps.

Additionally, the film shown pays tribute to the work of human rights defenders worldwide. The documentary Espero Tua (Re)volta by Eliza Capai portrays demonstrators in Brazil. As the social and economic crisis in Brazil deepened over the past decade, students occupied hundreds of schools, protesting and insisting on their right to education. Told from the protagonists’ point of view, the film follows young people as they fight for democracy, equal opportunity and the recognition of a diverse population. Original footage of the protests between 2013 and 2017 illustrates the connections between access to education and the structural discrimination of certain segments within Brazilian society.

You can find the trailer here.

The film will be followed by a discussion with a panel on the topic of freedom of expression and the Sakharov Prize. Here we look forward to an exchange between Anna Müller-Funk (Associated Expert Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Fundamental and Human Rights) and Thomas Weber (EU Parliament).

The event will be held in English. Admission is free, available seats will be allocated on a first come first serve basis.

We would be pleased to welcome you at the event and would be grateful if you could forward this invitation to interested parties.