Program 2021

"This was brutal mass murder and I can prove it!" With these words, Benjamin Ferencz became the chief prosecutor in the Nuremberg trial of the SS murder gangs in 1947. A MAN CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE traces the stirring life of Ferencz, a small man with a big vision.

The story begins in Cairo, January 25, 2013, the second anniversary of the revolution. An explosion of politically charged sexual assaults of women sweeps through Tahrir Square. After the public rape of her best friend and dozens other women that night alone, Samaher Alqadi begins to record the chaos around her.

Cox's Bazaar - the world's largest beach near the Rohingya refugee camp Kutupalong is home to Shob, Shuma, and Ayesha. Fearlessly, the Muslim female surfers hurl themselves toward the highest waves. In the midst of poverty, violence, and toxic masculinity, they resolutely pursue their dream of a self-determined life.

The film tells the story of an unusual duo that exposes illegal sterilizations in women's prisons in California. A woman affected and her lawyer wage an almost hopeless battle against the Department of Corrections. For seven years, Erika Cohn filmed and documented women's rights and the fight for justice and reparations.

Fawzi and Mahmoud have a big dream: they want to become football stars and play with their idols in stadiums all over the world! As Syrian refugees, they live in the Zaatari camp in Jordan. In an environment marked by hopelessness, football seems to be the only way to a better future.

"I don't think I can return to my old life anymore. You took up these responsibilities and you can't really go back. They seem radical, courageous, and visionary - the three young Frontline activists are giving up a lot for a better future. Pepper wants to see her children grow up in a free Hong Kong. Hilda founded Fridays for Future in desperately poor Uganda.

Franco Antonello has a son, Andrea, who is autistic. When Andrea turned 18, father and son decided to cross the US by motorbike. From that adventure, the writer Fulvio Ervas wrote the book Don’t Be Afraid if I Hug You, that in 2019 became a movie directed by Academy Award winner Gabriele Salvatores.

Five people who could hardly be more different: designer Van Bo Le-Mentzel calls for rent-free living for everyone and shows how it can be done with tiny houses. Inventor Carl-Heinrich von Gablenz wants to float heavy loads in balloons, even though his idea has already gone bankrupt once.

The Sámi are the only remaining indigenous people in the European Union. They live in the northernmost regions of Europe, including Finland. Their existence is tied to their language, traditional knowledge and relationship to the land, which they maintain to preserve for future Sámi generations.