Journeys To Freedom
The films in this category are devoted to the regions where People in Need has long been active and to other non-democratic regimes. This year, in addition to capturing life in the middle of a war or in a disintegrating authoritarian system, the varying perspectives of local and foreign filmmakers place an increased focus on daily life and leisure time in unfree and collapsing countries, where even the most ordinary activity, such as football or music, meets with repression and bans.
Films in category Journeys To Freedom
Aswang
Philippine director Alyx Ayn Arumpac presents a frightful testimony about the war on drugs that President Rodrigo Duterte has declared on his people. State-sponsored violence is slowly leading to social disintegration.
Face the Music in Kazakhstan
The Kazakh band Ninety One stirred up the conservative waters of the local music scene and the strictly hierarchical society. Although the musicians wearing makeup, earrings and dyed hair enchanted tens of thousands of fans, in their home country they are facing waves of hatred, concert cancellations, and threats.
Khartoum Offside
Sudanese women practise football without professional equipment, in secret, and separated from the rest of the world by a fence. Although their skill and enthusiasm equal the men’s, the government won’t hear of a women’s team.
Mai Khoi & The Dissidents
Vietnamese singer Mai Khoi decided not to be a conformist pop star and began to draw attention to the lack of freedom in her country, where civil activists, journalists and bloggers are being persecuted and arrested.
Never Again in Venezuela
Dozens of people have already been killed by the Venezuelan security forces for protesting against the regime. The survivors can only hope that their sacrifice was not in vain.
The Cave
In the besieged eastern area of Ghouta 400,000 civilians have become imprisoned, continually facing air raids in the Syrian civil war. For many of them, the last rescue is provided by a hospital with a complex of underground shelters, also called the Cave.
The Earth Is Blue as an Orange
For one mother and her children, making a film together is a way of coming to terms with the trauma of war in Donbass, Ukraine.
The Forbidden Strings
Four Afghan immigrants living in the Iranian metropolis dream of becoming rock stars. Now they face a great challenge – their first public concert.
Transnistra
A poetic film about a group of young people in Transnistria, whose adolescence and future lives are shaped by the environment in their native country, which is facing social, political, and economic problems.
War of Art
Do Europeans have a way to artistically enrich North Koreans? And vice versa? The film presents a clash of two views of art and its different roles in society.
Other Thematic Categories
International competition
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Right To Know
The films competing for the Václav Havel Jury Award have strong themes. They cast light on major human rights violations, give the oppressed a voice, and support the battle against oppression and undignified...
Czech competition
The fourth year of the Czech Competition presents the newest locally produced films worthy of attention. This section aims not only to show films making their world premiere but also to give space to...
UnEarthed
The climate crisis is today’s hottest topic. While media present the views of scientists, politicians, deniers and activists, icebergs melt, the Australian bush burns, ocean temps rise and Czech...
One World Interactive: UnEarthed
This year the UnEarthed category’s interactive offshoot offers several virtual reality documentaries. Like last year, it’s divided into two parts. The Brainz VR Cinema will show the best 360°...
Diagnosis
Apart from this year’s main theme focused on the health of our planet, one of this year’s annual sections looks at the health of its inhabitants, particularly healthcare systems that are in...
Masculinity and Femininity
Last year the festival looked at the broader issue of identity in general. This year the focus is on the narrower theme of gender identity. After women’s emancipation, the masculinity crisis is...
Gaps in the System
Every system – political, social and judicial – has deficiencies and gaps. Some people look for them and use them to climb the social ladder, others fall through to the very bottom. We find...
China: Powerful and Powerless
China is a key world player and we must count on its influence increasing further. But despite excellent economic results and great technological advances, various population groups remain disadvantaged....
Journeys To Freedom
The films in this category are devoted to the regions where People in Need has long been active and to other non-democratic regimes. This year, in addition to capturing life in the middle of a war or...
One Zero
Ones and zeroes. We spend increasingly more time on social networks and in other cyberworlds. The films in this category draw attention to the unrealistic expectations we often have of new technologies,...
Long Live Life
Human diversity and the will to live in one’s own way, often against the expectations of majority society, are the focal point of this category. Become inspired on a Greek tomato eco-farm or with...
Panorama
The Panorama category presents the best documentaries of the past two years. The hits of the Sundance, Berlinale, IDFA, and CPH:DOX festivals are notable for their high-quality, unique themes and stories....
Short and Apt
Short documentaries have an advantage over feature films – they capture current events faster, thus leaving more room for discussion. Our activists’ section covers the protests in Venezuela,...
Retrospective: Nanfu Wang
She is one of today’s most progressive filmmakers. Her last documentary, One Child Nation, was on the Oscar shortlist and won the U. S. Documentary Competition at Sundance. Although Nanfu Wang has...
Docs For Kids
One World doesn’t ignore the youngest filmgoers and this category is for them. Short, dubbed films introduce children to their peers from around the world. This year, they will see how children...
