The special RightsNow! prize is an award given to creative documentaries which explore and analyse the modern world and make a significant contribution to the discussion around human dignity, freedom, and equality. Ten films from all festival programmes are nominated for it.
The winners in the RightsNow! nomination have been determined by
Ukrainian diplomat and Head of the Ukrainian MFA in 2014–2019 Pavlo Klimkin, d
ocumentary producer, social activist, human rights defender, and one of the leaders of the Ukrainian diaspora in Poland Natalia Panchenko, d
irector of Global Rights Compliance Foundation (GRC) is a renowned lawyer specializing in international human rights and humanitarian law Wayne Jordash KC.
MAIN PRIZE
Everything Needs to Live / Tetiana Dorodnitsyna, Andrii Lytvynenko / Poland, Ukraine / 2024 / 70'
A beautifully moving film that, through its heroine Anna, a lesbian weightlifter, shows the transformative effect of shared humanity; how it can make those who are invisible visible, and turn the unconventional into the conventional and the included. The film reminds us that all life is precious and human beings can, with a little kindness, not only support others but also heal themselves. Truly a film showing human (and animal) rights in action.
SPECIAL MENTION
A Golden Life / Boubacar Sangaré / Burkina Faso, Benin, France / 2023 / 83'
The film documents the daily grind of child miners in the gold mines of Burkina Faso. Despite the brutality and harshness, there is fun, growth, and above all else hope — however misplaced. As their childhoods are stolen by the fight to survive, the children of the film live, love and share as they dream of a better life. A subtle, mournful film that in the end showcases the irrepressible force of the human spirit.
Here is the list of films nominated for RightsNow! Award:
- KIX, dir. Bálint Révész and Dávid Mikulán (Hungary, France, Croatia);
- Intercepted, dir. Oksana Karpovych (Canada, France, Ukraine);
- The DNA of Dignity, dir. Jan Baumgartner (Switzerland);
- The Kyiv Files, dir. Walter Stokman (Netherlands);
- Mission 200, dir. Volodymyr Sydko (Ukraine);
- Invisible Nation, dir. Vanessa Hope (USA, Taiwan);
- A Golden Life, dir. Boubacar Sangaré (Burkina Faso, Benin, France);
- Bigger Than Trauma, dir. Vedrana Pribačić (Croatia);
- And Miles to Go Before I Sleep, dir. TSAI Tsung-Lung (Taiwan);
- Everything Needs to Live, dir. Tetiana Dorodnitsyna and Andrii Lytvynenko (Poland, Ukraine).
