International Law & Popcorn
Veranstaltungsreihe im Sommersemester 2025
in Kooperation mit Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches Recht und Völkerrecht und
der Non-Profit Menschenrechtsorganisation Just Access e.V.
---
Film and Lecture Series during Summer Semester 2025
in cooperation with Max-Planck-Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law and
the non-profit Human Right Association Just Access e.V.
Die Filme zeigen wir im Original mit englischen Untertiteln oder in der englischen Originalversion. Die Filmeinführungen und Diskussionen finden auf Englisch statt.
Moderation: Moritz Vinken (Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches Recht und Völkerrecht)
Filme sind Spiegel gesellschaftlicher Vorstellungen des Rechts, prägen diese aber auch aktiv mit. Sie können Regelungsgegenstände und Funktionsweisen des Rechts greifbar machen aber auch dessen Grenzen, Ohnmacht und Missbrauch aufzeigen. Wir laden Sie mit dieser Filmreihe ein, gemeinsam wichtige Schauplätze und Grundfragen des Völkerrechts durch die Kameralinse zu erkunden und zu diskutieren!
In der ersten Auflage dieser Filmreihe möchten wir vier Dokumentarfilme zeigen, die Kernprobleme und Herausforderungen des internationalen Rechts thematisieren: das koloniale Erbe des Völkerrechts, das umwelt- und gesellschaftsschädigende Verhalten transnationaler Unternehmen, der Nahost-Konflikt und der Kampf gegen den Klimawandel.
---
We will show the films in their original language with English Subtitles or in the English Original Version. Introductions and discussions will be held in English.
Moderation: Moritz Vinken (Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches Recht und Völkerrecht)
Films are not only a reflection and sculptor of social perceptions of law. Above all, they make the objects and workings of international law tangible and thereby expose its shortcomings, its limitations as well as its violations and abuses. In this film series, we invite you to explore important sites of struggle of international law through the cinematic lens.
In the first instalment of this film series, we will explore the genre of documentary film to address four central and current issues of international law: its colonial legacy; the environmentally and socially harmful behaviour of transnational corporations; the conflict in the Middle East; and, finally, the fight against climate change.
Veranstaltungstermine | Event Dates:
SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D'ETAT (OmeU)
Mo, 28.04., 20:00 Uhr
discussed by Sofia Vandenbosch (Max-Planck-Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law)
B/F/NL 2024 | Director: Johan Grimonprez | 150 Min. | FSK 16
Documentary
In the 1960s, many African states fought for their independence from the European colonial powers. While the Soviet Union and other socialist countries supported decolonization, the United States and its Western allies viewed it with skepticism. Their primary interest was in the natural resources, over which they wanted to maintain control.
The United States tried an unconventional approach, sending jazz greats like Louis Armstrong and Nina Simone to African states as ambassadors to portray the West in a positive light, while at the same time, figures like Malcolm X and other jazz artists expressed solidarity with the independence movement.
Director Johan Grimonprez impressively interweaves global power structures, anti-colonial struggles, and a whole lot of jazz in this historical rollercoaster ride. An informative, thrilling, and emotionally moving film about the decolonial struggle.
THE NEW CORPORATION (engl. OV)
Mo, 19.05., 20:00 Uhr
discussed by the movie’s director Joel Bakan and Matthias Goldmann (Max-Planck-Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law)
CDN 2020 | Director: Jennifer Abbott, Joel Bakan | 106 Min.
Documentary
The New Corporation reveals how the corporate takeover of society is being justified by the sly rebranding of corporations as socially conscious entities. From gatherings of corporate elites in Davos, to climate change and spiralling inequality; the rise of ultra-right leaders to Covid-19 and racial injustice, the film looks at corporations' devastating power. Countering this is a groundswell of resistance worldwide as people take to the streets in pursuit of justice and the planet's future.
In the face of increasing wealth disparity, climate change, and the hollowing-out of democracy The New Corporation is a cry for social justice, deeper democracy, and transformative solutions.
NO OTHER LAND (OmeU)
Mo, 23.06., 20:00 Uhr
discussed by Silvia Steininger (Max-Planck-Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law)
N/PS 2024 | Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rache Szor & Hamdan Ballal | 96 Min. | FSK 16
Documentary
No Other Land tells the story of a Palestinian activist who teams up with an Israeli investigative journalist. Together, they fight against Israel's settlement policies, which displace Palestinians on the West Bank daily, leaving them homeless. The film portrays Palestinian activism and emphasizes how the spirit of activism is passed down from generation to generation. Over several years, an Israeli-Palestinian film collective - comprising two Palestinian and two Israeli filmmakers - documented the injustices faced daily by Palestinians in the West Bank, culminating in the dramatic developments of autumn 2023.
2 Short Films: SOLIDARITY CRIME | GRANICA
Mo, 14.07., 20:00 Uhr
discussed by Tom Sparks (Just Access e.V.)
SOLIDARITY CRIME
CH / E / AR / I / F / MA 2022 | Director: Nicolás Braguinsky Cascini, Juan Pablo Aris Escarcena | 55 Min. | OmeU
Can humanitarian aid be punishable? It seems so. Across Europe, civilians face heavy fines and, in some cases, decades of imprisonment. Their problem: They provided humanitarian aid at Europe's external borders and are being prosecuted for it. The documentary filmed in 14 cities in five different countries follows those who are doing what they believe is right and necessary: not abandoning people on the run. For them, solidarity is a human right. A film that raises the question: What is the state of our democratic values in the EU when humanity is criminalized?
---
GRANICA
D 2023 | Director: Joshua Neubert | 20 Min. | OmeU
Autumn 2021. Forest ranger Oliwia lives with her husband in the highly militarized exclusion zone between Poland and Belarus. At night, she sets out food and water at the edge of the forest for refugees fighting for their lives. She hasn't met anyone yet – until Hamid stands outside her window. Her decision to help him entangles her in a tragic battle with a system that punishes humanity.