"Ingmar Bergman : une vie de théâtre mise en film"

Si vous êtes un fan d'Ingmar Bergman - comme moi et ma femme Aurore (bon pas tous ces films, loin de ça, il faut l'avouez) - vous pouvez, ce soir à 19h, visitez Cinéma Balzac, Paris, pour l’événement ci-dessous:

"Ingmar Bergman : une vıe de théâtre mıse en fılm"

Soirée projection / rencontre. Une discussion suivra la projection du film En présence d’un clown sur le thème: « Ingmar Bergman : une vie de théâtre mise en film. »

D'Une leçon d'amour, À travers le miroir, Persona ou En présence d'un clown, le théâtre devient un thème constant du cinéma d'Ingmar Bergman; une pièce dans le film, des personnages acteurs, artistes, saltimbanques ou forains, une parodie du théâtre, un théâtre de marionnettes...

Quelle place donner au théâtre dans l'évolution d'un réalisateur de cinéma et quelles sont les expériences cinématographiques qu'Ingmar Bergman intègrera dans son théâtre?

Avec Bénédicte Acolas, metteur en scène et Sophie Marceau, interprète d’Une histoire d’âme, Jan Holmberg, directeur de la Fondation Bergman, Magnus Florin, directeur du département Dramaturgie au Théâtre Royal d’Arts dramatiques de Suède-Dramaten et Jean Narboni, historien et critique de cinéma. La rencontre sera modérée par Hervé Aubron, journaliste au Magazine Littéraire. Sous le parrainage de l’Ambassade de Suède.

Jan Holmberg

Magnus Florin

Jean Narboni

Hervé Aubron

(Photo Ingmar Bergman copied from: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLgdsNcNsfEzqQO6-ZvFXT23Kv_rztiUSoOb_XzrCyrwZVHmA5JcDkJg0raqhT8rou81cPQTgLQrJ2Rs0CM4ZjKN7R_zEsxcUYW0KLGprR2kbc3FcOl6qPup-6NBjJJG-8hk9/s1600/IngmarBergmanR_468x490.jpg)
(Photo 'Cinéma Le Balzac' copied from: http://www.salles-cinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/cinema-balzac1.jpg)
(Photo Bénédicte Acolas and Sophie Marceau copied from: http://www.lefigaro.fr/medias/2011/10/20/667ca4de-fb25-11e0-beb5-7c65df65bf5e.jpg)
(Photo Jan Holmberg copied from: http://hedlundagency.se/2018/01/29/ingmar-bergman-the-writer)
(Photo Magnus Florin copied from: http://dagensbok.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/images/authors/magnusflorin.jpg)
(Photo Jean Narboni copied from: http://medias.unifrance.org/medias/6/92/23558/format_affiche/jean-narboni.jpg)
(Photo Hervé Aubron copied from: http://2011.fif-85.com/archives/2008/spip8817.html?rubrique90)

Billy the Kid for sale

This photo (above) is said to be the only one left of Billy the Kid and it was sold at an auction in Denver, Colorado for 2,6 million US$. The buyer is a collector by the name of William Koch, businessman, sailor, and collector, the son of Fred Koch, the founder of Koch Industries. William or Bill Koch can afford this as he is regarded as one of the richest persons in the USA.

The photo of 'the Kid' is taken in 1879 (the year my grandfather was born) or 1880, in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Billy the Kid had given this 'tintype' or 'ferrotype' (a sort of photographic tecnhique) to his friend Dan Dedrick and since then it has passed on in his family, only displayed once at a museum during the 1980s'.

Photo below is said to be Dan Dedrick and Billy the Kid

Photo below is said to depict Dan Dedrick,

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid

(Photo copied from this site: https://petapixel.com/2011/06/27/lone-photo-of-billy-the-kid-fetches-2-3-million-at-auction/)
(Photo of Dan Dedrick and Billy the Kid, taken from : https://www.newser.com/story/173436/this-photo-may-be-2nd-ever-of-billy-the-kid.html)
(Photo Dan Dedrick, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid copied from: https://www.pinterest.fr/pin/341007003012437074)

The Super Moon

(Photo taken from: http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/1.2371738/i-natt-ar-supermanen-har. Photographer Jan Wiridén)

Tonight the moon passes the Earth at a distance of 356 578 kilometres, closer than anytime since 1992.

