Right to Know

The competitive Right to Know section offers audiences stories about fundamental human rights violations that should not go unnoticed. The category provides space to films about inspiring activists who are battling to improve conditions in their countries.

Za vysokým plotem, nad kterým vede ochranný drát z žiletek, stojí dav mužů s tmavou pletí. Křičí a zvedají ruce nad hlavu. / A crowd of dark-skinned men stand behind a high fence with razor wire running over it. They shout and raise their hands above their heads.

One example is television reporter Ravish Kumar, who in the film While We Watched speaks out against the dangers of the radicalisation of Indian society and the rapidly growing nationalism in the country. Another country facing similar problems – and one much closer to us geographically – is Hungary. The documentary You Have to Be Here to Believe tells of the suppression of LGBTQ+ rights in that country through the eyes of an activist group. It shows that even a small number of people can stand up to political oppression.

The category also transports audiences to exotic locations. One example is Papua New Guinea, the setting for The Doggies, in which you’ll get to know the local rugby team and also learn about the social situation that prevails in a country heavily marked by colonialism. The geographical diversity of the section is completed with a portrait of one of Uganda’s presidential candidates in Bobi Wine: The People’s President. The musical celebrity decides to put an end to decades of a single president’s rule and stirs up the waters of African politics with his candidacy, set to the rhythm of reggae.

This year once again includes films about human rights violations in Russia. The documentary The New Greatness Case tells of the shocking fate of a group of young people who, without having committed any crime, end up in court with most of them sentenced to either house arrest or imprisonment. The story of one of the accused enables us to track how the suppression of rights affects the life of an ordinary Russian family.

Films in category Right to Know

Film

And Miles to Go Before I Sleep

Taiwan is one of the wealthiest democracies in Asia. Thousands of people from neighbouring countries go there every year to earn money from manual labour. However, they don’t enjoy the same rights as the local population.

Film

Bobi Wine: The People's President

Uganda is a democracy only on paper. The charismatic opposition politician and popular reggae musician Bobi Wine discovered this when he faced the dirty practices of his political rival during the presidential campaign. The documentary tells the story of the birth of a political star.

Film

Etilaat Roz

When the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan, fear and helplessness reigned over the editorial board of the independent newspaper Etilaat Roz. Journalist and director Abbas Rezaie observed the atmosphere in the team, whose members suddenly find their lives in imminent danger.

Film

Strangers to Peace

Three ex-fighters of the Colombian guerilla army FARC face anxiety and fear as they try to reintegrate into a society that views them as terrorists.

Film

The Doggies

In a slum in Papua New Guinea, notorious for its poverty and high crime rate, the locals have decided to turn young criminals into heroes. They aim to do so with the help of their national sport, rugby.

Film

The Journalist and Her Jailers

Luna, a journalist and political prisoner, escaped from Syria to Koblenz, Germany. Members of the Syrian regime accused of crimes against humanity will stand trial here for the first time.

Film

The New Greatness Case

Seventeen-year-old Anya Pavlikova is detained in Moscow with her friends, accused of attempting to violently overthrow the government of the Russian Federation under the banner of the extremist group New Greatness. None of them has any idea what awaits them.

Film

The Prisoner of Wakhan

The Wakhan Corridor in northeastern Afghanistan is home to the last nomadic tribe of Central Asia. But more and more nomads are leaving their high-mountain homes for better opportunities in Kyrgyzstan.

Film

While We Watched

Nationalism is on the rise in India. Journalists who talk about the people’s problems and ask tough questions of the powerful are under increasing pressure from the government and its propaganda. TV reporter Ravish Kumar is one of them.

Film

You Have to Be Here to Believe

The Hungarian government has a long history of discriminating against LGBTQ+ people. In the face of this situation, a group of human rights activists has organized an unprecedented campaign to protect their rights.

Other Thematic Categories

Ve skupince lidí ve vesnici v Africe stojí uprostřed žena s dítětem. Má béžové šaty a volně přehozenou oranžovou látku. Dítě drží na sobě a kojí ho. / In a group of people in a village in Africa, a woman and her child stand in the middle. She is wearing a beige dress and a loosely draped orange cloth. She is holding the baby and breastfeeding it.

Competitive Film Category

International Competition

The International Competition traditionally offers the newest and most hotly anticipated films that combine powerful themes with original cinematography.

Competitive Film Category

Right to Know

Investigativní novinářka Pavla Holcová sedí na židli uprostřed tmavé kanceláře. Vedle ní je stůl s papíry a za ní knihovna s šanony. / Investigative journalist Pavla Holcová sits on a chair in the middle of a dark office. Next to her is a desk with papers and behind her a bookcase with binders.

Competitive Film Category

Czech Competition

This year, the Czech Competition has brought together some exceptionally interesting films that focus on the inner struggles of their protagonists.

