11th One World Human Rights Film Festival
The Velvet Generation Comes of Age
March 11 - 19, 2009
Prague / Czech Republic
MAIN COMPETITION
The films in the Main Competition will be competing for the Best Film Award and the Best Director award.
Jury: John Akomfrah (UK), Marie-Pierre Duhamel (France), Tonička Janková (Czech Republic), Gerd Kroske (Germany) and Alexandru Solomon (Romania). 
Bagatelle / Bagatela
Jorge Caballero Ramos / Spain / 2008 / 68 min.
Because We Were Born / Puisque nous sommes nés [photo]
Jean-Pierre Duret, Andréa Santana / Brazil, France / 2008 / 90 min.
Below Sea Level / Below Sea Level
Gianfranco Rosi / USA, Italy / 2008 / 115 min.
City of the Roma / La Cité des Roms
Frédéric Castaignede / France / 2008 / 97 min.
Crude / Crude
Joe Berlinger / USA / 2009 / 100 min.
Far from the Villages / Au loin des villages
Olivier Zuchuat / France, Switzerland / 2008 / 77 min.
Forgotten Transports to Poland / Zapomenuté transporty do Polska
Lukáš Přibyl / Czech Republic / 2009 / 88 min.
Gyumri / Gyumri
Jana Ševčíková / Czech Republic / 2008 / 68 min.
In 2007, the film was presented at the Docu Talents from the East
In the Game / Ich gehe jetzt rein...
Aysun Bademsoy / Germany / 2008 / 72 min.
Japan - a Story of Love and Hate / Japan - a Story of Love and Hate
Sean McAllister / UK / 2008 / 70 min.
Oblivion / El Olvido
Heddy Honigmann / Netherlands / 2008 / 93 min.
Pale peko bantu mambo ayikosake / Pale peko bantu mambo ayikosake
Bram Van Paesschen / Belgium / 2008 / 96 min.
Rough Aunties / Rough Aunties
Kim Longinotto / UK / 2008 / 103 min.
Sea Point Days / Sea Point Days
François Verster / South Africa / 2008 / 90 min.
Syntoniser Amani / Syntoniser Amani
German Reyes / Spain / 2008 / 75 min.
The One Man Village / Semaan bil Day'ia
Simon El Habre / Lebanon / 2008 / 86 min.
RIGHT TO KNOW
The Rudolf Vrba Award is given to the best film in the Right to Know category. This year’s jury members are courageous and charismatic individuals who have personally fought against human rights violations.
Jury: Alyaksandr Atroshchankau (Belarus), Daniel Messele (Ethiopia/Czech Republic), Rodica Pascari (Moldova/Transnistria), Yoani Sanchez (Cuba) and Khin Maung Win (Burma).
Photo: Afghan Women Behind the Wheel (Afganské ženy za volantom)
dir. Sahraa Karimi, prod. Ján Oparty, ALEF JO Filmštúdio, s.r.o. / Slovakia / 2009 / 56 min. The film was developed within the 2006 Ex Oriente Film workshop.
SHORT FORMS COMPETITIONBesides documentaries, the Short Forms Competition category also includes experimental and animated films with a human rights theme. The films in this competition are under 35 minutes long and they will be vying for the Mayor of Prague’s Best Short Film Award. In keeping with tradition, directors and programmers of prestigious international documentary festivals will be invited to sit on this section’s jury.
Jury: Heidi Lobato (Netherlands), Přemysl Martinek (Czech Republic) and Rada Šešić (Netherlands).
Photo: Cocais, the Reinvented Town (Cocais, a cidade reinventada) Ines Cardoso / Brazil / 2008 / 15 min.
Selected non-competitive programmes:
EUROPE IN (ONE) WORLD: THE ECONOMY / THE ENERGY INDUSTRY / A BLUE AND GREEN PLANET / EUROPE AS A GLOBAL PLAYER / EUROPE WITHOUT BARRIERS
This year, we decided to reflect on the global challenges facing today’s world. Although we have excellent films about Burma, Iran, Kashmir, Darfur, Ecuador, Venezuela, Congo and North Korea, this year’s festival is not about particular issues. The supporting themes for this year’s event are water, oil, gas, the energy industry, global warming, the economy and the financial crisis. These are subjects that not only crucially affect us here in the Czech Republic but are also of vital importance to people in other parts of the world.
Photo: Route 206 (Nacional 206) Catarina Alves Costa / Portugal / 2008 / 53 min.
