‘Where Stories Fight Back’ – The Human Rights Film Festival Berlin opens on 10 April 2026

Berlin, 6 March 2026. The eighth edition of the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin (HRFFB) will take place from 10 to 18 April 2026.  Under the motto ‘Where Stories Fight Back,’ this year's HRFFB will present 24 outstanding international documentaries. The festival will open with the film Yanuni by director Richard Ladkani. The HRFFB is organised by Action Against Hunger in cooperation with Greenpeace.   

"With this year's festival motto, Where Stories Fight Back, we want to send a clear signal against the rise of populism. The focus is on films that address the pressing challenges of our time – from climate justice to global humanitarian crises. The aim is to reclaim space for voices and realities of life that are too often ignored," says Lydia Spiesberger, who co-directs the festival with Jan Sebastian Friedrich-Rust.  

Opening film Yanuni

The HRFFB 2026 will open with Richard Ladkani's film Yanuni. For years, the Austrian director accompanied indigenous activist Juma Xipaia in her determined fight for her people's right to exist and against the destruction of the Amazon. As leader of the Xipaya community, she survived assassination attempts and repression, and continued on her path to become the world's first Minister for Indigenous Peoples. A film about indigenous sovereignty, love and the urgent fight to protect our planet, produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, among others.  

Richard Ladkani and producer Anita Ladkani will be present at the opening.  A live performance by artist Gotopo, whose music focuses on the self-determination of indigenous communities, will open the event.