Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2021: Opening Night - The 8th

The 2021 Human Rights Watch Film Festival celebrates 25 years with a full digital edition available to stream across the UK, in partnership with Barbican Cinema, and generously supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery. Featuring 10 powerful and uplifting new documentaries -- each accompanied by a live, online discussion (free and live-captioned in English) with filmmakers, film participants, and Human Rights Watch researchers from around the world -- the festival is presented exclusively on Barbican Cinema On Demand from 18-26 March.

The Opening Night film, The 8th shows a country forging a new path at a time when reproductive rights are threatened around the world. Shot over a three-year period, co-directors Aideen Kane, Lucy Kennedy and Maeve O’Boyle follow campaigners of Ireland’s reproductive rights movement Ailbhe Smyth and Andrea Horan, leading up to the historic 2018 referendum. Co-director Lucy Kennedy, film participants Ailbhe Smyth and Andrea Horan and senior researcher in the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch Hillary Margolis, will join the live virtual discussion on Thursday 18 March, 8.30pm.

Access Screening: This film is captioned in English for audiences who are Deaf or hard of hearing

Watch at your own pace from March 18-26, or watch along with us:

Thursday, March 18

6:50 PM GMT – Start watching the film on Barbican Cinema on Demand.
8:30 PM GMT – Join us for a live Q&A online. Free with RSVP.


We do not want the cost of entry to the films to be a barrier for participation in our events. If the price of buying a ticket to this film would prevent you from participating, please email the following address ([email protected]) + we will send you a free ticket code. We have set aside a set # of tickets per film on a first come first-served basis. Once the free tickets are no longer available, the code will no longer work. For anyone that purchases a ticket, we appreciate your support. Your ticket purchase enables us to make tickets free for those who might otherwise be unable to watch. This also allows the festival to support the filmmakers for sharing their work in the festival, to support the arts organizations bringing this work to you.