The issue of internet privacy and the use of personal data by intelligence agencies are explored in the long-awaited documentary film Citizenfour. Czech audiences will get to see unique footage of interviews with whistle-blower Edward Snowden for the first time at One World. The festival will also present other films that will burst through bubbles about the security that our intelligence agencies provide.
Edward Snowden, a former analyst at the US National Security Agency (NSA), is described by filmmaker Laura Poitras in an exclusive interview about how the NSA collects data on hundreds of millions of people's private electronic communications. Nominated for an Oscar this year, Citizenfour brings new information in this highly covered case and calls attention to one of the most controversial topics of our times. Internet security is also the subject of The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz about a hacker driven to suicide by the American administration in his fight for civil rights.
One World has included in the programme other films that criticise democratic states. Drone is about the massive deployment of unmanned aircraft in the American military that over the past decade has fundamentally altered the lives of ordinary Pakistanis. The shocking film War of Lies shows how the false testimony of one person served as evidence to unleash the war in Iraq.
The opening film to be presented at the 17th annual One World Festival, Warriors from the North, also offers up new points of view and will burst through people's bubbles about Islamists. Filmmaker Søren Steen Jespersen explains why the second generation of Somali migrants in Denmark feel the need to join the radical movement Al-Shabaab. "In the film we follow the fascinating stories of several young men who have joined the Islamist radicals," says director of One World Hana Kulhánková. "Surprisingly these are completely ordinary kids who have found themselves on the fringes of Danish society. The feeling of inferiority compelled them to leave for Somalia and take up arms. But one of them soon discovers that he has made a huge mistake." Director Søren Steen Jespersen, who will come to Prague to present his film, adds: "We succeeded in breaking down stereotypes about Islamist fighters being monsters full of hate. They aren't. They are young, vulnerable people who have the same desires and problems as everyone else. They themselves told us: you are looking for monsters, but you found human beings."
In addition to the opening film, the Main Competition will feature the fascinating documentary The Look of Silence about the genocide in Indonesia, a follow up to director Joshua Oppenheimer's winning film at One World 2013 The Act of Killing. The producer of the new film, Signe Byrge Sørensen, will discuss the details of the campaign which opened the taboo topic directly in Indonesia. Despite official indignation the team succeeded in screening the film in many places around the country, revealing the horrors of the past which are otherwise kept silent. Films which present evidence of gross violations of human rights or that "burst through the bubbles" of preconceived notions will vie for awards in the Right to Know category. Casablanca Calling documents Morocco's efforts to counter the threat of religious radicalisation by emphasising the role of women.
This year three thematic categories were created. The Learning Forever category features films about alternative schools (Approaching the Elephant) and documentaries that criticise education systems. Lessons in Dissent is about student protests in Hong Kong and the start of the activist careers of Joshua Wong and Ma Jai. The Captivate Minds category uncovers new themes connected with mental illness and psychological crises. The documentary 9999 calls attention to the fact that in Belgium psychiatric patients who have committed crimes end up serving life sentences in prison instead of in mental institutions. The system, which is often criticised by international institutions, does not offer them any alternatives. On the contrary, in the film Out of Mind, Out of Sight we see that in Canada these kinds of patients can re-join society. The third new category Yugoscope features films from the countries of the former Yugoslavia. Audiences will meet a member of the defence team for Serbian commander Radovan Karadzic (The Serbian Lawyer) as well as the lesbian and transgender communities in Croatia (Once Again).
The traditional category Journeys to Freedom outlines the reality on the ground in countries where People in Need works. Ukraine Voices shows a country in transformation, where people are fighting both for democracy and against it. Meanwhile, The Power of the Media category features, for example, the film Cartoonists: Foot Soldiers of Democracy about cartoonists from more than 10 countries. In the So-called Civilisation category are presented films on environmental topics, such as Vive la France about the terrible legacy of atomic testing that France carried out between 1966 and 1996 in Polynesia and for which to this day it refuses to acknowledge its responsibility. The best documentaries from world festivals are shown in the Panorama category, such as the Oscar-nominated Virunga, which shows how in the Congo a British mining company and a protracted and bloody conflict threaten a unique national park, home of the last mountain gorillas. Then there is the Czech Perspectives category, where One World presents four films in premiere, and the Echoes of the Freedom Film Fest from Malaysia, whose director Anna Har is a member of the Grand Jury.
