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= First to Stand: the Cases and Causes of Irwin Cotler (2022 film) =

First to Stand: the Cases and Cases of Irwin Colter is a 2022 Canadian documentary film written, directed, and produced by Irene Lilienheim Angelico and Abbey Neidik. The documentary follows Irwin Cotler and his team fighting for justice and human rights.

Synopsis
After the horror of the concentration camps, people realized there was an urgent need to protect individuals from the abuses of governments. What resulted was the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which outlined thirty basic rights to which everyone is entitled.

Today, we are witnessing a global threat to these rights as many world leaders openly seek power with appeals to racism, xenophobia, misogyny, and imprisonment of those who challenge their regimes.

First to Stand follows Irwin Cotler and his team of young activists at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre as they take on the cases and causes of political prisoners and human rights activists battling against the world’s most repressive regimes.

Cotler began fighting for freedom and justice in law school with the landmark case of refusenik Natan Sharansky, for whom he devised his “mobilization of shame” strategy against the human rights violator — essentially, a PR blitz against a superpower.

Tyrants are not amused by being embarrassed in front of the rest of the world – including Vladimir Putin. Like others who crossed Putin’s path, Cotler was poisoned in Moscow. But the attempt on his life hasn’t dampened his commitment. He is today, one of the world’s most effective activists in the protection of human rights.

The First to Stand builds around the backstory in Russia up to the current human rights cases and causes led by Cotler. It opens in the streets of Moscow with protesters chanting to bring Putin down. It is a film of high stakes, emotion, and drama, which takes us from the streets to the strategy sessions and corridors of power, as Cotler meets with the heads of state arguing passionately for his client’s release. With unprecedented access, the filmmakers follow their families and supporters, including:


 * Raif Badawi, the Saudi blogger who was sentenced to ten years and a thousand lashes for “insulting Islam” by advocating freedom of speech. His wife Ensaf advocates relentlessly to exert pressure on the Saudi government for his release.
 * Bill Browder, British-American financier, multimillionaire and Putin’s #1 enemy, who created and championed Magnitsky Sanctions, the most effective tool to hold individual human rights abusers accountable
 * Amal Clooney, is a British-Lebanese barrister, specializing in international law and human rights. She is the appointed Deputy Chair of the High-Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom.
 * Shaparak Shajarizadeh, was tortured, then sentenced to 20 years in prison for her protests against compulsory hijab in Iran. She was named one of the most influential women in the world by the BBC
 * Natan Sharansky, Russian refusenik, who was sentenced to 13 years in the gulag for seeking an exit visa to Israel and participating in human rights movements. He is still fighting for human rights in Israel and around the world.
 * Masih Alinejad, journalist, who Iranian agents recently attempted to abduct in an assassination plan intervened by the FBI.

The film covers Irwin Cotler’s work with the international team for Nelson Mandela and with Roméo Dallaire in remembrance of the genocide in Rwanda. Also featured are James McGovern, co-chair of the U.S. Human Rights Commission; Esther Mujawayo, Rwandan Survivor; Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; and Brandon Silver and Judith Abitan of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights.

The First to Stand is about committed human rights activists who know if they stand up, it won’t be long before others are standing with them.

Reception
First to Stand opened with the screening and Q&A at the Cinéma du Musée in Montreal on Human Rights Day (December 10, 2022) to a sold-out audience. There were five standing ovations for the film, the filmmakers, Ensaf Haidar, Shaparak Shajarizadeh and, especially, Irwin Cotler. To accommodate the reception, there was a second sold-out screening the next night and an extended run.

The film was next presented in at the Hot Docs Cinema by Hot Docs and TJFF, introduced by Helen Zukerman, Payam Akhavan and the filmmakers, and followed by a Q&A with Irwin Cotler and Shaparak Shajarizadeh, moderated by Jay Rosenzweig.

The film was then shown at the Jerusalem Cinematheque, introduced by international human rights champion Natan Sharansky. To meet the popular demand, the Canadian Consulate sponsored a second screening at the Jerusalem Cinematheque, also introduced by Mr. Sharansky.

News articles, interviews and review appeared in Canadian and Israeli publications for the screenings. Duke Eatmon on CBC radio praised it as “A great film. Absolutely captivating!”

Bill Brownstein of the Montreal Gazette also called it as “ a captivating new documentary! …the latest from the dynamic Montreal spousal filmmaking team of Irene Angelico and Abbey Neidik."

Greer Fay Cashman of the Jerusalem Post lauded it a “superb new documentary.” And Mike Cohen wrote in Cohen in the City described it as “an extraordinary new documentary…”

Brad Wheeler reported in The Globe and Mail, “With their new film about Irwin Cotler, married Montreal filmmakers make a stand for human rights.”

Maurie Alioff wrote in Northern Stars, “The documentary is a captivating movie with themes that couldn’t be more relevant in a troubling 21st-century world riddled by rising authoritarianism and the persecution of people who rise up against it.”

In the Concordia University Press, Randy Pinsky commended the making of the long-awaited film about Irwin Cotler. “After years of hinting and hoping, a documentary was (finally) made about former Canadian Justice Minister and tireless human rights defender, Irwin Cotler… and directed by power couple Irene Lilienheim Angelico and Abbey Jack Neidik….First to Stand ”evokes Irwin Cotler’s passion, brilliance, and tireless commitment to exposing ruthless regimes and demanding the upholding of international rights and freedoms. He steadily chips at the veil of impunity dictatorships hide behind, ensuring they can no longer count on international passivity to continue their suppression of freedom.

As noted by human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, “When Mr. Cotler speaks, people listen.”

Versions
The original feature version is 75 minutes.

The version for TVOntario (TVO) and educational use is 59 minutes.