In connection with this kind of phenomena, there have been great natural catastrophies reported but some scientists say that this is not at all as closely related as one might think.
However, if there are some turbulence in the geological activities somewhere on earth, a 'giant moon' like this might be disengaging factor, others say.

We'll see about this...

La Clique

A friend of mine, living in Australia asked me if I've seen La Clique when they visited Paris but unfortunatealy not!
I have though seen the number with the man trying to get out of the tennis rackets he got into!
Enjoy!

:D

Dracula dans la forteresse de Cluis-Dessous

In the fortress of Cluis-Dessous, an old beautiful ruin, the amateur theatre group - or association - called Le Manteau d'Arlequin, staged the classical story about the blood sucking Dracula, first and foremost known through the book by Bram Stoker.

Briefly about the group: They were founded in 1920 under the name of Société Musicale et Lyrique, changed the name to le Cercle Lyrique before taking the name they now use.

They have won several competitions for amateur theatre groups, held in Montluçon and Vichy.

The performance of the evening kept itself very much to the book by Stoker but it also had references to the film by Francis Ford Coppola, who in turn is very loyal to the original book.
The night and all its shadows and the castle ruins, of course created an ambience worthy the content.
No microphones were used wherefore the actors sometimes had to spek out more loudly than the situation demanded, taking in to consideration the content of the story.
On the other hand music interleaved the change of scenes and prerecorded sound was used in a very comic way. E.g. when someone dropped a cup the sound was amplified making it sound as if a whole store of porcelains were knocked about.
On the whole a well staged performance ending at one o'clock in the night.

I apologize for the bad quality of the photos, taken with an iPhone without zoom.


























































(Photo poster copied from: http://a34.idata.over-blog.com/314x500/2/79/27/64/FINAL-AFFICHE-DRACULA-4.jpg)

The moon landing - if it happened/La lunisage - s'il a bien eu lieu

Today, 41 years ago, the first human sat foot on the moon - or did he?
Aujourd'hui, il y a 41 ans, le premier homme a marché sur la lune - ou l'a-t-il fait?

Neil Armstrong il a marcher sur la Lune 2_2
envoyé par MOHAMED070691. - Vidéos des dernières découvertes scientifiques.

Bernadotte 1810-2010

This year there is another bicentennial concerning mostly Sweden but to some extent also France, namely the 200 years of the Bernadotte dynasty on the throne.

I'm not going to write an extensive historic review because this is of course not my domaine but for those not knowing much about Sweden and the royal family this can be said:

The French revolution in 1789 put an end to the class society, earlier being the most common societal structure both in France and Sweden.
This meant that people from 'lower classes' were given career opportunities and this made it possible for a person like Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, the son of a small town lawyer, to rise in the ranks within the military.

He became one of the foremost marshals of France and a close ally to Napoléon and on the same time somewhat of a rival.

He is said to have had bigger ambitions than this and among his friends and allies there were those who in him saw the new emperor after Napoléon Bonaparte.

However Bernadotte had powerful enemies, namely Klemens von Metternich and Charles Maurice de Talleyrand! They opposed the idea of having a parvenu as emperor of France.

Napoléon appointed him Prince of Ponte Corvo in 1806 but this didn't please neither him nor the people of Ponte Corvo, so it seems.

The Swedish military Carl Otto Mörner knew about this formidable marshal Bernadotte and decided to - as we would say today perhaps - headhunt him in order to become the king of Sweden.
Why?

In Sweden king Gustav IV Adolf had been suspended in 1809 and his uncle Karl XIII was appointed king. He was however 61 years old and had no children. This made the questions about the throne aire somewhat 'delicate'.
In the autumn 1809 Karl XIII had a stroke and became more or less unable to govern the country.
The Swedish Parliament chose for crown prince the Danish prince Kristian August and he arrived early in 1810, taking the name Karl August and was adopted by Karl XIII.

