uvodnik introduction

4

Temno-svetle slike

Napredujemo. Po prestavljenih dokumentarcih, ki smo jih leta 2020 ob epidemioloških ukrepih namesto marca v kinu spremljali junija, ter izključno spletni izdaji leta 2021 letos dodajamo še hibridno različico festivala. Malo tu, malo tam. Vsi filmi seveda ne bodo na voljo v virtualnem okolju in tako je tudi prav. Naj ustvarjalci odločajo, npr. Jonas Mekas (1922–2019) oziroma dediči njegove impozantne zapuščine. Ne samo da ne dopuščajo spletnih predstavitev, Mekasovi filmi – del retrospektive ob stoletnici njegovega rojstva – so dostopni samo na filmskem traku, in ne le to, dostopni niso na 35mm kopijah, temveč na izvirnem 16mm traku. Kot jih je litovski priseljenec v ZDA od konca štiridesetih let 20. stoletja posnel z Bolex kamero. Vztrajanje pri izvirnem nosilcu ni snobovska poteza, temveč kulturna izjava, statement. Če želite gledati moje filme, se morate odpraviti v kino. Svet v drugih novicah še vedno brezhibno deluje; Izraelci ne nadlegujejo več Palestincev, države v zahodnih demokracijah ne zganjajo represije nad lastnimi državljani, najstnic v tretjem svetu ne silijo v dogovorjeno poroko, grožnja jedrske kataklizme je relikt hladne vojne in zakrknjeni tradicionalisti so zavrgli starodavne običaje in se pridružili 21. stoletju. Omenil sem samo peterico izbrancev v tekmovalnem programu, kjer podeljujemo nagrado Amnesty International za najboljši film na temo človekovih pravic. Kar še ne pomeni, da drugi filmi – letos tudi trije slovenski – obdelujejo samo veselo tematiko, je pa dobro predstaviti tudi lepe poglede na svet, čeprav se znajo skozi stranska vrata tudi tja prikrasti elementi otožnosti in melanholije. Futura ima zgovoren naslov, mladi z zanosom govorijo o prihodnosti, a se zavedajo pasti in razočaranj v sodobnem svetu; Dan potem … na zastarelem rečnem parniku veseljaško profilira bangladeško družbo, pa tudi politično polarizacijo; Sava z navdihom govori o naši mogočni reki, ki teče skozi nekdanjo skupno državo, a obenem razkriva lokalne fobije; Tovarne delavcem predstavlja prvi in edini primer uspešnega delavskega prevzema tovarne v postsocialistični Evropi, a tudi nezmožnost konkurenčnosti v brezosebnem kapitalizmu. In tako naprej. Če bi morali izbrati najbolj pozitiven lik letošnjega festivala, potem bi verjetno zmagal junak filma Gospod Bachmann in njegov razred, strasten, zavzet, sproščen, z glasbenimi vložki navdahnjen učitelj iz nemškega mesteca, ki poučuje mlade priseljence iz tretjega sveta, ki bodo z malo sreče ostali v prvem. Begunske zgodbe v najboljših filmih nevsiljivo pronicajo in bogatijo filmsko tkivo. Ena velikih begunskih zgodb pripada Jonasu Mekasu, ki je z bratom Adolfasom med vojno zbežal iz okupirane Litve, prisilno delal v delovnih taboriščih in se leta 1949 po skoraj osmih letih pretolkel do novega sveta, kjer je v več kot pol stoletja postal ikona boja za neodvisno kulturo in ustvarjanje ter prvi branik »drugačnega« filma. Od begunske krize naprej smo na festivalu predvajali nešteto filmov na temo izseljenske problematike, ampak če obstaja delo, ki prepričljivo in s poetično silovitostjo spregovori o spominih, otroštvu, koreninah, družini, pa o vlogi domotožnega izgnanca v tuji deželi, kjer se dolgo čuti kot izkoreninjen, iztrgan, izpuljen človek, človek, ki si je želel ostati doma, med ljudmi, ki jih pozna in govorijo njegov jezik, potem je to Mekasova mojstrovina Spomini s potovanja v Litvo. Vabljeni!

