Over the course of three evenings, an impressive and challenging line up of speakers will debate issues ranging from the current situation in Ukraine to the role of social media in journalism. These first events mark the start of regular discussions and screenings that will take place in Bucharest as part of the Frontline Club’s International Parters programme.

Full line-up of events and speakers:

Screening: Ukraine – From Democracy to Chaos + Q&A with Jill Emery
Tuesday 18 February, 6:30PM
Ukraine – From Democracy to Chaos explores this complex country, its geopolitical importance in Europe and its unfinished struggle for democracy. The film explores the political divisions between east and west Ukraine that gave rise to the Orange Revolution in 2004 and still have deep roots in dictating today’s political reality.

The screening will be followed by discussion about the recent developments in Ukraine, moderated by Stefan Candea, co-founder and director of the Romanian Centre for Investigative Journalism. He will be joined by: Vlad Mixich, journalist and senior editor of HotNews.ro; multimedia journalist, Laurentiu Diaconu-Colintineanu; and Paul Radu, investigative journalist and director of Rise Project.

Screening: Fortress + Debate
Wednesday 19 February, 6:30PM
Over 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union directors Klára Tasovská and Lukáš Kokeš travel back in time on their visit to the unrecognised Pridnestrovian Moldovian Republic. A separatist region within Moldova, it has its own passports and stamps, an elected president and a legal system.

The screening will be followed by a debate with: Marian Voicu, producer Romanian Public Television; Michael Bird, journalist and editor of The Black Sea; and Lina Vdovîi, online editor at TVR and member of the Romanian Centre for Independent Journalism.

One World Romania Preview Screening: High Tech, Low Life + Debate
Thursday 20 February, 6:30PM
High Tech, Low Life follows Zola, a smart, tech-savvy and playful youngster, and Tiger Temple, a 50-something citizen reporter, as they each travel the country to report stories that would otherwise remain unknown. A unique peek behind the notorious Great Firewall of China that captures the fearlessness of a new digital generation.

The screening will be followed by a debate moderated by multi media journalist Brăduț Ulmanu. He will be joined by: independent journalist, Radu Ciorniciuc; human rights activist and coordinator of the FreeEx program of ActiveWatch, Liana Ganea; and journalist Ioana Moldoveanu.

On Wednesday 19 June, the Frontline Club audience burst into spontaneous applause to the precision choreography of a Transnistrian military parade. The footage was part of the documentary film Fortress, shown at the preview screening of Open City Docs Fest, supported by the Czech Centre London as part of One World Echoes in London.

Capturing aspects of everyday life in the unrecognised Pridnestrovian Moldovian Republic, from televised propaganda to school graduation ceremonies, the film offered rare insight into the little-known world that is also known as Transnistria. Czech director Lukáš Kokeš explained what his film was about:

“It’s not only about human rights, and not only a travelogue about an exotic country. The main topic for us was the atmosphere of that place, and we called it Fortress because we think that in every country there is a kind of a fortress. It shows us that Transnistria, with its corruption and its absurd regime is not so far away as we thought. So I think sometimes we all live in a small fortress called Transnistria.”

Moderator and Founding Director of Open City Docs Fest Michael Stewart kicked off the Q&A:  “As young chap who wasn’t, I’m sure, familiar with the occupation of your country by the great Russian forces, how come you made this particular film?”

“The biggest motivation for us to go there and make a film was that we didn’t know about the existence of this territory, or country,” replied Kokeš. “Often the territory is described as a dangerous place where you should never go; so we wanted to explore it and fill this black gap on the European map. … We felt we were connected to the reality there, as it was similar to the communist past of our country.”

“There are speculations,” responded Kokeš, to a question on arms smuggling:

“They may have been sold in the 90s. The main income for the state comes from smuggling. They are smuggling food, cigarettes, alcohol, everything that comes from Ukraine goes through Transnistria. And there it gets lost. The son of Igor Smirnov, the [former] President, was the head of border control.”

“The fear of the people,” was the main obstacle the team faced in filming:

“This situation is similar to the Czechoslovakian reality during the 70s or 80s,” said Kokeš. “Because people fear they could lose their jobs, they don’t want to criticise the regime.”

He added, “It’s very interesting that nowadays:

“The secret service in Transnistria, at that time when we were shooting it was called MGB, which means Ministry of State Security; after the new President was elected – he was perceived as big hope, as a democratic force – he changed the name from MGB to KGB again.”

On internet access in the territory,  Kokeš observed, “there’s only one internet provider, controlled by the state”:

“The internet is there, you can surf, find everything you want, but you are being watched. Last month they started to block all the opposition sites, or the forums where people are discussing political issues. So it’s very easy for them to control.”

Asked about the potential resolution of the territorial conflict with Moldova, Kokeš replied:

“The propaganda is very, very strong. After 20 years they succeeded to make this brainwashed generation, because even the young people, they told us that Moldova is enemy territory to them. Officially there is still war between Moldova and Transnistria. Only they are not fighting. So Moldovans are enemies to them.”