20 YEARS OF DEMOCRACY IN FILM
The thematic category 20 Years of Democracy in Film recounts the last 20 years since the fall of communism in Central Europe, as they have been recorded by renowned documentary-makers and young filmmakers. We shall be presenting films that reflect in an original way upon the important challenges, successes and failures that accompanied this period of transformation. This programme will also be available on the internet, where discussion forum will be set up with a view to inspiring a wider debate on these topics. One thematic block with several films will be added every week to our on-line special. It will be possible to watch these films in their entirety, including, for example, Pavel Koutecký’s The End of Czechoslovakia in the Parliament, which captures the atmosphere in the celebrated parliament building between the National Museum and Opera Theatre on Wenceslas Square in 1992.
Photo: Here We Are (My zdes) Jaro Vojtek / Slovakia / 2005 / 76 min.
PANORAMA
In the extensive section called Panorama, we present films that explore society-wide problems affecting today’s world as well as some interesting personal stories.
Photo: Kites (Latawce) Beata Dzianowicz / Poland / 2008 / 79 min.
Under the working title Learning to Watch, the project attended the 2004 Ex Oriente Film workshop.
IMAGES OF AFRICA
There are countless documentary films about Africa. For this section we have done our utmost to select pictures that take a refreshing look at this continent full of contrasts as opposed to the normal offerings we usually see. Instead of images of AIDS, we have the occasionally humorous tale of Love, Sex and a Moped in Burkina Faso. Instead of violently suppressed demonstrations, we have the story of hip-hoppers whose politically committed music contributes to improving Democracy in Dakar at least a little bit. While men in eastern Congo oscillate between euphoria and nervousness about upcoming elections, women in Kinshasa tirelessly box their way to glory at the Victoire Terminus.
We also don’t wish to avoid delicate subjects such as omnipresent poverty and constantly increasing levels of immigration, particularly among younger generations. An impressive documentary by Idrissa Guiro tackles these issues head on. This film provides a portrait of two Senegalese cousins, one of whom decides to stay at home and teach after studying in America while the other elects to emigrate to Barcelona or Die. Despite often living alone or with unemployed men, some determined Senegalese women still diligently run their businesses, have dreams or embark on voyages of self discovery. Victims of Our Riches asks why Africans suffer because of their natural resources as well as financial and humanitarian aid from abroad. This absorbing filmic essay by Malian director Touré Kal tries to analyse the causes of African poverty. There are countless documentaries about Africa, but these films are worth seeing.
Photo: Rough Aunties (Rough Aunties) Kim Longinotto / UK / 2008 / 103 min.
CZECH FILMS
The permanent Czech Documentaries category introduces high-quality Czech documentary films, which have been made in the past year, to local audiences and foreign guests. One such film this year is Helena Třeštíková’s René, which has won many awards including the Prix Arte prize for best European documentary from the European Film Academy, and Ivetka and the Mountain by Vít Janeček, which won the Best Czech Documentary of 2008 at the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival.
We will also be screening Gyumri, a captivating and visually exquisite documentary by director Jana Ševčíková about the Armenian city of Gyumri, which suffered a devastating earthquake 20 years ago. This film will also launch “Echoes” of One World in Washingtonu DC on 25 March., which suffered a devastating earthquake 20 years ago. This film will also launch “Echoes” of One World in on 25 March.
The festival will also be presenting the world premiere of Forgotten Transports to Poland. This is the fourth of four 90-minute films by Lukáš Přibyl, which comprise a mosaic of memories from Jews transported from Bohemia and Moravia to concentration camps and ghettos in Latvia, Belarus, Estonia and eastern Poland.
Photo: Welcome to North Korea! (Vítejte v KLDR!) Linda Jablonská / Czech Republic / 2009 / 72 min
The film was pitched at the 2008 East European Forum.
TRIBUTE TO ROSS MCELWEE
This year, we are paying homage to Ross McElwee, the important American documentary-maker. The work of this filmmaker and teacher at Harvard University will be presented for the first time ever in the Czech Republic. One World is offering four documentaries from Ross McElwee’s oeuvre. The first of these is Sherman’s March, which will be screened on 14 March in Svetozor Cinema. This 1986 film is McElwee’s most celebrated movie and it won the main jury prize at the Sundance festival. In subsequent days Time Indefinite (1994), Six O'Clock News (1996) and Bright Leaves (2003) will also be screened. The director has accepted an invitation to the festival and he will attend the screenings of his films. An open Ross McElwee master class will also be held for students of the FAMU film school and the general public in the Municipal Library after the screening of Bright Leaves.
Photo: Bright Leaves (Bright Leaves) Ross McElwee / USA / 2003 / 107 min.
For more information please visit www.oneworld.cz.