Full-length documentary
32 Meters
A humorous look into the heart of a Turkish village, where a group of women decide to challenge traditional social roles in an imaginative way. They do so with due wit and stubbornness.
Against the Tide
An unconventional approach to life’s journey unites nine films about people who, despite the pressures of their time, family, or society, choose to move against the grain of accepted norms. Through intimate personal stories and wider social conflicts, these films show that crossing boundaries can be both painful and liberating, and that freedom sometimes begins the moment we dare to question what is usually considered normal.
Challenging the established order can feel like threading your way through a minefield of systemic traps and hostile surroundings. In Cutting Through Rocks, motorcyclist Sara navigates through this terrain with remarkable grace as she seeks to challenge Iranian attitudes toward the marriage of underage girls. The film 32 Metres sparks a similar commotion when Turkish women enter a shooting competition, leaving local men suddenly unsure whether their wives’ loaded pistols might first break the chains in the kitchen and then their husbands’ sense of authority. Tackling yet another deeply rooted taboo, The Pink Pill: Sex, Drugs & Who Has Control sparks a provocative debate around the creation of a pill designed to enhance women’s sexual pleasure.
The fragile boundaries of understanding are explored in State of Firsts, which follows Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender member to be elected to the United States Congress. Her successful rise to the highest levels of politics under President Biden collides with a wall of transphobia following Trump’s re-election, offering a stark portrait of the ideological tensions gripping the country today. Questions of social acceptance and the legal hurdles faced by those who challenge societal norms also shape the narrative film Love Letters. In it, a lesbian couple is expecting a child, sending the non-biological mother on a fraught journey to secure official assessments and approval of her fitness to become a parent.
Films in section Against the Tide
Full-length documentary
Cuba&Alaska
Kuba and Alaska enlist as paramedics on the front lines near Kharkiv, Ukraine, where the brutality of war tests them daily. Humor and friendship keep their faith in victory alive amid the chaos.
Full-length documentary
Cutting Through Rocks
Sara lives in an Iranian village, where she becomes the first woman elected to the local council. Charismatic and determined, she carves a path through a conservative society on her motorcycle, fighting for the rights of women and children.
Full-length documentary
I Follow Rivers
Mariann Sæther is one of Norway’s most renowned kayakers. Her life is filled with both the thrill of white-water kayaking and raising her two young children, Benjamin and Saga. In her forties, Mariann decides to combine family life with this extreme sport.
Feature film
Love Letters
A year after the legalization of same-sex marriage in France, Nadia and Céline are expecting a child. In their upcoming roles as mothers, they face their own doubts, the complexities of the system, and societal prejudices.
Feature film
Nomad Shadow
Few feelings in the world compare to the inner conflict Mariam experiences. Overnight, she is deported from Spain to her native Western Sahara, a land that is no longer what it once was.
Full-length documentary
Queer as Punk
“We’re Malaysian and queer!” The chant that opens every show sets the tone for punk band Shh…Diam!’s fight for freedom in a strictly Muslim country – both on stage and off.
Full-length documentary
State of Firsts
Sarah McBride is the first openly transgender politician running for a seat in the U.S. Congress. Her historic candidacy, however, is shadowed by transphobic attacks and relentless media scrutiny.
Full-length documentary
The Pink Pill: Sex, Drugs & Who Has Control
While male sexual fulfillment is celebrated and easily supported by pills like Viagra, female sexuality remains taboo. That all might be about to change with the idea for a single pill. An exhilarating fight for equality begins.
Other Programme Sections
Competition section
International Competition
Refined cinematic explorations of challenging human-rights themes—this, in essence, is the vision behind the International Competition. The selection features films that have recently captivated audiences at the world’s leading festivals, showcasing—and often expanding—the possibilities of audiovisual storytelling in documentary cinema.
Competition section
Right to Know
Ten films in the Right to Know section offer an insider’s view of the lesser-known corners of global affairs, told through the stories of people who have dared to defy regimes, traditions, or the everyday absurdities of power. Whether their David-and-Goliath struggles unfold at a prestigious American university, in autocratic Russia, or under decades-long Ugandan dictatorship, these stories inspire courage and empathy.