He adapted very quickly and became very popular but unfortunately he also had a stroke during a military manouevre and died!
Fredrik Kristian of Augustenborg - brother-in-law to the Danish king Fredrik VI - now became the foremost candidate to become the succesor on the Swedish throne.

It's however at this point that the Swedish lieutenant Carl Otto Mörner started making plans, in order to get a French marshal on the throne.

Mörner was in Paris as a courier for the Swedish government and his prime mission was to obtain approval from Napoléon to the coronation of Fredrik Kristian of Augustenborg.
Napoléon did however mention another person, namely count Bonde, an heir to earlier kings in Sweden. Maybe he would be suitable as king of Sweden, the emperor suggested.

Mörner didn't settle for this. Instead he started inquiring among a number of French marshals in order to find out if they would like to become the king of Sweden.
General Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte displayed great enthusiasm but when Mörner came back to Sweden Karl XIII was displeased with his mission and he wasn't allowed to participate in the Swedish Parliament. He was even put in house arrest.

Meantime Bernadotte got the approval by Napoléon but at the same time one had decided making Fredrik Kristian of Augustenborg the king of Sweden.

A French vice consul by the name of Fournier came to Sweden and began, what we would call, a PR campaign, promoting Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte and the 21st of August 1810, Bernadotte was chosen to be crown prince, on one condition:
He had to convert and accept the Evangelical-Lutheran confession, the official religion of Sweden then as now.

So he did and the rest is history as one say.

This year Sweden is celebrating this event but also the wedding of the Crown Princess Victoria, marrying Daniel Westling.
This wedding took place today the 19th of June, the same date as the marriage between her father and mother king Carl Gustaf (Carl XVI Gustaf) and queen Silvia (Sommerlath) in 1976.

For the 'French connection' it's perhaps important to note that Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte was born in Pau in France.

Trivia: Crown Princess Victoria is born the 14th of July, the National Day of France!
Trivia: Jean Baptiste Bernadotte is said to have had a tatoo on his body where one could read:
"Mort aux rois", that is to say: "Death to the kings".

(Painting Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte copied from: http://www.consulat-suede.fr/news_img/Bernadotte.jpg)

(Photo king Carl XVI Gustaf copied from: http://www.angeloplessas.com/blog/uploaded_images/king_carl_xvi_gustaf_1146407355-773986.jpg)

Pierre Etaix

REVOIR LES FILMS DE PIERRE ETAIX...
envoyé par iletaixunefois. - Films courts et animations.

Pierre Etaix is a french actor and director born in 1928 but not so well known outside France, I think.

As a result of copyright problems (if I've understood this correctly) his films has not been screened for a long time but during this years Film Festival in Cannes, they screened his film 'Le Grand Amour'.
Now the news reaches us that one officially will release all his films and this beginning the 7th of July this year (2010).
In total it's five feature films and three short films (one never earlier released) that are under restoration.
Responsible for this work is François Ede under the 'auspice' of Pierre Etaix.

This work is in itself unique - according to the responsible - as this is the first time one restore an entire work by a director at one and the same time.
This is due to a collaboration between Pierre Etaix, Studio 37 (owner of the negatives) and the foundations Technicolor pour le Patrimoine du Cinéma and Groupama Gan pour le Cinéma.
These films will also be available on DVD, at least in France and this in connection to this release.

R.I.P. Ronny James Dio: Don't talk to strangers

Eyjafjallajökull

This volcano eruption on Island in Eyjafjallajökull, is quite amazing and impressing, at least as long as you're far away from the center of the action, so to speak.

One might think that this is something very unusal but according to a french volcanologist, this is not unusual at all.

What he meant by "nothing unusual" wasn't totally clear, as he didn't inform us if this happens several times per year or once every five years.
The fact that we take notice this time is of course because it's close to us in Europe and that it actually affects the air traffic both in Europe, the USA and Asia.
Discussions concerning possible impacts on health were answered with the establishment that it could have an effect on people being asthmatic but only if the smoke would continue 'invading' Europe, containing humidity created by the ice and snow embedded in the smoke.
According to the volcanologist, the eruption might continue a couple of days, weeks or even months (if I rembember correctly) but when the snow melts the humid smoke will be stopped and this might end the problems for the rest of Europe and the world.

