Human Rights Violation at Center of This Year’s One World Festival

I discussed the program with one of the festival organizers, Kristýna Genttnerová, and first asked her about the choice of this year’s main theme, which is “Journeys of Freedom”:

“We chose this topic because we wanted to shine a light on the subject of human rights violation that is taking place all over the world and also because in recent years the media has mainly focused on the Covid pandemic.

“That does not mean, however, that human rights have not been violated in the meantime. In fact, the opposite is true, as many dictators used this opportunity to step on the necks of their people even more.

“With this section, we highlight the countries where human rights are most violated, such as Hong Kong and Belarus, but we also focus on Russia.

‘We are going to screen the film'[email protected] This Job’ on Dozhd Internet TV, which was canceled about a week ago due to its reporting on the war in Ukraine, so it’s a very recent topic.

The festival will officially open with the screening of a Polish film entitled ‘Judges under Pressure’. Can you tell us a bit more about this film?

“This is a film about the judicial system in Poland and about judges who are harassed by the government because they are seen as an obstacle to the government’s plan to introduce laws contrary to the principles of democracy.

“We will also welcome the film’s protagonist, Igor Tuleya, one of the judges in Poland, who was suspended for his criticism of the government.

“There will be a screening and also two talks, so we are very happy that he can come and discuss the situation in Poland.”

The festival program was obviously set up before the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, but are you still going to address the events in Ukraine?

“I think the Russian film I mentioned before, ‘[email protected] This Job’, tackles this subject. We are also offering three films about Ukraine from the last three editions as part of our “Get Your Audience” programme.

“People can organize screenings themselves, and they can also collect money and give it to Ukrainians or filmmakers. Those who want to screen the films can find all the information on our website promitejity.cz.

“We also have a Ukrainian film on the program called A House Made of Splinters. It is not directly about the war, but rather about the repercussions on the population of eastern Ukraine.

Finally, the NGO People in Need is celebrating its 30th anniversary since its creation. Are you planning to mark this anniversary in any way?

“One World has launched a year-long project, a VOD platform, where you can watch several films focusing on the work of People in Need over the past 30 years and their missions around the world.

“We will also be celebrating at the opening at the Prague Crossroads center and hopefully there will be another meeting during the year.”