ASK WHY? DOCS

Human Rights Education - In the Cinema

Using films to teach about human rights and expand horizons

Using the cinema as the classroom, ASK WHY? Docs encourages school students to engage with contemporary social and environmental issues through watching critically acclaimed documentary films from all corners of the world.

Three times during the academic school year, ASK WHY? Docs invites students from 38 Danish municipalities to local cinema screenings of thought-provoking documentary films that all center on human rights issues.

Download and read our 24/25 impact report here.

Map of Denmark with pin markers on cities which have hosted ASK WHY screenings.

Where ASK WHY? Docs held screenings and Q&As in the 2022/2023.

Interested in having ASK WHY? Docs bring a screening to your class or school?

ASK WHY? Docs wraps up season engaging Danish students through documentary films

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Films from the 2025/2026 season

Putin's School

David Borenstein & Pavel Talankin

As Russia's war in Ukraine drags on, the curriculum changes in Russian schools. Students are introduced to falsehoods mandated by the government, and acts of patriotism become a part of their everyday life. It is all filmed by their favorite teacher, Pasha. Winner of the Academy Awards in 2026.

Seven Winters in Tehran

Steffi Niederzoll

In July 2007, 19-year-old Reyhaneh Jabbari meets a new business associate. When he tries to rape her, she kills him in self-defense. The same day she is arrested for murder and later sentenced to flogging and the death penalty. The film follows Reyhaneh's family and her trial through the 7 years Reyhaneh is imprisoned.

Welcome to Chechnya

David France

In Chechnya there are no homosexuals. The tyrannical leader Ramzan Kadyrov has determined that. And if there are, they need to get out. Welcome to Chechnya follows a group of activists who put their lives on the line to save LGBTQ+ people under persecution from the Chechen authorities as well as from their own families. The goal is to end the persecution, but also to survive. The film won several awards at the Berlinale and the Sundance Film Festival, and is directed by David France, previously nominated for an Academy Award for the film How to Survive a Plague.

Expert guests

Every screening is followed by a Q&A session with an expert on the subjects handled in the film. Examples from the 2024/2025 season include:

Woman with curly hair wearing a green hoodie sitting in a red and black theater seat numbered 8.

Melodi Soltani

Born and raised in Denmark after her parents fled Iran for political reasons. Melodi is an artist and musician with a focus on her Iranian origins.

Popal Naseri

Main character in the documentary 'Follow Me Home'. Popal fled Afghanistan as a teenager because the Taliban attempted to recruit him as a suicide bomber.

Young man wearing glasses and a patterned shirt smiling in a warmly lit indoor setting.

Nicolaj Laue Juhl

Former political spokesperson for LGBT+ youth. Nicolaj is behind Denmark's first report on the well-being of LGBT+ children and young people.

Smiling young woman with shoulder-length wavy hair wearing a black tank top and a gold pendant necklace.

Sonja Lovdal

Influencer with over 160,000 followers across platforms. Sonja uses her platform to talk openly and honestly about mental health and how what you see online does not necessarily reflect reality.

Katya Kize

Assistant director on the Oscar-winning documentary "Putin's School” and has volunteered in human rights organizations, including supporting detainees and politically persecuted people.

Learning in the cinema

Additionally, ASK WHY? Docs provide the schools with educational material, encouraging them to continually explore the themes back in the classrooms, both before and after screenings.
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Our latest impact report found that ASK WHY? Docs has a positive effect on both the community and the individual:

98% of participating teachers say that it has a positive effect on their students. 92% say that it helps their students understand the world better.
92% of participating students say they enjoyed ASK WHY? Docs, with 86% stating they have learned something new about human rights and global issues.
In 2025-2026 ASK WHY? Docs reach 9000 students across Denmark.