The 19th edition of the One World Romania International Documentary Film and Human Rights Festival will take place between April 24 and 29 at the Cinema Hall of the Romanian Villager's Museum Cinema, Elvire Popesco Cinema Hall, Eforie Cinematheque and Apollo111 Cinema.
"It is said that after the age of 18 adult life begins, and adult life is not easy. Ours pushed us to make a short edition, hit in the middle of the preparations - full, loud, with shades of sadness and hope. Because it's just one of the hard years for culture, a year in which we realise that the decency we seemed to be approaching was a slap in the face, that we should have appreciated it more. We have long learned that serious people, who make big decisions, imagine that the diseases called passion, dedication, interest in the good of the other make us not move from here. But the truth is that we remain fewer and fewer. Culture costs money. Education costs money. Health costs money. And their lack actually costs even more," according to festival director Andreea Lactaus.
Against the backdrop of an uninterrupted flow of news about wars, genocide and deepening social and economic precariousness, OWR19 invites the public to reflect on the turning point we find ourselves at: democratic values are under pressure, far-right discourses are normalised, and the boundaries of what is acceptable in public discourse are narrowing.
The theme of this year's edition, "At the Limit", aims to question the rationality of this direction: we are asked to accept austerity - in thought, in economy, in action - as a virtue, but how can a society that amputates its education, culture, social protection and public health survive? The message is also doubled by the slogans in the visual identity, which remind state institutions that such vital areas cost money and cannot be negotiated in the mercantilist logic of profit, according to organisers.
Among the films running this year at the festival are "2000 Meters to Andriivka," the latest film by Oscar-winning director Mstyslav Chernov ("20 Days in Mariupol", 2023), "Nuestra Tierra"/"Our Land" - the first non-fiction feature film by famous Argentine filmmaker Lucrecia Martel, the documentary "Orwell: 2+2=5", made by filmmaker and activist Raoul Peck.
Amid the growing debates about access to decent housing in European cities, including Romania, where in the last 20 years there seems to have been no correlation between the notion of affordable housing and the real housing needs of Bucharest residents, One World Romania is also organizing a warm-up screening before the festival.
On March 20, the public is invited to the Eforie Cinematheque for a special screening of the documentary "Il Pilastro"/"The Pilastro Neighborhood" (directed by Roberto Beani). The screening will be followed by a discussion on the importance of public policies on social housing and urban spaces in Bucharest, which will be attended by Ioana Florea from the Common Front for the Right to Housing and Anca Georgiana Nica from the E-Romnja Association.
Early Bird subscriptions for the nineteenth edition of the One World Romania International Documentary and Human Rights Film Festival are available until April 1 on the Eventbook platform.
A good part of the films will also be available for online streaming, from the entire country, between April 30 and May 31. The Early Bird subscriptions, which offer access to both physical events and the selection of online films, are available daily on the Eventbook.ro, at the promotional price of RON 200.
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