What if from one day to the next, you’re no longer seen but instead, you're stared at? The leading characters in All You See have ended up in a new world where suddenly nothing seems to align. In their new lives in the Netherlands, they unintentionally provoke reactions on a daily basis. Even after many years, they still hear the same questions over and over again: Where are you from? Do you speak Dutch? Do you tan in the sun?
Anxious in Beirut is a personal diary that documents the events of the last two years in Lebanon – revolution, post-war, explosions, demonstrations. Living with constant anxiety, Zakaria, the film’s young director, narrates his own life while trying, on numerous occasions, to leave his country.
Vasyl is a former ski jumper who now works as a coach at the ski jumping school for children in the Carpathians. He is a loner, and sports is his whole life. Zhenya is Vasyl's favourite trainee. In the last 5 years, he spends a lot of energy making her a champion. With her success, his dreams can come true. When the girl grows up, she decides to try in another area of life not connected to sports. Vasyl's work seems to no longer make sense. But he finds the strength to start all over again.
In Eastern Serbia, in a town with a dual identity divided between magic and industry, a family whose destiny is intrinsically linked with both does their best to ensure the survival of their traditions and their future generations. Lifelong miner Dragan Markovic is the last in a line of dragon hunters, while his sister Desa is the widow of the union leader who is trying to continue his legacy by ensuring the rights of fellow mine-worker families.
In Burkina Faso, in the gold-digging site of Bantara, 16-year-old Rasmané descends more than 100 meters deep in artisanal mines to extract gold. Anxious about accidents, Rasmané makes his way in this world of fierce adults in the hope of one day becoming emancipated…
When the war starts, 12-year-old Niki finds refuge in a Kharkiv underground station. Monotonous, oppressive days – until Vika enters his life. The tender connection gives new courage.
On a cold February morning, 12-year-old Niki and his family arrive at the Kharkiv metro station to take shelter from the terrifying war raging outside. For Niki's family, daylight is synonymous with mortal danger, and the boy is not allowed to leave the station premises, living under the constant glow of their neon lights. While aimlessly wandering around the abandoned cars and full platforms, Niki meets Vika (11), and a new world opens up to him. As their bond strengthens, the children find the courage once again to feel the sun on their faces.
A documentary film about the development of relations between the majority of society and the non-heteronormative part of the population in Poland during the last decade.
Polish Rainbow is a documentary film about the 10-year development of relations between the majority of society and the non-heteronormative part of the population in Poland. It captures the far-right scene in the public space, which gradually transforms into the main political influence in the country. The effort of the LGBT community to equalise same-sex relationships is becoming an active political tool of conservative and far-right parties for the polarisation of opinion and culture in society. Dehumanisation and the spread of hatred cause traumatic experiences that often end tragically for people from rainbow communities. Against the backdrop of the fight for basic human rights of the LGBTIQA+ community, we get to know Bart Staszewski. As an LGBT activist, Bart travels to Polish cities and towns that have declared themselves "LGBT-free" zones in order to change this dehumanising homophobic campaign.
What are the costs of the half-truths that politicians tell? In 2012, the Georgian president wanted to make the nation smile. In the race for reelection, the incumbent's party was promising subsidised dental care to the country's least well-off. Across the land, state medical practitioners began removing rotten teeth with the promise of replacements in the months that followed – then the president lost. Through interviews with those worst affected by that campaign, Smiling Georgia tells a story about the whims of political power and the defiance of those who usually hold the least of it – a film short on teeth, yes, but far from toothless.
In the countryside of Estonia, humans and all other living beings compose an orchestra in which everyone has their place in co-creation of the humble rhythm of earth.
In nature, everything is in balance. Everyone has their task in the neverending circle of life – plants and mushrooms, insects and animals... This diverse orchestra always finds its rhythm and tone. Recognising the distinctiveness of being human, this film looks at our possibilities to co-exist within that co-creation of nature peacefully. After nearly seven years of exploring the periphery countryside of Estonia, this oneiric journey filmed on 16mm brings to the foreground the daily rhythms of ordinary people and animals in different ages and phases of their lives. It composes an analogue gospel of a microcosm, which has consciously or unconsciously rejected the central, arrogant doctrine of human exceptionality.
A tale about the loves and dreams of Reema, a transgender woman in Pakistan.
The film starts in the cinema – the only place where a man can see women on screen. But in sharp contrast to Lollywood is the world in which Reema can subsist as a transgender woman in Pakistan – the Well of Death. A carnival sideshow, where motorcyclists perform stunts and Reema dances to attract consumers. It's the life of a nomad, each town and each show revealing the beauties and complexities of Pakistani society. Reema is convinced to have found the love of her life, Asif. They work together and support each other. It's a utopia that is shattered when Reema suddenly loses Asif. Heartbroken, Reema travels back to her “Guru”, who runs the transgender safe house where she grew up...
Who, If Not Us? The Fight for Democracy in Belarus
Juliane Tutein
The political climate in Belarus is growing more restrictive every day, activists are constantly facing imprisonment. This film is dedicated to three courageous rebels.
Who, If Not Us? The Fight for Democracy in Belarus
Wer, wenn nicht wir? Der Kampf für Demokratie in Belarus
Juliane Tutein
Panorama: Central and Eastern Europe
Documentary Film
Germany
2023
77 minutes
,
Belarusian,
Russian,
Ukrainian
World premiere
Trailer
Synopsis
The documentary Who, If Not Us? chronicles the fight for democracy in Belarus through the experiences of three women from different generations. The film captures the spirit and determination of the Belarusian opposition as they struggle against Lukashenko's authoritarian regime that has held power for decades.
The film follows three women: Nina Baginskaya, who lived through the Soviet era and was already active in the fight for independence in the 1980s, becoming an icon of the Belarusian opposition protests; Tanya Hatsura-Yavorskaya, a human rights activist and founder of the human rights film festival “Watch Docs Belarus”; and Darya Rublevskaya, a young activist who works for Viasna, the NGO founded by Ales Bialiatski, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022.
The film offers a singular glimpse into the daily lives of three women in the aftermath of the 2020 protests, which were the largest in Belarusian history and brutally repressed by the Lukashenko regime. By concluding amidst the ongoing war in Ukraine, the film powerfully illustrates the intertwined destiny of Belarus and Ukraine. Many Belarusians share the belief that without a free Ukraine, there will be no democratic future for Belarus.
Jiri, a Czech physicist and a visionary handyman, has an idea of how to save the planet. But no one will listen to him. His daughter, Marta, a musician and mother of two, is annoyed at this. She takes her camera and goes “out into the world” with her dad. She wants to see if the world could work just as Jiri had envisioned it. Humour is brought to the film as they showcase their combined and inventive strategies on how they should present their idea and to whom. They meet with ecologists, activists, experts, and politicians to get to the World Climate Summit as they attempt to infiltrate public structures and expose the characters behind the powers that decide who can enter where and with what issues. Although those who were addressed agree that Jiri's vision of the world would be the most ideal, after four years of wandering around with his idea of a Uniform Global Carbon Tax and Dividend for all, they find themselves in an anti-everyone situation. Had they come up with the idea much too late? Or too soon?
A strong personal story: Jiri's humour and charisma, Marta's original songs, raw film material, and an inspiring idea to save the planet will make for an unmissable film with the potential for planetary social impact.
DOK Industry is realised with the support of Creative Europe MEDIA Programme of the European Union, the Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM) and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media upon a Decision of the German Bundestag.