International Competition Jury Awards

The jury for the International Competition award two prizes in this category: the International Competition Jury Award for Best Director and the International Competition Jury Award for Best Film.
The jury comprises film experts from both the Czech Republic and abroad.

Simon Lereng Wilmont

Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Simon graduated as a Documentary Film Director from The National Film School of Denmark in 2009. He is known for both The Distant Barking of Dogs and his most recent feature documentary film A House Made Of Splinters, which among other international film festival awards won the Best Directing award at Sundance film Festival (2022), and was nominated for an Oscar (2023). A House Made Of Splinters was also nominated for a European Film Academy award for Best Documentary (2022); for Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Documentary film at IDA (2022), and Best Documentary at Independent Spirit Award (2023).

Caroline Libresco

Caroline Libresco is a leading film festival curator, producer, story consultant, creative executive, and program strategist who recently wrapped nineteen years as a lead programmer at the Sundance Film Festival. She was founding director and chief curator of Sundance Institute’s Catalyst Program, co-founded the Sundance Creative Producing Program and led the Sundance Women’s Initiative. For 25 years, she has been an active creative producer and writer/story editor. Most recently, she producedand story-produced the documentary feature film Food and Country, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Currently, Libresco is co-founder and artistic director of Jewish Story Partners. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, where she serves on the Documentary Branch Executive Committee.

Alex Shiriaieff

Alex Shiriaieff is one of the founders of B2B Doc – Baltic to Black Sea Documentary Network, an international NGO with headquarters in Sweden. B2B Doc helps the independent filmmakers from the Eastern Partnership countries and Russia develop their film projects and finance them through the existing opportunities at the international documentary film market. Alex works as Head of Operations at B2B Doc, being responsible for all current events and cooperation with B2B Doc’s partner organisations.

Jury statement

We award the One World International Competition Jury Prize for Best Director to a film that drops us into the heart of Russia’s war on Ukraine, and at the same time poetically transcends this location and time. From the fields and shacks of Donbas to the staggering beauty and peace of the Himalayas, it toggles between the harshness of everyday life and the world of imagination and dreams, tracing the journey of teenagers trapped by crippling circumstances as they experience ‘wide open possibility’ for the first time, only to crash back down to the inevitable reality of war.

The award goes to We Will Not Fade Away by Alisa Kovalenko.

We award the One World International Competition Jury Award for Best Film to an epic achievement that colors outside the lines of documentary portraiture in a masterful, seemingly effortless way, celebrating the compulsion to make art no matter what the obstacles. Through a mesmerizing, larger-than-life character, it gets at the universal, bittersweet truth of how life unfolds as we come of age: as a roller coaster where outside forces and compromises challenge internal resolve. Shot with a raw, intimate camera over 13 years, this bittersweet, delightful journey reveals the impossibility of ever fully knowing another person, and the profound truth that identity is never fixed; we are always evolving and inventing ourselves.

The award goes to Apolonia, Apolonia by Lea Glob.

Other Juries

International Competition Jury Awards

Václav Havel Jury

In the Right to Know category, the film that makes an exceptional contribution to the protection of human rights is selected to receive the Václav Havel Jury Award for the Best Film. The jury is composed of prominent human rights defenders and international representatives of the non-governmental sector or institutions.

Czech Competition Jury

The jury selects the best Czech or co-production documentary from the previous or current year to receive the Czech Competition Jury Award for Best Film.

One World Interactive Jury

The jury for the One World Interactive category awards the prize to the virtual reality project that has the most substantial social impact. They judge the way modern technology and digital narrative are used to promote awareness of human rights and how they are violated. The jury comprises representatives of non-profit organizations, journalists, and experts in the field of virtual reality.

Regional Jury

The regional jury comprises two representatives nominated by our regional partners. The nominees are chosen from One World’s fans and supporters in the relevant town. The jury is then supplemented by the holder of the Golden Projectionist title, which is awarded by our platform Promítej i ty!. The winning film will be included in the selection of documentaries included in the Get Your Audience! programme in 2023.

Student Jury

Each year, we select a group of secondary school students who are actively involved in the One World in Schools programme. During the festival, they select the best film from the One World for Students category. The winning film is announced during the gala closing event and receives the Student Jury Award.

Audience Award for the Best Film

Viewers can vote for their favourite documentary. The top-rated film will receive the Audience Award. Voting takes place directly in the cinemas with the use of tablets. You can rate the film by marking one to five stars, where five is the highest rating and one the lowest.

Abakus Foundation Audience Award for Exceptional Discussion

Audience members select the post-screening discussion that has been the most rewarding for them, and which best supplemented the screened film. The voting takes place next to the cinema auditorium exit with the help of a tablet or QR code.

The award was supported by the Abakus Foundation.