News
One World supports new human rights film festival in Kenya
12.12.2008
A new human rights film festival is taking place these days in Nairobi and several other locations in Kenya. Dunia Moja (One World in Swahili) is partnered, among others, by One World Prague.
The film selection focuses on truth and reconciliation, inequality and corruption. But it will also include filmic accounts of some recent military conflicts in Africa; for example the award-winning Greatest Silence: Rape in Congo, which was also the opening film of One World in Prague. Screenings and discussions in low income areas, some which should take place also in the first half of 2009, are another important part of the festival.
One World supports new human rights film festival in Kenya
12.12.2008
A new human rights film festival is taking place these days in Nairobi and several other locations in Kenya. Dunia Moja (One World in Swahili) is partnered, among others, by One World Prague.
The film selection focuses on truth and reconciliation, inequality and corruption. But it will also include filmic accounts of some recent military conflicts in Africa; for example the award-winning Greatest Silence: Rape in Congo, which was also the opening film of One World in Prague. Screenings and discussions in low income areas, some which should take place also in the first half of 2009, are another important part of the festival.
One World in Vienna
20.11.2008
December 10th is a date marking the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. One World will celebrate this event by organizing festival echoes in Vienna.
From December 2 till December 4, One World in cooperation with the Czech Center and the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute will present a rich program including the Viennese premiere of award-winning Citizen Havel or a special presentation of academy award winner Taxi to the Dark Side followed by a debate with professor Manfred Nowak, UN special rapporteur for torture.
Parallel to this, the first annual human rights film festival This Human World is taking place. Partnering significantly with One World, this new endeavour will bring two weeks of human rights cinema and discussions to Vienna.
More info at: www.thishumanworld.com and www.czechcentres.cz/vienna
One World in Madrid
21.10.2008
Echoes of One World are taking place this week in Madrid!
The festival will present five films reflecting social problems in todays´ Latin American countries. Screenings take place in the prestigious art house Casa de America (
www.casaamerica.es) and the University of Complutenze.
An important part of the event is a round-table discussion about the political situation in Cuba. Among the round-table participants will be Blanca Reyes, member of Damas de Blanco movement, and Igor Blazevic, founder of One World festival.
One World in Unesco
03.10.2008
A special presentation of One World festival took place September 25 in the Unesco headquarters in Paris. The soirée consisted of a panel debate named “Human Rights Reflected in documentary films”, which was moderated by Vincent Mercier, director of the Paris based Festival International du Film des Droits de l’Homme. A screening of the Czech film Citizen Havel followed the lively nearly two hours long discussion.
This presentation, organized in cooperation with the Permanent Delegation of the Czech Republic to Unesco, was also linked to the Special Mention for Human Rights Education, which One World received from Unesco in 2006 as the first film festival ever.
Top Docs - The Best of Sundance in Svetozor Cinema
25.08.2008
One World Film Festival and U.S. Embassy Prague invite you to the minifestival
TOP DOCS – BEST US DOCUMENTARIES PRESENTED AT SUNDANCE,
which will take place between September 16th and 18th, 2008 at cinema Svetozor ( the small hall and the big hall) in Prague.
Detailed information and program of the festival you can find here.
Democracy Video Challenge
23.08.2008
The online competition
Democracy Video Challenge seeks to engage democracy advocates, filmmakers, and citizens from around the world in a dialogue on democracy. The competition is initiated by the Department of State in public-private partnership*. The winners will travel to Washington, New York and Los Angeles, to attend a gala event, hosted by the Motion Picture Association of America, where the winnig films will be presented, and meet representatives of the U.S. film and television industries, government, media and civil society leaders. For more information
click here.
Submit your film to the 11th edition of One World Festival!
05.06.2008
We have opened submissions for the next edition of One World Festival. 11th annual One World takes place from 11th to 19th March 2009 in Prague.
Submission deadline has been extended till 30th Novemmber 2008. We kindly ask you to send your entries as soon as possible.
One World in Bucharest
22.05.2008
The first edition of One World Romania takes place in Bucharest May 27 through June 1 2008. It will be the first human rights film festival to take place in Romania. The program brings 46 outstanding documentaries focused on contemporary dictatorships, children´s rights, gender equality, religion and systems of justice. Screenings will be followed by debates with filmmakers and special guests. The accompanying program includes 4 exhibitions and a rock concert. The festival is co-organized by People in Need and the Czech Centre in Bucharest, and is supported by many local partners. More information and complete program at: http://www.oneworld.ro.
One World in DC
13.05.2008
On May 14–17, 2008, People in Need in collaboration with the Embassy of the Czech Republic presents “Echoes” of One World in Washington, DC. The human rights film festival features 6 films focused on human rights violations affecting Burma, Belarus, and Cuba. Debates with filmmakers or experts on the given theme of each film follows the screenings. The series will open with the DC premiere of Citizen Havel (Občan Havel) at the Avalon Theatre on May 14. The festival then moves to the Goethe-Institut. For more info and complete program go to http://www.mzv.cz/wwwo/?zu=washington.
