As every year, KineDok – the international program which promotes documentary film in alternative venues – returns to International Documentary & Human Rights Film Festival One World Romania. On April 4th, from 4:00 p.m., at the Bucharest Metropolitan Library – Dimitrie Cantemir (52 Viitorului St.), we present the debate The role of public libraries in activating local communities through documentary film.
The event continues an endeavour initiated last year through which KineDok and One World Romania Association are promoting local libraries’ role as cultural hubs. We will analyse the importance of libraries in the coagulation of communities, as well as in the integration of culture into everyday life, in addition to exploring the benefits of documentary films within this context.
With the help of our guests, we will discover the map of Bucharest’s neighborhood libraries, we will discuss about the general current status of documentary film and we will analyse the importance and impact of documentary film screenings in small and medium-sized communities.
Attendance is free of charge but limited to availability, upon registration through this form. The discussion will take place in the Romanian language.
Guests: Vlăduț Andreescu (librarian, coordinator of the public libraries in Dâmbovița county); Alex Axinte (architect, researcher, educator, studioBASAR); Radu Ciorniciuc (film director, screenwriter, journalist). Moderator: Nicoleta Fotiade (media education expert and trainer, president of Mediawise Society).
Vlăduț Andreescu has been a librarian at the "Ion Heliade Rădulescu" Dâmbovița County Library for over 20 years. At first, he worked as primary school teacher and librarian in a small rural library, where he organized socio-cultural activities to help children and young adults understand the importance of reading and culture for their personal and professional development. Currently, he coordinates the activity of the public libraries in Dâmbovița county. In his work he is always attentive to people's needs and tries to keep up with modern society. He uses non-formal education and advises librarians about working volunteers.
Alex Axinte is an architect, researcher and educator based in Bucharest. He is interested in documenting and supporting informal practices of managing common spaces, in the context of collective housing in the post-socialist city. Alex is involved in research projects through action, applied education, participatory design and cultural and civic activation and is co-founder of the spatial practice studioBASAR (2006). In the context of his PhD at the University of Sheffield, he initiated Garaj DESCHIS in 2020 in the Drumul Taberei neighborhood, a project-venue for research, mutual learning and cultural and community activation. From this approach, the qualitative research Map of Neighborhood Libraries (HBC) was recently developed.
Radu Ciorniciuc co-founded in 2012 the first independent media organization in Romania - Casa Jurnalistului (casajurnalistului.ro); a community of reporters specializing in in-depth, long-form, and multimedia reporting. Since then, Radu has worked as a long-form writer and undercover investigative reporter. His research is focused on human rights, animal welfare, and environmental issues across the globe. The articles and films he has worked on have appeared in some of the biggest publications around the globe. Ciorniciuc’s debut feature documentary film, "Acasa, My Home", produced by Manifest Film, tells the story of a family that lived for two decades in the wilderness, in perfect harmony with nature, until they are chased out and forced to adapt to life in the big city. "Acasă, My Home" premiered at Sundance (2020) where it won the Special Jury Award for Cinematography. The film had an exceptional festival run, and has been nominated at the European Film Awards.
Nicoleta Fotiade is a communication expert, as well as media and digital education trainer. Over the past 20 years, she has coordinated media education programs for non-governmental organizations from Romania and Europe. She has taught Media Education to the Pedagogy students at the University of Bucharest and trains professors and librarians in order to include media education in their communities. Fotiade is the co-author of several studies on media research and media education resources, including two high school textbooks. Furthermore, she is the president of the Mediawise Society association (mediawise.ro), as well as co-founder and president of the International Association for Media Education (iame.education).
Moreover, during the festival the annual work meeting with the KineDok partners - the local event organizers - will take place. Together with them we will prepare the next edition and work out the screening schedule for the following year.
KineDok is an international program that promotes documentary films in alternative venues, through screenings, debates and educational events. Launched in 2015 and designed as a collaboration between 6 countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Georgia and Romania), KineDok is organized in Romania by One World Romania Association, with the support of local partners.
Every year each country contributes with some of the most interesting recent documentaries, which are then screened in hundreds of venues, thus diversifying the distribution chain beyond the movie theatre – in galleries, museums, bars, gardens, libraries or schools. At KineDok any wall can become a film!
ORGANIZER: One World Romania Association
PARTNERS: Bucharest Metropolitan Library, Institute of Documentary Film (Czech Republic), Filmtopia (Slovakia), Anthropolis (Hungary), ReStart (Croatia), Chai Khana (Georgia)
WITH THE SUPPORT OF: Creative Europe - MEDIA Programme of the European Union, National Cinema Centre
MONITORING PARTNER: mediaTRUST Romania
