Free Film Screening: Twin Documentaries – RIVERS Project + Panel

The Leuven Institute of Criminology (LINC - KU Leuven), in collaboration with the European Forum for Restorative Justice (EFRJ) and Broederlijk Delen invites you to this special side event of the RestART Festival 2025.

Participation is free of charge, but registration is required via the available link.The room accommodates approximately 100 participants.

Everybody is welcome: students, researchers, professors, practitioners, and external participants.

About the Event
As part of the international RIVERS Project, we present two short “twin documentaries” that challenge dominant legal frameworks by foregrounding more-than-human agency and Indigenous jurisprudence. Set in Nepal and Colombia, the films explore how Indigenous knowledge systems clash with legal and development regimes that often fail to recognize the living and spiritual dimensions of land, rivers, and territory.

Created by a diverse team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous filmmakers—Mariona Guiu, Prasiit Sthapit, Rocío Westendorf, and cinematographer Rosaura Villanueva Espitia—the films bridge research, film, and advocacy through an ethical, interdisciplinary approach. Through intimate storytelling and immersive cinematography, the documentaries reveal struggle, resilience, and the possibility of alternative ecological and legal futures.

After the screenings, a panel discussion will further unpack these themes and open space for dialogue.

Interactive Dialogue With

• Belkis Izquierdo Torres – Indigenous judge, Special Jurisdiction for Peace (Colombia) and protagonist of the Colombian documentary
• Mamo Menjabin – Indigenous Arhuaco spiritual leader, Colombia
• Lieselotte Viaene – Principal Investigator, ERC RIVERS Project; Executive Producer of the Twin Documentaries; Human Rights Centre, Ghent University
• Thomas Craenen – Belgian NGO Broederlijk Delen
• Moderator: Marina Gamba, postdoctoral researcher, Faculty of Arts, KU Leuven

Creative Team Members Present

• Mariona Guiu – Creative Lead, RIVERS Project
• Manjit Lama – Indigenous visual storyteller and cinematographer, Nepal
• Ransubba Gurung – Indigenous co-producer and research assistant, Nepal

More Information

More background on the project and participating organisations

Rivers - Indigenous water ontologies, Plurilegal encounters...

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| European Forum for Restorative Justice