JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The 2021 North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival & Summit will open for a series of screenings in Jamestown at the Arts Center on Thursday, November 18.

Three screenings will take place throughout the day, each free and open to the public. Seating reservations are encouraged but not required. It is the first time the festival will screen in Jamestown. Tickets can be reserved at www.NHDRFF.org.

Screenings will take place at 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and at 7 p.m. The feature documentary TETHERED: ARE WE THE EXPERIMENT? will screen at 10:30 a.m. and at 7 p.m. Examining contemporary society’s reliance and dependance on technology, the film questions and examines whether digital addiction is an illness that holds our communities in a vice grip. Following the 7 p.m. screening, a community conversation about digital addiction, and what we can do about it, will take place.

At 1:30 p.m., THE PRICE OF CHEAP will screen. The feature documentary tells the stories of modern slaves in textiles manufacturing supply chains and the brave individuals fighting on the ground against immeasurable odds to help them. The film follows a man named Joseph Raj, who runs an organization called T.E.S.T. (Trust for Education and Social Transformation) in Tamil Nadu, India as he goes on raids to rescue underage children from unsafe and labor-intensive factories. We hear from the survivors he has helped rescue, hear of their horrific experiences, and desire for education and change. Academics and social justice workers weigh in on why the issue of forced labor persists.

Recognizing that the economic disparities resulting from privilege and exacerbated by the pandemic are a barrier to engagement, in 2021, The Human Family and the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition have partnered to completely remove financial barriers to engaging with the festival. As a result, access to the festival’s programming is entirely free and accessible to all.

In addition to the in-theatre screenings, films and discussions will be presented online as part of the festival’s Virtual Cinema. Films will be available beginning midnight on Tuesday, November 6, through midnight on Thursday, November 18. Audiences can view the films on their TV’s with the Eventive app found on Apple TV and Roku streaming devices. Viewers can also watch or cast on their computers, tablets, or mobile phones.

“We’re extremely excited by the festival,” said Sean Coffman, Executive Director of the Human Family and Festival Director of the 2021 North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival. “The films screening this year speak profoundly to important issues currently being discussed in our communities.”

An official listing of all 95 films and community discussions is available at the festival’s website at www.ndhrff.org.