One World in Brussels: 17–26 May 2011

The One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, in cooperation with the Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the EU, the Czech Centre, the Bozar Centre for Fine Arts, the Human Rights and Democracy Network, The Permanent Representation of the Republic of Poland to the EU, the Goethe Institute and the European Parliament, and in partnership with Movies that Matter, Watch Docs and Festival des Libertés hosted the fifth annual One World in Brussels from 17–26 May 2011.

• Download Festival Leaflet (2 MB, pdf) – incl. programme, synopsis and other information
• Download A3 Poster for EP Screenings (360 kB, pdf) – includes programme, synopis and additional information
• Photogallery
• One World in Brussels on Facebook
   

One World in Brussels was held under the auspices of Jerzy Buzek, the President of the European Parliament, Václav Havel, the former President of the Czech Republic and Ambassador Milena Vicenová, the Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the European Union.

Over 2,200 people attended the 21 screenings at the four venues – the Bozar Centre for Fine Arts, the Czech Permanent Representation, the Goethe Institute in Brussels and the European Parliament – between May 17 – 26.  There were more international guests than ever before with the highlights being five directors; the Chief Prosecutor of the ICC Luis Moreno Ocampo; Pavel Chikov from the Russian Human Rights Association AGORA and two former Cuban political prisoners Jose Luis Garcia Palenque and Rolando Jimenez Pozada. 

 

Ten of the twenty films were judged by a prestigious jury made up of:

 

• Veronica Scognamiglio, Amnesty International
• Pierre De Hanscutter, Service Volontaire International
• Eric Juzen, Protection International,
• Catherine Woollard, European Peacebuilding Liaison Office
• Amal Iman, Human Rights Without Frontiers

 

Ali Samadi Ahadi’s The Green Wave was the winner of the Best Film Award of One World in Brussels 2011. The jury of One World in Brussels also awarded a special mention to the films, Into the Current and Prosecutor.

 

The jury released the following statement about their decision:

 

“The members of the jury all agreed that this film is exceptional and that there are a multitude of reasons why it deserves the award for Best Film. The use of animation to bring the bloggers' accounts to life was very creative and highlighted the importance of social media in the revolution. The film’s profound honesty makes the viewer feel like they were present in the heat of the action by guiding them through what feels like someone’s personal diary.”

 

In response to hearing the news, the director of The Green Wave, Ali Samadi Ahadi said:

 

“I am very grateful for receiving the Best Film Award of One World in Brussels 2011, but more than that I am thankful to be part of a civil discussion.  I hope that the time will come when I will be able to make films in a free Iranian society.  Where I can talk about the positive developments in Iran and not about the cases of torture, violence and human rights violations.  I believe this will happen and will do my best to help make this dream come true. Many thanks to the jury and to One World.”

By winning the Best Film Award of One World in Brussels 2011, the Human Rights and Democracy Network will commit extra resources to raising awareness about the human rights situation in Iran and will organize additional screenings of The Green Wave in 2011.