Screenings on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day 2022

Writing with Fire 

Sushmit Ghosh & Rintu Thomas, 93 min, in Hindi with English subtitles, India, 2021 

Followed by a discussion with a group of journalists 

In a cluttered news landscape dominated by men, emerges India’s only newspaper run by Dalit women. Armed with smartphones, Chief Reporter Meera and her journalists break traditions, be it on the frontlines of India’s biggest issues or within the confines of their homes, redefining what it means to be powerful.

“Writing with Fire” has been nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 94th Academy Awards (Oscar). It has won several awards including Al Jazeera Balkans Programme Department Jury Award at AJB DOC Film Festival, the Audience Award at International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), the Audience Award & World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: Impact for Change at Sundance Film Festival, the Audience Award and Best Feature Documentary at Blackstar Film Festival, Courage Under Fire Award at IDA Doc. Awards, Best Feature Documentary at The International Documentary Film Festival of Mexico City, the Silver Horn for Best Film on social issues at Krakow Film Festival, Special Jury Mention for Best Doc Feature at Mountain Film Festival, Best International Feature Award at Visioni dal Mondo and others. The film participated in Hot Docs, Zurich Film Festival, Sundance London Film Festival, Göteborg Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Cleveland International Film Festival, San Francisco Film Festival and others. 

Checks and Balances (Contre-pouvoirs)

Malek Bensmaïl, 97 min, in French with English subtitles, Algeria, 2015
Followed by a discussion
Accom­mo­da­ted since Alge­ria’s black decade of the 1990’s in the « House of the Press », the jour­na­lists of the famous daily news­pa­per El Watan await the completion of their new offices, a symbol of their inde­pen­dence.

The director says: “My camera is embed­ded in their news­room as they follow the events of this new Alge­rian spring… President Boute­flika has set his sights on a fourth term. Beyond what we call the Arab revo­lu­tions and other media­ti­zed terms, I wanted this film to serve as a memo­rial to the women and men, young and less young, who battle daily to safe­guard the free­dom of infor­ma­tion in a poli­ti­cally and socially fossi­li­zed coun­try.”

“Checks and Balances” was nominated for the Tanit d’Or for Documentary Feature Film at Carthage Film Festival and was nominated for Next Generation Award at Taiwan International Documentary Film Festival. It received the Special Jury Mention at the Mediterranean Film Festival of Tetouan. The films also participated in Locarno International Film Festival, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), International Film Festival – Seattle, Twin Cities Film Festival-Minessota, Nantes Three Continents Festival and others.  

The Social Dilemma

Jeff Orlowski, 94 min, in English with  Arabic subtitles, USA, 2020 

Followed by a discussion 

We tweet, we like, and we share— but what are the consequences of our growing dependence on social media? As digital platforms increasingly become a lifeline to stay connected, Silicon Valley insiders reveal how social media is reprogramming civilization by exposing what’s hiding on the other side of your screen. 

“The Social Dilemma” has won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing and Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program, and it was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary. The film has Among received the Impact Film Award at Boulder International Film Festival, Best Documentary at Music City Film Critics' Association Awards, Best Edited Single Documentary at BFE Cut Above Awards and others.