Founded by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Watch Docs (5-14 December), one of the biggest human rights film festivals in the world – and the oldest documentary festival in Warsaw – is putting special emphasis on investigative journalism this year. We spoke to the gathering’s programming director, Konrad Wirkowski.

Cineuropa: Is it hard to convince people to watch these kinds of films? Or maybe they’re actively seeking them out, given what’s happening in the world?
Konrad Wirkowski: This festival was founded 25 years ago as an educational project, and the idea was that documentary film is a good tool for talking about human rights and social issues. This kind of direct testimony resonates with people. They say: “Look, this person actually stood up to the regime or the corporation.”

It’s easy to associate the subject of human rights with war, conflicts and violations, even though at first, fresh from the fall of communism, it seemed that anything was possible and that the world was moving towards a bright future. We used to be called a “festival for activists”, but we wanted to move away from that a little and reach more people with our message. We’ve been focusing more on the fact that these films are not only about war, but about issues that affect us all. It’s still a celebration of cinema, but one that’s more engaged.

Also, there’s been a huge development in documentaries over the years. I remember when showing them in cinemas was still seen as a novelty. When we started the festival, this was practically non-existent! Now, docs have become very popular, and as a result, the festival began to attract a much larger audience.

It’s interesting to think that the festival was born in an atmosphere of optimism. Have the audience – and their reactions – changed in the last few years, as some of these issues have moved closer to home?
At first, we would talk about things happening further away from Poland or about Polish history, because it seemed Europe was moving in the direction of respecting human rights. Over time, it turned out things weren’t so rosy after all: these violations were also occurring in our country, with the authorities committing them.

At the moment, we are a little overwhelmed by the migration crisis, also because it has reached us [in Poland]. Suddenly, millions of refugees have appeared here. It’s clear that these topics are closer and more understandable to the audience – it’s also easier to engage in a conversation with viewers. We put a lot of emphasis on conversation at the festival. We organise meetings with filmmakers, and discussions on the topics raised in their films with journalists, experts and sometimes even politicians. We don’t just show certain issues; we talk about them.

That’s certainly one way to engage the so-called ordinary viewers. What will you be talking about this year?
Disinformation and the role of investigative journalists. It turns out there are quite a few films that deal with this issue. It’s very, very important at the moment, not only in Poland. It’s somewhat apparent that the media in general, including social media, provide a tremendous amount of junk information, falsehoods and misinformation. It’s difficult to navigate this, and we need people we can trust.

The best investigative journalists are precisely such people, because we know they won’t publish anything that hasn’t been verified. One such figure is Seymour Hersh, the subject of Laura Poitras’s Cover-up, and another is the heroine of Tonislav Hristov’s film Truth or Dare [about fake news spread during election time in Bulgaria]. These are the heroes of our time.

Apart from these meetings, we’ve also started to get involved in industry events, support the production of Polish and foreign documentaries, and organise pitching sessions. We’ve come up with a project called Future Docs, for activists and journalists who want to publicise issues that are important to them and to meet filmmakers who might help them. We’ve also played a part in the creation of a large number of high-profile Polish documentaries last year, devoted to the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border, refugees and abortion-related issues – and released several titles in cinemas, including 20 Days in Mariupol [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Mstyslav Chernov
scheda film].

You have a clear profile, but is there any pressure to also include lighter films in the programme to offer a bit of respite?
We try to find films that address important issues in a more light-hearted way, sure. We have two music films this year. One is Do You Really Want to Hurt Me, about Boy George, who was ahead of his time but couldn’t reveal his queer identity, because it was a completely taboo subject back then. Then there’s a film about New York hip-hop in the 1990s. Now, it’s a mainstream genre, but it used to address very difficult and uncomfortable topics. I think we are trying to strike a balance. We don’t want to be just a festival of difficult issues, but also one where you can have fun.