ASK WHY? DOCS

Human Rights Education - In the Cinema

Using film to teach lessons on 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 37 Danish municipalities to local cinema screenings of thought-provoking documentary films that all center on human rights issues.

Download and read our 23/24 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?

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Some films from the 2024/2025 season

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.

Oleg and the War

Simon Lereng Wilmont

Ten-year-old Oleg lives in warzone Ukraine with his loving Grandmother. He often plays with his younger cousin Yarik and older neighbor Kostya. The children find joy in everyday adventures - constantly laughing, exploring, playing - doing what kids do. They don’t realize that their playgrounds are different from what other children have.

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:

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.

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.

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.

Simon Lereng Wilmont

Oscar nominated director of the film Oleg and the War (The Distant Barking of Dogs). Simon has filmed extensively near the frontline in Ukraine, prior to the 2022 invasion.

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:

99% of participating teachers say they enjoyed our sessions and the educational material.
90% of participating students say they enjoyed ASK WHY? Docs with nearly three-fourths stating they have learned something new.
In 2023-2024 ASK WHY? Docs reached 7000 students across Denmark.