Document 4 @ the GFT

A few weeks ago I spent a weekend at Document, the International Human Rights Film Festival at the Glasgow Film Theatre. It might not sound like a bright and cheerful way to spend several hours of your time and, er, that's because it wasn't.

Don't get me wrong, there were some well-made films and a number of not-so-well-made films, but the majority of them were at least interesting in some way. But of course, with a subject like that, you just know that no matter how good the films are you're going to come out depressed, especially after watching two days' worth.

The very mention of "human rights" tells you it's going to be depressing - because, after all, how often do you hear the phrase in conjunction with anything positive? Nope, it's always about human rights being removed, infringed, denied, etc. - never about someone doing a lot of good work for human rights, or a country having an excellent human rights record.

Nevertheless, being the cinema-addicted junkie that I am, and having a bent for filling up my schedule these last couple of months with festival after festival, I went along anyway, armed with weekend pass. At £30 for unlimited access to all the films, it was good value, but there can't have been too many sold judging by how empty a lot of the screenings were. I guess it comes back to the depressing subject matter - not everyone's idea of a fun weekend.

And what of the films? Well, I personally saw:

• A RELUCTANT SILENCE - a short film illustrating one man's struggle with aphasia, shot in an original and effective blend of interview and special effects
• I AM DEAF - part heartwarming and part heartbreaking study of the lives of various deaf people and how they have overcome their affliction
• DARFUR DIARIES - documentary on the current situation in Darfur which unfortunately suffers through its rather scattershot approach to the issue
• OUR HOUSE - Award-winning documentary about a group of people with various disabilities and their relationship to each other and the volunteers who help at the home. It's a fascinating and sometimes saddening insight but at times comes dangerously close to an invasion of privacy for my liking.
• RADOVAN KARADZIC - MOST WANTED? is about the man who was, at one time, the most wanted man for war crimes during the Balkan conflict. Interestingly, the film points out that he could have been caught before now but has not, and questions whether there is any truth in the rumour that he did an underhand deal with the international community to avoid capture.
• UNSER AMERICA is a German-made documentary following a quest to locate two former female guerillas who fought in Nicaragua to see if things are really so much better two decades afterwards.
• SCYTHIAN SUITE is a haunting portrait of the daily life of a man who has grown up in the gulag, now a wasteland.
• FLOWERS DON'T GROW HERE is a disturbing look at the underside of European cities, via the life of a gang of homeless youths in Kiev.
• ODESSA, ODESSA looks at the Jewish community in Odessa and those who emigrated to the USA and Israel.
• BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT is an insight into the trial concerning the genocide at Srebrenica.
• VIERKA - OR THE MYSTERY OF FAMILY B'S DISAPPEARANCE is about the clash of cultures between a prodigious young Romany singer and the Czech society that she finds herself in as a result of her incredible singing talent.

Most of the documentaries on show were worthy efforts that relied more on passion than resources, with a most of them being shot on video and being fairly unprofessional in appearance. Nevertheless there was a lot to be commended and the festival really deserves more audience support than it received.

It was really depressing though, but then luckily I could cheer myself up shortly after that with my first ever trip to the London Film Festival. But more on that next week!