One World in Sofia
05.05.2008
One World Bulgaria starts in Sofia on May 7 as the first ever human rights film festival in Bulgaria. Organized in cooperation with One World Prague, this new festival will present some 40 films and numerous accompanying events. It will be opened by Letter to Anna, a haunting film that received this year´s Vaclav Havel Special Award. After Sophia, the films will be screened in other towns (Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, etc). For more information visit www.bgoneworld.org.
One World in New York!
15.04.2008
One World in New York City took place April 14 through April 18. Organized with the Czech Center New York, the festival showcased some of 2008 program highlights, such as Damas de Blanco or the award-winning Crime and Punishment. Read more about the event here:
One World 2008 Winning Films
14.03.2008
Best Film Award: Behave
13.03.2008
Films in the Main Competition have competed for the Best Film Award and the Best Director Award, and they have been awarded by members of the Main Jury. The members of this year’s Main Jury are: Ulrike Franke, Eva Mulvad, Jean-Gabriel Périot, Barbara Truyen and Jan Šikl.
The prize for
Best Film was awarded to the Brazilian film Behave, by the director, Marie Ramos. The film was about juvenile delinquents who end up before a special youth court for their wrongdoings. “
Respectful of both sides of the system and with a clear vision and a precise use of cinematography this film takes us into a microcosmos of the juvenile court in Brazil. The pure, intimate and strong scenes bring us close to the main characters as human beings. Through the clear choices, Ms. Ramos made this film is a truly remarkable journey using the minimum to reach the maximum,” the main jury said, when explaining its decision.
Václav Havel Special Award: Letter to Anna
12.03.2008
The
Václav Havel Special Award for the film with the most significant contribution to human rights awareness is awarded every year during the One World Film Festival by a
special jury under the honorary chairmanship of
Václav Havel.
This year, the prize was awarded to the film Letters to Anna. The film, made by Swiss director Eric Bergkraut brings us a complexpicture of the murdered Russian journalist and human rights fighter Anna Politkovskaya, whowas a leading critic of what is called the Second Chechen War, in which Russian forces have carried out bloody massacres on the civilian population while the Putin government has pushed the country towards dictatorship.
According to Václav Havel, the fate of Anna Politkovskaya comprises a part of the drama of the Russian Democracy. “She was a very admirable and brave woman and we all – but mainly Russians – should be concerned about the truth surrounding her death. We can only hope that her death will be understood as a victim leading to the self-preservation movements in the Russian society,” says Havel.
Main Jury Special Mention: Citizen Havel
12.03.2008
The members of the main jury also decided to give special mention to the film Citizen Havel.
The jury justified its decision by stating: “We would like to make a special mention regarding the one film we all truly enjoyed all in our own way. We think this film is very entertaining - a landmark film, and one that will turn out to be a universal classic in many years to come. The unique access to the daily life of a president gave an extremely powerful and intimate insight into the life and times of Vaclav Havel. We have great respect for the authors and salute the persistence in the achievement.”
Rudolf Vrba Award: Rebellion: The Litvinenko Case, special mention for A Jihad for Love
12.03.2008
The
Rudolf Vrba Award will be awarded to the Best Film in the category Right to Know. The jury awarding this prize is deliberately not composed of filmmakers but of charismatic and courageous individuals who are involved in the sphere of human rights. This year’s Rudolf Vrba jury comprised Min Zin,
Oksana Chelyscheva,
Kim Seung Min, Mohsen Sazegara and Osvaldo Alfonso Valdés.
“
The Rudolf Vrba Jury believes that the general quality of the films at the festival was very good, and it was very difficult to choose among them. The jury has chosen, Rebellion: The Litvinenko Case as the best film for its unique subject, for showing the hidden face of a dictatorship in Russia, and for the exceptional, brave and attractive way of telling the story of an opposition figure that was killed by the dictatorial regime.
The jury has also decided to give its special mention to, A Jihad for Love, for its humanistic values, beautiful scenes and for its ability to address a problem of love and tolerance not only in Islamic societies, but in all other societies as well,” the Rudolf Vrba Jury wrote in its statement.
Audience´s Award: Citizen Havel
12.03.2008
The winner of the Plzeňský Prazdroj Audience Award, which enjoyed the best reception from visitors to One World, is Citizen Havel.
Best Director Award: Crime and Punishment
12.03.2008
“Through the remarkable style in both shooting and editing, the director creates a paste and rhythm that leaves the viewer to make up his own mind about what he sees and feels. The repetitiveness creates a sense for detail, which makes us understand the sometimes absurd complexity and violence of contemporary China in a way we have never seen before. In Crime and Punishment, we see a courageous, unique perspective as well as challenging vision, and therefore the grand jury awards the prize for the best director to Zhao Lian,” the jury wrote in its statement.
