International human rights documentary film festival taking place in Prague and 33 cities in the Czech Republic. American director Brian Knappenberger is a be member of the grand jury which selects Best Film and Best Director in the Main Competition and will present his new film "Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz" and participate in a Q&A session following the screening.
A Quiet Inquisition
Alessandra Zeka, Holen Sabrina Kahn / USA, Nicaragua / 2014 / 66 min.
At a public hospital in Managua, OBGYN Dr. Carla Cerrato contends with the harrowing implications of a new law supported by Nicaraguan President, Daniel Ortega, that bans all abortion, even in cases of rape, incest, or to save a woman’s life. As she and her colleagues navigate between the potential of prosecution and the use of medical protocols they know can save lives, the impact of this law emerges, illuminating the reality of prohibition against the backdrop of a political, religious and historically complex national identity. As the stakes elevate, and the fatalities become personal, Carla’s outrage and sadness transform into a willingness to act boldly in the face of the law.
04 .03. / 17:00 Francouzský institut + Debata
07 .03. / 17:30 Městská knihovna
09 .03. / 22:00 Atlas – malý sál
American Promise
Michele Stephenson, Joe Brewster / USA / 2013 / 80 min.
Spanning 12 years in the lives of two families, American Promise provides a rare look into black middle class life while exploring the common hopes and hurdles of parents navigating their children’s educational journey. The film begins in 1999, when filmmakers Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson turned cameras on their son and his best friend, as the boys entered kindergarten at the prestigious Dalton School. Through the intimate experiences of these two families, the documentary reveals complicated truths about parenting, while challenging commonly held assumptions about educational access in the 21st century.
06 .03. / 17:30 Ponrepo
11 .03. / 14:00 Světozor – malý sál
Approaching the Elephant
Amanda Wilder / USA / 2014 / 89 min.
In the small town of Little Falls, New Jersey the 262nd free school opens its doors for the fall semester. The school is run by ambitious director Alex Khost, whose idealism of a new education system is tested by a defiant student, determined to upend the rules and possibly the school itself. Director Amanda Rose Wilder captures the volatilizing energy that builds through this turbulent first year.
05 .03. / 19:30 Francouzský institut
08 .03. / 16:00 Světozor – malý sál
E-TEAM
Ross Kauffman, Katy Chevigny / USA / 2014 / 89 min.
Anna, Ole, Fred and Peter are four members of the Emergencies Team — or E-Team — the boots on the ground division of a respected, international human rights group. Arriving as soon as possible after allegations of human rights abuse surface, the E-Team uncovers crucial evidence to determine if further investigation is warranted and, if so, to investigate, document, and capture the world’s attention. They also immediately challenge the responsible decision makers, holding them accountable. Human rights abuses thrive on secrecy and silence, and the work of the E-Team, backed by their international human rights organization, has shone light in dark places and given voice to thousands whose stories would never otherwise have been told.Using a cinema verite approach, our camera embeds with the E-Team investigators in the field as they piece together the actual events that take place in various troubled spots around the globe.Together we smuggle across the border into Syria to conduct undercover investigations as the civil war rages; amidst bullets and bombs we watch as Fred and Peter work to halt human rights abuses in the aftermath of the Gaddafi regime.
05 .03. / 17:00 Lucerna – malý sál
06 .03. / 19:30 Francouzský institut
09 .03. / 17:30 Ponrepo
Citizenfour
Laura Poitras / Germany, USA / 2014 / 114 min.
A hotel room in Hong Kong in June 2013. Speaking intently to the camera is a man who in a few days will make headlines around the world: Edward Snowden. The former analyst at the US National Security Agency (NSA) is portrayed by filmmaker Laura Poitras and journalists from The Guardian in an exclusive interview about how the NSA collects data on hundreds of millions of people’s private electronic communications. The subsequent disclosure of top secret information launched a media storm and led to an avalanche of other issues. What is the connection between freedom and privacy? What happens to democracy when national governments control all of our data? The film received an Oscar 2015 for best documentary.
06 .03. / 22:00 Svetozor – Large Hall
8 .03. / 19:30 French Institute
10 .03. / 18:45 Lucerna – Large Hall
The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz
Brian Knappenberger / USA / 2014 / 105 min.
