Willy Brandt Documentary Film Award for Freedom and Human Rights

This year, seven filmmakers have the chance to win the prestigious Willy Brandt Documentary Film Award for Freedom and Human Rights. Sponsored by the Bundeskanzler-Willy-Brandt-Stiftung, the award is endowed with 3,000 euros.

The international jury will honor a competition film for its outstanding artistic and substantive achievements. The Willy Brandt Documentary Film Prize for Freedom and Human Rights was first awarded at the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin in 2019. Peter Brandt, son of the former Chancellor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Willy Brandt, presented the prize at that time to Russian director Askold Kurov.

 

We need the emotional depth that documentary films evoke in us to truly understand and internalize things.
Peter Brandt
Nominated Films
© We Won't Shut Up

WE WON'T SHUT UP – A FILM FOR FREEDOM

In Spain, eighteen musicians have been sentenced to prison for making political statements in their lyrics. The Catalan music scene performs their songs and fight for freedom of arts and expression.

to the film
©Clin d'Oeil Films

DRAWING A LINE

An illustrator in India creates political comics for social media – often from a feminist perspective. However, the Hindu nationalist government is cracking down on critical voices.

to the film
© Where The Trees Bear Meat

WHERE THE TREES BEAR MEAT

Years of drought are bringing an Argentinian cattle breeder to the brink of ruin. Within the small cosmos the world’s big problems are reflected: resignation and optimism, life and death.

to the film
© KAMAY

KAMAY

A young student at Kabul University took her own life after been refused to graduate. Her family seeks justice and tells in poetic words about Zahras passion for her homeland’s ecology.

to the film
© FOREST

FOREST

A family lives a nature-oriented life on the Polish border with Belarus when their home becomes a focal point of migration policy: people seek entry into the EU. A story about humanity.

to the film
© Mediha

MEDIHA

Fifteen-year-old Mediha lives in a tent city in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq. In her video diary, the young Yazidi girl processes her trauma of her enslavement by the so-called Islamic State.

to the film
© Darwin Torres

IGUALADA

2022 a left-wing activist unexpectedly becomes Colombian Vice President. She challenges not only the status quo but also the narrative of what a Black woman can achieve in her country.

to the film

Jury

"It is a great pleasure and honour to be part of the jury. More than ever, we need an unsparing look at reality. And right now, we also need the stories, images and films that show us with radical hope what the world could become if only we want it to."

Quote from Luisa Neubauer

Luisa Neubauer

Luisa Neubauer

Jury Willy Brandt Documentary Film Award

Luisa Neubauer

Luisa Neubauer is a climate activist and key organizer of Germany's "Fridays for Future" movement. She has mobilized millions for mass protests, leading to Germany's coal exit and the first national climate law. Under her leadership, the movement showcased the power of youth-led activism and pushed for a European Green Deal. Her advocacy has brought her into discussions with leaders like Angela Merkel, Barack Obama, and the Pope. She won various awards  and was listed in the TIME100 Next 2022.

Dr. Jens Eder

Dr. Jens Eder

Jury Willy Brandt Documentary Film Award

Dr. Jens Eder

Jens Eder is Professor of Dramaturgy and Aesthetics at the Film University Babelsberg in Potsdam, Germany. His research focuses on the intersections of audiovisual media, narrative and society. He has coled research groups on video activism in social media and published books and articles on storytelling, characters, emotions, documentaries, political web videos, and image operations in societal conflicts. Currently, he is investigating the social impact of engaged films.

Liwaa Yazji

Liwaa Yazji

Jury Willy Brandt Documentary Film Award

Liwaa Yazji

Liwaa Yazji is a filmmaker, screenwriter, and playwright. Her works include the award-winning documentary Haunted, the play Q&Q and Goats (Royal Court Theatre, London 2017). In 2018, she received the Berlin Fellowship for non-German-speaking authors for her work Trash. Her documentary Hostage was part of the Doc Station at Berlinale 2021. Other works include Unknown Record (miniseries, 2020) and Songs for Days to Come (music theater libretto 2022).

Malte Mau

Malte Mau

Jury Willy Brandt Documentary Film Award

Malte Mau

Malte Mau is responsible for the press and public relations of the Bundeskanzler-Willy-Brandt-Stiftung and its three museums in Berlin, Lübeck and Unkel. He looks back on 20 years of experience in the field of political and cultural communication and worked for Berlinale Talents and the American Academy in Berlin among others.

Margje de Koning

Margje de Koning

Jury Willy Brandt Documentary Film Award

Margje de Koning

After directing documentaries for 12 years, Margje apart from teaching at the University of Amsterdam, was commissioning editor over 17 years. Also she became head of TV, Radio and NM of IKON (public Broadcaster), before become artistic director of Movies that Matter, she was head of Documentary at EO (Dutch Public Broadcast).

3. OCTOBER 2024