Cairo Human Rights Film Festival was launched on Saturday evening in parallel with Cairo International Cinema Festival.

Launched by North Africa bureau of the American Islamic Congress (AIC), the festival runs from Nov. 23-27 and includes six documentary and fictional films.

Dalia Ziyada, AIC’s North Africa Director in Cairo, said in her speech at the premiere, "The aim of this festival, which is considered the first of its kind in the Middle East, is to redefine art as a way to defend human rights, and to convey this idea to ordinary people through non-standard art."

The festival was opened by a film about democracy in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, "Democracy in Dakar" which seeks to educate others on the culture of human rights through music and singing.

The American Islamic Congress is a civil-rights organization which was founded after the events of September 11th, 2001 and aims at defending the image of Muslims, and making networks between young people in the Middle East and between young people in the United States.