Czech film festival invites Taiwan to join human rights cinema network

Prague, Sept. 12 (CNA) Tomáš Poštulka, head of the One World film festival, invited Taiwan to join the Human Rights Film Network (HRFN) during a meeting with Taiwan's Culture Minister Li Yuan (李遠) in Prague on Thursday.

The HRFN is a partnership of 50-plus independent human rights film festivals from over 50 countries. One of its founding members is the One World International Human Rights Film Festival (One World), the largest human rights film festival in Central Europe.

Founded in 1999, One World has introduced human rights documentaries and films from around the world to the Czech Republic, Poštulka said.

Each year, the festival showcases around 90 feature films, 10 short films, and 10 VR works in public places, including movie theaters, colleges, restaurants, and even train stations.

Taiwanese entries featured at the festival in the past include documentaries "And Miles to Go Before I Sleep" (九槍) and "Kinmen" (金門), and VR film "The Man Who Couldn't Leave" (無法離開的人).

Poštulka told Li that he looked forward to future cooperation between One World and the Taiwan International Human Rights Film Festival (TIHRFF). As a member of the HRFN, he also expressed hope that Taiwan would join the network.

Li said, expanding the scale of the Taiwan International Human Rights Film Festival was among his first priorities since he took office on May 20, 2024.

He hoped one day the festival could be the third biggest film festival in Taiwan, following the Golden Horse Awards and the Taipei Film Festival.

Li added that both Taiwan and the Czech Republic have rich and complex cultural histories. Human rights, a universal value, will be the strongest link connecting the two countries to the world.

The meeting with Poštulka is part of Li's trip to Europe. The minister arrived in France on Sunday and traveled to the Czech Republic on Wednesday.