September 6

18.00

Bloody Cartoons

52’, colour, Denmark, 2007

What do cartoons tell us about contemporary democracy? A lot it seems. Freedom of expression has always been a core principle of democracy. Imagining one without the other is unthinkable to most people. But what happens when one democratic right infringes on the rights of others? Since the furore of the Danish cartoons it is clear that not everyone agrees with the idea of limitless freedom.

This is a documentary about how and why 12 drawings in a Danish provincial paper could whirl a small country with 5 million people into a confrontation with Muslims all over the world. Will the world ever be the same after the publication of these drawings? We might conclude – How can it be?

Following discussions in society, an international project “Why Democracy?” has been carried out in Denmark in order to start a global conversation about democracy using film as a tool. On the 8th of October ten films about understanding of democracy in different societies will be screened in more than 45 channels wordwide; on-line discussion will start in www.whydemocracy.net.

Directed by Karsten Kjaer

Produced by Freeport TV

20:30

A Cry from the Grave

105’, colour, UK, 1999

A Cry from the Grave* tells the story of the Srebrenica massacre of 1995, in which the Bosnian Serb army killed an estimated 7,000 Bosnian Muslims. For a large part consisting of original video material shot by the people involved themselves, it follows hour by hour the story of the killings. Through the testimony of survivors and relatives of those who died it explores the pain felt when no one is brought to justice. But the underlying message of the film is bleak indeed – no matter what is done, it will never be enough.

Film has been shown at the UN, and it was used during a war crimes trial at The Hague.

Director Leslie Woodhead
Produced by Antelope Productions, Ryninks Films, WNET Channel 13 NY
Distributed by Antelope Productions