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A special international jury consisting of victims of violence and repression selected the winner of the special Rudolf Vrba Award from the "Ecce Homo" section, which included films on unknown heroes of our time who have shown outstanding courage and dignity in opposing violence, injustice and repression. Jury members: Doan Viet Hoat (Vietnam), Kurdo Baksi (Sweden/Kurdistan), Bo Kyi (Burma)

Rudolf Vrba was born in 1924 in Topočany, Slovakia as Walter Rosenberg. At the age of 18 he was arrested and detained for two years in the Maidanek and Auschwitz concentration camps. In April 1944 he escaped from Auschwitz together with another prisoner, Alfred Weltzer, a fellow Slovak. After escaping to freedom but while still in hiding, they wrote a report that became one of the most significant documents of the 20th century. Their report was the first to furnish detailed evidence of the numbers of people murdered in Maidanek and Auschwitz, and about the methods the Nazis used to kill them. The writers had two main objectives: to get their report as soon as possible to the Allies, and to representatives of the Hungarian Jewish community who were threatened with immediate extermination, but they failed on both counts due to forces beyond their control.

Special Recognition:

DEATH OF THE SLAVE BOY, Magnus Bergmar, Sweden

A riveting documentary about a remarkable child laborer, Iqbal Masih, who won international acclaim for his outspoken defense of children's rights in Pakistan before his murder in 1995.

Death of the Slaveboy shows an extraordinary story of a small boy in Pakistan who stood up and struggled for all children around the world by forcing governments to ban child labour. I gave my vote to this film because Pakistan is a country where people still need to fight for their freedom and democracy. The Diplomat is a very good film but Mr. Horta is already at home in his liberated country and the film cannot help him anymore. In the case of Death of the Slaveboy, the film still can help the abused children. We call upon the international community to focus on child labour and child slavery which still exists in too many countries. (Bo Ky)