Choose! is the theme proposed this year by the One World Romania International Documentary and Human Rights Film Festival, taking place between April 5 and April 14, 2024 in Bucharest, Romania. Even though it might seem inevitable in the context of a politically charged year, the theme invokes not only electoral choices but also choices of life, morality, and attitude.
"It's an edition for anyone who has felt unseen or unrepresented," says the new director of the festival, filmmaker and producer Andreea Lăcătuș, who is part of a new generation of Romanian filmmakers deeply rooted in civil society.
The festival addresses not only an audience engaged in socio-political issues but also attempts, through a diverse selection, to provide the opportunity for discoveries to a wider audience. In this sense, this year's edition brings a targeted focus on young people through "High School Days," an extension of the "High School Jury" program from previous years, offering young people a dedicated space for exploration within the festival for three days.
OWR #17 will take place between April 5 and April 14, 2024, in the Elvire Popesco, Eforie, and Union cinemas in Bucharest, and from April 15 to April 25, some of the films will be available online.
This year, the festival will have three categories of related events, dedicated to the community, education, and industry. Making documentary films accessible to diverse audiences, with a special focus this edition on teenagers and seniors, and establishing connections between creators in Romania and those in the international space are important directions for the festival.
"I would like OWR to continue to be an occasion for meeting and debating for civil society, a space of intersection between NGOs, artists, and a broader audience, contributing to normalizing the idea that art is anchored in the challenges of the present and the society it is part of," adds Andreea Lăcătuș.
The selection is curated by Anca Păunescu and Andrei Tănăsescu, and the preselection team consisted of Victor Morozov, Liri Chapelan, and Carmen Lăscoiu.
Subscriptions will be available for purchase starting February 10, 2024.
Andreea Lăcătuș is a film director and cultural producer. Her short films have been selected at festivals such as Shanghai IFF, Golden Goblet Award (2018), and Sarajevo IFF (2023). Since 2018, she has co-created programs to make culture more accessible in rural and small-urban areas, as well as education programs through cinema. Currently, she is a CEC ArtsLink fellow, in residency in the United States, where she is researching the long-term impact of cultural and artistic programs in vulnerable communities. She is also preparing a Ph.D. on the ethics of production and representation of socio-economically vulnerable communities in fiction films in Romania, a research that forms the basis of a feature film in the early stages of development.
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ORGANISER
One World Romania Association
CULTURAL PROJECT CO-FINANCED BY
The Administration of the National Cultural Fund
PARTNERS
UNHCR - UN Refugee Agency, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Rule of Law Programme South East Europe.
Other event partners, both new and traditional, are currently in the process of confirmation.
The project does not necessarily represent the position of the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or how the project's results may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the funding recipient.
Established in 2009, the One World Romania Association organizes the only documentary film and human rights festival in the country, One World Romania, which takes place annually in Bucharest. The association works with documentary film as a vehicle for social and political dialogue, as a window to the world and an environment that prompts reflection. Through its activities, the association supports the development of the demand for documentaries in Romania, leading in recent years to an increased interest in this genre, both among the general public and within educational programs.
