Special Program Closed Societies as Part of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival

Tallinn, 2006-12-05 – A special program on closed societies is organized as part of the 10th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. The program consists of a seminar on democracy in Russia and its neighborhood and 9 films to be screened in Tallinn and Tartu.

The Closed Societies special program deals with authoritarian states where citizens lack basic political freedoms and human rights are violated. It is jointly organized by the film festival and the Open Estonia Foundation.

Documentaries from Russia and its satellite states, as well as the former Yugoslavia, Iran and Cuba are screened. The films expose the true face of dictatorship, present democratic movements and show the life of ordinary people in a closed society.

The special program includes a world premiere of the directors version of “You Will Vote for Me!,” a Belarus documentary on the 2006 presidential elections that turned into a farce due to president Lukashenka’s fear politics and fraud. The director Yuri Khashchevatsky has been persecuted since his first movie critical of Lukashenka in 1996. Therefore, all shooting was done secretly. The film is screened 7 PM on December 7th in the Von Krahl theatre and Mr. Khashchevatsky will be present to introduce the film as well as talk to the audience.

The Closed Societies seminar dealing with the possibilities of democracy in Russia and its neighbors is to be held on December 8th (2PM-6PM) in Reval Hotel Central conference centre. The international seminar will look at the deepening authoritarian tendencies in Russia and assess the chances for democracy in states neighboring Russia. Is Russia a basket case when it comes to democracy? Why have democratic processes in the Ukraine and Moldova halted again? What can civil society do? Do the countries in the Russian sphere of interest have any hope of establishing democratic societies? Estonian MP Andres Herkel, Sam Greene from Moscow Carnegie Institute, Pavel Marozau from Belarus civic initiative “Third Way”, Mehriban Vezir, the head of Azerbaijani women's political cultural centre and Mihai Poiata, a columnist and vice president of the filmmakers union from Moldova will offer their analysis. The seminar will be in Estonian, English and Russian with simultaneous translation. Registration is open online at http://www.oef.org.ee/registreerumine/.

The films are screened in Tartu Lutsu Theatre Building and Tallinn Von Krahl Theatre.

Additional information: http://2006.poff.ee/?todo=view_page&id=442&lang=2&st=  

Tõnis Leht
Coordinator of Closed Societies special program
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
+372 56696393
tonisleht@gmail.com  
www.poff.ee  

Kelly Grossthal
Open Estonia Foundation
+372 631 3791
+372 53312300
kelly@oef.org.ee  
www.oef.org.ee