WATCH DOCS Human Rights in Film International Film Festival

Warsaw, Poland, Europe

14 - 30 Dec, 2020

Keywords

human rights, Documentary, free

Category

Feature, Short

Genre

Documentary

WATCH DOCS Human Rights in Film International Film Festival logo
WATCH DOCS Human Rights in Film International Film Festival

Warsaw, Poland, Europe

General Information

founded

2001

edition

20th

Contact details

WATCH DOCS. Human Rights in Film International Film Festival

ul. Zgoda 11

WarsawPoland 00-018

festival@watchdocs.pl

+48 22 556 44 40

Web & social

About the festival

WATCH DOCS is one of the two largest human rights film events in the world presenting documentaries where commitment to individual rights is combined with film art.

Each year the festival shows over fifty world-class films. At the international festival in Warsaw, a touring festival in more than thirty Polish towns and an online festival, a total of over one hundred thousand viewers take part in screenings each year. WATCH DOCS is the oldest documentary film festival in Warsaw - the first edition of the festival took place in 2001.

Festival

WATCH DOCS festival is where every year you can watch dozens of premiere screenings and participate in several meetings with world-renowned documentary filmmakers. It is here that new films by such filmmakers as Errol Morris, Raymond Depardon, Kim Longinotto, Avi Mograbi or Alex Gibney had their Polish premieres. Both legendary documentary filmmakers like Frederick Wiseman and younger generation directors including Sean McAllister, Jean-Gabriel Periot, Barak Heymann or Maria Ramos led their master classes at WATCH DOCS festival.  

Q&As and Panel Debates

WATCH DOCS also features Q&As and panel debates with experts, human rights defenders, publicists and politicians. Among the participants of the debates organized within the framework of the festival are: Sergei Kovalyov, Alexander Milinkevich, Ludmila Alexeyeva, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, Ewa Lêtowska, Wiktor Osiatyñski, Andrzej Rzepilñski and Janina Ochojska, among others.

Programming and organizational platform

WATCH DOCS is a programming and organizational platform for the touring festival and the FUTURE DOCS project as well as a strategic partner supporting human rights film festival in Belarus (WATCH DOCS Belarus). WATCH DOCS is also one of the founding members of Human Rights Film Network.

Name

NGOs, and especially watchdog organizations, play an important role in the development of civil society. The wordplay of ‘watchdog’ and ‘watch docs' (i.e. documentaries) provided the ideal addition to our festival name and, since 2006, the Human Rights in Film festival is known as WATCH DOCS. Human Rights in Film.

 

Social movement

WATCH DOCS is a social movement. Every year over one hundred volunteers are involved in organizing the international part of the festival.  The WATCH DOCS IFF is followed by a touring festival, which was created and is being developed thanks to grassroots initiatives from all over Poland. In recent years the touring festival has been held in 40 cities.

Organizer

In 2001, Polish NGO Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights founded the Human Rights in Film Festival. Beginning 1982, the Helsinki Committee operated in the Polish underground, to establish HFHR seven years later. Currently, the Helsinki Foundation is one of the most experienced European human rights NGOs. HFHR implements education, intervention, and monitoring programs. A significant portion of its activity concerns human rights in the states of the former Soviet Union.

About

WATCH DOCS is one of the two largest human rights film events in the world presenting documentaries where commitment to individual rights is combined with film art.

Each year the festival shows over fifty world-class films. At the international festival in Warsaw, a touring festival in more than thirty Polish towns and an online festival, a total of over one hundred thousand viewers take part in screenings each year. WATCH DOCS is the oldest documentary film festival in Warsaw - the first edition of the festival took place in 2001.

Festival

WATCH DOCS festival is where every year you can watch dozens of premiere screenings and participate in several meetings with world-renowned documentary filmmakers. It is here that new films by such filmmakers as Errol Morris, Raymond Depardon, Kim Longinotto, Avi Mograbi or Alex Gibney had their Polish premieres. Both legendary documentary filmmakers like Frederick Wiseman and younger generation directors including Sean McAllister, Jean-Gabriel Periot, Barak Heymann or Maria Ramos led their master classes at WATCH DOCS festival.  

Q&As and Panel Debates

WATCH DOCS also features Q&As and panel debates with experts, human rights defenders, publicists and politicians. Among the participants of the debates organized within the framework of the festival are: Sergei Kovalyov, Alexander Milinkevich, Ludmila Alexeyeva, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, Ewa Lêtowska, Wiktor Osiatyñski, Andrzej Rzepilñski and Janina Ochojska, among others.

Programming and organizational platform

WATCH DOCS is a programming and organizational platform for the touring festival and the FUTURE DOCS project as well as a strategic partner supporting human rights film festival in Belarus (WATCH DOCS Belarus). WATCH DOCS is also one of the founding members of Human Rights Film Network.

Name

NGOs, and especially watchdog organizations, play an important role in the development of civil society. The wordplay of ‘watchdog’ and ‘watch docs' (i.e. documentaries) provided the ideal addition to our festival name and, since 2006, the Human Rights in Film festival is known as WATCH DOCS. Human Rights in Film.

 

Social movement

WATCH DOCS is a social movement. Every year over one hundred volunteers are involved in organizing the international part of the festival.  The WATCH DOCS IFF is followed by a touring festival, which was created and is being developed thanks to grassroots initiatives from all over Poland. In recent years the touring festival has been held in 40 cities.

Organizer

In 2001, Polish NGO Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights founded the Human Rights in Film Festival. Beginning 1982, the Helsinki Committee operated in the Polish underground, to establish HFHR seven years later. Currently, the Helsinki Foundation is one of the most experienced European human rights NGOs. HFHR implements education, intervention, and monitoring programs. A significant portion of its activity concerns human rights in the states of the former Soviet Union.

Gallery

Awards & Winners

2018

Marek Nowicki Prize (Nominated)

Terms and rules

Films pertaining to broadly conceived human rights issues may be submitted to the festival.
The festival presents mainly documentary films and films from the fringes of this genre. Other film genres (feature, animated, educational etc.) may be presented only outside of the competition section of the festival repertoire. There are no limitations as to year or country of production or running time of the films presented out of competition.

Selection Criteria:
Artistic value as well as presentation of subject matter related to human rights shall be decisive in the film’s selection for screening. The same criteria apply to selection of 'out of competition' films.

Awards

  • The Marek Nowicki Prize,
  • The documentary film competition for the WATCH DOCS Award,
  • The Audience Award.

Rules

  • Films pertaining to broadly conceived human rights issues may be submitted to the festival. 
  • The festival presents mainly documentary films and films from the fringes of this genre. Other film genres may be presented only outside of the competition section of the festival repertoire.
  • In the competition section of the festival, only documentary films produced after 1st of January 2019 will be screened.
  • Films previously screened as part of the festival shall not be accepted for the competition  section.

Documents and Other Requisite Items

  • Fill out entry form
  • Send DVD with submitted film by mail or download file via Internet

Selection Media Type: DVD, online

Audio language: original

Subtitles language: English

Premiere Requirements: No premiere requirement

Ratings & Reviews

Categories and fees

Documentary: shorts
Regular (3rd August, 2020) €0
Age restriction No age restriction
Country Any country
Director's age No restriction
Director's gender Any gender
Student films No
First films No

Documentary: features
Regular (3rd August, 2020) €0
Age restriction No age restriction
Country Any country
Director's age No restriction
Director's gender Any gender
Student films No
First films No

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