The Internet’s Own Boy follows the story of programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz. From Swartz’s help in the development of the basic internet protocol RSS to his co-founding of Reddit, his fingerprints are all over the internet. But it was Swartz’s groundbreaking work in social justice and political organizing combined with his aggressive approach to information access that ensnared him in a two-year legal nightmare. It was a battle that ended with the taking of his own life at the age of 26. Aaron’s story touched a nerve with people far beyond the online communities in which he was a celebrity. This film is a personal story about what we lose when we are tone deaf about technology and its relationship to our civil liberties.
05 .03. / 22:00 Světozor – velký sál
07 .03. / 16:15 Lucerna – velký sál + Debata s režisérem Brianem Knappenbergerem
08 .03. / 20:30 Světozor – malý sál
Kashmir
Elayne McCabe, India / USA, 2014, 52 min
Kasheer explores the complexities of life in a disputed territory from the point of view of three local artists living in the Kashmir Valley — a conflict zone in the Indian Himalayas on the contested border with Pakistan. Malik Sajad is a political cartoonist offering biting satiric commentary on regional politics. A middle-aged artist reflects on his childhood and the tragic changes the local insurgency brought to his neighborhood in abstract ink drawings. Gayoor Hassan’s vibrant spiritual paintings reveal his quest for inner peace in the midst of perpetual social turmoil. Lushly photographed, this observational documentary provides a human perspective, creating space for thoughtful debate amid deeply polarizing politics.
05 .03. / 20:30 Světozor – malý sál
07 .03. / 21:30 Atlas – velký sál
09 .03. / 19:30 Evald
The Overnighters
Jesse Moss / USA / 2014 / 101 min.
In the tiny town of Williston, North Dakota, tens of thousands of unemployed hopefuls show up with dreams of honest work and a big paycheck under the lure of the oil boom. However, busloads of newcomers chasing a broken American Dream step into the stark reality of slim work prospects and nowhere to sleep. The town lacks the infrastructure to house the overflow of migrants, even for those who do find gainful employment.
04 .03. / 21:15 Lucerna – velký sál
07 .03. / 18:15 Světozor – malý sál
08 .03. / 18:00 Atlas – malý sál
Print the Legend
Clay Tweel, Luis Lopez / USA / 2014 / 98 min.
3D printing is changing the world – from printing guns and human organs to dismantling the world’s industrial infrastructure by enabling home manufacturing. It’s “the next Industrial Revolution.” For the first time in history, the stories of the human beings building an industry have been filmed. The result: "Print the Legend", which follows the people racing to bring 3D printing to your desktop and into your life. For the winners, there are fortunes – and history – to be made. "Print the Legend" is both the definitive 3D Printing Documentary – capturing a tech in the midst of its “Macintosh Moment” – and a compelling tale about what it takes to live the American Dream in any field.
07 .03. / 17:00 Světozor – velký sál
11 .03. / 20:00 Městská knihovna
Who Is Dayani Cristal?
Marc Silver / UK, USA, Mexico / 2013 / 85 min.
Deep in the sun-blistered Sonora desert beneath a cicada tree, Arizona border police discover a decomposing male body. Lifting a tattered t-shirt, they expose a tattoo that reads “Dayani Cristal”. Who is this person? What brought him here? How did he die? And who—or what—is Dayani Cristal? Following a team of dedicated staff from the Pima County Morgue in Arizona, director Marc Silver seeks to answer these questions and give this anonymous man an identity. As the forensic investigation unfolds, Mexican actor and activist Gael Garcia Bernal retraces this man’s steps along the migrant trail in Central America. In an effort to understand what it must have felt like to make this final journey, he embeds himself among migrant travelers on their own mission to cross the border. As we travel north, these voices from the other side of the border wall give us a rare insight into the human stories which are so often ignored in the immigration debate. Who Is Dayani Cristal? retraces one man’s incredible journey toward the deadly stretch of desert known as “the corridor of death” while shedding light on the story of migration the world over.
04 .03. / 22:00 Světozor – velký sál
08 .03. / 14:30 Lucerna – malý sál + Debata
09 .03. / 17:00 Atlas – velký sál