To conclude, Kokeš described how the project changed his own perception:

“I was expecting a Soviet open-air museum. I expected only old cars, but suddenly there were pink Hummers. So I started to think things are more complicated. We started to ask people how could they describe the regime: is it socialist or democratic or dictatorship or something in between? And they said: it’s very complicated. It’s anarchy, it’s oligarchy, it’s democracy but with its own rules, it’s a complex problem.”

Fortress was presented as part of the One World Echoes in London series, supported by the Czech Centre London and in collaboration with One World Prague.

Upcoming films in the series are Black Out and Stone Games, both at Open City Docs Fest on Sunday 23 June.

One World Echoes in London is a series of human rights film screenings supported by by the Czech Centre London. Celebrating the 15th anniversary of One World, Europe´s largest human rights film festival established in Prague in 1998 by the Czech NGO People in Need. This series offers a selection of extraordinary documentary films exploring societies and individual lives from a human rights perspective. Representing various countries where People in Need, the biggest NGO in Eastern Europe, runs its human rights, relief and development projects.

One World Echoes are co-organised by the Czech Centre London, Open City Docs Fest London 20-23 June 2013 and the Frontline Club.

Thursday 11 April 2013, 7:00 PM Frontline Club – Amazing Azerbaijan!
Amazing Azerbaijan! is a tale of two countries. A shiny democratic republic the government proudly puts on display for visiting journalists and dignitaries. Alongside a repressive and corrupt state with no respect for freedom of expression, where peaceful protesters are violently beaten and journalists are threatened or even killed. Followed by a Q&A with director Liz Mermin.

Friday 24 May 2013, 7:00 PM Frontline Club – Motherland or Death
For over fifty years Cuba has been following the battle-cry of the revolution, Patria o Muerte, which translates as Motherland or Death. Veteran Russian documentarian Vitaly Mansky centers on the generation born before the revolution. They are devoted to their motherland with heart and soul, yet curse the circumstances in which they are forced to live.

Wednesday 19 June 2013, 7:00 PM Frontline Club – Fortress BOOK NOW
Over twenty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union directors Klára Tasovská and Lukáš Kokeš travel back in time on their visit to the unrecognised Pridnestrovian Moldovian Republic. A separatist region within Moldova, with its own passports, an elected president and a legal system. This Open City Preview Screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Lukáš Kokeš.

Sunday 23 June 2013 2:30 PM Preview screening Open City Cinema Tent – Black Out BOOK NOW
Every evening during exam season in Guinea, hundreds of school children begin a nightly pilgrimage to the airport, petrol stations and wealthier parts of the city, searching for light. A literal and metaphorical journey to enlightenment, this evocative documentary tells how children reconcile their lives in one of the world’s poorest countries, with their desire to learn.

Sunday 23 June 2013 5:00 PM UK Premiere Open City Lighbox – Stone Games BOOK NOW
Do the Sudeten Germans who were tortured and killed during their expulsion at the end of the Second World War deserve a commemorative monument or not? In response to a stone monument in Nový Bor, Czech Republic a group of local inhabitants has unleashed a hate-filled ritual dance of national fervor and moral outrage that also turns out to be a sufficiently strong election issue.

Over 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union directors Klára Tasovská and Lukáš Kokeš travel back in time on their visit to the unrecognised Pridnestrovian Moldovian Republic. Also known as Transdniestria, this separatist region within Moldova has its own passports and stamps, organises presidential elections and maintains its own legal system.

In Fortress Tasovská and Kokeš raise what is left of the iron curtain to give a fascinating peak into a country that technically does not exist.  They capture everyday life through portraits of ordinary people living in this geo-political gap, stuck between the European Union and Russia, between the present and the past, crime and decency, decadence and hope for change.

For twenty years president Igor Smirnov maintained Soviet-style propaganda and established an authoritative rule. Filmed during the 2011 presidential elections, Fortress is a sharp and darkly funny account, analysing the configuration of this ‘limbo-state’ and the practicalities of a regular life within it.

Directed by Klára Tasovská and Lukáš Kokeš
Duration: 70′
Year: 2012

[vimeo clip_id=”62117691″ width=”400″ height=”225″]

This screening is part of One World Echoes, an international tour celebrating the 15th anniversary of One World, Europe´s largest human rights film festival established in Prague in 1998 by Czech NGO People in Need.

One World Echoes are co-organized by the Czech Centre London, Open City London Documentary Festival (20-23 June) and the Frontline Club.

And it doesn’t look a day older… Transnistria, or to give it it’s full name – Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica – the breakaway republic of Moldova and only remaining Stalinist outhold in Europe, is 17 years old this week. Click the video above to see the celebrations in the teenage republic or arrange your next holiday to Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica at the Visit PMR website.Video via Deciphering Transdniestria