2019 North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival Expands
Screenings & Theme State-Wide

FARGO, N.D. (September 11, 2019) – The North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival is proud to announce that in 2019 the festival will expand the location and number of screenings for the festival in North Dakota, and will address a singular theme across the state.

The festival will open at the State Heritage Center in Bismarck on Friday, November 1. For the first time, the Bismarck festival will be expanded into two-day schedule with unique programming screening from 1:30 – 4:00 p.m each afternoon and 7:00 – 9:30 p.m each evening.

The festival expands to and closes in Minot on Tuesday, November 12. Evening screenings will take place at the historic Oak Park Theatre. Marking the first time the festival will be in Minot, relevant content from around the world will screen between 7:00 – 9:30 p.m.

In total, the third annual North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival will feature 11 different screenings and over 27 hours of programming in 2019.

The official dates of the festival are: afternoon and evening sessions on Friday, November 1 and Saturday, November 2 in Bismarck at the Heritage Center and State Museum; afternoon and evening sessions on Tuesday, November 5 at the historic Empire Theater; afternoon and evening sessions on Thursday, November 7 and Friday, November 8 at the historic Fargo Theatre; and closing on Tuesday, November 12 in Minot for an evening screening at the historic Oak Park Theater.

“We’re extremely excited by this year’s program,” said Sean Coffman, Executive Director of the Human Family and Co-Chair of the 2019 North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival. “We spoke to the communities about what concerned them, and this expanded schedule and united theme begin conversations our neighbors want to have to four of the largest cities in North Dakota.”

Also new for the festival in 2019 is a unified theme that embraces the entire state.

Beginning in January of 2019, community conversations made possible by a Consensus Council Community Innovation Grant were held. Groups in Bismarck, Fargo, and Grand Forks to determine which human rights, civil rights or social justice issue most directly concerned their community.

The conversations intended to develop community-specific content that would fit the needs of each unique community.

“As we had the first two years of the festival,” said Coffman, “we believed we’d be entering 2019 developing individual programs and conversations specific to a particular community. This year, the same unanimous concern was raised in every community in North Dakota: worry about deep-seated racism that exists in North Dakota. The idea of the ‘Deep North.'”

As a result of the conversations, programming for the 2019 festival has been designed to explore discriminatory tactics in legal proceedings against people of color, housing discrimination against people of color and other minority groups, and a conversation about the history of racism toward Native Americans and people of color.
The festival will also feature a conversation with community religious leaders about the role of social justice in the Church, as well as an in-depth discussion about today’s media landscape. As consumers of American media and propaganda, what should individuals be aware of and understand as we move forward?

Specific program announcements about panel discussions, invited guests, and screening films will be released in the coming weeks.

For the most up-to-date information about the location of screening films and panel discussions, join our mailing list at www.human-family.org or follow our social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Advance tickets for the 2019 North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival are currently available via Eventbrite. A state-wide pass for access to all films and discussions is available for $35. City-wide passes for multi-day screenings in Bismarck and Fargo are available for $25. Single Admission Tickets for individual screenings are $10. Student and Senior Tickets +55 are $3.

The mission of the North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival is to educate, engage, and facilitate discussion around local and world-wide human rights topics through the work of filmmakers and artist. The festival is a non-partisan event, and all are welcome and encouraged to attend. 2019 is the third year for the festival.

The 2019 North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival is made possible through the generosity of Final Draft, iPitch.tv, and through partnerships with Chamber Six Media, Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota, the NDSU Memorial Gallery, the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition.

#NDHRFF19