International criminal justice on/and film

Abstract

What does film have to do with international criminal justice, and what do international criminal law and trials have to do with film? If their relationship is, as we suspect, co-dependent, at least to a degree, how do they relate and interact? Films can of course be characterised as ‘telling stories’ about international criminal law, while international criminal trials too serve as venues for ‘telling stories’ about crime, guilt, and victimisation, including by relaying or narrating the past through images. Films have long served as evidence in this genre of trials or filling in the background, reproducing ‘the historical context’ or representing ‘what really happened’. Filmed crimes—and filmed trials—attract media attention; indeed they are sometimes placed deliberately in the public realm to serve institutional policies of ‘outreach’ and ‘re-education’. Further, films may become accessory instruments of international crime, in some cases even inciting violence. The medium of film is moreover ideally suited to advocate or impose particular views of events and responsibilities, sometimes obscuring other interpretations. Beyond all this, films are also increasingly used to teach international law and international relations, and their histories. Show more