The Icelandic population should of course be more worried than we in the other European countries as this affect them heavily.
In some areas people have been advised to stay inside and if they have to go out, they must or should carry gas masks.

World leaders in Copenhagen, Henrik Montgomery and Galleri Kontrast

This is a photo taken by the photographer Henrik Montgomery (Scanpix), in connection with a workshop at the climate conference in Copenhagen, COP 15, in december last year (2009).

In this photo you are able to see some of the world leaders - notably European - gathered for a more informal meeting, more relaxed but at the same time somewhat tired, judging from their postures.
It's also an image showing these leaders in a rather fragile and unprotected situation.
If you happen to be in Stockholm you can see his photos at a photo gallery called Galleri Kontrast (see information through the link), beginning at 6.30 pm today.

On the same time they display photos by Pieter ten Hoopen.

Montgomery has won the cathegories The News Photo of the Year and The Photo of the Year 2010.

ten Hoppen won the category The Photographer of the Year 2010.

More about the environment later.

(Photo copied from: http://5956n.typepad.com/.a/6a0105362c625a970b0120a7f751f4970b-800wi)

Cinéma Nordique

Today we are leaving for Paris and later on Rouen.

In Rouen we are going to visit the Nordic Film Festival, Cinéma Nordique, a film festival Aurore visited every year between 2000 and2004.

In Paris we are going to attend the meeting with the Swedish writer John Ajvide Lindqvist (Known for the book Låt den rätte komma in or in English; Let the Right One In/Let Me In or in French; Morse), later adapted for the movies by Tomas Alfredsson.

A couple of exhibitions or at least one at the Cinématheque Française.

We are also going to meet my two first cousins once remowed, both living and working in Paris and having so done for ten respective fifteen years. In spite of them being around 35 years old, I have never met them before!

You can read about this on our joint blog.

(Photo copyright: http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2007/03/09/john_narrowweb__300x393,0.jpg)

And the winner is.....

Tonight is the night for the Oscars once more.

For us cinephiles, this is no special evening as it always has been and still is the American Championship of Film - with a few exceptions - with one singular reward for Best Foreign Film.

It's the American Film Industry 'showing off' this night and when it comes to rewards if's often very predictable.

American films are by no means bad but they are seldom innovative and if they are, it's more thanks to those independent directors who still try to develop the Seventh Art into something different, something unique, with a special aesthetics and style, separating them from the mainstream directors whos only goal is to please all and noone - 'all' being the ordinary pop corn-eating film goers; 'noone' being the cinephiles.

Among the nominated films, I'v only seen Avatar and I have written about that film before but on our blog, Aurore's and mine: http://auroregunnar.blogspot.com.

The other nominees are:

The Blind Side, director John Lee Hancock. Seems to be 'the American Dream-Film'. The fantastic country - USA - giving everyone a chance to succeed!?

District 9, director Neill Blomkamp follow the monster-vampire-zoombie-trend we've been living in for a long time now. This trend will probably continue until the 'crisis' in the Western world is over?

An Education, director Lone Scherfig from Denmark, seems to be some kind of Lolita-story but maybe I'm wrong. Might be interesting as Scherfig has made some interesting films before, notably 'Italian for beginners'.

The Hurt Locker, director Kathryn Bigelow, is one of the very talked about films. Very up to date topically. She is somewhat up and down when it comes to her œuvres I think. Strange Days being one of her most interesting films in many ways, also a very 'up to date'-story, topically, at the time.

Inglourious Basterds, director Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino can also be a very interesting director but he also has his clear ups and downs. This film seems to be a very mainstream film but I haven't seen it so I shouldn't say.

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, director Lee Daniels. A feel good film, depicting the overweight girl being pushed around but in the end becoming 'something' or 'someone'?

A Serious Man, directors Joel and Ethan Coen. This film might be interesting but this statement is only made after reading about it and studying the plot. They have a special aesthetics however the brothers.

