Past Events and Screenings

At this very moment, a woman’s reproductive rights in the United States are not clear. Since 2010, state legislatures have passed more than 250 laws restricting abortion clinics and their doctors. From mandating the width of hallways to requiring physicians to have active admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, these measures are forcing clinics across the country to shut down in epidemic numbers. Lawyer-turned-acclaimed-filmmaker Dawn Porter picks up the plight of the doctors and clinic operators along with the countless women relying on these facilities to uphold their legal right to safe abortion.

The Frontline Freelance Register is hosting the London Foley Freedom run on 15 October! You can register up until the day itself, but its best to get signed up ASAP. So get your running/walking shoes on and get going!

The ideological and physical implementation of borders has become a key element of debate around the global refugee crisis. Forty thousand people died trying to cross international borders in the past decade, with deaths along the shores of Europe only accounting for half of the shocking total. At the same time, military-industrial complexes have expanded to further secure and police border zones across the world. We will be joined by a panel of experts to discuss the relationship between border security projects, border conflict, and the refugee crisis.

Since 2014 the rise of Daesh (ISIS) has shaken the stability of the Middle East and led to a climate of unease in Europe. As the crisis in the region deepens and Daesh continues to recruit members from abroad, Western leaders remain torn on tactics for battling the militant group. His newest book, The Age of Jihad: The Islamic State and the Great War for the Middle East, Patrick Cockburn presents a compelling new analysis of the dominant conflict of our time; the Sunni – Shia war and the subsequent origins of Daesh. Cockburn will join us to discuss in depth the current turmoil in the Middle East and the role the West has played in the region from 2001 to present.

This screening is co-presented by PBS America and will be followed by a Q&A with director Michael Kirk.

With the opinion polls indicating a close-run race and the two major parties offering radically different viewpoints, the United States stands at one of the most significant political crossroads the nation has seen for many years. FRONTLINE’s critically acclaimed series returns for the 2016 election to examine the intriguing personal and political biographies of the presidential candidates.

A monthly social evening for journalists and others in the London media world. The London Press Club, which has been bringing the industry together since 1882, has resurrected the tradition of regular drinks, on the back of popular demand.

The Frontline Club hosts the evening on the first Tuesday of each month. No entrance fee is required and there is a pay bar.

After four years of negotiations, the Colombian government and the largest rebel group in the country have reached a deal to end more than 50 years of civil conflict, paving the way for an end to the longest running war in the Americas. The asymmetrical Colombian Conflict lasted 52 years, claimed over 220,000 lives and displaced more than five million people. Can Colombia become a symbol of hope in a world wracked with conflict? We will be joined by a panel of journalists and experts to discuss this historic peace agreement and what it means for the people of Colombia.

Our next monthly drinks will take place on the 29th September.

Jeremy Bowen, Lindsey Hilsum, Allan Little, Jon Lee Anderson and Lyse Doucet invite you to the annual fundraising dinner for the Frontline Fund.

More than 2,000 leaked incident reports from Australia’s detention camp for asylum seekers on the remote Pacific island of Nauru were published in The Guardian in August. Sparking outrage from the international community, the Nauru files set out the shocking details of assaults, sexual abuse, self-harm attempts, child abuse and poor living conditions endured by asylum seekers held by the Australian government – painting a picture of a dysfunctional asylum processing system. We will be joined by a panel of journalists, migration experts and human rights defenders to discuss their initial reactions to the Nauru files, the implications of the reports and how a group of journalists broke a story from within a detention centre that has remained historically off-limits to journalists.

Since March 2015, a coalition of the Middle East’s richest countries, led by Saudi Arabia, has been bombing the region’s poorest state, Yemen. While the bombing campaign has been receiving intermittent coverage in the international media, the enormous scale of the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Yemen as a result continues to be overlooked. Through the eyes of Ahwaq, a medical doctor living and practicing in Hodeidah, viewers will see the silent killer of this ongoing conflict: the blockade currently imposed by the Saudi-led coalition and the widespread, large-scale corruption and lawlessness on the ground, which is drastically disrupting civilians’ access to aid.

What happens when you are declared an enemy of the state simply for making art? Where do you belong when your government suppresses your basic right to expression? And how do you survive in one of the most brutal prison systems in the world?

For the first event in a new series investigating corruption and dirty money in London – its origins, its launderers, and how it gets spent – we will be hearing three groundbreaking stories focusing on the former Soviet Union. We will discuss how Russian kleptocrats have used the services of the British capital to retain and launder their money; how London’s property market has become a piggy bank for the world’s corrupt elite; and how ex-Soviet businessmen have covertly funded MPs and parliamentary groups, gaining preferential treatment as a result.

The Frontline Club is delighted to welcome Andrew Harding to present The Mayor of Mogadishu.
The Mayor of Mogadishu is an uplifting story of survival, and a compelling examination of what it means to lose a country and then to reclaim it.

As unrest escalates in Turkey – a country that once prided itself as a pro-western beacon of stability in the Middle East – writers and journalists are experiencing a crackdown on freedom of expression, including jailing, blackmail and the forceful takeover of major news platforms. While Erdoğan maintains that the press in Turkey is among the most free in the world, human rights organisations warn that freedom of expression is under ever growing threat. We will be joined by prominent Turkish writers, along with media monitoring experts, to discuss their work in the context of the risks faced by writers and journalists in Turkey today.

This screening will be followed by a panel discussion with director Stephanie Soechtig and others.

Under the Gun examines the events and people who have kept the U.S. gun debate fierce and the progress slow, even as gun deaths and mass shootings continue to increase. Through the lens of families impacted by the mass shootings in Newtown, Aurora, Isla Vista and Tucson, as well as those who experience daily gun violence in Chicago, the documentary looks at why politicians are finding it difficult to act and what is being done at the state and local levels. The film is executive produced and narrated by Katie Couric and directed by Stephanie Soechtig.

Since her first assignment to Afghanistan in Autumn 2001 to document the US-led ‘Occupation Enduring Freedom’ in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, award-winning photojournalist Paula Bronstein has made the country her mission. Returning frequently to intimately document the daily lives of the Afghan people against the backdrop of a brutal and protracted war, Bronstein has captured ongoing challenges in Afghanistan – including human rights abuses against women and increased violence and instability – as well as the stirrings of new hope, including women participating in elections for the first time.

On the publication of her new book Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear, Paula Bronstein will join us in conversation with Christina Lamb to discuss her expansive work that intimately captures everyday life in Afghanistan against the backdrop of the 14-year US-led invasion and its enduring legacy.

Seen through the lens of filmmaker Brian Oakes, Foley’s close childhood friend, Jim: The James Foley Story takes us from small-town New England to the adrenaline-fuelled front lines of Libya and Syria, where photojournalist James (Jim) Foley pushed the limits of danger to report on the plight of civilians impacted by war. Brilliantly constructed with unparalleled access, Jim is a harrowing chronicle of bravery, compassion, and pain at the dawn of a new World War against ISIS.

From Northern Ireland to Vietnam, the Falklands to Syria, the photographs taken by Don McCullin have come to define some of the most pivotal events of the past 70 years.

As he publishes Irreconcilable Truths, a definitive retrospective of his life and work, he will be joining us in conversation with Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow, to reveal the stories behind some of the most iconic images of the second half of the 21st century.

The Frontline Club, VICE News and English PEN present a panel discussion on the role of local fixers and translators in foreign news gathering and the responsibility of news organisations. An expert panel reveals how international news gathering really works, considers the risks in getting the story out and assesses the role of international news organisations in safeguarding the unsung heroes of foreign reporting.