“Coca – The Dove from Chechnya” wins prize in Prague
09.03.2006
At the 8th International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival in Prague, Czech Republic, which ends with an award ceremony on March 9th, 2006, the Swiss documentary film “Coca – The Dove from Chechnya” by Eric Bergkraut (Doc Productions, Zurich) will be awarded the Rudolf Vrba Prize. Along with “Coca”, and among the 16 films shown in the “Right to Know” section, were the two Swiss documentary films “Gambit” by Sabine Gisiger and “White Terror” by Daniel Schweizer (both produced by Dschoint Ventschr, Zurich). The film “The Giant Buddhas” by Christian Frei was presented in the international competition section.
The Rudolf Vrba Prize honors high-quality films dealing with unknown or tabooed aspects of human rights issues. It is named after Slovakia-born Rudolf Vrba, who was an Auschwitz refugee, holocaust witness and accuser. Part of the 5-member jury was Cuban writer and system critic Zoe Valdes. At the center of “Coca – The Dove from Chechnya” stands Sainap Gaschajewa’s fight against oblivion, with the human rights violations in Chechnya as its background. Since the film’s premiere at the 2005 Berlinale, it has been presented at over 20 film festivals worldwide. At the ceremony on March 9th, the director of the film, Eric Bergkraut, will personally accept the award.
Zurich, March 9, 2006
Zurich, March 9, 2006