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Film program HER Docs Forum

An aspiring video journalist in her 20s finds herself already facing self-reckoning. Born in Damascus, Syria, Lina starts to report on the events around her until she is compelled to become a war reporter and later, an unexpected narrator of her own destiny. Told over the course of a decade and against the backdrop of shifting historical forces, “5 Seasons of Revolution” is Lina’s story; the tale of becoming brave.

5 Seasons of Revolution

dir. Lina / Germany, Syria, Netherlands, Norway / 2023 / 95’ / Polish premiere

13.09.2023

19:00

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Even though feminism is considered the most successful social movement of the 20th century, there is no big topic documentary that deals with its status quo. So here it comes: “Feminism WTF”! The achievements of the women’s* movement influence our lives every day. But still, when I say “Feminism” we might not mean the same thing. This film reflects on current debates and analyses the potential of intersectional feminism to profoundly change our future societies.

Feminism WTF

dir. Katharina Mückstein / Austria / 2023 / 96’ / Polish premiere

17.09.2023

18:00

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A young man from Africa is stuck in the middle of a primeval forest. He has just succeeded in crossing the EU border between Belarus and Poland. The area is searched by border guards and the weather poses an additional threat as the temperatures fall way below zero at night. Local activists bring the man the necessary supplies to survive in the forest and want to help him in the best possible way. But no one is able to help with the key issues of the refugee seekers. Then the young man gets news from home. He would do everything to be able to go back. But he is on a journey of no return.

Good News

dir. Zuzanna Solakiewicz, Zvika Gregory Portnoy / Poland / 2023 / 11’ / Warsaw premiere

15.09.2023

19:00

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How do we build the city of tomorrow? One that combines the benefits of the countryside with the advantages of the urban world? Manon and François, two young city dwellers, traveled between Mexico, Europe, and the US in search of concrete and revolutionary initiatives at every scale that bring nature back to the heart of cities. Accompanied by associations, business leaders, and city experts, they provide inspiring ideas to propel cities into the 21st century: from revegetation to urban farming and bio-waste recovery. By establishing the link between all these solutions, they offer us their vision of what the green city of tomorrow could be, calling on government, private companies, and citizens to take action.

Green City Life

dir. Manon Turina, François Marques / France / 2023 / 85’ / Polish premiere

14.09.2023

18:00

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“I have no words to say” is the phrase one can often hear when the reality of the war is so striking that language seems to be incapable of describing it. While studying in Bruxelles, Daryna Mamaisur is caught up in the russian full-scale invasion of her country. In the springtime, when chestnut trees are blooming at the same time in Brussels and Kyiv, she makes a film capturing that spring in the distance. Keeping a visual correspondence with a friend from Kyiv, she faces the question: while making a film about war, how to speak about the wound that is fresh and ongoing?

I Stumble Every Time I Hear From Kyiv

dir. Daryna Mamaisur / Belgium, Ukraine, Portugal, Hungary / 2023 / 17’ / Polish premiere

16.09.2023

18:00

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Kyiv in 2022. A car races at breakneck speed through the city at dawn. Filmed from a subjective camera angle in a single unedited shot, this contemporary remake of Claude Lelouch’s film “C’etait un rendez-vous” captures the emotions in a state of emergency caused by the war.

It's a Date

dir. Nadia Parfan / Ukraine / 2023 / 5' / Warsaw premiere

16.09.2023

18:00

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The story of six Iranian women who share their intimate experiences of life in Iran, oppression at the hands of the Islamic Republic, fear and dreams of the Iran they are fighting for. Their testimonies follow the story of Jina Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman of Kurdish descent, who was brutally murdered at the hands of morality police in Iran in 2022, for her hair sticking out from under her hijab. The death of the young girl sparked a wave of protests. We learn from the inside about the emotions behind that revolution and the hopes for free Iran.

Jina

dir. Emilia Pluskota / Poland / 2023 / 18’ / Warsaw premiere

16.09.2023

14:00

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Mara is a hybrid experimental documentary essay. We see the violence that has spread all over Belarus, as Alexander Lukashenko clings to power after disputed and controversial election results. There are groups of military in black with their faces covered. They don’t even need reasons to arrest. A young woman in the form of Mara, a female spirit in Slavic culture who comes to people in their sleep to bring them dreams or nightmares. Through the mythical character, she tries to cope with frightening reality. She creates hyper visuals to describe the emotional experiences of ordinary people. The narrative invites the viewer to join Mara while she watches the story unfold, haunted by the scenes on the street she is caught between facing her reality and escaping into her dreams. The film flips between esthetical dream images and real footage of police brutality. This is an essay about a communal nightmare, a nightmare which has bound a whole nation together.

