Supported by the ICT4Peace Foundation and the Zurich Hub for Ethics and Technology (ZHET), the Zurich Film Festival 2019 will feature a number of films capturing the documentation of and the fight to protect rights, democracy and accountability. #SpeakingTheTruth features award-winning films from across the world, premiering in Zurich for the first time. As noted on the Zurich Film Festival 2019 website,
The murder of journalists, fake news, political agitation and economic pressure: there is no doubt that journalism is currently facing immense challenges. The free media plays an eminently important role in every democracy. Who will control government bodies and corporations if the so-called Fourth Estate loses its power? Do we live in a post-factual world where lies triumph over truth? How important to us is press freedom and investigative journalism? The ZFF’s #SpeakingTheTruth sidebar keeps abreast of this fascinating debate by presenting eight feature and documentary films that shine a light on those courageous people who use journalistic means and a great deal of commitment to search for the truth.
As part of the #SpeakingTheTruth series, the Foundation will present a lecture by Sanjana Hattotuwa titled ‘Speaking truth in a post-truth world’ on 4th October, from 3-4pm at the Festival Centre. The talk will be in English. Directions on Google Maps here. Free admission. Details of the ZFF website here. Facebook Event Page here.
Overview of the talk by Hattotuwa below. Q&A session will follow the presentation.
Always ask why, we were told. Today, difficult questions endure but answers are elusive. Questioning itself is now weaponised to seed doubt. Speaking truth to power is difficult in a world where no common ground or shared narrative exists. Enslaved by swipes & likes, news frames are now shaped by distant corporations. The vocabulary to question power is now limited to a few, contrary to the early promise of the internet as a democratising platform. How do we fight back?
Posters of the lecture below.