Up, director Pete Docter, co-director Bob Peterson. An animated film but I don't know much about it, unfortunately. Fun though that we have an animated film among the best films award. I give the Oscars committee an eulogy for this.

Up in the Air, director Jason Reitman. With George Clooney in one of the roles, this must be a film everyone likes or...? He does have some humoristic talents however, mister Clooney. I was not imprest by Juno by Reitman but this is another film and maybe better. Juno became very appreciated in Sweden and it won the Audience Award at the Stockholm Film Festival in 2007 (besides many other awards around the world).

Then there are all the other prizes but that's another story. Tomorrow we'll see who the winners were.

It's often a great show however, this must be said!

Starts within an hour now.

The Birthday of Frédéric Chopin

Aujourd'hui, nous fêtons le 'deuxième' anniversaire de Frédéric Chopin. 
Selon son acte de naissance, il était né le 22 février mais selon d'autres sources, le 1 Mars.
Les sources indiquant la date ultérieure, estiment que l'acte de naissance est une falsification, donc nous célébrons Chopin aussi bien le 22 février qu'aujourd'hui !    

Today we celebrate the 'second' birthday of Chopin.

According to his birth certificate he was born the 22nd of February but according to other sources the 1st of March.

The latter sources say that his birth certificate is false and therefore we celebrate him both the 22nd of February and today!

(Picture Chopin copied from: https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/culture-loisirs/l-oeuvre-de-chopin-bientot-accessible-gratuitement-sur-internet-1517395019)

César et un Prophète

Ce soir les films et acteurs/actrices français/françaises et étrangers/étrangères ont reçu - ou pas ? - un César pour le meilleur film ou acteur/actrice etc...

Un des gagnants : Un Prophète de Jacques Audiard.

Tonight the films and actors of France and other countries has been rewarded - or not - a César for the best film, best actor, best actress and so forth.

In the category Best Film, the César was rewarded the film by Jacques Audiard:

Un Prophète.

We saw this film in La Châtre (Cinéma Lux) and I must say that even if it was a quite 'ordinary' 'prison film', it wasn't bad at all.
The acting is very good, not least by the main character - Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim), the young and promising actor.
Niels Arestrup in the role as César is - as often - very good and he is not Danish at all, or almost at all!
Born in France by Danish parents yes, but when it comes to Danish, he only know one sentence after what I've heard, namely: I Love You ('Jeg elsker dig')
The different problems, possibilities and intriques is depicted in a very realistic and unglamourous way.

The Year of the Tiger

Today - the 14th of February - the Chinese New Year begin and that means that New Years Eve has been celebrated in several places all over the world.

This year it's the year of the Tiger, meaning that we have left the year of the Ox behind us.

It's the most important traditional Chines holiday, by English speaking sometimes called 'the Lunar New Year'.
This celebration is most common in countries with a Han population.
It implies both religious rituals, special clothings, a lot of food and different kinds of festivals with all kinds of mythical figures parading in the streets.
As the Chinese population in Paris is quite numerous, there has been festivities in the town, something French tv reported on.

In New York - Manhattan - and some other North American cities we have the so called China Towns, as we all know, where the Chinese population is numerous and where the celebration will be visible for all and everyone.
Manhattan has one of the largest ethnic Chinese communities outside Asia, if not the largest.
Even in Stockholm the Chinese New Year has been celebrated for some years, though in a more modest way outside the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, this year was no exception.

Happy New 2010!

The Nobel Prize Award Ceremonies

The day of the Nobel Prize Awards is the one day of the year when we will be able to see the greatest amount of men dressed liked penguins and women in dresses in all the colours of the world (almost).

I last visited the City Hall of Stockholm in connection with a shooting of a film a couple of months ago. As extra in this film I did the role of one of many journalists. This time there will be 'real' journalists but also all the laureates, their families, our Swedish politicians, students and not least the royal family.

I have previously written about Herta Müller and from what I've heard the Nobel Prize Committee obviously found her reaction, when hearing that she had been rewarded, somewhat 'mild'.

