A Documentary about the Women Judges, the Courts
and Human Rights in South Africa
The purposes of this web site are to complement and enlarge upon the documentary, Courting Justice.
The context of the film is South Africa’s transformation from apartheid to a human rights-based constitutional democracy. Courting Justice features seven of South Africa’s women judges who, as judges, are charged with advancing that transformation.
They tell “their stories,” speaking to us in their court rooms, chambers, homes and the communities in which they lived during apartheid.
In telling their stories they convey their deep commitment to creating a human rights jurisprudence and bring attention to the importance of the judiciary’s engagement in realizing the constitution’s promises. They also provide insight into the judiciary’s own transformation — a necessary condition for the judiciary’s legitimacy and effectiveness.
Recent & Upcoming Screenings
This year promises to be a busy year for Courting Justice. South Africa’s Ambassadors, High Commissioners and Consul Generals in more than twenty countries are planning screenings and in South Africa the amazing Gold Museum has been offered as a venue.
South Africa’s High Commissioner to Canada is hosting the screening to be shown at the Ottawa Public Library.
February 1, 5:45 PM Main Auditorium , 120 Metcalf Street.
In San Francisco, California’s Admin Office of the Courts—”AOC: 50 years of service to the courts and the people of California, 1961–2011″ –is hosting the screening.
February 7, 11 AM – 12:30 PM, Lower level auditorium, 455 Golden Gate Avenue.
Also in San Francisco, the University of California/San Francisco will be the venue for a screening. February 9, 6pm Mission Bay Campus.
Deutsche Bank in New York City is host to a screening.
February 22, 4 pm- 8 pm, Auditorium, 60 Wall Street
The Honorable William G. Ford, Judge of the Suffolk County District Court is host to the screening at the Suffolk County Bar Association. “Courting Justice,” he comments, ” shows the importance given by the South African government and its citizens to the rule of law and to theirshared heritage. It speaks to their faith in a civil society, as governed by a written Constitution.”
February 28 6 PM at the Suffolk County Bar Association Great Room 560 Wheeler Rd. Hauppauge
Courting Justice can be purchased as a DVD, downloaded or instantly viewed at amazon.com (71 min film)
Festivals and Screenings
HBO COMPETITION FINALIST – August 2010: Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival
Courting Justice has been shown at The United Nations, Embassies and Consulates, U.S. Department of State, South Africa Parliament, Library of Congress, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the Law and Society Association.
- Voice of America.TV
- SABC (South Africa Broadcasting Corporation)
- Durban International Film Festival, Audience Award
- UNIFEM Women’s Int’l Film Festival
- International de Films de Femmes de Creteil (Paris)
- Sichuan TV Festival, China
- Parliament Film Festival, South Africa
- Addis International Film Festival, Africa
- Encounters: South African International Documentary Festival
- Assoc. of the Bar of the City of New York
- Black Lawyers Association
- Cornell University—School of Labor & Industrial Relations and School of Law
- Harvard Law School—Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice
- International Association of Women Judges
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Centennial Meeting
- National Association of Women Judges
- Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies
- Southern Coalition for Social Justice
- Union Baptist Church, Durham, N.C
- U.S. Committee for UNIFEM
- Yale Law School
- YWCA & YMCA, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois