politics

Obtaining official documents represents a coveted symbol of freedom and security for migrants. But how do you navigate the administrative labyrinth, where even a poorly cropped photo can mean your application is rejected? Set in Athens, the film explores the relationship between identity, race, and European bureaucracy. “I reason like you. I think like you.”

The Ukrainian town of Nikopol has been a prime target for Russian weapons for several reasons. A giant dam used to stand nearby. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is located just a short distance away. With the destruction of the reservoir, people lost their source of drinking water. And the power plant lost its cooling system. Yet, many people, like Father Bohdan, remain in this God-forsaken place …A report from a place that has been struck by blows of biblical proportions, yet one where people continue to live.“Through Bohdan's story, the film seeks answers to the question of why people remain in their homes even though every day could be their last.“ — TPS Remízek

The film captures the ambivalent nature of the Tyrolean landscape around the Bürglkopf mountain. The idyll of Alpine nature, grazing cattle, babbling brooks, and breathtaking panoramas is disrupted by the knowledge that there is a refugee centre at the top of the mountain. Unauthorized entry is prohibited, contact with people inside is undesirable, and cameras are completely denied access behind the walls. The strict regime that asylum seekers must adhere to guarantees them only one thing: a minimal chance of remaining in the safety of Austria. Despite the restrictions, however, the director finds a way to conduct interviews with the centre’s residents outside the premises, against the backdrop of deep forests in the foothills. Their authentic testimonies reveal not only their personal experiences and reasons for fleeing, but also the reality of everyday life in the facility itself. The complex picture is complemented by the testimonies of those who have passed through the centre and settled in Austria, as well as critical voices from locals expressing strong empathy. It turns out that even in the face of an inhumane bureaucratic apparatus, people can retain their dignity and hope. “You broke my heart when you said that the cow has a better life than us.”

Director Allegra Stodolsky decided to continue her grandmother’s work in telling the story of their relative Lisa Fittko. A timely film which reflects upon the importance of the values fought for, which once again are under threat in today’s Europe. In 1930s Berlin, Fittko became politically active at a young age and joined leftist youth resistance, fighting against the rise of the Nazis. In using archival footage, re-enactment and the voice of Lisa Fittko herself, this documentary tells the story of the courage of a young woman who understood that freedom is not a guarantee and who chose to resist rather than stay silent in the face of oppression. “A woman who came of age during the rise of the fascist regime and chose to remain aware in the wake of fear.”

After World War I, the northern Croatian port city of Fiume experienced one of the most bizarre military campaigns in history. It lasted sixteen months and was led by Italian poet Gabriele D'Annunzio, who occupied present-day Rijeka with three hundred soldiers in September 1919. He founded his own state there and ruled it until the army of his native Italy rose up against him. The poet-dictator, who inspired Benito Mussolini, immortalized his reign in ten thousand period photographs. Rijeka native Igor Brezinović subversively revives them and, in a tangle of historical facts and exaggeration, in the gap between history and the present, discovers the roots of fascism. “D’Annunzio treated his occupation of Fiume with the same romanticism as his writing, even going so far as to obsessively have him and his men filmed and photographed to project a propagandistic ideal.” — Igor Brezinović

While a few years ago social media and a strong visual identity were a welcome accessory, today they are an essential part of political success. Jan Grolich, Christian Democrat governor of the South Moravia Region, is an example of a politician who has managed to effectively combine traditional values with modern marketing tools. He has gained popularity through his immediacy and perspective. He appears in the same way in Jakub Ondráček's observational documentary. It offers an authentic insight into the behind-the-scenes of Grolich's campaign before the 2024 regional elections, which were disrupted by floods. The camera impartially follows lively discussions about the design of election posters, the distribution of cake to potential voters, and the post-election dilemma of how to deal with results without losing the painstakingly created image of a person who wants to do things his own way. “Only if we achieve an extremely good result might my savior complex awaken within me, and in that case I might consider running for president. But I hope that doesn’t happen.” — quote from the film

The film, which took five years to make and was initiated by Senate President Vystrčil's visit to Taiwan in 2020, maps the current geopolitical situation of this island nation and seeks not only historical but mainly current parallels between Taiwan's position vis-à-vis China and Russia's position vis-à-vis smaller countries, including Ukraine, the Baltic states, and even the Czech Republic. China's pressure on Taiwan is intensifying, and this island state is increasingly under threat. Will it maintain its freedom and independence in today's complex world, where conflicts are on the rise and, with the possible help of the democratic world, it is becoming increasingly complicated?The screening will be followed by a debate with Miloš Vystrčil, sinologist David Gardáš, and Taiwanese writer Kevin Chen. The discussion will offer an insider's view of what the mission meant for Czech diplomacy, relations with Taiwan, and Czechia's position in the international arena. What are its political, economic, and cultural consequences—and what remains alive today?

