For over a dozen years we have been presenting propaganda films in this section of the program, or those in various ways facing the problem of propaganda. Until now, they usually concerned communication manipulations by various governments and political movements. That is why this year we will examine corporate propaganda. As Konrad Wirkowski, the festival's program director, explains: “We live in a time when corporate budgets often exceed those of nation states, and the abuse of persuasion by business giants goes far beyond false advertising of products, services or even politicians.”

"The Discreet Charm of Propaganda" section features:

"Influence", dir. Diana Neille, Richard Poplak

The documentary features Lord Tim Bell, a key figure connecting the worlds of big politics and advertising. The agency he founded has specialized in aggressive election campaigns and whitewashing corrupt regimes. 

"The Green Lie", dir. Werner Boote  

The film exposes the behind-the-scenes of corporate and product greenwashing, which usually merely conceals the age-old desire to maximize profits, along with that charade's extremely high socio-political costs. 

"The Campaign Against the Climate", dir. Mads Ellesøe

In his documentary Mads Ellesøe reveals how oil giants disseminate false information about climate change by employing pseudo-experts to sell us climate lies through alleged think tanks. 

This year's partner of "The Discreet Charm of Propaganda" section is ARTE po polsku ― a free VOD service co-financed from the EU funds and created at the initiative of ARTE TV ― a public, non-commercial, Franco-German cultural channel. The aim of ARTE is to reach possibly the widest range of Europeans by providing high quality programs in their native languages. The programs are available in French and German, and in VOD version with subtitles in English, Spanish, Polish and Italian.

The digital offer of ARTE po polsku, launched in November 2016, includes the most interesting programs from the ARTE TV framework - documentaries, investigative reports, magazines on current social issues, politics, history, travel, technology, culture, pop culture and art. The offer also features a wide selection of stage performances broadcasts - opera, ballet and theater performances, as well as concerts of different music genres. ARTE programs can be viewed in Polish on www.arte.tv/pl, on mobile applications and smart TV.

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