This have to do with the fact that Sweden and not least the Nobel Committee expects every laureate to fall to the ground and praise them (and the Lord?) loudly. When this is not the case, they are disappointed.

I remember Doris Lessings reaction. She wasn't at all surprised being rewarded the Nobel Prize in literature, on the contrary she felt it strange not being rewarded earlier as she already had been rewarded other literary prizes!

I like this approach!

(Photo prize plaque copied from: http://cliqueway.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/nobelprize.jpg)

The Right Livelihood Award

Among the different awards in the world I would strongly like to propagate for The Right Livelihood Award, sometimes called the 'alternative Nobel Prize'.

The founder - Jakob von Uexkull - wanted to create a prize awarding people

making a great effort within different areas of society, not only within the scientific sphere, like the Nobel Prize, and not only stemming from the industrial countries.

Jakob von Uexkull

He even offered the Nobel Foundation to contribute financially, creating two new prizes (one ecological) but they turned his offer down, as the very conservative and rigid organization this is.

Without this - or similar awards - the work carried out by the Right Livelihood Award laureates would hardly otherwise be recognized, certainly not by the Swedish Academy.

I feel that it's important promoting the work and engagement within other sectors of society besides natural science, where the latter always have been revered and admired by not least ignorant and historically narrow-minded politicians.

We have to keep in mind that natural science always creates problems for society.

Even the discoveries meant to help humanity - medical discoveries e.g. - always have great side effects and very often causes more problems than it solves.

A great deal of human intellectual resources have also - as we all know - been used to create weapons and other kinds of destructive tools meant to govern and submit humans.

Most inventions, within the natural sciences, devastates our natural resources like forests, lakes, mountains and other biotopes.

We all know this but unfortunately our politicians - and not people in general either - seldom discuss these huge problems caused by scientists who often themselves are quite narrow-minded, only interested in their own career and making some 'revolutionary discovery', rendering them immortality!

Saying this, I'm not as naive to believe that the Right Livelihood laureates are a group of idealists only seeking to promote the good of mankind.

I just want to point out that I think that the work they carry out, seldom gets the attention it deserves, thus making this award very important.

It's however not only important for the laureates and their work but also important as a reminder to people in general that there are other kinds of commitments at least as important as the scientifical work and - I would like to add - sometimes more important.

The laureates 2009 are:

David Suzuki;

René Ngongo;

Alyn Ware;

and

Catherine Hamlin;

As two examples I can mention David Suzuki and Catherine Hamlin.

In the motivations for why they should be rewarded we can read (Suzukis first and then Hamlins):

-"for his lifetime advocacy of the socially responsible use of science, and for his massive contribution to raising awareness about the perils of climate change and building public support for policies to address it".

is awarded -
"for her fifty years dedicated to treating obstetric fistula patients, thereby restoring the health, hope and dignity of thousands of Africa's poorest women".

(Picture logotype copied from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_Livelihood_Award)

(Photo David von Uexkull copied from: https://www.rightlivelihoodaward.org/support/foundation/founder/)

(Photo David Suzuki copied from:https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiPvMuci6vlAhUxDWMBHV1wBt8Qjhx6BAgBEAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rightlivelihoodaward.org%2Flaureates%2Fdavid-suzuki%2F&psig=AOvVaw37NepUzgnrE7-fYgOXKd-8&ust=1571669481525089)

(Photo René Ngongo copied from: https://www.rightlivelihoodaward.org/laureates/rene-ngongo/)

(Photo Alyn Ware copied from: http://www.worldmarchusa.net/images/alyn_ware.jpg)

(Photo Catherine Hamlin copied from: http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2008/03/28/drcatherinehamlin_wideweb__470x318,0.jpg)

Human rights, Alison Des Forges Defender

In these days when we focus a lot around the Nobel Prize Laureates, it's important to pay attention to other prizes for work done in an environment where the laureates risk their life.

I therefore publish this extract from an article concerning human rights workers.

Four courageous and tireless advocates of human rights - from Burma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Russia - have been awarded the prestigious Alison Des Forges Defender Award for Extraordinary Activism according to Human Rights Watch.

