The best film this year was the touching story of a Syrian couple who decided to leave the country with their children to escape persecution by the Assad regime. The situation also leaves a mark on their relationship, which is falling apart, just like their country. The award for best film will be personally accepted in Prague by the director of A Syrian Love Story Sean McAllister accompanied by one of the protagonists, Raghda Hassan.
One World this year screened 123 documentary films divided into 13 programme categories. Two hundred and thirty-one filmmakers and protagonists, human rights activists and organisers of human rights film festivals came to Prague. One World has supported the Klinika Autonomous Social Centre, which was included among the festival venues and was the location of the screening of the opening film No Man is an Island and the weekend screening of The Swedish Theory of Love.
Attendance at this year's festival is similar to last year's levels. In the first week, 24,833 spectators attended afternoon and evening screenings. School screenings in the first week of the festival (five weekdays) were attended by 6,067 students and 359 teachers. Morning screenings for schools will continue until Thursday, 17 March.
Grand Jury
The Grand Jury conferred awards for Best Film and Best Director, selecting from among 12 documentaries in the Main Competition category.
The award for Best Film went to A Syrian Love Storyby British director Sean McAllister (UK / 2015 / 75 min.), who attended One World together with Raghda Hassan, a protagonist in the film. Three years ago the festival presented McAllister's documentary The Reluctant Revolutionary.
"The jury was impressed by the radical approach the director has chosen in the storytelling and by the braveness of the protagonists who allow the audience to experience an intimate story bringing out the human factor and an honest picture of a family in crisis amidst the political larger one," the jury said in a statement.
The award for Best Director went to Zhao Liang, the Chinese director of Behemoth (France, China / 2015 / 90 min.), which is one of the most visually interesting films in this year's festival.
"Liang Zhao is able to creatively craft a complex beautiful yet devastating image, mirroring the dialectic of the concrete to the basic values where he advocates for the fragile human and environmental state of our world. A director who manages with artistic precession and outstanding imagery to paint a loud and clear statement against violations caused by greed and illusions," the jury said in its decision.
The Grand Jury consists of:Polish documentary filmmaker Hanna Polak, Swiss director Eric Bergkraut, Syrian independent documentary filmmakerand co-founder of the Berlin-based non-profit association DOX BOX Diana El Jeiroudi, director of the ZeLIG School for Documentary, Television and New Media in Bolzan Heidi Gronauer, and Czech documentary filmmaker Bohdan Bláhovec.
Václav Havel Jury
The Václav Havel Jury awarded a film that made a significant contribution to the defence of human rights. It also decided to grant one special mention. The jury selected from among 13 documentaries presented in the Right to Know competition category.
The award for a film that made a significant contribution to the defence of human rights went to Incorruptible by director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (USA, Senegal / 2015 / 90 min.). The film presents the situation in Senegal around the elections in 2012, when not only democratic candidates, but also a movement of rappers and activists stood up against the corrupt president.
"The documentary shows the importance of citizen participation to carry out successful democratic transitions, as well as the necessity that the international community supports the rights of the citizens to decide their own future. It shows that there exists a way to effectively express disagreement with the political leaders corrupted by the exercise of long-lasting power, accustomed to mass manipulation, and ruling without control mechanisms and transparency. Incorruptible shows that the people should always be aware of their own strength, whether in developing or highly developed societies," the jury said in a statement.
The Václav Havel Jury granted Special Mention to Hooligan Sparrowby director Nanfu Wang (USA, China / 2016 / 84 min.). The young director began filming the activities of Chinese activist Ye Haiyan (aka Hooligan Sparrow) and soon also began participating in her activities, making herself a target of persecution by the Chinese secret police.
"This film exposes how individuals are subdued by one of the most powerful of the oppressive regimes in the world today: the Chinese, which is being imitated by other authoritarian and populist regimes around the world, through partial economic opening but denial of fundamental freedoms. Such a system does not lead to democracy, and consequently - it cannot bring true prosperity and stability to any society. We appreciate and express our solidarity with the values and the courage to speak out and defend citizens´ rights of both the protagonist, the human rights activist Ye Haiyan, and the film-maker of Hooligan Sparrow, Nanfu Wang," the jury said in a statement.
The Václav Havel Jury consists of: co-founder and co-coordinator of the No Borders project by the Ukrainian NGO Social Action Center Maksym Butkevych,internationally renowned Azeri defender of human rights Emin Huseynov, Austrian Vice-President of the European Parliament Ulrike Lunacek, Cuban human rights activist Rosa María Payá, and Vietnamese activist and executive director of the NGO VOICE Hoi Trinh.
Czech Radio Jury
The jury confers the Czech Radio Award for creative use of music and sound in documentary film.
This year's winner is They Will Have to Kill Us First by director Johanna Schwartz (Great Britain / 2015 / 95 min.). The documentary shows the situation of musicians in North Mali after Islamist rebels banned music and singing in the country.
"The winner stands out among the rest of the films especially thanks to its high-quality contact sound and professional sound mix. The filmmakers work with original music connected to the setting, using it
with loose transitions to accompany the film and support its authenticity. All this together with intense sound atmospheres of the exotic setting creates a variegated combination of image and sound, resulting in a wonderfully rich film experience. Depiction of joy during the unauthorized concert shows that the desire for fundamental human expressions, namely music, song and dance, cannot be silenced even by a war conflict," says the jury statement.
The members of the jury were sound engineers from Czech Radio: Tomáš Zikmund, Jiří Litoš and Filip Skuhrovec.
Student Jury
The Student Jury selects the best film from the collection of films for students. It is made up primarily of high school students who organise One World student film clubs in their schools.
The Student Jury Award went to Out of Fashionby Estonian directors Jaak Kilmi and Lennart Laberenz (Moest Väljas / Estonia / 2015 / 58 min.).
"The film made students reflect upon overproduction, consumerism and waste of world’s resources in the fashion industry. This issue might not be one of the hottest topics currently discussed but it must not be overlooked as it is becoming more and more pressing. The main protagonist offers a simple and effective solution. It remains up to us whether we will embrace it or not," says the jury statement.
The Student Jury consists of Markéta Petříčková, Daniel Kadlec, Filip Král and Tereza Gregorová.
AVAST Audience Award
Voting for the Audience Award takes place in every festival cinema until the last screening on Tuesday. The most popular film with audiences will be announced on Wednesday, 16 March 2016.
Screenings of winning films
The winning films of the 18th annual One World Festival will be presented in the following cinemas on Wednesday, 16 March:
ATLAS LH
19:00 Incorruptible
21:30 Hooligan Sparrow
LUCERNA SH
17:00 A Syrian Love Story
LUCERNA LH
22:00 A Syrian Love Story
SVĚTOZOR LH
19:30 Behemoth
22:00 Out of Fashion
More information at www.oneworld.cz or by contacting Tereza Hronová at +420 731 129 553 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Admission to the closing ceremonies of the festival is by invitation only.
