– Maasja Ooms’ intimate psychotherapeutic documentary has won the main award, while Nima Sarvestani’s Before the Death Committee triumphed in the Václav Havel Competition
My Word Against Mine by Maasja Ooms
The 28th edition of the One World International Human Rights Film Festival has unveiled its winners during the closing ceremony, held on 19 March at Prague’s Lucerna cinema, thus bringing the festival to a close (see the news). This year’s programme once again underscored the event’s dual focus on cinematic innovation and urgent socio-political testimony, with stories of systemic injustice and personal agency taking centre stage. The festival, under the direction of Ondřej Kamenický, presented a total of 106 films, including 82 feature-length documentaries, alongside fiction and immersive works. The Prague section attracted over 22,800 attendees, including more than 240 accredited industry professionals.
The International Competition Jury Award for Best Film went to My Word Against Mine by Dutch filmmaker Maasja Ooms. Set against a psychotherapeutic background, the film constructs a layered dialogue between patients and their inner voices, probing trauma, memory and identity through a formally minimalist yet conceptually ambitious approach. The jury highlighted the film’s “sensitive, intelligent and formally radical method”, noting its capacity to “illuminate one of the most profound human questions” through an innovative cinematic language. The Award for Best Director in the International Competition was bestowed upon Mehrdad Oskouei and Soraya Akhlaghi for A Fox Under a Pink Moon, a co-production spanning Denmark, Iran, France, the UK and the USA. The film foregrounds the precarious existence of Afghan refugees in Iran through the story of a young woman navigating patriarchal constraints and legal invisibility. The jury praised its “intimate and emotionally resonant portrait”, positioning the film as both a personal story and a broader reflection of systemic displacement.
In the Václav Havel Competition, dedicated to the movies in the Right to Know strand, the top prize went to Surviving the Death Committee by Nima Sarvestani. The film follows a political activist and survivor confronting the Iranian regime, offering a sharp exploration of justice, accountability and the enduring scars of repression. The jury commended its articulation of justice not only as a mechanism of truth, but also as a forward-looking guarantee against repetition. The Czech Competition Award was claimed by AMOOSED: A Moose Odyssey, directed by Hana Nováková. Combining ethnographic observation with ecological reflection, the film examines the fragile relationship between humans and nature through encounters with a symbolic animal figure. The jury singled out its ability to weave folklore, history and environmental anxiety into a multi-layered cinematic essay. In the Immersive Films Competition, Domenico Singha Pedroli’s Another Place emerged as the winner. The VR piece places viewers in the subjective experience of a trans asylum seeker wandering through nocturnal Paris, using spatial storytelling to evoke dislocation and invisibility. The jury emphasised its “visual precision and innovative use of virtual reality as a medium for empathy”.
Beyond the awards, this year’s edition reinforced One World’s emphasis on accessibility and decentralisation. Following its Prague run, the festival now expands to 59 cities across the Czech Republic, complemented by the Prague Echoes programme and an online platform offering curated selections, including award-winning titles, to domestic audiences.
The 29th edition of the One World International Human Rights Film Festival is set to take place from 10 March-23 April 2027.
Here is the full list of award winners:
International Competition Jury Award
Best Film
My Word Against Mine – Maasja Ooms (Netherlands)
Best Director
Mehrdad Oskouei, Soraya Akhlaghi – A Fox Under a Pink Moon (Denmark/Iran/France/UK/USA)
Václav Havel Jury Award for Best Film
Surviving the Death Committee – Nima Sarvestani (Sweden)
Czech Competition Jury Award for Best Film
AMOOSED: A Moose Odyssey – Hana Nováková (Czech Republic/Slovakia)
Immersive Films Competition Jury Award
Another Place – Domenico Singha Pedroli (France)
Regional Jury Award
Welded Together [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Anastasiya Miroshnichenko (Belgium/France/Netherlands)
Student Jury Award
When I Get Jailed – Anastasiia Vedenskaia (France)
Children’s Jury Award
Ella – Can Jump – Rozálie Kohoutová (Czech Republic)
Audience Award for Best Film
Driving Europe – Felix Länge (Germany)
