Your energy is needed somewhere else! - The slogan of this year's festival points out that people should remember to direct their efforts towards useful activities that might effect change in the world around them. Here's a summary of the festival's main programmes, with an overview of selected East European films, which were selected from East Silver Market.
Thematic Programmes:
Portraits of Corruption - Films from the main thematic section of this year’s One World chart the phenomenon of corruption, particularly in post-communist countries. 6 films included in the selection, including: Catenaccio a la Drnovice; Thieves by Law; Kapitalism - Our Improved Formula.
Age Is Just a Number - Old age is a subject that concerns every one of us. Nonetheless, in a world where values such as health, youth and beauty predominate, people play down the need to deal with the last stage of human life. Consisting of 7 films, this programme inlcudes: That's Life; Autumn Gold (opening film).
Panorama - As is now traditional, in the Panorama section, we present internationally acclaimed films that have been successfully presented at foreign festivals in the past year. They are films of a very high calibre, both in filmic and thematic terms. In a number of cases, they have won awards at prestigious festivals. 10 films, including: The World According to Ion B.; Village Without Women.
Czech Documentaries - In this permanent category, we traditionally present high-quality Czech documentaries that have been made in the past year to local audiences and foreign guests. Some of these films will be presented at the festival as world premieres with the people who made them in attendance. 14 Czech docs, featuring Helena Třeštíková's Katka; Bear Islands by Martin Ryšavý; Heaven Hell by David Čálek; Tomáš Kudrna's latest film Day After the Long Night; All for the Good of the World and Nošovice by Vít Klusák, Coal in the Soul by Ondřej Provazník and Martin Dušek, and Zdeněk N. Bričkovský's latest In the Lands of Silence - Nikolai and Ludmila.
People in Need Production - This year, we are presenting documentaries produced by the People in Need foundation in a separate category for the first time. The makers of these films document the work of People in Need, both in crisis areas around the world, such as Ethiopia and Afghanistan, and in the Czech Republic. Selection includes Shitcredit and Three Gifts.
Short Films - Every year, several hundred short documentary films are entered in the One World festival. We take the best of these (in terms of both their content and formal qualities) and we present them in a common block or in combination with related feature-length films. Selection includes Stalin. Why Not?; Out of Round - What Is Behind?
In a number of other thematic programmes, the festival will present social ads, short films, films about children, women, environmental issues, and more...
One World - International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, Czech Republic
March 8 - 17, 2011
Selected East Silver titles:
Autumn Gold
Herbstgold , Austria, Germany, 2010, 94 min, Beta, Adventure and Sports
Life is short. Run faster. Autumn Gold tells the life-affirming story of five athletes in their preparation for the Track and Field World Championships. Their toughest challenge is their age: these potential world champions are between 80 and 100.With ambition and a good portion of humour, they accept the task. On the finishing line of their lifes, they seek their ultimate challenge for yet another time and give their best on the way to a gold medal in Finland. True to the motto: "We can still rest after death."
Home is not Home
Heim ist nicht Daheim , Austria, 2010, 57 min, HD, Creative, Portrait, Society
Society usually neither thinks nor talks much about what it feels like to live in an old people's home. "Home is not Home" presents four persons, with very different life stories, who seem to be friends in the home, but "outside" that place probably never would have met.
Kapitalism - Our Improved Formula
Kapitalism - reteta noastră secretă , Belgium, France, Romania, 2009, 76 min, HD, Current Affairs, Personal View, Society
Alexandru Solomon invites Ceausescu to revisit Romania, 20 years after he has been executed. The dictator haunts present-day capitalist society, emerged in the Wild East and often deeply rooted in its communist past. The film offers incredible access to top magnates – at home, in their offices and in their minds – building a bitter-sweet portrait of a new ruling class. Capitalism with a K – an Eastern European cocktail of power and money. This is now part of Greater Europe. Unavoidable!
Out of Round: What Is Behind?
Z kola von - Čo je za tým? , Slovak Republic, 2010, 30 min, DVD, HD, Portrait, Social Issues
After the festival success of his films "Here We Are" and "The Border", documentary filmmaker Jaro Vojtek returns with the short social documentary "Out of Round". The main protagonist is a Roma man called Jožo/Fero whose addiction has taken everything from him and pushed him and his family onto the edge of society. Marked by difficult fate, he is still an eternal child whose best friend is Nemo the dog. Despite his primary backwardness he feels mentally superior to other members of his family and is the only one who makes an effort to return to normal life.
That's Life
Takie życie , Poland, 2010, 27 min, Digi Beta, Portrait, Social Issues
The film shows a beautiful and strong bond between an ailing older woman and her son who sacrificed his family life and professional career so far to take care of his mother. It depicts their everyday existence, pervaded by sensitivity and extreme care, when simple activities such as washing or dressing up require a lot of time and effort on the part of the sick woman and her son, too. Filled with immense love for his mother, at the same time the man begins to feel resentment towards the people around him. In his conversation with one of his sons the father reveals that he misses support from close family members. Will a family meeting become an opportunity to mend such fragile relations?
The 4th Revolution - Energy Autonomy
Die 4. Revolution - Energy Autonomy , Germany, 2010, 83 min, Digi Beta, Current Affairs, Environmental, Social Issues
This film presents the truly thrilling vision of a world community with an energy supply that derives entirely from renewable sources – accessible to everyone, affordable, clean and free of pollution. A global restructuring process, shifting the balance of power and distributing capital more fairly, is now within our reach – all we have to do is embark upon it! Introducing us to exemplary projects in ten different countries, and to the pioneers behind them, Carl Fechner‘s film shows us how to do just that.
The World According to Ion B.
Lumea vazuta de Ion B. , Romania, 2009, 60 min, HD, Arts and Culture, Portrait
Ion B. is a 62 year-old homeless man. His bed is a filthy foam mattress at the bottom of a garbage chute. Ion sorts through the daily household garbage of the block, avidly reading the books, magazines and newspapers he finds. Since the 70s he has been creating collages from them that he calls "my films".
Thieves by Law
Ganavim Ba' Hok , Germany, Israel, Spain, 2010, 91 min, Digi Beta, Politics, Portrait, Social Issues
Made famous by the feature film "Eastern Promises", former heads of Russia’s criminal underworld, the Vori v zakone, ("Thieves By Law") share their story for the first time with the world. The thugs who transformed into reputable businessmen reveal in the most intimate detail how they came to influence Russia's economy as it emerged from decades of Soviet rule, and how they used their vast wealth to build up a political base in a land that once treated them as common criminals. Now with a strong base at home, they are eager to embark on a new crusade to spread their influence over the rest of the world.
Village Without Women
Selo bez žena , Croatia, France, 2010, 83 min, Digi Beta, HD, Creative, Social Issues, Society
In Southwest Serbia, atop a mountain and four kilometres from the nearest road, the Jankovic brothers hold down the fort in the womanless village of Zabrdje. Dragan, Zoran, and Rodoljub, along with their neighbour, Velimir, represent the entire population of what was once a vibrant rural community. They live in tough conditions. No running water, no roads, not even a hint of a woman’s touch. Not to mention, the three brothers still share the same bedroom. Zoran, the eldest brother, dreams of marrying a woman capable of handling life in Zabrdje. Can he fulfil his dream and renew hope in his village?
