Or you might find yourself surprised to be relating to a group of hardened criminals in Beirut as they put on the first behind-bars production of the play 12 Angry Men. As they go through the year-long process of rehearsal, the actors in 12 Angry Lebanese are forced to face hard truths about themselves and decide whether they want to change. The film offers powerful proof that, given respect and a chance to be part of something meaningful, most people rise to the occasion.
     Other films in this year’s festival show how media–both new and old–can influence human rights. In Granito: How to Nail a Dictator, Pamela Yates tells the story of how her 1982 documentary When the Mounatins Tremble was used as forensic evidence in an international war crimes case. Meanwhile, tweets are among the documentary evidence offered up in The Green Wave, a movie that combines interviews, footage, tweets and some amazing 3D animation to trace events in Iran following the 2009 election.