The International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (FIFDH) is one of the most important international events dedicated to cinema and human rights, located in the heart of Geneva, "international capital of human rights". The inspiration and impetus behind the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights came from human rights defenders active in NGO's, filmmakers, media representatives and the University of Geneva. The FIFDH coincides with the UN Human Rights Council's main session. This simultaneous event makes the Festival a Free Platform for discussion and debates on a wide variety of topics concerning human rights. It was created by Léo Kaneman and co-founded by Yäel Reinharz Hazan, Pierre Hazan and Isabelle Gattiker in November 2002. Its first edition took place in March 2003.