Prague's One World film fest showcases the climate crisis among its 133 documentaries

The environmental crisis will also be among the topics of this year’s One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, which will take place March 5 to 14 in Prague at Lucerna, Světozor. Atlas, Bio Oko, Evald, Kino 35 (French Institute), Municipal Library, Ponrepo, DOX and other venues. All films have Czech and English subtitles. Selected films have open captions for the hearing impaired.

The festival, also called Jeden svět, will present 133 documentaries from 60 countries in 16 categories. There are 21 world and international premieres, plus six European premieres. Some 130 guests are expected. After Prague the festival will go to 26 other cities throughout the Czech Republic and Brussels.

For people who can’t afford tickets, One World has come up with “dangling tickets.” The information stands in Lucerna and the Municipal Library will offer the option of buying an extra ticket and leaving it dangling from a special ticket hanger.

This year’s motto is “Not till a hot January,” which comes from a Shakespeare play. While it used to mean never, now it has become reality.

Over the past three years this subject has had their own category, UnEarthed. This year, it is the main thematic category. “By combining creative documentaries, accompanying events, and VR projects, we hope to provide a broad overview of the climate crisis – compared to other festivals that also address this subject, the diverse range of perspectives is truly unique. For instance, you can attend a workshop on fermenting seasonal vegetables, see a film on environmental racism, … explore nature in a dead forest at DOX, or immerse yourself in an emotional VR environment,” festival programming director Ondřej Moravec said.

The festival also has three competition categories: Czech Competition, International Competition, and Right to Know. The Czech Competition has 11 films, including five world premieres. Topics range from an outside look at climate change in the Czech Republic to life for a nomad moving to a big city in Mongolia.

The International Competition presents foreign documentaries that will be vying for Best Film and Best Director. World and international premieres will be competing with documentaries that won awards at the Sundance film festival.

Documentaries in the category Gaps in the System look at gentrification, the sex trade, and cultural identity. Another new category this year is Diagnosis, with films on health and healthcare. A new regional category this year is China: Powerful and Powerless, looking at life in a totalitarian system.

The category One Zero probes the challenges and dangers of modern technology. Domestic robots, Buddhist monks with smart phones, and online child abuse are among the subjects.

Running parallel to the One World festival is the East Doc Platform, which includes master classes, discussions and screenings for both industry professionals and the public.