Mara

dir. Sasha Kulak / France, Great Britain / 2022 / 62’

16.09.2023

20:30

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Hla and Nyo Nyo live in a country torn by conflict. Hla is a Buddhist and the owner of a makeshift medical clinic in western Myanmar, where the Rohingya (a Muslim minority community) are persecuted and denied basic rights. Nyo Nyo is a Muslim and an apprentice midwife who acts as an assistant and translator at the clinic. Her family has lived in the area for generations, yet they are still considered intruders. Encouraged and challenged by Hla, who risks her own safety daily by helping Muslim patients, Nyo Nyo is determined to become a steady health care provider for her community. Over five years we witness their struggles, hopes and dreams amidst an environment of ever-increasing chaos and violence.

Midwives

dir. Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing / Myanmar, Germany / 2022 / 91’

17.09.2023

15:30

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Montgenèvre, an idyllic ski resort on the French-Italian border. On paper, the law allows refugees to apply for asylum upon arrival in France. In reality, many are turned back to Italy by the police without ever having the opportunity to file an application. To be able to continue their journey, people take higher and higher routes through the mountains, often risking their lives. On the French side, volunteers of all ages walk the paths every night to offer them help, and guide them to a refuge further down the valley. “Nightwatchers” provides a direct cinematic experience over one night in the mountains by their side.

Nightwatchers

dir. Juliette de Marcillac / France / 2023 / 69’ / Polish premiere

15.09.2023

19:00

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Director Zoya Laktionova talks about her two months of experience abroad in a state of two realities. Her documentary essay interacts with two landscapes in the same space of the video work. The work uses archival family photos of the artist and texts written in the first weeks of the war. The work absorbs one landscape into another, but it is difficult to understand what kind of landscape this act carries out.

Remember the Smell of Mariupol

dir. Zoya Laktionova / Ukraine, Austria / 2022 / 5’ / Polish premiere

16.09.2023

18:00

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A surrealistic exploration of the unbearable burden that every Ukrainian who was forced to flee their home with the outbreak of war experiences every day. The film is a testament to the artists’ ability to transform their personal pain into art that speaks to the universal human experience. The bee symbolizes the weight of emotions that can lead to numbness if ignored, highlighting the importance of acknowledging and accepting the realities of war and its aftermath. The film serves as a reminder that the war is real, the pain is real, and it is our responsibility to engage with it rather than turn a blind eye to it. The work invites viewers to contemplate the depth of human existence and to experience the universality of the human condition, despite its complexities and difficulties.

The Bee

dir. Oleksandra Tsapko / Switzerland / 2023 / 6’ / Polish premiere

16.09.2023

18:00

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What happens when your future depends on telling your own life story? Four rejected asylum seekers relive the hearing on their reasons for fleeing their homelands thus shedding light on the core of the asylum procedure. Those who succeed in recounting the personal danger in their home country “credibly and without contradiction” have a better chance of receiving asylum. Will the interviewees be able to describe their memories of traumatic experiences in such a way that they meet the official criteria this time? A simple swapping of roles reverses the balance of power for once, with SEM interviewers answering the questions of the asylum seekers. In this way,”The Hearing” not only provides insight into the crucial yet sensitive hearing, but also questions the asylum procedure itself.

The Hearing

dir. Lisa Gerig / Switzerland / 2023 / 81’ / Polish premiere

16.09.2023

16:00

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“The Yellow Ceiling” explains and denounces the Case of the Lleida Theater Classroom through its protagonists. In 2018, a group of nine women filed a complaint against two of their teachers for sexual abuse that occurred between 2001 and 2008, when they were teenagers. It was too late. Out of fear, out of shame, because it took them a long time to understand and digest what had happened, the complaint came when the case had already been prescribed and was filed.

The Yellow Ceiling

dir. Isabel Coixet / Spain / 2022 / 93’ / Polish premiere

17.09.2023

20:30

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Three windows on the southwest and a balcony on the southeast are what you can see of Mariia’s apartment on the facade. In three conversations, Mariia reflects on her experiences related to the place of her upbringing in Kyiv and attempts to reclaim the image of her home back.

Three Windows to South West

dir. Mariia Ponomarova / Netherlands, Ukraine / 2023 / 8’ / Polish premiere

16.09.2023

18:00

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After a few months of the full-scale invasion, people start going back to their regular lives despite the intangible danger of missile strikes hanging over cities as the need for normality begins to overpower the fear of death. “You Know It's Going to Be About War” paints a fair and honest picture of a youth caught up in the endless routine of war, driven by a lust for life, punctuated with bursts of guilt, anger and hope. All the characters are connected by their close relationship with the director. Through candid conversations with her friends and family, the director seeks an understanding of how to navigate the new reality, where war becomes a routine without an end in sight. It is a journey to celebrate life despite the war.

You Know It's Going To Be About War

dir. Olha Tsybulska / Norway, Ukraine / 2023 / 35’

16.09.2023

18:00

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A former military barracks of the Wehrmacht now serves as a refugee camp for people from Ukraine. “waking up in silence” accompanies the children on their journey, where their own history intertwines with that of the barracks. A moment between past and future, war and silence, departure and arrival, which paints a portrait of German past and present through the eyes of its young protagonists.

waking up in silence

dir. Mila Zhluktenko, Daniel Asadi Faezi / Germany, Ukraine / 2023 / 18’

16.09.2023

18:00

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