These four individuals are, in their work, trying to uphold freedom of expression, to protect women in conflict, and to ease the plight of political prisoners, despite threats and persecution from the authorities.

The awards are named for Dr. Alison Des Forges, senior adviser to Human Rights Watch's Africa Division for almost two decades, who was tragically killed in a plane crash in New York on February 12, 2009. Des Forges was the world's leading expert on Rwanda, the 1994 genocide and its aftermath, and Human Rights Watch's annual award honors her outstanding commitment to and defense of human rights.

The four winners of Human Rights Watch's 2009 Alison Des Forges Defender Award for Extraordinary Activism are:

* Daniel Bekele , lawyer and activist from Ethiopia

Bo Kyi, co-founder of Burma's Assistance Association of Political Prisoners

* Elena Milashina, reporter for Novaya Gazeta, Russia's leading independent newspaper

...and  Mathilde Muhindo, women's rights activist working to stop sexual violence in Democratic Republic of Congo.

The motivation or explanatory statement for this prize:

"These extraordinary individuals confront tremendous challenges every day, yet they work selflessly to end human rights violations and bring abusers to justice," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. "We hope this award, named for Alison Des Forges, will inspire and protect them as they struggle to uphold human rights in their countries."

Human rights defenders are critical partners for Human Rights Watch staff conducting investigations in more than 80 countries around the world.

The award winners will be honored at the 2009 Human Rights Watch Annual Dinners in Chicago, Geneva, Hamburg, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Munich, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Toronto, and Zurich.

Daniel Bekele, Ethiopia

In the ever-shrinking space for freedom of expression in Ethiopia, Daniel Bekele, a prominent anti-poverty activist and human rights lawyer, has faced heavy-handed government repression. After leading a grass-roots effort to promote voter education and participation in Ethiopia's controversial 2005 parliamentary elections, as well as election monitoring and reconciliation after the vote, Bekele was arrested and spent two-and-a-half years in prison on charges of inciting violence against the government. Human Rights Watch honors Bekele who, at great personal risk, challenges the Ethiopian government to uphold the civil and political rights that protect all people.

Bo Kyi, Burma

As a former political prisoner and co-founder of the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (AAPP), Bo Kyi works tirelessly to secure the release of Burmese people who have been jailed for their political independence and activism. Over the last 20 years, Bo Kyi has demonstrated unfaltering courage, sharing his story and those of other political prisoners and exposing the Burmese military junta's numerous abuses. Human Rights Watch honors Bo Kyi for his heroic efforts to speak out against Burmese repression and to advocate on behalf of those who have dared to criticize the military junta.

Elena Milashina, Russia

As a leading investigative journalist for Novaya Gazeta, Russia's most prominent independent newspaper, Elena Milashina exposes the truth about human rights abuses and widespread government corruption. Despite Russia's attempts to silence its critics and hide abuses, Milashina remains outspoken, publishing accounts of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, and torture. She also continues to investigate the 2006 murder of her newspaper colleague and mentor Anna Politkovskaya, calling for accountability at the highest level. Human Rights Watch honors Milashina for her courage in confronting Russia's deeply problematic human rights record.

Mathilde Muhindo, Democratic Republic of Congo

As director of the Olame Centre, a women's rights organization, Mathilde Muhindo empowers women to fight against the pervasive discrimination and horrific sexual violence that are endemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She led a coalition of local women's organizations to advocate successfully for a comprehensive law on sexual violence. Human Rights Watch honors Mathilde Muhindo for her tireless dedication to the safety, health, and rights of the often-forgotten women in eastern Congo.

(Photo Daniel Bekel copied from; https://www.hrw.org/news/2009/10/01/daniel-bekele-ethiopia-recipient-2009-alison-des-forges-award-extraordinary-activism)
(Photo Bo Kyi copied from: http://cynicsandidealists.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/bo-kyi-at-hrw-lectern.jpg)
(Photo Elena Milashina copied from: http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2009/11/13/Elena-306.jpg)
(Photo Mathilde Muhindo copied from:https://www.hrw.org/news/2009/10/01/mathilde-muhindo-democratic-republic-congo)