The category Searching for Freedom has long been a cornerstone of One World. This year, we decided to reintroduce it into the program, but with a twist: our understanding of freedom has now been expanded to encompass a broader spectrum.
While many films still tackle issues prevalent in war-torn and severely repressed nations, you'll also come across some unexpected titles in this year’s selection.
Among the most thematically striking is Jackie the Wolf. The film follows an activist advocating for the right to die. But is euthanasia, the very thing Jackie is fighting for, truly the freedom she seeks? A more unambiguous motivation – the need to define oneself against colonialist practices and the uprooting of indigenous peoples – is present in the protagonist of the documentary film Twice Colonized. Her story is a striking contemplation of a dual hardship in two distinct countries on two separate continents.
For those displaced from Abkhazia due to war, uprooting is an all-too-familiar experience. Decades later, many still reside in dilapidated Soviet-era sanatoriums in Georgia, such as the former five-star luxury hotel, Hotel Metalurg. Through a unique tour juxtaposed with the residents' sad life stories, the filmmakers offer a glimpse into faded opulence contrasted against harsh realities.
Agnieszka Holland's The Green Border has garnered widespread acclaim across numerous festivals and global media outlets. The documentary sheds light on the brutal violations of human rights at the Belarusian-Polish border, a long-overlooked issue worthy of our immediate attention. The documentary 20 Days in Mariupol also caused a huge stir. Though the footage itself is not new, the film manages to place audiences directly within the context of the war’s onset, offering a unique testimony that commands our attention.