Competition section
Czech Competition
The competition highlighting domestic documentary filmmaking in the context of human rights has long been a cornerstone of the One World Festival. This year’s selection brings together premiere screenings and films that have made an impact at Czech and international festivals, offering above all a showcase of diverse and inventive approaches to complex social issues. Audiences can look forward to ten compelling titles, presented in world, Czech, and distribution premieres.
Competition section
Virtual Reality
The competitive Virtual Reality section offers an immersive experience of both unprecedented imaginary worlds and pressing real-world themes that resonate with society: from the anti-capitalist fairytale The Sad Story of the Little Mouse Who Wanted to Become Somebody, to the captivating visual epic Revival Roadshow, which deconstructs Dutch colonialism in Australia, and finally to the delicate essay on mental health in Japan, If You See a Cat.
Thematic section
The Gunnar Myth
In his loose film series, the remarkable Norwegian filmmaker Gunnar Hall Jensen embarks on an uncompromising exploration of life’s complex questions and his own dark inner landscapes. Through brutally honest, self-revealing documentary films, he constructs a constantly evolving self-portrait, offering a raw insight into the pressing issues he and society grapple with—whether sexuality, relationships, personal crises, escape from Western society, the challenges of parenthood, or contemporary, often toxic masculinity.
Thematic section
One World for All
What defines a dignified life? Is it our abilities, or the environment that surrounds us? This year, the One World for All category presents stories that challenge conventional notions of disability, portraying it not as an individual “handicap” but as the product of systemic, communicative, and mental barriers. The selected films invite us to see the world through the eyes of those whose voices are often overlooked in debates about autonomy.
Thematic section
Climate in Need
Climate issues are increasingly intertwined with social and political questions—a trend that is clearly reflected in contemporary environmental films. These works rarely settle for merely highlighting ecological problems; instead, they embrace complexity, mirroring the multifaceted challenges society faces in the wake of climate change. Together, they confront us with a pressing task: to imagine constructive narratives that offer not only potential solutions, but above all, hope.
Thematic section
Vision of Today
Endless possibilities, a torrent of worlds, signals from the cosmos; but also accelerated consumerism, online threats, and a loneliness that kills. The Vision of Today section paints a vivid portrait of the contemporary technological landscape and its impact on our lives.
Thematic section
Community Vortex
This section maps the intense movement of society between community and spirituality, whether it takes the form of a turn toward esotericism, new religious movements, or communities bound by tradition, faith, or shared life experiences.
Thematic section
Fault Lines
Open dialogue is the foundation of democracy. In today’s highly polarized climate, people are increasingly retreating into echo chambers, reinforcing their own truths without the willingness to explore the perspectives of others. The section Fault Lines examines the forms of today’s divided society and presents ways in which people can understand one another across diametrically opposed beliefs.
Thematic section
Everyday Courage
In a world flooded with devastating news on a daily basis, repeating the mantra “courage every day” can be what helps us get out of bed each morning. Finding the inner strength to face what we, as ordinary people, have zero control over is often a superhuman feat, even in places untouched by war or natural disasters. Nine films exploring the ways people cope with the weight of reality seek to illuminate how we can find meaning in turbulent times, when the certainties we rely on seem to be crumbling.
Thematic section
Among Generations
At a time when the world is changing far more rapidly than ever before, generations perceive reality in strikingly different ways. What once unfolded over twenty-five-year cycles now comes and goes in the blink of an eye. Building mutual understanding in this fast-paced world is especially challenging, as each emerging generation shapes its own political, technological, and social landscape—and develops unique ways of forming relationships and identities. Yet society’s fragmentation need not be permanent; fostering dialogue often begins simply by listening to what each generation cares about and believes in.
Thematic section
One World for Families
One World also caters to younger audiences, presenting films that share stories of children from around the world and help young viewers better understand themselves and others.