The 10th London Palestine Film Festival @ the Barbican (24th – 30th April 2009)

 

Courtesy of Kaushik.net

 

 

Back for a tenth time is the London Palestine Film Festival, offering a rich selection of vital documentary, fiction, art, and animation work related to the question of Palestine.

Shadow of Absence, 2007, by Nasri Hajjaj: An absorbing documentary exploring the anxiety of Palestinian exile through an interrogation of relationships between place, home, and death.

Introduction to the End of An Argument, 1990, by Jayce Salloum & Elia Suleiman: Assembling a combination of Hollywood, European and Israeli film, documentary, news coverage together with excerpts of ‘live’ footage shot in the West Bank and Gaza strip, Introduction to the End of an Argument… critiques Western representations of the Middle East, Arab culture, and the Palestinian people.

Click here to see the full line-up of films at the festival.

LIDF – The London International Documentary Festival 2009 [31 March - 2 April] featuring KEEP LOOKING (CHERCHE TOUJOURS) by Mathias Théry & Etienne Chaillo, THE DEVIL HIDES IN DOUBT by Eva Stotz, HIDDEN ART (L’ARTE NACOSTA) by Alfredo de Giuseppe, CITY OF THE ROMA (LA CITE DES ROMS) by Frédéric Castaignède, KAROSTA: LIFE AFTER THE USSR by Peter King, PALNA’S DAUGHTERS (PALNAN TYTTARET) by Kiti Luostarinen, BIG BOY (ISO POIKA) by Mia Halme, LEFT BEHIND by Fabian Daub, RED SANDS by David Procter, LIKE A MAN ON EARTH by Andrea Segre & Dagmawi Yimer, INSIDE OUT (DIRITTO ROVESCIO) by Maria Tarantino, RECIPES FOR DISASTER, (KATASTROFIN AINEKSIA) by John Webster and APOCALYPSE ON WHEELS (APOCALIPSA DUP A OFERI) by Ada Solomon.

 

Courtesy of NOKTEEZ.com

The annual pan-London festival of the best documentaries from around the world returns to the Barbican with the festival strand A Conversation in Europe.

The London International Documentary Festival starts next week at London’s Barbican with a great many documentaries, a handful of world premieres, and a few Q& A sessions thrown in for good measure…

 

Keep Looking (Cherche toujours) by Mathias Théry & Etienne Chaillo. (France 2008).

All what-s, why-s and how-s you wanted to know, but never thought of asking.

The Devil Hides in Doubt (Sollbruchstelle) by Eva Stotz. (Germany 2008).

A film about the emotional push and pull of work, its demands and its absurdities. 

Hidden Art (L’Arte Nacosta) by Alfredo De Guiseppe. (Italy 2008).

The film follows the relationship of four characters with their various muses & ways in which they try to express their creativity.

Courtesy of LIDF

 

City of the Roma (La Cité des Roms) by Frédéric Castaignède. (France 2008).

Depiction of the obstinate efforts to integrate a Roma ghetto into the majority society and the co-existence of ethnic groups.

Karosta: Life After the USSR by Peter King. (UK/Latvia 2008).

A view on the life of a Latvian town, left in anarchic autonomy after the end of authoritarian legacy and the attempt of the local artists to restore order through creativity.

Palna’s Daughters (Palnan Tyttäret) by Kiti Luostarinen. (Finland 2008).

A film about memory, identity and the overwhelming power of love.

Courtesy of OUKA

 

Big Boy (Iso poika) by Mia Halme. (Finland 2007).

A story about one intense year of childhood.

Left Behind by Fabian Daub. (Germany 2008).

In Waldenburg all mines are closed down. Lukasz and his friend Jacek have been digging coal at their own risk for several years now. Like hundreds of other former miners who are illegally digging for the black gold on the outskirts of the city, the local police are constantly after them and they have been trapped in the dangerous tunnels several times. But they keep on going.

Red Sands by David Procter. (UK 2008).

Pamploma, Spain, the San Firmin festival. A dramatic montage of image and sound raises questions about the place of bullfighting in modern Spain. Where once the sun rose, might it now set?

Like a Man on Earth by Andrea Segre & Dagmawi Yimer. (Italy 2008).

Giving voice to the Ethiopian refugees living in Rome, Segre provides us with a direct insight into the brutal ways in which Libya, aided also by Italian and European funds, is operating to control the immigration movements of people from Africa.

Inside Out (Diritto Rovescio) by Maria Tarantino. (Belgium/Italy 2008).

The prisoners use their theatre play to denounce the living conditions inside the jail.

Courtesy of KVS

 

Recipes for Disaster (Katastrofin Aineksia) by John Webster. (Finland 2008).

This is a film about climate change. About catastrophe. And it´s funny, painfully funny. We love to blame the corporations for what´s going wrong with the planet, but we’re mistaken. It´s us, baby. You and me. We´re the real bad guys…

Apocalypse on Wheels (Apocalipsa dup ă oferi) by Ada Solomon. (Romania 2008).

The streets of Bucharest are busy with fast cars and no driver seems to follow any rules – the result is complete chaos. Director Solomon explores how the streets and the traffic in them could be seen as a metaphor for contemporary Romanian society.

This is just a selection of what’s on offer, click here for the full list of films at this year’s LIDF and here to read more.