Mayor of Prague’s Best Short Film Award: One Day
12.03.2008
In the competition
category for short form, which, as well as documentaries, includes experimental and animated films on the topic of human rights which last up to 35 minutes, the
Mayor of Prague’s Best Short Film Award is awarded by a traditional jury comprising of directors or dramaturges of prestigious international documentary festivals. This year the jury consisted of Virpi Suutari, Grit Lemke, David Teigeler, Zsuzsa Zádori and Ivo Andrle.
The
Mayor of Prague’s Best Short Film Award has been awarded to the picture One Day by the Danish director Ditte Johnsen. “The Mayor of Prague Award, given under the auspices of Mayor Pavel Bem, for the best short film under 30 minutes, we would like to award to One Day, by Ditte Haarlov-Johnsen. This graduation film from the Danish film school was for us an intimate, innovative, but also discreet multi-layered mosaic of the life of a woman from Ghana working as a prostitute in Denmark. Slowly but in a very precise and totally honest way she is able to tell a personal story, but at the same time show a global perspective on so many of the themes we do know about, but sometimes choose to ignore. In 29 minutes, Ditte gave us-the jury, a perfect example of using the short form with the utmost respect for the protagonist, a woman living under the most difficult of circumstances to make things better, not only for her, but for others."
The jury also offered
special mention to the sophisticated picture
The First Day by the Polish director Marcin Sauter. “
To The First Day, directed by Marcin Sauter, we would like to give a special mention for showing a clear, creative and cinematic story in which, we think, every viewer will go back and remember their own first day of going to school. This Polish film presents a poetic coming-of-age story in a remote part of Russia. But in showing us one of life’s cruelest moments, Marcin also manages to tell the wider story of a Siberian tribe and the so-called advance of civilization.”
Czech Radio Award: FACES [:phases]
12.03.2008
The Czech Radio Award for the Best Use of Music and Sound in a Documentary Film was also awarded. As always, the jury was comprised of employees of the Czech Radio: Vlastimil Hankus, Karel Fisl, and the chairman of the jury, Jiří Hubička. The prize goes to the German film FACES [:phases], directed by Holger Ernst.
“The film offers impressive testimony about the role and guises of human work in its many manifestations and forms. It records the specific conditions of work in a wide variety of places all around the world. With its compact scope and excellent, dynamic editing, this film shows that it is possible to use images and sound without words to create an engrossing message about the difficult fate facing people in today’s world,” the jury writes in its statement.
Student Jury Award: Iron Ladies of Liberia
12.03.2008
The Student Jury composed by the secondary-school students from three European countries has come to a decision about the Best Film from One World for Schools category.
“Student Jury has decided to award the prize to the picture Iron Ladies of Liberia because it is an example of a concrete country with current issues that trouble the whole Africa. The movie shows some possible solutions out of the situation, and we believe that this movie will make young people think more about current issues and devising solutions. We have specially awarded this film because of the crucial female role, and overall positive message of the film.”
Have a virtual look at nine award-winning documentaries from past One World editions
11.03.2008
One World traditionally brings documentaries to spectators outside cinema walls. A
special on-line section prepared for the tenth jubilee of One World consists of
9 documentaries that have
won awards in previous years. Each Monday we have posted one successful documentary representing the respective festival year. Today we offer a
complete list of the films that
you can watch anytime you want:
- Strach (Strach, Belarus, 1998, 43 minutes, director: Leanid Mindlin).
- The Gospel according to the Papuans (The Gospel according to the Papuans, France, 1999, 52 minutes, director: Thomas Balmés).
- The Diplomat (The Diplomat, Australia, 2000, 81 minut, director: Tom Zubrycki).
- It’s My Life (It’s My Life, JAR, 2001, 74 minutes, director: Brian Tilley).
- Choropampa, El precio de oro (Peru, 2002, 78 minutes, director: Stephanie Boyd, Ernesto Cabellos).
- Surpluss (Sweden, 52 minutes, director: Erik Gandini).
- Bunso – The Youngest (Philippines, 2004, 64 minutes, director: Ditsi Carolino).
- Dear Muslim (Lieber Muslim, Germany/Poland, 2005, 35 minutes, director: Kerstin Nickig).
- Bridge over Wadi (Gesher Al-Havadi, Israel, 2007, 57 minutes, director: Barak Heymann, Tomer Heymann).
One Worlds screenings and debates in progress
06.03.2008
Tenth year of the One World is in the progress after Wednesday’s opening. Big interest of the viewers accompanies the screenings. Spectators can daily participate in the interesting debates with the Czech and foreign authors -
Claude Lanzmann or
Lisa F. Jackson among others. Pictures from the opening ceremony and snapshots from the meeting of Jury Members and filmmakers can be seen in the
Photo Gallery section.
