A message of hope will be on offer at cinemas across Oxford, with the start of a city-wide film festival.

The Human Rights Film Festival, organised by students at Oxford Brookes University, will feature 19 films, starting on Friday.

It is the sixth time students from the university's development and emergency practice course have staged a film festival.

Anne Leewis, 23, is the festival's co-ordinator and was among the team who selected the films.

Miss Leewis, who is originally from Holland and lives in Cheney Lane, said: "I think it is important in general to raise awareness of human rights and we believe films are a great medium to bring across the concept of human rights and engage people without being dry.

"With something like film, it is easier to reach a wider audience of people who might not have thought about human rights or all the different aspects which are concerned with that and to get them interested in the subject."

The festival will start with a screening of Favela Rising, at 7pm in the university's main lecture theatre, followed by a performance by Oxford-based Brazilian band Illustrious Sambistas.

Films - all of which will be free and open to all - will also be screened at The Regal, in Magdalen Road, The Jericho Tavern, in Walton Street and the Jam Factory, in Park End Street.

Miss Leewis said: "Most of the films which are about human rights do not necessarily have a message of hope so a group of us got together to look for films that could had a hopeful feeling. We wanted to show that it's not all hopeless, that with commitment and perseverance even the bleakest of situations can change for the better."

As well as lesser-known documentaries, the festival will also feature box office hits Blood Diamond, featuring Leonardo Di Caprio, and Rabbit Proof Fence in a bid to widen its appeal.

Issues covered include poverty and issues relating to the Middle East conflict, Iraq and Yemen.

David Sanderson, who leads the course, said: "The programme attracts a diverse cohort of students from around the world every year, many of whom have experienced working in countries that have witnessed war, disaster and poverty."

The programme is as follows: Favela Rising, 7pm, Friday, February 29, Oxford Brookes University Rain in a Dry Land, 2pm, Saturday, March 1, Oxford Brookes University Lumo, 3.30pm, Saturday, March 1, Oxford Brookes University Blood Diamond, 2pm, Sunday, March 2, The Regal Video Letters, 4.30pm, Sunday, March 2, The Regal Fatherhood Dreams, 6pm, Monday, March 3, The Jericho Tavern, Caramel, 7pm, Monday, March 3, The Jericho Tavern, Murderers on the Dancefloor: Jailhouse Rock, 6pm, Tuesday, March 4, The Jericho Tavern Shooting Dogs, 6.30pm, Tuesday, March 4, The Jericho Tavern Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations, 6pm, Wednesday, March 5, Oxford Brookes University Rabbit Proof Fence, 6.45pm, Wednesday, March 5, Oxford Brookes University Hand in Hand: Centre for Jewish-Arab Education in Israel, 6pm, Thursday, March 6, Jam Factory West Beirut, 6.30pm, Thursday, March 6, Jam Factory A Stranger in her Own City, 6pm, Friday, March 7, Jam Factory Amina, 6.45pm, Friday, March 7, Jam Factory We'll Never Meet Childhood Again, 2pm, Saturday, March 8, Oxford Brookes University Return to Chernobyl, 3.30pm, Saturday, March 8, Oxford Brookes University Repatriation, 4.30pm, Saturday, March 8, Oxford Brookes University Abya Yala, 2pm, Sunday, March 9, The Regal I know I'm Not Alone, 3.30pm, Sunday, March 9, The Regal