Three men are discussing indoors, one of them is gesturing with his hand.

Full-length documentary

Facing War

(Facing War)

The future of countries at war is often decided not by soldiers on the front line but by men in glass buildings. Until October 2024, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was one of them, as he tried from the start to arrange negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Director Tommy Gulliksen had a unique opportunity to record it all.

But it’s not only between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky that tensions escalated during this time, but also between NATO member states. If the alliance is to stay together, it will require exceptional diplomatic skills. Stoltenberg’s last year in office will be particularly busy.

Politics

Basic information about the film

Title	Facing War
Original Title	Facing War
Original Language	English, Norwegian
Subtitles	Czech, English
Premiéra	Czech premiere
Film type	Full-length documentary
Year of Production	2025
Country of Origin	Norway, Belgium
Length	103 min.
Tags	Politics
Director	Tommy Gulliksen

All screenings

03/20 20:30

Prague Municipal Library – Large Hall
Mariánské nám. 1, Praha 1

Discussion
Barbora Hudečková, Moderator
Tommy Gulliksen, Director (online)

Tickets

Right to Know

A person is standing on a rocky slope and taking pictures of the landscape in foggy weather.

Full-length documentary

Black Snow

Instead of morning fog, a carbon monoxide cloud rolls over Kiselyovsk’s rooftops and black snow falls to the ground. In Kuzbass, a proud mining region, the volume of extracted black coal matters more than human lives.

A person is smiling and looking at a small dog that is looking back at her.

Full-length documentary

Everything Needs to Live

Even as a child Anna Kurkurina loved animals, later working in zoos, promoting animal rights and founding shelters. At 40, she took up weight training with similar vigour. She became a multiple world champion in the power triathlon and coached people with physical disabilities.

A man and a child stand among the ruins of a collapsed building.

Full-length documentary

From Ground Zero

Documentarist Rashid Masharawi organised the creation of a series of 22 short films about current life in Gaza. On screen, they tell the unspoken stories of the current war using documentary style, live action and animation.

Full-length documentary

Made in Ethiopia

On one hand, the industrial zone in Dukem, Ethiopia, with more than 100 Chinese companies, offers tens of thousands of jobs; on the other, it changes the landscape and exploits the locals. The film captures the vision of prosperity through the eyes of 3 women tracked over 4 years.

Abandoned and dilapidated urban area with damaged buildings, a dry canal, and remnants of structures.

Full-length documentary

My Memory Is Full of Ghosts

After years of war, Homs no longer feels like the “city of smiles” it was once called. The camera, penetrating the ruins, and the memories of people who had to leave, take us there. Their thoughts about the war and the time after it describe the ambience of a specific place and the fate of a nation that wants to live again.

A woman is holding a flag and participating in a protest or rally. In the background, there are other people and a poster.

Full-length documentary

Night Is Not Eternal

For 7 years, Chinese American filmmaker Nanfu Wang followed activist Rosa María Payá in her fight against the Cuban communist regime, which Rosa built on the work of her father Oswaldo Payá, an opposition democrat and five-times Nobel Peace Prize nominee.

A person in white traditional clothing is sitting on a stone in a desert landscape.

Full-length documentary

On the Border

Agadez, in northern Niger, has long been a key hub for migration from the Sahel to northwest Africa and on to Europe. Nomadic Tuareg tribes made their living taking migrants across the Sahara, creating a lucrative but unregulated migration economy.

A man speaks into microphones surrounded by journalists and people with banners.

Full-length documentary

Panic Button

The cooperation of Central Asian countries such as Kyrgyzstan helps Russia resist Western economic sanctions. Due to the country’s strategic location, all Chinese goods bound for Central Asia and Russia must cross its borders, and it serves as a transshipment point for goods from countries with which Putin is not officially allowed to trade. Investigative journalist Ali Toktakunov, a long-time staff member of Radio Free Europe’s Kyrgyz section, helped to uncover the deeper implications.

Two boys are singing into a microphone, and another child can be seen in the background.

Full-length documentary

The Black Garden

The film portrays 3 generations of Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh village of Talish. People try to live normally but prepare for another Armenia-Azerbaijan war. During the 2016 war, the Armenian population had to flee. Now, 3 years later, they return.

A woman with colorful ribbons on her face stands with her arms outstretched in front of a group of children. In the background, there is another person and a sign with writing.

Full-length documentary

The Brink of Dreams

Women in a remote south Egyptian village should help men, keep quiet, and bear children. To protest against these stereotypes, some girls start a theatre group.