ONE WORLD FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES THE WINNING FILM
Published: Apr 22, 2024 Reading time: 3 minutes
One World Film Festival announces the winner of the Brussels edition of the festival. This year, it took place between 15 – 19 April 2024. Audiences in Brussels had the opportunity to watch a selection of 10 films, of which 9 were accompanied by expert debates.
For more than two decades, the One World Festival has been an integral part of the activities of People in Need. Since the festival was established in 1999, it has brought documentary—and, for the first time, fiction—films on human rights from around the world to local audiences, screening them in dozens of towns throughout the Czech Republic and Brussels. One World has received numerous awards, including the UNESCO award, for raising awareness of human rights.
After a lengthy deliberation, the jury announced the winning film and awarded one special mention:
Winning Film: Patrol
The compelling documentary Patrol provides a very complex picture of beef growing in Nicaragua. Beef exports are a pillar of Nicaragua's economy. However, the huge cattle industry is destroying vast areas of rainforest. Though much less powerful, groups of local inhabitants are determined to oppose the destruction of their land.
"The documentary illustrates the systemic nature of environmental destruction and its connection to human rights violations and vice versa, creating a destructive feedback loop. The cycle of commodity-driven environmental crime and human rights violations leads to deforestation, which in turn accelerates climate change and biodiversity loss, resulting in an increasingly uninhabitable environment for many species—including humans. These issues are not isolated to Nicaragua but are common in regions like the Amazon and large parts of Africa and Southeast Asia, where similar patterns of exploitation and degradation occur," said the jury in its statement.
Special Mention: Who, If not Us
In 2020, mass protests against the 30-year dictatorship of Alexander Lukashenko erupted in Belarus. Women were often on the front lines. The film tracks three brave Belarusian women: Darya, Nina, and Tanya. If change is to come, we must become the change ourselves. This belief unites the heroines of the film, who, though bullied by the authorities, stand up against the regime's injustice on a daily basis.
"The jury commends the film for showing the ongoing resistance and resilience in the restrictive environment in Belarus and the broader implications of increasing isolation. It shows the importance of supporting democratic movements and protecting human rights in oppressive regimes," reads the statement provided by the festival jury.
One World in Brussels is organised by People in Need, the European Parliament, the Czech Centre Brussels, the Czech Permanent Representation to the EU, and local NGOs and other partners.
The screening of the winning film takes place on Friday, April 19, in the Prague House, Brussels, Avenue Palmerston 16, 1000 Bruxelles. For accreditation, please write to ondrej.lukas@peopleinneed.cz.
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For press and media inquiries, please contact:
Ondřej Lukáš, Media Coordinator, People in Need, ondrej.lukas@peopleinneed.cz, +420 776 186 529.
