2024-04-02 23:57:35
The winner of this year’s human rights festival, One World, was the film Life is Great by Palestinian director Mohamed Jabaly about life in Norwegian exile. Kumjana Novakova received the Jury Prize for directing with the film When Reason Was Silent. The documentary My New Face directed by Jarmila Štuková won the audience vote.
The announcement ceremony took place on Thursday evening in Prague’s Lucerna cinema, with the participation of President Petr Pavel.
Life is great presents a personal documentary account of the young Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly, who is going on his first trip to Europe. However, due to the closed borders at home, a month’s stay in Norway becomes a forced exile. As a Palestinian, he is a stateless person according to the Norwegian authorities. His ability to stay in the country legally is complicated by the fact that, despite his talent and experience, he has no formal film training.
The creator thus begins to document the cold Nordic days filled with waiting for the opening of the borders and the decisions of the authorities. Meanwhile, his entire life in Gaza so far is reduced to an impersonal screen during video calls.
“The documentary interestingly portrays the difficult fate of a Gazan filmmaker,” stated the jury, according to which the author found inspiring support in the small Norwegian community. She also appreciated the humor and diary format in the film. “It tells a universal story of perseverance, strength and hope with an incredible sensitivity to what unites us,” added the judges.
The director’s award-winning film When Reason Was Silent uses archival material from the Hague Tribunal and gives voice to women who faced brutal sexual violence and torture during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. “Although the film refers to one specific historical event, it also tells about all the armed conflicts that are taking place today and the increasingly frequent use of rape as a weapon of war,” the jury specifies.
The Václav Havel jury award for best film went to Extremisti.br, directed by Brazilian documentarian Caio Cavechini. It captures a divided Brazilian society where threats and violence are common tactics of right-wing extremists.
The audience chose their favorite from 96 feature films, among which were documentaries and, for the first time this year, feature films with human rights themes. The audience award was won by the documentary My New Face. His heroine recovers from an acid attack by her ex-partner, learns to live with the loss of her sight and searches for a new path in life.
21 thousand spectators visited the Prague part of the festival this year. One World will last until April 21 in more than forty cities across the country.
The annual Homo Homini award ceremony is part of the festival. People in Need has been awarding them since the 1990s to personalities and groups who have made significant contributions to the protection of human rights and democracy.
The award was received this year by representatives of the imprisoned editorial staff of the independent Azerbaijani online media Abzas Media.
Video: Trailer from the winning film Life is great
Trailer from the winning film Life is great, made by Palestinian Mohamed Jabaly. | Video: One World