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The Hindu : While the world and his wife moan about the philistines in Bangalore, Alika Khosla, Associate Director of Breakthrough, which is bringing the Tri Continental Film Festival to the city, has a different view. “Bangalore has had a better turnout than Mumbai for the festival. There is a large audience for these films.”The festival, which Alika describes as a primary platform for human rights cinema from the global south, began in Latin America. “The first festival was in Buenos Aires in 2002,” Alika said. “The next year it moved to Africa. We at Breakthrough have hosted the festival in India since 2004. We short-listed 23 films out of a total of 130 films. These were then sent to an international jury.”The theme of the festival Alika said was “stories from the past”. The festival tries to put historical perspective to human rights issues. “The festival aims at building awareness and pushing beyond boundaries. We would like people to challenge prejudices.”The festival, apart from going to Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata, is also shown in educational institutions. “It is a way getting people to talk about issues, have a dialogue.” “It is Always Late for Freedom” by Mehraad Oskouei, Alika says, tells the story of juvenile prisoners in Iran. “The film deals with drug addiction, which is a universal problem. Then there is the fascinating ‘Movement (R)evolution’, which talks of the importance of dance in Africa.”Talking about the interestingly named “Hands of Che Guevara” Alika says: “The film unfolds like a Hollywood film. ‘The Devil Came on Horseback’ looks at the genocide in Darfur. This is an important film as so little is known about the horrific conditions in Darfur.”Alika says: “Though some of the films are disturbing, these documentaries are based on reality. While it is tough to face the truth, we cannot turn away from the facts. In the old days, documentaries were very didactic….More