Zády k nám stojí na terase dvě osoby, které se drží za ruce. Koukají před sebe na rozpixelovanou krajinu. / Two people are standing on the terrace with their backs to us, holding hands. They are looking at the scattered landscape in front of them.

Competitive Film Category

One World Interactive

This is the first year that the One World Interactive category will be a competitive section. Additionally, it is moving to the Lucerna Gallery, where the individual installations have been designed by artists Mia Milgrom and Max van Olffen. Six interactive projects and four 360° films transport us to realities found in the chilling present, the near future, and little-known human experiences.

Ukrajinští vojáci stojí na troskách rozbombardovaného domu. Jeden z nich odnáší pryč malé dítě. / Ukrainian soldiers stand on the ruins of a bombed-out house. One of them is carrying away a small child.

Thematic Film Category

Ukraine

On 24 February 2022, the world changed. Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine and unleashed an open war under the propagandistic label of “a special military operation”. More than a year later, the war is still going on. One World has put together a special category to look at the roots of the situation in Ukraine through the means of five films, and presents raw eyewitness accounts directly from the Ukrainian war front.

Uprostřed tmavé místnosti plné starých kabelů svítí oltář s Madonou a dítětem. Na něj kouká postava s kuklou celá v černém. Červeně jí svítí oči. / In the middle of a dark room full of old cables, an altar with a Madonna and a Child is lit up. A hooded figure in all black looks on. Her eyes glow red.

Thematic Film Category

New Gods

Faith gives people strength and helps them feel safe, whatever the object of that faith is. What the word conveys goes far beyond the religious meaning we probably think of most often in this context. In the New Gods category, we reflect on both the new and the old idols that people look up to today.

U kuchyňského stolu sedí hubený bílý muž pouze v trenkách, ve škobku má nohu, kterou mu klečící žena omývá. Na stole jsou svíčky a cigarety, v pozadí svítí televite. Na lednici je nápis Ježíš tě miluje. / A thin white man sits at the kitchen table in only his shorts, his leg in a slipper, which a kneeling woman washes. There are candles and cigarettes on the table, and a TV is on in the background. On the refrigerator is a sign that reads Jesus loves you.

Thematic Film Category

Relationships

There are very few things that can be viewed from as many different angles as interpersonal relationships. The protagonist of the film Too Close experiences the influence surrounding relationships have on her family as she tries to find peace for herself and her children. Not only does she have to deal with the constantly nitpicking villagers, but her ex-husband, who was previously convicted of sexually abusing her daughter, is stealthily sneaking back into her life.

Žena stojí sama zády ke kameře a kouká do dálky na rýžové pole a kopce. / A woman stands alone with her back to the camera, looking into the distance at a green rice field and hills.

Thematic Film Category

Female Power

Women’s rights are human rights. However, even in the twenty-first century, they are suppressed by the social system, traditions, and legislative paragraphs. The protagonists of the films in this category have decided to confront injustice and fight for the rights of the next generation of women, often at the cost of their own safety.

Uprostřed je starý ošuntělý billboard s nápisem ledovec. V pozadí jsou kopce a pláně islandské krajiny. / In the middle is a shabby old billboard with the word glacier on it. In the background are the hills and plains of the Icelandic landscape.

Thematic Film Category

Sustainability

Our planet is under increasing pressure from civilisation, and climate change is one of the biggest issues of our time – unless we start living more sustainably, neither we nor future generations will have a bright future. This is why for many years One World has been bringing together the themes of ecology and sustainability into one larger programming section.

Mladý africký chlapec s čelovkou na hlavě se na laně spouští do hluboké černé díry pro vodu. /A young African boy with a headlamp on his head descends on a rope into a deep black hole for water.

Thematic Film Category

Uprooted

A selection of films from countries in Africa, as well as Latin America and Asia, charts the hardships of local inhabitants. How did many of them find themselves in a situation where they are not free to make decisions for themselves, have internal struggles related to the search for their own identity, and have to witness ongoing exploitation?

Dva chlapci se sklání k rybářské sítí a koukají, co ulovili. Stojí u potoku na zelené louce kousek od lesa. Svítí slunce. / Two boys leaning against a fishing net to see what they have caught. They are standing by a stream in a green meadow near the forest. The sun is shining and the sky is blue.

Thematic Film Category

Docs for Kids

One World also remembers to cater for its youngest audience members. In the Docs for Kids category, it presents films that give children the opportunity to learn about the stories of their peers from around the world.

Tři mladé ženy si fotí tzv selfie. Usmívají se, za nimi svítí neony a billboardy města. / Three young women are taking selfies. They are smiling, with the neon and billboards of the city lit up behind them.

Thematic Film Category

Social Media

What do a recruiter for Islamic State, a teenage Instagram star, and an amateur porn actress have in common? The films in the Social Media category reveal the surprising nuances of the word “influencer”, and the everyday reality of life surrounded by social networks.