LIST OF FOREIGN GUESTS
Abbas, Rushan – Uyghurs: Prisoners of the Absurd, protagonist (3 – 6.3)
Rushan spent 10 years as the translator for a group of Uyghurs, whom the US military considered Islamist militants and unjustly imprisoned in Guantanamo after September 11, where they were held without trial for several years.
Abrahams, Fred – E-TEAM, protagonist (8 –10.3)
Fred is the father of the Emergency Team in the non-profit organisation Human Rights Watch, which calls attention to human rights violations. He was part of the team investigating war crimes in Kosovo and testified at the trial of Slobodan Milosevic. He also focused on crimes against humanity after the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime in Libya.
Anjaan, Nitesh – Far from Home, director (6 – 8.3)
Nitesh has made a film about his father, who decided to revoke his permanent residence in Denmark and return to India for his retirement. One of the reasons for this step is his desire to stop gambling.
Baxter, Anthony – A Dangerous Game, director (2 – 4.3)
Anthony has made a film about how American billionaire Donald Trump is building golf resorts where they don't belong, like in UNESCO protected Dubrovnik. The film is a follow up to his highly successful documentary You've Been Trumped! presented at One World 2012.
Bittner, Matthias – War of Lies, director (6 – 8.3)
Matthias has made a film about how a refugee from Iraq fell into the hands of German intelligence and described in detail his work in a secret Iraqi facility for the production of chemical weapons. His account was used by the Americans as justification for unleashing war. But it turned out that the Iraqi made everything up.
Boink, Joey –Burden of Peace, director (1 – 6.3)
Joey has made a film about Claudia Paz y Paz, the first woman to be appointed attorney general in Guatemala, where more than 95 % of murder cases are unsolved. He followed the successes of this former human rights lawyer from close up. This will be the world pre-premiere of the film.
Bouquet, Arnaud– Last of the Elephant Men, director (8 –14.3)
Arnaud has made a film about the last indigenous people from the Cambodian province of Mondulkiri who know how to raise and train elephants.
Dhoedt, Steven – Národní hra, director (7 – 9.3)
Steven has documented the lives of professional StarCraft players in South Korea. Instead of going to school, these young men spend all day in front of the monitor and earna small fortune.
Evans, Bryn – Hip Hop-eration, director (8 –10.3)
Bryn has made a film about a group of New Zealand seniors whose average age is 90 but who still want to take part in a well-known hip hop dance contest.
Felixson, Helgi –Vive la France, director (7 – 9.3)
Helgi has documented the ecological and health risks on the island of Tureia inPolynesia, where between 1966 and 1996 France carried out some 200 atomic tests. The French government so far has not admitted responsibility for the damage.
Glavonic, Ognjen + Zivan – Zivan Makes a Punk Festival, director + protagonist (9 – 11.3)
Zivan is a dreamer, poet and lover of punk rock. For the sixth year in a row he has been organising a punk rock festival in his home village of Tomasevac in Northern Serbia. His dream is to change cultural stereotypes.
Goldstein, Leona – God Is Not Working on Sunday!, director (5 – 9.3)
Leona's film is about coming to terms with the legacy of genocide, war trauma and female emancipation in Rwanda. One World presents the world premiere of the film and the two main protagonists will travel from Rwanda for the festival.
Gornostai, Kateryna –Euromaidan. Rough Cut, director (8 –10.3)
A series of stories that map the changes brought about by the anti-government demonstrations in Kyiv last year, in which demonstrators were tear gassed. Kateryna directed one of the chapters of the film.
Haslberger, Maximilian –The Humanitarians, director (4 – 6.3)
Maximilian succeeded in documenting how two men – one mentally and the other physically disabled – deal with their sexual desires.
Hulin, Michail – Made in BY, protagonist (4 – 8.3)
A Belarussian painter reflects the current reality in the country through irony and cliché. But the regime doesn't have a sense of humour or any understanding of modern art.
