Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) are a growing threat to journalists, NGOs, and human rights defenders in Romania and beyond. These lawsuits are designed to intimidate, drain resources, and silence those who dare to expose corruption and abuses of power.
This event brings together journalists, civil society representatives, human rights defenders, and legal experts who have faced SLAPPs firsthand. Through real-life cases and open discussions, we aim to raise awareness, show solidarity, and explore ways to strengthen protections against these attacks.
This session is an urgent call to listen to those whose voices are under threat—because defending them means defending democracy itself.
This event is part of the broader efforts to promote the rule of law and protect democratic values. The focus on SLAPPs highlights the challenges faced by journalists and civil society in Romania, where such lawsuits are increasingly used to suppress critical voices.
Open to all interested in learning the truth and taking a stand.
Side Event by LiderJust Association and Rule of Law Programme in South East Europe, Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
The Citroën factory in Aulnay-sous-Bois suffered its first strike in 1982. It mainly employed immigrant workers in dire conditions. 30 years later, little has changed, as a new generation takes up the struggle. Reclaiming their parents’ legacy, workers resurrect a forgotten memory, and offer a unique perspective on the history of contemporary France.
Cinematography Matteo Severi, Sarah Cousin
Editing Thomas Bonnel
Screenplay Matteo Severi, Madeleine Guediguian, Sarah Cousin
Production Robert Guédiguian, Marc Bordure, Madeleine Guediguian, Matteo Severi
Sound Matteo Severi, Madeleine Guediguian
Music Cosimo Severi
AUDIO: French
SUBTITLE: Romanian, English
05
April,
Saturday
Cinema Elvire Popesco - Institutul Francez
7:00 PM
88'
13
April,
Sunday
Cinema Muzeul Țăranului
3:00 PM
88'
Followed by a discussion with Radu Ioan Stochița and Călin Căciuleanu, journalists, and Paula Cârlan (Cartel ALFA)
The Diary of a Sky unfolds an atmospheric symphony of violence over Beirut, revealing the haunting fusion of incessant Israeli military flights and the hum of generators during blackouts. This video essay plunges viewers into a chilling chronicle of daily life transformed by the weaponization of the air, where the terror of repeated incursions becomes a disconcertingly banal backdrop.
Two poets meet at night in Tainan Park, creating poetry inspired by the day's experiences, weaving imaginative, fable-like verses that transform the night into a canvas of untold stories, with the storytellers merging into the tales they weave.
Cinematography So Yo-Hen, Tien Zong Yuan
Production Liao Hsiu Hui
Sound Nigel Brown
AUDIO: Indonesian, Javanese, Mandarin
SUBTITLE: Romanian, English
05
April,
Saturday
Cinema Muzeul Țăranului
3:00 PM
101'
Followed by a discussion with freelance journalist Iulia Hau, photographer Nawanjana Nisitha and Damsak Bandara, furniture designer
Victoria looks back in time to understand her transition and what it is that defines you as a woman. Having lost a close friend she shares her pain and embodied experience with Athena and Aamina, themselves on their own journeys of transition. Together they explore who they were then and who they are today, listening to the ghosts of the past, the laughs of the present and the whispers of the future.
The film may contain images with a strong emotional impact.
Cinematography Daniel Takács
Editing Neil Wigardt
Screenplay Victoria Verseau
Production Malin Hüber, Mathilde Raczymow
Sound Arno Ledoux
Music Arno Ledoux
AUDIO: English, Swedish
SUBTITLE: Romanian, English
05
April,
Saturday
Cinema Muzeul Țăranului
6:00 PM
72'
Followed by a discussion with Iasmina Šćopulović and Florian-Mihail Păun (ACCEPT Association)
10
April,
Thursday
Cinema Elvire Popesco - Institutul Francez
6:00 PM
72'
14
April
- 30
April
ONLINE
72'
Online access to this film is limited to 300 views.
Trains is a “found-footage” document consisting solely of archival materials, which creates a collective portrait of people in 20th century Europe, capturing their hopes, desires, dramas, and tragedies. In this wordless film, full of beauty and bitterness, the excitement of adventure becomes a curse, and tears of joy mingle with the pain of despair.
