A white, uniquely-shaped building with a tall chimney against a blue background.

International Competition

Silence of Reason

(Šutnja razuma)

Using archival material from the Hague Tribunal, the film gives voice to women who faced brutal sexual violence and torture during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In 2000, the International Criminal Court in The Hague was the first to designate systematic rape as a form of torture, and sexual enslavement as a crime against humanity. The director returns to the landmark judgment and the atrocities in the city of Foča that preceded it. Amateur archive footage from the time of the Bosnian war for independence serves as a neutral visual background for the shocking witness statements of the survivors. The women describe being held captive, beaten, raped and forced into prostitution. While history merely records them as war victims, in this film they gain agency as the narrators of tales which should never be forgotten within a context of the ongoing normalisation of sexual crimes.

03/21 19:45

Evald, Národní 28, Praha 1

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03/24 20:00

Atlas – Large Hall, Ke Štvanici 371/4, Praha 8

Discussion
Barbora Hudečková, Moderator
Kumjana Novakova, Director

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03/26 16:00

Světozor Cinema – Small Hall, Vodičkova 41, Praha 1

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Title	Silence of Reason
Original Title	Šutnja razuma
Original Language	Bosnian, English
Subtitles	Czech, English
Premiéra	Czech premiere
Film type	Full-length documentary
Year of Production	2023
Country of Origin	Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia
Length	63 min.
Tags	Women's rights, Missuse of Power, Europe
Director	Kumjana Novakova

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