WASHINGTON D.C. — Kweku Mandela, grandson of the late Nelson Mandela, will join filmmaker Lekha Singh for a Q&A following the screening of her documentary Beyond Right & Wrong: Stories of Justice and Forgiveness at the US Navy Memorial’s Burke Theater on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 6:30 pm.
This screening accompanies the The Beyond Right & Wrong One Million Viewer campaign on FilmRaise, a new online platform that harnesses the assets and resources of top human rights organizations to increase the viewership of social impact films. This campaign aims to garner 1 million unique online viewers for the film, which follows victims of three devastating conflicts — the Rwandan Genocide, the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and the Troubles in Northern Ireland — as they struggle to forgive without sacrificing their need for justice.
From a $500,000 prize pot made possible by generous donations from Operation Kids Foundation and Share the Mic, partnering charities (including local organizations like Women for Women International, PeacePlayers International and Search for Common Ground) will collect $5,000 for every 10,000 viewers they secure for Beyond Right & Wrong. Other local organizations, including Pvblic Foundation, International Justice Mission and UN Foundation, will not win funds from the prize pot, but have pledged to promote the film and campaign among their networks of supporters.
Kweku Mandela, who directs the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, has signed on as one of the campaign’s charity partners.
“This film and campaign allows us to look at and educate ourselves on how, despite our differences in culture, gender, religion or wealth, our rights are something we all should work towards making universal for all people of this earth,“ says Kweku Mandela. “Until that is done, people like my grandfather and their legacy will never truly be fulfilled. It all starts
with dialogue and this campaign is another step in that direction.”
Co-directed by Roger Spottiswoode (Turner and Hooch, Tomorrow Never Dies) and Singh, this transformative documentary has won multiple awards (Best Avant-Garde Film in 2013, American Psychological Association; Best Documentary Film, Fingal Film Festival; Runner-up for Best Documentary, LA Jewish Film Festival; Social Impact Award, The Collective; 2014 Snowball Award, Cause Brands) and garnered worldwide attention since its initial 2012 release. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon presented the film to the General Assembly before they adopted a far-reaching resolution for the peaceful mediation of conflict.
“The stories broke my heart yet gave me enormous hope,” says Lekha Singh. “I hope this film illustrates the strength of the survivors and expressed the possibility of an alternative path towards justice, a solution rooted in neither violence nor hatred.”