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Festival Films A-Z
Rule of Law - Justice in Kosovo
Aichholzer Filmproduktion
Mariahilferstraße 58
1070 Wien
Österreich
Tel.: +43 1 52 34 081
E-Mail: office@aifilm.at
Jerzy Palacz
Veronika Hlawatsch, Michaela Müllner
First Hand Films
Schaffhauserstrasse 359
8050 Zürich
Schweiz
Tel.:+41 44 31 22 060
A 2006, Regie: Susanne Brandstätter, OmU, 99 min.
Synopsis
In Rule of Law, Susanne Brandstätter accompanies Claudia Fenz, an international UN judge appointed to Kosovo, into a local courtroom, where she has to get to the bottom of what happened in a brutal case: six Kosovo-Albanian men are accused of stoning a Serb man and his elderly mother to death.
With subtle empathy, Brandstätter's camera follows the course of the court trial. Using realistic, compelling images, she presents a resolute, yet fair, judge - a woman who has to assert herself in a strictly patriarchal society.
The interpreter, Osman, guides Claudia Fenz into the world of parallel justice in Kosovo: the world of the Kanun. Respected by all villagers, village 'judges' deliberate over disputes according to the laws of a 600-year-old tradition.
The film documents an experience which deeply impresses Judge Claudia Fenz and which will consequently influence her future work as an international judge and legal expert.
"Rule of Law captures Kosovo at a historical moment - in the phase preceding the resolution of its status. It's within this framework that I saw the possibility of showing a case study with international parallels. The film exemplifies a problem which I feel is one of the most essential confronting our society today: our concept of right and wrong against the concepts of another culture. The frustrations, conflicts and misunderstandings which are the result of this confrontation are a key topic in this documentary film. By choosing Claudia Fenz as the main protagonist of the film, it was possible for me to follow her learning process as she got to know Kosovo, its culture, its people and their problems in the region." Susanne Brandstätter
Biography
A Turn in Time (1999), Quiet Rebels: China's Muslims (2000), The Velocity of Being (2001), Checkmate - Strategy of a Revolution (2003), Rule of Law (2006)
Filmography
A Turn in Time (1999), Quiet Rebels: China's Muslims (2000), The Velocity of Being (2001), Checkmate - Strategy of a Revolution (2003), Rule of Law (2006)
Dates
| 20 | 03.10.2007 | 17:00 | Filmhaus |
| 99 | 10.10.2007 | 21:00 | Festsaal |