DISCUSSION with director Matt Sarnecki, Petras Auštrevičius and Šarūnas Černiauskas

The Killing of a Journalist (dir. Matt Sarnecki) focuses on the brutal persecution of journalists, the shaky foundations of democracy and the heated political climate in Slovakia in 2018. In today’s context, the film is particularly relevant. 30th of September 2023 Slovakia’s early parliamentary elections are won by the pro-Russian populist Robert Fico, who figures prominently in the story of the murder of a journalist.

Discussion about Slovakia’s unexpected political news, the fate of democracy in East-Central Europe and journalistic freedom will be held between:

Matt Sarnecki – journalist, producer and director, creator of the film The Killing of a Journalist;

Petras Auštrevičius – Member of the European Parliament;

moderator Šarūnas Černiauskas – journalist at the Siena Centre for Investigative Journalism.

The conversation will be held in English.

The discussion is organised in cooperation with the European Parliament, which actively defends media freedom as one of the EU’s fundamental principles and values. In 2021, the European Parliament established the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalists, in memory of a murdered Maltese journalist.