Discussions during the 20th WATCH DOCS IFF

Dec 5 “7th of August” - film premiere, conversation, Avtomat live performance

The film "7th of August" tells the story of people brutally detained by the police during a protest in defense of LGBT+ activist Margot. Did the events of August 7 awake “queer rage” in Poland?

18.00–18.30 Film premiere

18.30–19.30 Conversation

20.00–21.00 Avtomat LIVE act

Dec 6, 1:00 p.m. Master class with Kazuhiro Soda, the laureate of the Marek Nowicki Prize

Dec 6, 6:00 p.m. Belarus 2020. A meeting with civil society activists

What is the situation in Belarus today from the perspective of Belarusian and Polish civil society activists? Find out during a meeting with reference to the films "What Will We Do Tomorrow?" by Maksim Shved, "How Can I Help You," by Yekaterina Markaviec and "Forced Retirement," by Andrei Kutsila.

Dec 7, 6:00 p.m. The Irish example. Strategies of fighting for reproductive rights.

A conversation about the historical and contemporary experiences of Polish and Irish activists. On the changing strategies of the movement for reproductive rights and changes in the public debate on abortion. In reference to the film by Aideen Kane, Lucy Kennedy and Maeve O'Boyle "The 8th."

Dec 8, 6:00 p.m. The power of testimonial? - on documentary film in the age of fake news

A conversation during which authors of documentaries will answer the question: how to do it - and why? What is the role of the documentary (press, book, film) today and what ethical dilemmas are associated with the creation of non-fiction materials? In reference to Ra'anan Alexandrowicz's film "The Viewing Booth."

Dec 9, 6:00 p.m. The repeatability of the Holocaust, or how we act on our knowledge about genocide.

What is the result of comparing the experiences of survivors of the Holocaust and the 1994 Rwandan genocide? How do we act on our knowledge of the repeatability of genocide? In reference to the film by Aleksander Edelman and Anne Agranat "Hashmadot."

Dec 10, 6:00 p.m. A Thousand Robes - film premiere, Helsinki debate "Citizen judge. In a state of lawlessness"

We invite you to a Helsinki debate on the struggle for judicial independence in Poland and the experiences of judges opposing the dismantling of the rule of law, after the premiere of Kacper Lisowski's film "A Thousand Robes."

Dec 11, 6:00 p.m. Power as a cause of suffering. The prevalence of torture in the experience of human rights defenders in Central Asia.

The experiences of human rights defenders from the post-Soviet republics of Central Asia are striking for the prevalence of torture by police and security forces, as well as the high level of public acceptance of these practices. The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights supports a regional coalition of non-governmental organizations fighting the culture of impunity for government officials. We invite you to an interview in reference to the film by Magnus Gertten "Only the Devil Lives Without Hope."

Dec 12, 6:00 p.m. A lost trace. Missing in Crimea

In Crimea, the families of the missing are still waiting to hear about the fate of their loved ones while the world seems to have forgotten the occupied peninsula. We invite you to a conversation about human rights in Crimea, in reference to the report by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights and Crimea SOS.

Dec 13, 6:00 p.m. The view from America: Who controls the conversation about the environment?

Our thinking about the looming ecological catastrophe and its prevention is shaped, to a large extent, by eco-activists and... large corporations. Will the latter manage to reduce our concern for the environment to consumer choices? We invite you to a discussion on the American experience of treating the environment as a battlefield. We will talk about abuses of persuasion in this realm, such as greenwashing, in connection with Mads Ellesøe's films "The Campaign Against the Climate" and Werner Boote's "The Green Lie."