Echoes of Ji.hlava in Belgium
Program
Bozar
Rue Ravenstein 23, 1000 Bruxelles
March 18 | 19:00 | Public screening of Mr. Nobody Against Putin (dir. David Borenstein, Pavel Talankin)
Wars are won by teachers, Putin declared when, after 2022, he turned Russian schools into recruitment centres designed to educate future soldiers. Educational institutions are required to send recordings of their lessons to the Ministry of Education to prove that their interpretation of the invasion of Ukraine is in line with pro-Kremlin policy. Pavel “Pasha” Talankin, a teacher at an elementary school in the provincial Ural town of Karabash, took Putin's statement to heart, and the camera in his hands turned from a propaganda tool into an instrument of resistance. In addition to videos from his lessons, he also films everyday situations, and after two years, he flees into exile with his recordings. Documentary filmmaker David Borenstein takes them and compiles a picture of the militarization of education and a highly personal portrait of contemporary Russia.
Recipent of the Ji.hlava IDFF Audience Award and Academy Awards Best Documentary Feature Film nominee.
You can buy tickets here.
March 19 | 16:30 | Public screening of Mr. Nobody Against Putin (dir. David Borenstein, Pavel Talankin)
Wars are won by teachers, Putin declared when, after 2022, he turned Russian schools into recruitment centres designed to educate future soldiers. Educational institutions are required to send recordings of their lessons to the Ministry of Education to prove that their interpretation of the invasion of Ukraine is in line with pro-Kremlin policy. Pavel “Pasha” Talankin, a teacher at an elementary school in the provincial Ural town of Karabash, took Putin's statement to heart, and the camera in his hands turned from a propaganda tool into an instrument of resistance. In addition to videos from his lessons, he also films everyday situations, and after two years, he flees into exile with his recordings. Documentary filmmaker David Borenstein takes them and compiles a picture of the militarization of education and a highly personal portrait of contemporary Russia.
Recipent of the Ji.hlava IDFF Audience Award and Academy Awards Best Documentary Feature Film nominee.
You can buy tickets here.
March 19 | 19:00 | Public screening of Resilience (dir. Tomáš Elšík)
This film, which straddles the line between lyrical essay and environmental detective story, follows a couple who have learned to listen to the silence of the Czech countryside with extraordinary sensitivity. Klára and her dogs search for people who are poisoning endangered birds of prey, while Pavel mows spring meadows by hand and restores wetlands damaged by drought and deforestation. They perceive the natural ecosystem as an integral part of themselves and believe that it makes sense to protect it, even if it seems like a futile struggle. In the slow rhythm of landscape changes, accompanied by the sounds of wind, birds, and music coming directly from the earth, this film, inspired by the ideas of cultural ecologist David Abram, asks whether it is still possible to restore the balance between humans and nature; a balance that is disappearing before our eyes more quickly than we are able to understand it.
You can buy tickets here.
March 20| 19:00 | Public screening of Silver (dir. Natalia Koniarz) + Q&A with the film's director Natália Koniarz
An unvarnished look at life in Bolivia's highest silver mine, located in the middle of a desolate landscape. Miners live here with their families, and their entire lives are tied to working in the mine and searching for silver veins in endless masses of gray rock. The work is physically exhausting, destroys their health, and at the same time brings constant psychological pressure—death can come at any time. Children learn at school how to defend themselves against thieves who steal silver at night, murder, and rape, and whose victims include small children. In such a reality, almost anything can be a source of support, including unwavering spirituality. The film is also told through the eyes of a twelve-year-old boy who, in addition to attending school, is already learning the ropes in the mine: his small hands grip the tools as he realizes that a different fate is unlikely to await him. Playing with chickens or sledding on gravel become his only joys. Visually stunning shots of the lunar landscape contrast with the gravity of its inhabitants' existence. The film speaks of colonialism as the foundation of European wealth and criticizes its devastating impact on the generations whose labour paid for that prosperity.
Recipient of the Ji.hlava IDFF Best World Documentary Film Award.
You can buy tickets here.
March 21 | 14:00 | Public screening of Silver (dir. Natalia Koniarz)
An unvarnished look at life in Bolivia's highest silver mine, located in the middle of a desolate landscape. Miners live here with their families, and their entire lives are tied to working in the mine and searching for silver veins in endless masses of gray rock. The work is physically exhausting, destroys their health, and at the same time brings constant psychological pressure—death can come at any time. Children learn at school how to defend themselves against thieves who steal silver at night, murder, and rape, and whose victims include small children. In such a reality, almost anything can be a source of support, including unwavering spirituality. The film is also told through the eyes of a twelve-year-old boy who, in addition to attending school, is already learning the ropes in the mine: his small hands grip the tools as he realizes that a different fate is unlikely to await him. Playing with chickens or sledding on gravel become his only joys. Visually stunning shots of the lunar landscape contrast with the gravity of its inhabitants' existence. The film speaks of colonialism as the foundation of European wealth and criticizes its devastating impact on the generations whose labour paid for that prosperity.
Recipient of the Ji.hlava IDFF Best World Documentary Film Award.
You can buy tickets here.
The Echoes of Ji.hlava IDFF in Belgium are held under the auspices of H.E. Jakub Skalník, Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Brussels, and with the support of the City of Jihlava.
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