Film for Transparency 2001 showcases corruption stories from around the globe

Prague, 1 October -- From 6-8 October, audiences in Prague will be treated to films on the theme of corruption from all corners of the globe as Transparency International inaugurates its Anti-Corruption Film Festival - Film for Transparency 2001 at Kino Evald. In addition to full-length feature films, the Festival will also showcase documentaries and student films. Film for Transparency is presented in conjunction with the 10th International Anti-Corruption Conference taking place in Prague on 7-11 October.

Transparency International (TI) is the world's leading non-governmental organisation fighting corruption. "Transparency International launched Art for Transparency because the fight against corruption necessitates the engagement of all strata of society," said TI Chairman Peter Eigen. "From puppeteers in the villages of Kenya, to cartoonists who were teaching their craft at the last International Anti-Corruption Conference in Durban, to African folk-singers whose banned songs were on sale in village markets, art has a cathartic effect, uplifting people even in the most hostile conditions." Miklos Marschall, TI Executive Director for Central and Eastern Europe, said at the launch of Film for Transparency on Monday: "The power of art lies in its emotional reach. Art challenges us to challenge authority. From the plays and essays of Vaclav Havel to the poetry and novels of Wole Soyinka, the voices of dissent are a tremendous weapon against autocracy. I hope that the Film for Transparency Festival in Prague will be the first of many. Cinema is uniquely placed to shed light where there is darkness, to expose the corruption that stifles the freedom of so many."

The film festival has two components:
• a Non-Competitive Retrospective section of international feature-length fictional films
• a Competitive section for student-made and documentary projects

Films in competition will be judged by a jury which includes Dieter Biallas, Senior Advisor to Transparency International and former Minister of Culture of Hamburg, Igor Blazevic, Director of the One World/JedenSvet Film Festival, and Sergio Bianchi, acclaimed Brazilian director of Chronically Unfeasible, which appears in this year's Retrospective section. Selection will be based on the effective use of the corruption theme and artistic merit. Awards will be handed out at a gala evening on 10 October at Prague's Municipal House.

Transparency International Czech Republic also presents Art against Corruption - an exhibition under the auspices of the Lord Mayor of Prague, Jan Kasl - on 5-12 October in Prague's Wenceslas Square. The Prague exhibition is to be the largest ever collection of art assembled on an anti-corruption theme and will include a visual art exhibition, photography and literature competitions, a retrospective of Czech and international documentaries, an exhibition on the evolution of corruption in the Czech media, and theatre performances.

The 10th International Anti-Corruption Conference takes place in the Prague Congress Centre on 8-11 October. More information on the conference is available at www.10iacc.org.

FEATURE FILMS

The Insider (USA,1999)
Russell Crowe plays Jeffrey Wigand, the high-level executive who blew the whistle on Brown and Williamson Tobacco and precipitated the largest class action suit in history, and signalled Tobacco's admission to pushing an addictive substance and causing 100,000 deaths a year. The Insider tells the story of how and why he went public.

Chronically Unfeasible (Brazil, 2000)
Director Sergio Bianchi throws down the gauntlet in an explosive and stridently political docudrama, a critical look at inequality, corruption and hypocrisy in contemporary Brazil. A mosaic of characters interacts in pointedly loaded situations, as they struggle to survive, mentally and physically, within their chaotic society.

A Middle-class hero (Italy, 1995)
This film deals with the collapse of the banking empire of Sicilian banker Michele Sindona in the 1970s, which affected a wide range of financial and political institutions, and the efforts of one lawyer, Giorgio Ambrosoli, to expose the ties that linked Sindona to parliament, Mafia and the Vatican. (Ambrosoli was murdered in 1979.)

Herod's Law (Mexico, 1999)
Herod's Law is to "do unto others what you can get away with". This is the lesson Juan Vargas learns when his party promotes him from supervisor of a town dump to mayor of a remote village where the last few mayors were lynched. As his power grows, so do his paranoia, misogyny and monomania. The funny becomes disturbing, the laughter uneasy, and the intractability of Herod's Law apparent.

Fatal Decision (China, 1998)
Workers at a textile factory in southern China complain to the mayor that the managers are stealing money from the plant. The skeptical official, Li Gaocheng, investigates and uncovers a scam that involves his own wife. He faces a dilemma: squash the investigation, or see his wife arrested.

Your Vote, Our Party (Vanuatu, 2000)
Within the halls of power, government minister Harold Stevens bends the rules more and more each day. In a remote island community, Olivia Thomas and others in her village feel the effects of those abuses of power through a lack of services or development. Is this just how politics works, or is there hope for change?

DOCUMENTARIES

An Ordinary President (Belarus, 1996)
A daring satire about the rise to power of President Alexander Lukashenka of Belarus.

Right to Information (India, 1999)
Tells the story of the battle against corruption in rural India, fought by gaining access to government records

The Haider Show (UK, 2000)
Analyses how a millionaire managed to sell himself as the representative of the working class in Austria

Captain Evita (Argentina, 2000)
A look at the politicization of the final match of the football championship of 1951 in Argentina.

Corrupt Cops: Case 2000 (Russia, 2000)
Undercover footage of the drug trade in Russia, which is done with the knowledge and support of the police force.

Carlos Cardoso: Independent Spirit (South Africa/Mozambique, 2000)
The life and assassination of Carlos Cardoso, Mozambique's leading investigative journalist.

Algerie mon amour, Algerie pour toujours (Algeria, 2000)
A documentary based on Djilali Hadjadj's book "Corruption and Democracy in Algeria"

STUDENT FILMS

ID Citizen (Venezuela, 1999)
A short story about a young man who refuses to pay a bribe to get his deferment papers, which he needs to avoid being drafted by the military

Home Sweet Home (South Africa, 1999)
A story about corruption in modern-day South Africa, seen through the eyes of a young woman who is trying to make a difference in her community.

Why We Ski (USA, 1999)
A satire of the "Why We Fight" series, David Levy is drafted by mistake into the US Army's special ski division, despite the fact that he cannot ski.

The Plum Tree (Serbia, 2000)
Two hours before the total destruction of the planet, the characters are trying to find a plum tree. Under this tree, they believe, they will find their salvation.

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