Kakadu Koki was the favourite parrot of Yugoslav dictator Josip Broz Tito. He can talk, and his vocabulary is quite unrefined. But what is even more incredible is that he is still alive! He is shown as an animal curiosity to tourists visiting the Brijuni Islands, the site of Tito's former luxury residence. Koki's statements and sayings, which the director recorded over four years, form the basis of the film's soundtrack. Unknown or lesser-known visual material is inserted into the comic contrast, showing Koki and Tito meeting dignitaries and celebrities of bygone times – Khrushchev, Ceaușescu, and Sophia Loren. “I’ve had a lifelong fascination with stories told from the point of view of animals.” — Quenton Miller

A sixteen-year-old boy begins his studies at secondary school during the summer. However, as he is in China, everything is preceded by compulsory military training. Between drills and shouting ideological slogans, in this darkly lyrical documentary, summer gradually fades away, along with the young man’s conviction about the meaning of his current actions. “During the past summer I was thinking about departure and farewell, and my feelings of solitude.” — Yupeng He

In 2022, a Russian cyberattack cut off the Norwegian islands of Bjørnøya and Hopen from the world for two weeks. A group of Norwegian radio amateurs brought the voices of civilization back to the hypnotic icy wasteland. This compelling essay looks through the inquiring eyes of extraterrestrial anthropologists, who suggest that Morse code and radio signals may one day save our fragile digital world. “It may seem like the ham radio operators cleave to the past, but in today’s world, with threats of war, extreme weather, and solar storms, it could be that they are actually ensuring our future survival.” — Nordnorsk kunstnersenter

Latvian documentary filmmaker Juris Podnieks (1950–1992) gained worldwide attention for his relentless need to “be there,” but also for his ability to capture unique moments of the pulsating present. This urgent documentary portrait, using personal diaries, photographs and film footage, presents the fascinating life journey of a filmmaker who reflects on his obsession but is unable to control it. The need to capture “the death of the monster”, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Latvian struggle for freedom proved fatal for him and his long-time colleagues. The unclear circumstances of his death highlight the magnitude of the unfinished work of this leading figure in European documentary filmmaking. “In the West, they see it as a movie. They do not understand that in this ‘perestroika’, people’s destinies are being decided. And it is creating immense pain. We even call it an awakening, but nobody really wants to wake up.” — Juris Podnieks, 1987

The turbulent pre-election atmosphere in Indonesia becomes absurd background noise to everyday scenes of a stagnant village life in the film Sunshower. Director Micko Boanerges visits his grandparents in the countryside and observes how little the struggle over the country's fate disrupts the peaceful flow of life there. The minimalist film lets the black-and-white camera rest on everyday scenes in which so little happens that the rush to bring in the laundry at the onset of a rain shower becomes one of the most dramatic scenes. The director's grandparents barely exchange a few words and spend most of their time just relaxing, paying little attention to the disputes between election candidates blaring from the television. Sunshower can thus be viewed as a contribution to the meditative cinematography of empty scenes, but also as an ironic film that draws on the aesthetics of boredom, showing the contrast between the turbulent situation in the public sphere and people who rarely come into contact with it. “You said that the leaders who have never been poor couldn’t lead their people. I think that this statement is mistaken and has to be straightened out. What if the leaders who have always been wealthy turned out to be capable of leading.”

Authentic testimonies from women in sub-Saharan Africa reveal the suffering and violence that accompany their hopeful journey to Tunisia and southern Europe. Their faces remain hidden from the camera; we see only fragments of their bodies and destinies. A chilling portrait of people who would rather risk death at sea than life in their own country. “I told myself: live or die.”

An investigation into the functioning of fake news in pre-election Bulgaria reveals the people behind its creation and dissemination, while also highlighting those who are trying to remove it from public discourse. The documentary follows two opposing protagonists. An experienced investigative journalist, with twenty years of experience, whose life has been repeatedly threatened, and whose car has been set on fire twice, has long been highlighting the dangers of disinformation to the Bulgarian public. In contrast to her efforts is a young man entering politics to fight against “gender ideology,” immigrants, vaccinations, and Western influences, who actively buys Russian trolls, and spreads propaganda through social networks. The documentary depicts the absurdity of some of the messages and strategies, but also their concrete impact on election results and the lives of ordinary people. At the same time, it points to the power of far-right internet lobbies and the mechanisms by which they penetrate everyday life. The film explores the contradictions between legal norms and moral values, forcing the audience to confront situations where something is legally permissible, but ethically questionable. “The car of Genka Shikerova, a journalist known for her incisive interviews of Bulgarian politicians, was set on fire outside her Sofia home on the night of 16th September, reviving concern about freedom of information and the safety of journalists in Bulgaria.” — Reporters without Border Source: Interview with Genka Shikerova on media freedom in Bulgaria.

A wife should obey her husband’s every word, and live only for him. This is how one could briefly summarize the attitude of some women who identify with the wedLOCK tradWIFE phenomenon. This film is based on their statements on social media, presented in a shocking concentration and painful collage, with period footage from the 1950s. “Tradwife refers to a woman who adheres to traditional gender roles, that is, caring for the household, rather than pursuing a career.” — Martin Šemelík, Department of Contemporary Lexicology and Lexicography, Institute of the Czech Language, Academy of Sciences

Ten years ago, Volodymyr Zelensky was just one of the many faces on Ukrainian television screens. He became a star thanks to the 2015 satirical series Servant of the People, in which he played a history teacher who becomes president. Four years later, what began as fiction became a reality. This French documentary follows the transformation of a popular TV comedian into a statesman on the front lines of the Russian invasion. Archival footage, family photos, television appearances, and interviews with Zelensky and those closest to him create a multi-layered portrait of a man who always longed for a large audience. At the same time, the film places his personal development in the broader context of post-Soviet Ukraine, which is also searching for its own identity. “It is the portrait of a man who becomes president and leader of a country at war, even though nothing in his life had prepared him for it. It is the portrait of a man, but also, implicitly, of his generation and of a country—Ukraine.” — Lisa Vapné