Simon Popek vodja filmskega programa Cankarjevega doma

Dark and Bright Images

We are making progress. Following the year 2020 and rescheduled documentaries, which were screened in June instead of March due to the epidemiological measures, and after the year 2021 when films were screened only online, this year we are adding a hybrid version of the festival. A little here, a little there... Not all films will be available in a virtual environment, which is perfectly correct. Let the creators decide, for instance Jonas Mekas (1922–2019) or the heirs of his impressive legacy. Not only do they not allow online screenings, but Mekas’ films – part of the retrospective on the centenary of his birth – are only available on film strips, and what is more, they are not available on 35mm film, but on the original 16mm film: as shot by a Lithuanian immigrant in the USA since the late 1940s with a Bolex camera. Sticking to the original medium is not a snobbish move, but a cultural statement. If you want to watch my films, you have to go to the cinema. The world in other news is still working flawlessly: Palestinians are no longer harassed by Israelis, citizens living in Western democracies are no longer repressed by their own countries, teenage girls in the Third World are no longer forced to enter into arranged marriages, the threat of nuclear cataclysm is a relic of the Cold War, and stubborn traditionalists have abandoned ancient customs and joined the 21st century. I have just mentioned the five shortlisted films in the competition programme, where the Amnesty International Prize for the best film on human rights is being awarded. That doesn’t mean the other films – including three Slovenian films this year – only deal with cheerful themes, but it is valuable to present good views on the world, even if the elements of sadness and melancholy can creep in through the back door. Futura has a telling title where young people talk with enthusiasm about the future but are aware of the pitfalls and disappointments of the modern world. Day After... is a film that gleefully profiles Bangladeshi society on an outdated river steamer and portrays the country’s political polarisation. The film Sava speaks with inspiration about our mighty river flowing through our former common state, but at the same time also reveals local phobias. Factory to the Workers represents the first and only example of a successful workers’ factory takeover in post-socialist Europe and the inability to compete in impersonal capitalism. And so on... If we had to choose the most positive character of this year’s festival, it would probably be the hero of the film Mr Bachmann and His Class, a passionate, dedicated, relaxed, music-inspired film about a teacher from a small German town who teaches young immigrants from the Third World who, with a bit of luck, will stay in the First World. The best films are permeated with refugee stories that seep in unobtrusively and enrich the films’ fabric. One of the great refugee stories belongs to Jonas Mekas who fled from occupied Lithuania with his brother Adolfas during the war, was forced to work in labour camps, and in 1949, after almost eight years, made his way to the New World where, after more than half a century, he became an icon of the struggle for independent culture and creativity and the first defender of a “different film”. Since the beginning of the refugee crisis, we have screened countless films on the subject of emigration, but if there is one work that speaks convincingly and with poetic force about memories, childhood, roots, family and about the role of a homesick exile in a foreign land, where for a long time he feels uprooted, snatched away, pulled out, a man who wanted to stay at home, among people he knows and who speak his language, then it is Mekas’ masterpiece Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania. Warmly welcome!

Simon Popek Cankarjev dom Film Programme Director 5

6

Priložnost za drugačne in nove razmisleke o človekovih pravicah

V slovenski Amnesty smo počaščeni, da smo del festivala, ki nam že 24. leto predstavlja vrhunski izbor dokumentarnih filmov z vsega sveta – med njimi številne s temo človekovih pravic, ki slikajo zgodbe, ki jih besede težko povedo. Če festival pogledam iz zornega kota vsakdanjega dela Amnesty International, tekmovalni sklop obravnava tematike, ki resnično odzvanjajo v naših raziskavah, kampanjah, aktivizmu in učenju človekovih pravic.

Režiser Avi Mograbi nas v dokumentarcu Prvih 54 let: Skrajšani priročnik za vojaško okupacijo skozi oči nekdanjih izraelskih vojakov popelje v svet dolgoletnega zatiranja in kršitev človekovih pravic na območju Zahodnega brega in Gaze. Verjamem, da bo ta dokumentarna zgodba dobra dopolnitev nedavnega odmevnega poročila, ko smo v Amnesty po izčrpni raziskavi ravnanje Izraela označili za apartheid. Vabimo vas k podpisu peticije na https://www.amnesty.si/izraelapartheid-peticija.

Dokumentarec Država, ki se lepo vede Davida Dufresna ob gibanju francoskih rumenih jopičev razišče družbeni vidik protestov. To je aktualna tema tudi v Sloveniji. Med drugim v okviru Pravne mreže za varstvo demokracije, ki smo jo soustanovili pred dobrim letom, izvajamo opazovanje protestov ter z drugim delovanjem branimo pravico do protesta in krepimo njeno razumevanje. Na naši Akademiji Amnesty lahko, na primer, opravite tudi spletni tečaj o tej pravici.

