Shine Your Light for Human Rights

A series of 14 events across seven time zones spotlighting the centrality of rights to the daily lives of people everywhere.

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Shine your light for the Universal Declaration

4 December 2018, Paris

Paris was the city where the UDHR was adopted in 1948. Through the Mobile Film Festival, who dedicates its 14th edition to human rights, we shine a light on and celebrate the enduring universal and indivisible principles of UDHR – their contribution over seven decades and their relevance for the decades to come.

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5 December 2018 - About 600 people attended the closing award ceremony of the Mobile Film Festival on Tuesday evening and watched the final movies selection dedicated to #StandUp 4HumanRights, theme of this 14th edition of the Festival. These movies, shot on a mobile phone, were always touching, sometimes upsetting but sometimes even funny. All came together to raise awareness within 60 seconds on the state of human rights in the world.

The Indonesian film inspired the Jury the most and won the Grand Prix of the 2018 Mobile Film Festival. The mobile movie tells the story of Anissa, who falls in love with a class mate. The girls are caught by surprise and beaten, and Anissa is forced to marry a man she doesn´t love.

“My movie has already been seen by 200,000 people. I hope this prize will contribute to changing mentalities. In Indonesia, many… consider homosexuality as a curable disease and forced marriages are frequent,” says the movie´s author Barry Putta.

LGBTI and violence against women were among the most frequently covered topics in the 51 films from 19 countries which were selected for the Mobile Film Festival.

Agathe Ouedraogo, subject of Matteo Dugast mobile film, told the story of her excision at the age 9. Their film won the prize the special prize of the jury (Coup de cœur du Jury). The Hungarian film “Cycle” which won the Grand prix Europe tells the story of a girl who is too poor to buy personal sanitation products. The best scenario prize went to the Iranian film Maiden, which criticizes forced child marriages of underaged girls. The Grand prix France was given to Gohu and Merick, who focused on the migrant drama in the Mediterranean. "I'm not afraid" (Je n’ai pas peur) was shot in half a day, in a bathtub, where slowly a smiling little boy, innocent, full of hope to cross the sea disappears under the water.

“These films are all moving and often very courageous,” said the President of the Jury, Mary Robinson, President of the Elders and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. “Human rights are universal, inalienable and indivisible. They belong to everyone, regardless of nationality, sex, religion or opinion. And this message of universality is particularly crucial here in Paris, the birthplace of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights seventy years ago” she added.

“No one is unmoved after watching these films. They convey emotions from laughter to sorrow, wonder and sometimes horror. They remind us in a forceful way that there is still much to do to defend Human Rights and are a call to action,” said Laurent Sauveur, Chief of the External Outreach Service at UN Human Rights.

More than 22 million have watched the films selected for this year´s Mobile Film Festival, which is supported by the European Union, UN Human Rights and Youtube Creators for change.

Watch a selection of films

Discover the winners and all 51 standup4humanrights films.


  • I will respect your rights regardless of who you are. I will uphold your rights even when I disagree with you
  • When anyone’s human rights are denied, everyone's rights are undermined, so I will stand up
  • I will raise my voice. I will take action. I will use my rights to stand up for your rights.

people have stood up for human rights

We can all be Human Rights Champions

Tweet, Instagram or YouTube your action using the hashtag #Standup4humanrights.

Spread the word

#Standup4humanrights