Free will
WF Online Series 2025 #2: October 17–24
We find ourselves in a world where reality increasingly mirrors science fiction. Maria Ressa notes, “72% of the world is under authoritarian rule.” As journalist Rana Ayyub warns, “Misinformation threatens to be the new ‘true information’ as it aids and enables the most anti-democratic values.”
This edition pairs five short films with one feature-length documentary to consider the erosion of institutions, the spread of disinformation, and shifting power. Rather than offering answers, the program invites reflection on agency, truth, and resilience, asking how people continue to choose within political, technological, and intimate constraints. Across public squares, living rooms, border regimes, and archival images, the works keep the question open: when systems set the terms, what remains choosable, and how do we recognize it?
Upcoming: the film program
I Died in Irpin
by Anastasiia Falileieva
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, 2024, 11 mins 22, Ukrainian with English subtitles
On February 24th, in the morning, my boyfriend and I decided to go from Kyiv to Irpin to see his parents. It is hard for me to recall the chronology of those days; my mind blocks and minimizes all the memories, erasing them. The only thing I know for sure is that every day, everything rapidly became worse.
ALA KACHUU – TAKE AND RUN
by Maria Brendle
Switzerland, 2020, 38 mins, Kirghiz with English subtitles
Nineteen-year-old Sezim wants to fulfil her dream of studying in the Kyrgyz capital when she is kidnapped by a group of young men and taken to the hinterland. There she’s forced to marry a stranger. If she refuses the marriage, she is threatened with social stigmatization and exclusion. Torn between her desire for freedom and the constraints of Kyrgyz culture, Sezim desperately seeks a way out.
The Palace Square
by Mikhail Zheleznikov
2024, 22 mins, Russian with English subtitles
A hypnotic montage of one of Russia’s most symbolically charged spaces. Once home to revolution, it has become a stage for parades and protest crackdowns, dissected here through archival and contemporary imagery. As state narratives evolve and collapse, you appear to question who controls the story and how spectacle itself becomes a weapon. In a world where authoritarianism is on the rise, this film offers a reflection on memory, resistance, and the silent erosion of free will.
A Move
by Elahe Esmaili
2024, UK, Iran, 27 mins, Iranian with English subtitles
Elahe returns to her hometown in Mashhad, Iran, to help her parents move to a new place after 40 years. Influenced by the Woman-Life-Freedom movement, she's also hoping for a bigger move beyond just a new apartment.
Ardent Other
by Alice Brygo
2022, France, 16 mins 13, French with English subtitles
A stunned crowd faces a fire.
The threat has no name; a diffuse anguish spreads.
Fear needs to be conjured, fire must be turned into a sign.
Prisoners of Fate
by Mehdi Sahebi
2023, Switzerland, 100 mins, Swiss-German, Persian with English subtitles
The film accompanies refugees from Afghanistan and Iran in their everyday lives in Switzerland. Mahmad, a deserter; Sanam, separated from her young son; Ezat, worried about his mother left behind; and the teenager Omid, struggling with overwhelming homesickness, all feel powerless in the face of their destinies. After the hardships of fleeing, they not only confront the challenge of settling as asylum seekers in a foreign country but also grapple with the painful process of coming to terms with their past. In their darkest moments, they refer to themselves as «prisoners of fate», but friendship, unity, and humor help them to never entirely lose hope.
Our Fourth Edition (2025)
MAY (16-23): AI in Film and the Media Arts
OCTOBER (17–24): Free Will
DECEMBER (12–19): Focus: Freihändler Film Produktion
On WF Online Series
The WF Online Series features three to four curated screening programs annually, each centred around a distinctive curatorial concept. The series highlights productions from Basel, Switzerland, and around the globe. Each program is available to stream for one week.
Our Funders
This project is made possible through the generous financial support of the Mary & Ewald E. Bertschmann-Stiftung and the Division of Cultural Affairs of Basel-Stadt.