Jespersen, Søren Steen – Warriors from the North, director (1 – 4.3)
Søren Steen is the man behind the opening film of One World 2015 about how and why the descendants of Somali migrants in Denmark are joining radical Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab. He also met with young men who have left the movement.
Küpper, Eva – Before the Last Curtain Falls, director + protagonists (3 – 5.3)
A film about how transgender and drag queen performers from the Gardenie troupe return from their wildly successful show to regular life in Ghent, Belgium. Two of the performers, Richard and Danilo, will be attending One World.
Kurov, Askold – Children 404, director (6 – 8.3)
His film is about the community of young gays and lesbians around the Children-404 website. In 2013 Russia enacted a law against the "promotion of homosexuality" among young people and their harassment was authorised at the highest levels. The film won the Audience Award at the Mezipatra queer film festival.
Larsen, J. B.; Caspersen + S.; Jørgensen, M. – Palestine Marathon, directors + DOP (6 – 8.3)
The filmmakers have created a documentary about the first marathon held in Bethlehem and in which women can also participate.
Leuze, Mirjam; Brandl, Sandra – Flowers of Freedom, director and editor (5 – 8.3)
Their film is about how a community headed by women is fighting against toxic gold mining operations in the Kumtor mine inKyrgyzstan. Dozens of people were killed in an accident in 1998 and hundreds more suffered health consequences.
Lie, Jonathan Borge –Drone, producer (9 – 11.3)
Jonathan Borge produced a film about how the massive deployment of drones in the US military has fundamentally altered the lives of ordinary civilians e.g. in Pakistan.
Liimatainen, Sini – Once I Dreamt of Life, director (8 – 10.3)
Sini has made a film about the reasons for and consequences of suicide in Finland.
Longinotto, Kim – Dreamcatcher, director (9 – 11.3)
The author of a film about a former prostitute who has decided to help women on the streets and victims of sexual assault. She won the award for best documentary director at the Sundance Film Festival. She often makes films about strong and courageous women (Pinks Saris, Salma) and has won numerous awards.
Loizeau, Manon – War Without Trace, director (9 –11.3)
A film about the rule of Ramzan Kadyrov in Chechnya, who decides who lives and who dies.
Mai Jai – Lessons in Dissent, protagonist (6 – 9.3)
As part of the Scholarism group he decided to fight for democracy and the independence of education in Hong Kong. His colleague, Joshua Wong, from the start organised protests and was sentenced for holding illegal demonstrations.
Mesdaghi, Iraj – Those Who Said No, protagonist (9 – 11.3)
During the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Shiite fundamentalists came to power and thousands of their opponents ended up in prison and were secretly tortured or killed. In 2012, at the initiation of persecuted activist Iraj Mesdaghi, an Iran tribunal was opened in The Hague.
Mukasarasi, G.; Mukarubuga, F. – God Is Not Working on Sunday!, protagonists (5 –9.3)
Godelieve and Florida are activists who help women overcome oppressive memories of the past. They provide psychological support and organise courses and reconciliation meetings in which the victims confront their families' killers.
Najafi, Ayat; Najafi, Sarah – No Land’s Song, director and protagonist (7 – 9.3)
The director told the story of Sarah, an Iranian musician who decided to take on the national ban on female solo singing in public. In defiance of the authorities she organises a concert in Tehran.
Nanau, Alexander– Toto and His Sisters, director + protagonists (8 –10.3)
Alexander has shot a unique documentary about children growing up among drug addicts in Bucharest. Their mother is in prison. The main protagonist of the film Toto will come to Prague with his sister Andreea.
Nielsson, Camilla – Democrats, director (2 – 4.3)
Camilla succeeded in penetrating the negotiating teams and charted the process of the creation of a new constitution in Zimbabwe, which among other things aims to shorten the term in office of dictator Robert Mugabe.
Niewiera, Elwira – Domino Effect, director (6 – 8.3)
Elwira has recorded the personal story of a couple. He is fromAbkhazia, she is from Russia. His belief in strengthening the national identity of the unrecognised republic is something that he also brings into his relationship with his new Russian wife.
