Usually, it’s easier and quicker to name the films that aren’t directed by men screening at a festival because there are so few of them — but that’s not the case with Human Rights Watch Fest’s 2018 edition. Twelve of the lineup’s 15 films are directed or co-directed by women, a whopping 80 percent.

Alexandria Bombach’s “On Her Shoulders” will open the festival, which spotlights “films offering incisive perspectives and critical insights on human rights issues impacting people around the world.” “On Her Shoulders” tells the story of Nadia Murad, a survivor of sexual slavery at the hands of ISIS and an international activist. The doc premiered at Sundance this year and has since screened at SXSW, Full Frame, and Hot Docs, among other fests. It’s expected to hit theaters sometime in October.

Closing Human Rights Watch FF is “The Unafraid,” a documentary from Anayansi Prado and Heather Courtney. It follows three high school seniors in Georgia with DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) immigration status. Banned from going to the top five public universities in Georgia and denied in-state tuition discounts at the state’s public colleges, the students join the fight for education in the undocumented community.

Also screening is Sedika Mojadidi’s “Facing the Dragon,” which has been named the winner of the fest’s Nestor Almendros Award for courage in filmmaking. The doc centers on two women — a doctor-turned-parliament member dedicated to helping women and a journalist committed to reporting the truth — in Afghanistan, where U.S. troops are withdrawing and the Taliban is slowly returning to power.

“In a year when women have spoken out against abuse, harassment, and oppression, the festival highlights the outstanding work of women filmmakers telling epic stories of women fighting injustice with resilience and courage,” remarked John Biaggi, Human Rights Watch Film Festival creative director.

Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2018 will run June 14-21 in New York City. Tickets go on sale May 18. Check out the fest’s website to find out more about the lineup.

All the women-directed and co-directed films screening are below. Synopses and details courtesy of the fest.

On Her Shoulders
Alexandria Bombach, 2018, 94 min., Arabic, English, Kurdish

Nadia Murad is a 23-year-old lifeline to the Yezidi community. A survivor of the 2014 atrocities against the Yezidi in northern Iraq, Nadia escaped sexual slavery at the hands of the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) and witnessed the murder of those closest to her. With the love of her people propelling her forward, Nadia is determined to turn her pain into international action. She now shoulders immense burdens as a key public figure whose supporters are pushing her further into the spotlight – from testifying at the United Nations Security Council and having endless meetings with government officials to giving soul-baring media interviews and emotionally draining speeches. On Her Shoulders tells the story of a multi-layered and selfless activist who once dreamed of opening a beauty salon in her village as she becomes an essential voice in the fight to bring ISIS to justice and save her people from extinction. New York Premiere

The Unafraid
Anayansi Prado and Heather Courtney, 2018, 85 min., English, Spanish

High School seniors Alejandro, Silvia and Aldo, like most of their friends, are eager to go to college and pursue their education. However, their home state of Georgia not only bans them from attending the top five public universities, but also deems them ineligible for in-state tuition at public colleges due to their immigration status as DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients. In response, these three ambitious and dream-filled students divert their passions toward the fight for education in the undocumented community. As President Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric against immigrants gains momentum, and with the three students under constant threat of losing their DACA status and being deported, The Unafraid follows these inspirational members of the generation of “undocumented, unapologetic and unafraid” young people who are determined to overcome and dismantle oppressive policies and mindsets. New York Premiere

A Thousand Girls Like Me
Sahra Mani, 2018, 76 min., Farsi

When Khatera, a 23-year-old Afghan woman, forces her father to stand trial after a lifetime of sexual abuse, she risks her family, freedom and personal safety to expose a judicial system that incriminates the very women who seek protection. In a country where the systematic abuse of girls is rarely discussed, Afghan filmmaker Sahra Mani presents an awe-inspiring story of one woman’s battle against cultural, familial and legal pressures as she embarks on a mission to set a positive example for her daughter and other girls like her. U.S. Premiere

Angkar
Neary Adeline Hay, 2018, 71 min., French, Khmer

Khonsaly Hay returns to his lush, serene village in Cambodia after over 40 years living in France and comes face-to-face with his former Khmer Rouge persecutors. Pol Pot’s regime of extreme violence and torture between 1975-1979 turned neighbor against neighbor and resulted in the deaths of nearly 2 million people. Decades later, survivors find themselves living next door to the very people responsible for their suffering. In this beautifully personal and artfully crafted testimony of survival, Khonsaly travels the country, confronting his past and seeking what remains of the family and friends he was forced to leave behind. Directed by Khonsaly’s daughter, Neary Adeline Hay, this deeply immersive film juxtaposes past and present to tenderly reveal unreconciled traumas haunting Cambodians today. New York Premiere

Charm City
Marilyn Ness, 2018, 106 min., English

During three years of unparalleled violence in Baltimore, Maryland, award-winning filmmaker Marilyn Ness takes viewers beyond the headlines and into the lives of community members, police and government officials as they attempt to reclaim the future of their city. A young City Councilman, Brandon Scott, calls for diverting funds from policing to programs that build opportunities and combat poverty. A Senior community leader, “Mr. C,” and his colleague Alex Long spend their days in the streets working with youth to provide a positive environment and safety. Charm City speaks to a nationwide crisis, where the grit and compassion of citizens offer humanity as a way forward.

