The Bermuda International Film Festival has partnered with the Women?s Resource Centre to present a fundraising film screening during the ninth Bermuda International Film Festival, March 17-25.

Sisters in Law, an inspiring, award-winning documentary about justice issues in the small town of Kumba, Cameroon, will screen at the Liberty Theatre at 4 p.m. on Sunday March 19 under the patronage of The Honourable Mr. Justice Richard Ground OBE QC, Chief Justice of Bermuda.

Tickets for the fundraiser are $50, and available from Tuesday March 7 from BIFF, the Music Box store on Reid Street, and fundraiser committee members Tonesan Amissah (Appleby Spurling Hunter), Vicky Pearman (Juris Law Chambers) and Robin Mayor (Conyers, Dill & Pearman).

Directed by Kim Longinotto and Florence Ayisi, Sisters in Law is a fascinating, often hilarious, look at the work of one small courthouse in Cameroon. Tough-minded state prosecutor Vera Ngassa and court president Beatrice Ntuba are on a mission to help women in their Muslim village find the courage to fight often-difficult cases of abuse, despite pressures from family and their community to remain silent. They also hold both men and women responsible for incidences of child abuse.

With fierce compassion, they dispense wisdom, wisecracks and justice in fair measure, handing down stiff sentences to those convicted. Both insightful and uplifting, the film presents a rare strong and positive view of African women ? and captures the emerging spirit of courage, hope and possibility for change.

The film has won numerous festival awards, including the Prix Art et Essai ? CICAE (La Confederation Internationale des Cinemas Art & Essais) at Directors? Fortnight, 2005 Cannes Film Festival, and the Audience Choice Award at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam.

?When I saw the film at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, I immediately thought how appropriate it would be as a fundraiser that could benefit both of our organisations,? says festival deputy director Duncan Hall. ?The festival is always on the lookout for ways to benefit the wider community, and the Women?s Resource Centre is such a valuable community resource.? ?We are delighted to partner with one of Bermuda?s premier arts events to raise money to help us continue our work on behalf of the women of Bermuda,? says Penny Dill, executive director of the Women?s Resource Centre. ?We hope that supporters of the Centre, and the film festival, will come out in force to show their support for two worthy causes.?

The Women?s Resource Centre will next year mark 20 years of helping women in need in Bermuda. Founded in 1987 as the Rape Crisis Centre, the organisation was re-named in 1992 to reflect the wide range of community needs that it serves. The Centre operates a full-time counselling service, a 24-hour crisis hotline, a court advocate programme that assists in obtaining protection through the courts, and a community education programme to raise awareness of domestic and sexual violence. The Centre served more than 300 members of the community in 2005.

Tickets to the fundraiser will also be available beginning Wednesday March 8, online only, at . The festival box office will open on Saturday March 11 at 10 a.m. at the BIFF Front Room festival headquarters at # 6 Passenger Terminal, Front Street, Hamilton.