Nikolic, Aleksandar –The Serbian Lawyer, director (2 – 4.3)
For four years Aleksandar followed one of the lawyers on the defence team for Serbian commander Radovan Karadzic in TheHague. Lawyer Marko Sladojevic will come to the festival with him.
Mwonzora, Douglas – Democrats, protagonist (2 – 4.3)
Douglas is a member of the negotiating team for the new constitution of Zimbabwe, which is supposed to bring democracy to the country and end the rule of Robert Mugabe. He is a tactician who with an eye on higher principles must find a way to work together with the opposition.
Rogers, Rosa – Casablanca Calling, director (4 – 7.3)
Her film is about how the King of Morocco decided to take on the threat of religious radicalisation by introducing the institute of morchidat. Women engaged as morchidats are religious leaders who provide spiritual, moral, social and personal assistance and support to women and girls in their community who usually have less education.
Scott, Georgia a Sophia – In the Shadow of War, directors (3 – 5.3)
Thousands of children in the former Yugoslavia born during the war or just after it are still suffering its consequences. The war did not end with the ceasefire. The director will also present the related campaign about post-traumatic stress at the Cross–cinema Neustadt.
Seliskar, Petra –Mother Europe, director (6 –9.3)
Six-year-old Terra travels around the countries of the former Yugoslavia together with her filmmaker mother and meets inspiring people whose lives have been affected by the historical borders.
Sørensen, Signe Byrge – The Look of Silence, producer (6 – 8.3)
Joshua Oppenheimer's film confronts the victims and murderers of the 1960s genocide in Indonesia in a follow up to the director's highly successful documentary The Act of Killing and leads to a campaign that forces locals to talk about their violent past. The producer will present the campaign.
Schwarz, Felix – Allende’s Grandchildren, director (3 – 12.3)
Felix documented student protests in Chile. The film follows a small group of teenagers who have refused to give up the fight despite the threat of clashes with riot police.
Simon, Helen –No Lullaby, director (6 – 8.3)
Helen has succeeded in documenting stories about sexual abuse in a family. The perpetrator – the father and grandfather – finds himself on trial, but was never convicted.
Sladojevic, Marko – The Serbian Lawyer, protagonist (2 – 4.3)
The Balkan war compelled Marko to flee to the Netherlands, where he studied law and later became a member of the defence team for Serbian commander Radovan Karadzic. The film shows the vain search for truth, his moral dilemma and burnout.
Sunyer, Salvador – Bugarach, director (7 – 9.3)
One of the directors of a documentary about a small town in Southern France purported to be the only place on Earth that will survive the Mayan prophecy of the end of the world in 2012.
Torne, Matthew – Lessons in Dissent, director (6 – 9.3)
Since 2012 Matthew has documented protests in Hong Kong against the introduction of Chinese nationalism into the curriculum. He has captured the stories of Joshua Wong and Mai Jai (who will also be coming to the festival).
Vermeulen, Ellen –9999, director (7 – 9.3)
Her film is proof that in Belgium psychiatric patients who have committed crimes but are not responsible for them end up serving life sentences in prison. The heavily criticised system does not offer them any other alternatives.
Wohlgenannt, A. Katharina; Wohlgenannt, C. –What We Don’t See, director and producer (5 – 8.3)
The Wohlgenannts have mapped the stories of people suffering from hypersensitivity to electromagnetic waves. They hear waves from wireless internet and therefore live on the run from modern technology and the nightmare of "total coverage".
Zwiefka, Agnieszka – The Queen of Silence, director (2 – 4.3)
The author of a film about a deaf girl from a Roma ghetto who has never received medical attention and never learned to speak.
Grand Jury
Har, Anna – Malaysia
Anna is an activist and the director of the Freedom Film Fest, the only human rights festival in Malaysia, where for example homosexuality is illegal. She is also a director and producer of documentary films.
Knappenberger, Brian – USA
Brian is a filmmaker who has for many years focused on making investigative films about internet activism (We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists). His new documentary The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz, which will be presented at One World 2015, was nominated for an Oscar.