Tekmovalna filma – Otroci megle vietnamske režiserke Ha Le Diem in Odpuščanje slovenske režiserke Marije Zidar – odpirata vedno aktualno temo človekovih pravic žensk in deklet, in sicer v povezavi s tradicijo in običaji. Čeprav gre za obravnavo razmer v drugih državah, pa so vendar ta vprašanja nekako brezčasna in aktualna po vsem svetu. Žal se na telesih, podobah in/ali pričakovanjih do žensk povsod še vedno lomijo kopja, tudi pri nas. Podobno brezčasna je tudi tema marginalizacije ali odrinjenosti na rob, ki se odpira s petim tekmovalnim filmom, Nuklearna družina Travisa Wilkersona. V njegovem primeru z obravnavo človekovih pravic staroselskega prebivalstva, ki so nemalokrat kršene, spregledane, poteptane. Čeprav so te teme organizacijam za človekove pravice, njihovim zagovornikom in podpornikom znane, pa vendar ostajajo za marsikoga abstraktne ali oddaljene, del informativnega programa, ki ga raje ne bi slišali. Zato smo hvaležni filmskim ustvarjalkam, ustvarjalcem, da tem neslišanim ter pogosto tudi pozabljenim zgodbam dajo glas in prostor v družbi, v naših mislih in srcu.

Podobe na platnu so orodje, ki nam približa usode ljudi, od nas oddaljenih na tisoče kilometrov, ali pa so nekje blizu nas, vendar skriti našim očem. Popeljejo nas v neznano in nam predstavijo drugačnost. V nas pustijo občutke – jezo, ljubezen, strah, sram, žalost, srečo in nemoč. Spodbujajo nas k premisleku o tem, kaj v resnici pomenijo naše pravice.

Ustvarjanje dokumentarnih filmov s področja človekovih pravic je že s samo izbiro tematike tudi aktivizem. Ustvarjalke in ustvarjalci odkrivajo nov svet (ali sedanji v novi luči) in se nas dotaknejo ne glede na to, ali je to njihov osnovni namen. V imenu Amnesty upam, da bodo tudi letos ti dokumentarni filmi za čim več med vami predstavljali takšen »dotik« kot opomnik, kako pomembno se je za človekove pravice boriti. Zato kot vsako leto velja: vabljeni k akciji www.amnesty.si/pisemza-pravice.

Taja Premk vodja programa komunikacij in organizacije dogodkov AIS

An Opportunity for Different and New Reflections on Human Rights

Amnesty Slovenia is honoured to be part of the festival that for the past 24years has been presenting a first-rate selection of documentaries from all over the world – among others numerous human rights films that depict stories difficult to put into words.

Looking at the festival from the perspective of Amnesty International’s daily work, the competition section deals with issues that truly resonate in our research, campaigns, activism and teaching about human rights.

In his documentary, The First 54 Years: An Abbreviated Manual for Military Occupation, director Avi Mograbi takes us to a world of long-standing oppression and human rights violations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip through the eyes of former Israeli soldiers. I am confident that this documentary story will excellently complement Amnesty’s recent highly-publicized report, which, following comprehensive research, concluded that Israeli policies against Palestinians amount to apartheid. We invite you to sign a petition on https://www.amnesty.si/izrael-apartheidpeticija.

Focusing on the French yellow vest movement, David Dufresne’s The Monopoly of Violence explores the social aspect of protests. This issue is also highly topical in Slovenia. Among others, we monitor protests by means of the Legal Network for the Protection of Democracy, which we co-founded a year ago, and through other actions defend the right to protest and strengthen its understanding. At our Amnesty Academy, for example, you can also take an online course in this right.

Two competing films – Children of the Mist by Vietnamese director Ha Le Diem and Reconciliation by Slovenian director Marija Zidar – address the ever-relevant issue of human rights of women and girls, in connection with tradition and customs. Although reflecting the situation in other countries, the questions dealt with in these films are somehow timeless and relevant all over the world. Unfortunately, issues concerning female bodies, as well as the perceptions and/or expectations of women are still socially divisive everywhere, including our country. Similarly timeless is the theme of marginalization and ostracism explored in the fifth competition film, Travis Wilkerson’s Nuclear Family. He conducts his exploration by addressing the situation of indigenous peoples whose human rights are more often than not violated, denied, trampled on. Although these concerns are not new to human rights organisations, human rights defenders and our supporters, they remain, for many people, abstract or distant, part of a news programme we would rather not hear. That is why we are grateful to the filmmakers for giving voice and a place in society, in our minds and hearts, to these unheard and often forgotten stories.

The big-screen pictures are a tool that brings us closer to the fates of people who are thousands of miles away from us, or exist somewhere quite near, but hidden from our view. They take us into the unknown and introduce us to diversity. They arouse feelings in us – of anger, love, fear, shame, sadness, happiness and helplessness. They encourage us to think about what our rights really mean.

Through choice of subject matter the making of human rights documentaries already constitutes activism. Filmmakers discover a new world (or shed new light on the existing one) and touch us regardless of whether this was their primary purpose. On behalf of Amnesty, I hope that this year, too, these documentaries will become this kind of “touch” to as many of you as possible, as a reminder of the importance of fighting for human rights. Therefore, as every year, you are warmly invited to take part in the campaign www.amnesty.si/pisem-za-pravice.

Taja Premk AIS Head of Communications and Event Management