Cross-kino Neustadt: New generation documentaries
One World keeps a close eye on modern trends in documentary filmmaking and therefore in addition to "regular" films increasingly focuses on cross-media projects – interactive web documentaries that employ elements of computer games and new methods of storytelling. A festival centre called the Cross-cinema Neustadt has been created in a specially modified space of Prague's New Town Hall. Here people can try out selected cross-media projects, such as Last Hijack about Somali pirates. The programme will include workshops, lectures and debates organised in cooperation with the IDF featuring renowned figures from the world of film and new media, such as William Uricchio from MIT.
In addition the festival this year will focus more on social impact documentaries that are connected with campaigns and thus have the potential to solve specific problems. Andrea Culková, the director of Czech documentary Sugar Blues, wants to raise awareness about the harmfulness of refined sugar and the power of the sugar lobby. The filmmakers behind In the Shadow of War Georgie and Sophie Scott present a social campaign connected with their film which shows how film can help cure post-traumatic stress connected with war. You can find more about the Cross-cinema Neustadt here.
Notable features of the 17th annual festival
Debates with ministers and filmmakers
Czech foreign minister Lubomír Zaorálek has promised to take part in a debate about the direction of Czech foreign policy. Among the other nine planned panel debates will be ones that explore the theme of Czech refugee policy or developments in Ukraine. In addition, this year for the first time audiences will have the chance to spend more time with directors at eight expanded debates in the Světozor cinema.
One World in Schools
In the course of the festival pupils of primary and secondary schools from all around the country will see films. On the very first day of registration more than 10,000 people signed up for the school screenings. Right now there are more than 15500. One World also focuses on the youngest audiences. For children ages 8 – 14 One World will screen a series of short documentaries. There will also be weekend screenings and related workshops for children. More at www.jsns.cz/festival.
Bubble Free Concert (6 March 2015 | 19:00 | NoD)
The concert in the experimental space of NoD is guaranteed to burst through at least a few people's bubbles. Egyptian musician Ramy Essam wrote songs for all of Tahrir Square and became a symbol of the revolution. The concert will also feature Venezuelan human rights lawyer and One World Grand Jury member Alfredo Romero. Ukrainian band Krapka combines folk, blues, acoustic rock, hip-hop and world music. Also busting a move will be Ille from the Czech Republic.
East Doc Platform (March 2 – 8)
During the One World Festival the Institute of Documentary Film (IDF) will organise for the fourth year the largest documentary event of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe: the East Doc Platform (EDP). More than 400 guests from the ranks of foreign and Czech directors, producers, distributors, representatives of television channels, funds, institutions, festivals the media and the general public will come to the Cervantes Institute and the Komedie Theatre in Prague. The IDF also presents new international project KineDok, which focuses on screenings of documentaries in alternative spaces. Among other things, 26 films from this year's One World programme were created with the support of the IDF. Most of the EDP events are open to the public. More at www.DOKweb.net.
One World by the numbers
· 8 festival venues in Prague (Lucerna, Světozor, Atlas, French Institute, Municipal Library, Ponrepo, Evald and the Cross-cinama Neustadt)
· 114 documentaries in 12 thematic categories
· Films from 59 countries
· 7 documentaries from South America, a huge increase compared to previous years
· 2 Oscar-nominated films (Citizenfour and Virunga)
· 4 premieres of Czech films: Jenica & Perla, Suppressed Letters, Always Together and Sugar Blues.
· A record number of guests will come to Prague – more than 100
· 117,764 people attended 1,394 screenings around the Czech Republic in One World 2014
The festival will take place in Prague March 2 – 11 then in 33 other Czech cities and towns as well as in Brussels.
The press centre and guest service are located in the People in Need Centre – Langhans (Vodičkova 37, Prague 1) throughout the festival. Advance tickets go on sale in Prague on February 23. The price of admission is lower this year: CZK 70 for films starting at 17:00 and CZK 90 for later screenings. Seniors pay CZK 45. The Světozor cinema now has a supervised children's corner.
The complete programme is at www.oneworld.cz.
You can find a list of guests in the attachment. Photos are available upon request.
More information:
Tereza Hronová – media coordinator
mobile: (+420) 731 129 553
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
One World 2015 is supported by:
General partner: Avast Foundation, Main partner: Kofola, Partner of The Power of the Media category: Stream.cz, Festival partner: Jobs.cz, Co-organiser: Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, Support: Capital City of Prague, State Cinematography Fund, Creative Europe – MEDIA, European Commission – DG, enlargement Main media partner: Czech Television, Main broadcast partner: Czech Radio