One World Festival opened not only in the Czech Republic but also in Belarus
04.03.2008
On the same day as the One World festival opened in Prague, the Belarus edition was launched in Hrodna, Western Belarus. The festival was officially opened by the Czech Chargé d´Affaires in Belarus, Vladimír Ruml.
Screenings began with the film Cuba libre depicting the Cuban dictatorship. For the Belarusian festival, films are screened in one of the last public places available in Belarus where people can still gather periodically at events with a clearly pro-democratic tone. There was great public interest shown and the room was filled to capacity with more than eighty viewers.
Belarusian state authorities tried to prevent the event. For instance the fire inspection claimed that the organizers did not dispose of a sufficient number of fire extinguishers. The organizers, Hrodna representatives of Alexander Milinkevich's For Freedom movement, were not intimidated and managed to continue with the screening. Together with the spectators, the film projection was thus attended by firemen, the police and the “main municipal ideologist” who is responsible for ensuring that cultural events and information provided to the population are in line with state ideology.
Four other films about restrictive regimes and the fight against them in various parts of the world are to be screened in Hrodna in the coming days.
Find the information about the Festival at Aktualne.cz
03.03.2008
In cooperation with our media partner Aktualne.cz, we have prepared a special package about the festival in English. You can find basic information about tenth One World Festival in the first article.
A mailing for the dictators: DVD with the One World Festival Trailer
03.03.2008
This year’s festival trailer is dominated by the subject of current dictators. We have sent the opening letter and the DVD with the festival trailer to all members of the "dictators band". The picture is from the One World press conference.
The Festival Team Recommends Its Favorite Films
03.03.2008
138 documentaries from nearly forty countries all over the world will be shown at the festival. It is not easy to choose between them. Let yourself be inspireed by the choices of those in charge of the program. Almost all films now have a trailers.
Taxi to the Dark Side: Oscar Winner to be Shown at One World
25.02.2008
Taxi to the Dark Side, a fresh Oscar holder for the Best Documentary Feature will be shown at the festival. The film will be projected within the category Why Democracy?
Help to Turn them off – download the banners
19.02.2008
In
download section we have prepared various
banners with the subject of dictators. Support One World Film Festival and
place them to your blog or website!
Video training for human rights defenders
14.02.2008
One World partner
WITNESS is pleased to announce a call for applications to participate in the 2008 Video Advocacy Institute (VAI). The Video Advocacy Institute, the first of its kind, is an
innovative program that trains human rights defenders to successfully integrate video advocacy into their social change campaigns. The VAI will be held in association with Concordia University's Communication Studies Program and Documentary Centre.
When: July 19 – August 2, 2008.
Where: Montreal, Canada.
Application Deadline: March 2, 2008
If you or anyone that you know would be interested in participating in this training program please visit:
http://www.witness.org/vai for detailed information and the application form. This VAI will be held in English. Future VAI's may be held in different languages. Previous production skills are not required. Should you have further questions about the VAI not answered in these materials, please write to us at:
vai@witness.org.
WITNESS uses video and online technologies to open the eyes of the world to human rights violations. We empower people to transform personal stories of abuse into powerful tools for justice, promoting public engagement and policy change.
ESoDoc - European Social Documentary
14.02.2008
ESoDoc - European Social Documentary is an EU's Media Plus training initiative that encourages documentary film makers to work in the areas of human rights, social justice, and environmental protection, particularly in the developing world. ESoDoc offers three 1-week sessions held over a 6-month period, during which participants, either individually or in groups, develop a documentary film project. Application deadline for ESoDoc 2008: March 18, 2008. More information at http://www.esodoc.eu/.
Why Democracy?
21.01.2008
One World and Czech Television have joined the international project named Why Democracy? The project aims to initiate a global discussion on democracy through the documentary films. Starting in October 2007, more than 40 televisions have been broadcasting ten feature films for roughly 300 million viewers. Other short films on personal, political, and human rights themes linked together by a question „What democracy means to me“ are accessible on-line.
Take a look at festival trailer on Youtube.com
15.01.2008
On the server Youtube.com you can see this year’s festival trailer, dominated by the subject of present dictators. You can express your opinion about the trailer either by rating it or by posting your comment at the discussion forum.
Introduction of the visual of Tenth One World Festival
13.01.2008
Website and overall visualization of this year incorporates the subject of present dictators. The author of the theme is Petr Vlasák from Comtech Group agency. The theme of puppet dictators who constantly play the same old boring song and who get driven off the stage by an infuriated audience was developed by the Hafan Film puppet studio under the direction of the renowned animator Jan Balej. The music was composed by the well known musician Jarda Svoboda from the band Traband.