Facing the Dragon
Sedika Mojadidi, 2018, 80 min., Dari

As the U.S. withdraws forces and aid from Afghanistan, the Taliban are regaining their hold and the stability of the country’s fragile democracy is unclear. Afghan-American filmmaker Sedika Mojadidi joins two awe-inspiring women on the front lines: Nilofar, a successful doctor-turned-member of parliament, driven in her mission to secure peace and well-being for women; and Shakila, a top investigative journalist committed to exposing the truth about what is happening in her troubled country. Under increasing threats of violence, these two women are soon forced to choose between their sense of duty and love for Afghanistan, and the safety of their families. New York Premiere

Naila and the Uprising
Julia Bacha, 2017, 76 min., Arabic, English, Hebrew, French

When an uprising breaks out in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in 1987, a young woman in Gaza must make a choice between love and family and freedom. Naila and the Uprising chronicles the remarkable real-life journey of Naila Ayesh, a key figure in the First Intifada, which forced the world to recognize the Palestinian right to self-determination. Using evocative animation, intimate interviews, and exclusive archival footage, this film tells the story the mainstream media missed: of a courageous women’s movement at the head of Palestinians’ struggle for freedom, bringing out of anonymity the bold women activists whose contributions and sacrifices changed history, but whose stories have remained untold until now.

The Silence of Others
Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar, 2018, 96 min., Spanish

A 1977 amnesty law in Spain known as “the pact of forgetting” prohibits legal action related to the oppression, torture and murder of an estimated 100,000 people during Franco’s 40-year dictatorship. But for much of the population – including the survivor who passes his torturer’s home every day on the way to market, the children of forcibly disappeared parents found buried in mass graves, and parents still searching for their children seized at birth and handed to Franco’s allies – there is no peace in silence. Taking strength and inspiration from justice-seekers in Chile and Guatemala, the characters in The Silence of Others fight an urgent battle to get recognition and admissions of guilt against state-imposed amnesia. From award-winning directors and Executive Producer Pedro Almodovar comes a powerful film about a country still divided four decades into democracy. New York Premiere

TransMilitary
Gabriel Silverman and Co-director Fiona Dawson, 2018, 92 min., English

The military is the largest employer of transgender people in the United States. Amid rapidly changing policies that technically bans them from serving, 15,500 troops identify as transgender. TransMilitary documents four brave men and women who risk their families’ livelihoods by coming out to the Pentagon’s top brass in the hope of attaining the equal right to serve. With a new commander-in-chief at the helm, they must traverse a series of successes and defeats, as their careers hang in the balance. New York Premiere

Voices of the Sea
Kim Hopkins, 2018, 99 min., Spanish

In this tiny, remote Cuban fishing village, Mariela, a mother of four young children, longs for a better life. The families in her village are utterly dependent on the day’s catch, which changes with the tide. The shops are empty, school is repeatedly shut down due to a lack of resources, and basic transportation is non-existent. With the relationship between the U.S. and Cuba in flux, Mariela, like many Cubans, is afraid that her only chance to escape to the U.S. will soon close. Her husband, Pita, loves his community, cherishes his friendships, and is loyal to his craft as a fisherman. The tension between husband and wife — one desperate to leave, the other content to stay — increases after her brother and neighbors flee the country, risking their lives to chase the American Dream. New York Premiere

What Will People Say?
Iram Haq, 2017, 106 min., Norwegian, Urdu

Sixteen-year-old Nisha lives a double life. At home with her conservative Pakistani family, she is the perfect, compliant daughter. But when out with her friends, she is a typical Norwegian teenager – partying and exploring relationships. When her father discovers her deception, Nisha’s two worlds brutally collide. Trapped between countries and perceptions of honor, Nisha is forced to find her own way in life. This gripping and powerfully acted drama from Norwegian-Pakistani filmmaker Iram Haq untangles the complex relationship between a father and daughter and presents an empathetic perspective on family, community and culture. New York Premiere