Editing Rafał Listopad
Screenplay Maciej J. Drygas
Production Vita Żelakeviciute, Rasa Miskinyte
Sound Saulius Urbanavičius
Music Pawel Szymanski
AUDIO:
SUBTITLE: Romanian, English
05
April,
Saturday
Cinema Muzeul Țăranului
8:30 PM
80'
Followed by a discussion with Alexandru Solomon și Adina Brădeanu
Is it possible to return to a normal life after being broken by war? The unseen damage inflicted by war on personal relationships pushes war veteran Serhiy away from his family. Haunted by loss and war, he battles to reconnect with his wife, Nadiia, and their three sons, Sasha (11), Artem (8) and Nikita (3).
Director of Photography Lesia Diak
Editing Andrei Gorgan
Screenplay Lesia Diak
Producers Lesia Diak, Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan, Elena Martin
Sound Designer Sebastian Zsemlye
End Credits Composer Margaryta Kulichova
Co-Producer Hrvoje Osvadić
Poster Design Dasha Podoltseva
AUDIO: Ukrainian
SUBTITLE: Romanian, English
05
April,
Saturday
Cinema Union
3:30 PM
78'
07
April,
Monday
Cinema Elvire Popesco - Institutul Francez
6:00 PM
78'
Followed by Q&A with the director
Lesia Diak
Lesia Diak
Lesia Diak is a Ukrainian film director and producer. Her internationally-awarded short films explore themes of genuine human connections, inner conflict, trauma and healing. She established DramaFree, a film production company dedicated to creating author-driven movies.
Filmography:
Dad’s Lullaby, 78 min, 2024, Ukraine, Romania, Croatia
Wounds, short film, 24 min, 2024 Ukraine, Hungary, Belgium, Portugal
Under the Wing of A Night, short film, 19 min, 2023 Ukraine, Belgium, Belgium, Portugal
Joszef In Autumn, short film, 12 min, 2022 Hungary, Belgium, Portugal
Awards: Honorable mention for the best feature length debut at Doclisboa
Director, DOP, editor, producer
Awards: Best Documentary, Zlin Film Festival (Czech Republic)
Director, DOP, editor, producer
Co-director, Sound recordist
awards and festivals
Sarajevo Film Festival, Documentary Competition, 18 August 2024
Doclisboa International Film Festival, where the director received a Special Mention for Best First Feature Film – the NEW TALENT TVCINE CHANNELS AWARD, 2024
Dharamshala International Film Festival, 2024
Fipadoc International documentary film festival, International competition, 2025
Doc Fortnight, the Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) annual international festival of nonfiction films in New York, 2025
Artdocfest in Riga, International competition, 2025
Millenium Documentary Film Festival, International competition, 2025
After more than a decade, Farah returns to her hometown Tripoli in Lebanon to live with her widowed aging father, Mustapha. Their generational differences often lead to clashing perspectives on the country’s political instability, making it difficult to communicate with each other. As Mustapha’s health deteriorates and the October 2019 revolution erupts nationwide, poetry becomes their chance for one last conversation.
Cinematography Tebbe Schöningh
Editing Anders Skovbjerg Jepsen
Screenplay Farah Kassem
Production Cynthia Choucair, Farah Kassem, Patricia Drati
Sound Joelle Abou Chabké, Cedric Kayem
Music Jon Sensmeier
AUDIO: Arabic
SUBTITLE: Romanian, English
05
April,
Saturday
Cinema Union
6:00 PM
180'
Followed by Q&A with the director
Farah Kassem
Farah Kassem
Born in Tripoli, Lebanon, Farah Kassem graduated from ALBA University in Audiovisual Studies and completed an MFA in Documentary Filmmaking at DocNomads. Her films have been screened at festivals such as Visions du Réel, Warsaw Film Festival, DOK Leipzig, and many others.
Filmography: You Make a Better Window Than You Do a Door (2017) / Nettoyer Schaerbeek (2017) / My Father Looks Like Abdel Nasser (2012)