One World festival is coming back to cinemas

The 26th edition of the International Human Rights Film Festival One World will take place in 48 cities throughout Czechia from March 20 to April 21, 2024. In Prague, viewers can look forward to screenings from March 20 to 28.

In total, the festival will offer 96 feature films, 10 virtual reality projects and 7 short films for children. The program will also enriched by the 7 non-competitive categories that thematically divide the films into the Ecosystems, Middle East, Searching for Freedom, On the Edge of Maturity, Identities, Communities and Structures of Power sections. In addition to the film program, the festival will also offer a series of debates with guests from around the world.

You can find the festival programme here.

FSV UK recommends:

A Bit of a Stranger (Трішки чужа, trailer)

Much changed after Russia invaded Ukraine. The events force four generations of Ukrainian women to reassess not only their relationship to their native land but mainly towards each other.

Ukrainian director Svitlana filmed her family for several years, using their example to present the history of her country and to show how each female member was shaped by a different time. The filmmaker, her mother Valya, daughter Sasha, and granddaughter Stefi all grew up in Mariupol, but each in a different world: the Soviet Union, independent Ukraine, and now a war-torn country. After Russia invades, the women scatter to various locations and in the ensuing chaos they ponder many things beyond their relationship to Russia. They must just as thoroughly reassess their personal relationships and confront past injustices. This intimate family portrait shows that the strength of interpersonal relationships comes fully into play in life’s toughest moments.

Radical (trailer)

This bittersweet film based on true events tells the story of a Mexican teacher whose unorthodox methods became an inspiration for one primary school’s students.

The primary school in the Mexican border town of Matamoros isn’t exactly a dream workplace. Drug wars have spawned crime, corruption and poverty, and so the school places more emphasis on discipline and obedience than on personal development. The teachers are exhausted and demotivated – except for Sergio Juárez Correa. The charismatic protagonist believes in the potential of children from disadvantaged families. But his teaching methods, based on discovering the world through experiments and games, may just be too radical for such a conservative institution. This reality-inspired drama received an audience award at Sundance.

Lost Country (trailer)

Serbia, 1996. Stefan, an ordinary secondary school student, loves water polo and has little interest in politics. This all changes when the political party for which his mother works is accused of election fraud.

Slobodan Milošević’s Serbian Socialist Party wants to retain power at any cost, even if it means falsifying election results. When the public finds out, unrest ensues – the opposition riots, people take to the streets, arrests mount. Stefan defends his mother, the party’s spokesperson, to his friends, yet doubts arise in his mind. Might she be involved in something he deeply disagrees with? As the country descends into chaos, the gap of misunderstanding between Stefan and his mother widens. Confronted by the reality of the surrounding world, Stefan faces a moral dilemma – should he remain faithful to his family or to his newly found ideals?

Abang Adik (trailer)

The Malaysian director’s feature-length debut about two paperless orphans shines a light on a harsh world on the fringes of society and the complicated alchemy of a relationship.

They live in squalid conditions in Kuala Lumpur, without ID cards, facing the constant threat of detention. Deaf Abang tries to make an honest living and obtain the necessary documents officially, while the younger Adi operates outside the law. On their journey to find their place in life, many things divide them, but the chain of events also leads them to a new perspective on what truly matters. The film sensitively portrays the relationship between the two men, who despite their differences in character are actually close friends and each other’s pillars of support in a chaotic world.

And, Towards Happy Alleys (trailer)

The young director uses her love of Iranian poetry to examine the situation of the Persian artistic community, which is constantly under threat from the authorities due to its criticism of the regime.

What is the role of women in Iranian literature and film? How can one make political films in a country where the regime and religion are intertwined? Fascinated by Iranian cinema and the feminist poetry of Forough Farrokhzad, the director sets out to meet the protagonists of the Persian cultural scene. Six years of her interviews show the influence of the Iranian regime on the local art and activist scene, which continues to live and create despite the constant fear for life and freedom. Of course, the moral police persecute not only artists and filmmakers but also women who dare to show their hair in public. The director uses the tender language of her beloved poet to present an in-depth view of the life of critics of the current Iranian regime.

Home Land (Rodný kraj, trailer)

This longitudinal documentary tracks 5 young people from Russia and Ukraine as they try to integrate into Czech society. How do they adapt? And how will their new country accept them?

Demian, Daniel, Jaroslav, Sonia, and Veronika come from two warring Eastern European countries. Fate has brought them together in a class at the Prague Centre for Integration of Foreigners. They are trying to grasp not only the local language, culture and environment, but also the hostility of Czech society towards people whose mother tongue is Russian or Ukrainian. For over a year, the film tracks the teenagers and their efforts to fit into both the education system and the work environment while their minds are occupied with concerns about home and their loved ones, as well as school, basketball and art. Portraits of daily life are combined with their insights and witty observations to compose a narrative about the search for one’s place in a destabilised world.

The Accidental President

A personal and political portrait of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the rightful president-elect who never took office. The falsified election results were the last straw for thousands, igniting the largest wave of protests in modern Belarusian history.

The film tracks the politician from her decision to run for president to her forced exile in Lithuania. Her pro-democratic campaign mobilised thousands to take to the streets despite the risk of a violent response. Juxtaposed with raw footage of police brutality, we see how the Belarusian government in exile is growing and Tsikhanouskaya’s position on the world’s political stage is strengthening. Alongside scenes showing her advocacy work, space is given to Tsikhanouskaya’s personal statements, where moments of hopelessness alternate with feelings of pride and solidarity. But in February 2022 the ongoing negotiations with international representatives are disrupted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.