UNMIK on Air

December 11^th 2003

International Human Rights Film Festival

(by Gezim Kasapolli and Andrea Saula)

Hello and welcome to this edition of UNMIK on air.

Human suffering in times of war, post conflict trauma, abuse of children and women, police torture, living under totalitarian regimes…an unfortunate but accurate snapshot of our world today. A world reflected in the annual One World human rights documentary film festival that has just ended in Prishtina.

The six day festival was organized by the Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms and featured some 34 movies from 20 different countries, including the Netherlands, Denmark, UK, Palestine, Iran, Poland and Croatia… 4 Kosovan films were also on show, as part of the section dealing with the question of missing people: Nusret Pllana’s “When Children are Massacred”, “Loti” by Klinton Nesturi, and two films by Orhan Kerkezi, “Mother of Gjakova” and “Three Steps to Salvation”.

Festival director Albin Matoshi says the most common topics were war related. The wars in Kosovo, Bosnia, but also in the Middle East and Chechnya inspired many film makers to take their cameras and show the world the truth behind the short news features that we all see on the news.

Albin Matoshi: various topics were touched upon and we tried to cover all the negative aspects in the world. However, the most common topics are the different problems in post-transitional countries and those in transition, social problems, the economic situation, effects of privatization as well as prostitution, AIDS and mistreatment of children and women.

This year’s selection also included documentaries trying to tackle taboo issues, like the trade in blood diamonds that fuels war in southern Africa, or the tradition of circumcising women and the effects of poverty.

The approach taken towards the issues was very interesting, adds Albin Matoshi, because the intention was not just to raise the problem but also, if possible, to offer recommendations.

Albin Matoshi: The approach towards the problems that were treated in these movies is very thorough, from the beginning to the finish that gives hope to the people for the future or we could say it ends with a recommendation that something positive might happen. Starting from the worst possible things up to the improvement of the situation in the movies, which involved conflicts, or similar things.

Grzegorz Pacek is a director from Poland. His documentary “Such is my karma” gives a group of pre-adolescent children a quick lesson in filmmaking and then hands over the camera to them. The movie describes the life of a few children in the poor neighborhoods of Warsaw and carries a very strong message.

Grzegorz Pacek: They were born in a very bad place and that is the only fault and this place condemned them to the very bad life and for me it was unacceptable and it is still unacceptable. It wasn’t a political movie but now for me it is more like a prosecution of us that we agree on such a situation.

Although his documentary is a clear message about poverty, Gregorz does not know if his views will make a difference or change anything in the world. However, he says changing the world is not the job of a director.

Grzegorz Pacek: I don’t know how to judge it or if it’s important or not or if i can change somebody with my movie but I can quote a German filmmaker Fassbinder who said that “If you can’t change it you should at least describe it” and I think that this is the role of a filmmaker, to point to the problem and hopefully people will react and do something about it.

In this context it is worth highlighting two films that took a critical look at those who point to problems, as Polish director Grzegorz Pacek described. The Canadian film “Seeing is Believing” and the Swiss entry “War photographer” treat the issue of the role and purpose of those who observe an event, who in this case film the events. Does the presence of a video camera help save lives or instead increase the danger to those being threatened? Or what will be the impact of this proliferation of personal video cameras?

The small number of Kosovan films at the festival was a matter of concern for some, according to festival director, Albin Matoshi, this was mainly due to a lack of financial means. But he feels the excuse is not good enough.

Albin Matoshi: Certainly, I think that financial means are the main reason for this and I believe that this is the main problem in all fields of work. However if there is a good organization, a will to do something then I believe that it can be achieved with a small amount of money. A perfect example to support my views is the movie, “Requiem for the Soil”. The director said he made this movie with only 500$. So, there are ways to cover an issue and we know that in Kosovo there are many topics and events worth covering and documenting.

All the problems raised in this festival should incite the people of Kosovo to think again, a reminder of what they should keep in mind as they move towards the future. At any rate, the message of the festival is very clear, “One world exists to expose abuses or violations, to encourage dignity and to urge solidarity and mutual respect”.

And with this we end today’s edition of UNMIK on air. Thanks for listening.