Over the next 2 weeks we at TakePart will be providing coverage of the 2008 Human Rights Watch International Film Festival. Any post that has the above banner will feature content related to the festival, whose films highlight issues that define us as world and prove how powerful the movies can be.

This year’s fest travels the globe taking us to Laos, the American West, Chile, Russia and many more places deserving of some attention. We visit the likes of writer Ariel Dorfman (pictured to the left), two Shoshone grandmothers and Russian independent journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

One thing that has always been interesting for me is watching the festival develop as digital filmmaking has developed over the years. When dealing with films that have important and unique content, sometimes the craft of documentary becomes less important, but with filmmakers tools have become more affordable and more transportable, sloppy filmmaking is becoming harder to let go.

That being said, there isn’t another festival where I consistently learn more.

Check back for our coverage of HRWFF 08 and takepart to check out the entire line-up!