Watch Out! The Human Rights Watch International Film Festival (London, 18-27 March 2009), featuring AFGHAN STAR by Havana Marking, BACK HOME TOMORROW by Fabrizio Lazzaretti & Paolo Santolini, BURMA VJ – REPORTING FROM A CLOSED COUNTRY by Anders Ostergaard, CRUDE by Joe Berlinger, IN THE HOLY FIRE OF REVOLUTION by Masha Novikova, LOOK INTO MY EYES by Naftaly Gliksberg, MY NEIGHBOR MY KILLER by Anne Aghion, ON THE FRONTLINES, PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL by Gini Reticker, PROJECT KASHMIR by Senain Kheshgi & Geeta Patel, REMNANTS OF A WAR by Jawad Metni, TAPOLOGO by Gabriela Gutiérrez Dewar & Sally Gutiérrez Dewar, and THE RECKONING – THE BATTLE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT by Pamela Yates.

A film festival that wagers hope against injustice, imagination against apathy. (Ariel Dorfman)

Courtesy of www.hwr.org

The number thirteen isn’t exactly a popular one, but don’t let that put you off the opening of next week’s Human Rights Watch International Film Festival. The thirteenth of its kind, the festival will run for nine days in London from March 18th with some fascinating documentaries on offer…

The London premiere of Afghan Star (2008) by Havana Marking.

After 30 years of war and the Taliban’s repression, Afghan Pop Idol is taking the nation by storm. But this is more than just a TV show. In Afghanistan you risk your life to sing. 

There are also a number of UK premieres on show:

Back Home Tomorrow (2008) by Fabrizio Lazzaretti and Paolo Santolini.

A cinematically stunning examination of two lives affected by conflict that illustrates how hope prevails in even the most desperate of settings.

Burma VJ – Reporting from a Closed Country (2008) by Anders Østergaard.

Armed with video-cameras, a tenacious band of Burmese reporters face down death to expose the repressive regime controlling their country.

Crude (2009) by Joe Berlinger.

Can 30,000 plaintiffs from five indigenous Ecuadorian tribes find justice from Chevron, one of the world’s largest oil producers?

In the Holy Fire of Revolution (2008) by Masha Novikova.

A unique take on Putin’s Russia as seen through the experiences of chess champion turned activist Garry Kasparov.

Look Into My Eyes (2008) by Naftaly Gliksberg.

Is anti-Semitism a buzz-word for all kinds of real or imagined slights? Is it an arcane expression that should be retired or is there legitimacy to outcries worldwide that anti-Semitism is again on the rise?

Pray the Devil Back to Hell (2008) by Gini Reticker.

A story of the power of women’s solidarity in Liberia in the face of almost impossible odds.

Project Kashmir (2008) by Senain Kheshgi and Geeta V. Patel.

What happens when two friends from opposite sides of the divide enter the conflict in Kashmir and find their friendship tested?

Tapologo (2008) by Gabriela Gutiérrez Dewar and Sally Gutiérrez Dewar.

A moving story of women in South Africa who have turned their tragedy into a tool.

The Reckoning – The Battle for the International Criminal Court (2009) by Pamela Yates.

An insightful documentary that follows two riveting dramas—the prosecution of unspeakable crimes and the International Criminal Court’s fight for justice.

Courtesy of www.hrw.org

 

And if that little lot isn’t enough to get excited about, the festival will also be hosting the World premiere of My Neighbor, My Killer (2009) by Anne Aghion who asks, Could you ever forgive the people who slaughtered your family? and the European premiere Remnants of a War (2009) by Jawad Metni who poses the question, How does life continue in the midst of war and its ever-present remains in Lebanon?

The festival will also be featuring several dramas:

Eden is West (2009) by Costa-Gavras.

The journey of an emigrant in search of a better life – full of heart, humour and wondrous complexities.

Endgame (2009) by Pete Travis.

A gripping and sophisticated political thriller full of unexpected heroes.

Firaaq (2008) by Nandita Das.

A layered and diverse look at the impact of communal violence on the lives of those who must continue in the aftermath of the 2002 riots in Gujarat.

UK premiere of Kabuli Kid (2008) by Barmak Akram.

An incisive look at daily life in Kabul follows the adventures of a taxi driver and his new found ward.

Laila’s Birthday (2008) by Rashid Masharawi.

A moving and humorous tale of a Palestinian taxi driver just trying to get home in time for his daughter’s birthday.

There is something for the photography aficionados out there too, as photoexhibition On The Frontlines, will be open for the full nine days, shedding light on the range of work done by Human Rights Watch over the past three decades.

If you aren’t in London next week do not fear as the festival will be heading to the following destinations:

Toronto: February 24 – March 5.

San Francisco: February 25 – March 26.

New York: June 11 – 25.

Courtesy of www.hrw.org

Click here for more information and to view the festival’s calendar.

Down Under (The 15th London Australian Film Festival, 12-22 March 2009) featuring SALUTE by Matt Norman, LIONEL by Eddie Martin & IN MY FATHER’S COUNTRY by Tom Murray.

 

Image courtesy of the Metro.

Strewth, not another film festival!! Well this time its the turn of the Aussies, as tomorrow sees the opening of the London Australian Film Festival at the Barbican in London.

You will be pleased to hear that the festival will be offering not one, not two, but a crowd-pleasing three documentaries: Salute, (2008) Lionel (2008) and In My Father’s Country (2008).

Salute, directed by Matt Norman has already won two awards. In an image that reverberated around the world, three men stand on the winner’s podium at the 1968 Olympics, two raise their black gloved hands in a power salute, the third, Australian silver medallist Peter Norman wears a badge supporting the Olympic Project For Human Rights. Interspersed with archive footage and interviews, this award-winning documentary explores the phenomenal impact of that one act on Norman’s life, from his expulsion from Australian sport to his enduring friendship with the men who call him ‘Brother’. 

Courtesy of Time Out Sydney

Lionel, directed by Eddie Martin, will be introduced by Richard Brennan on March 16th. On February 26th, 1968, a 19 year old Aboriginal boxer named Lionel Rose defeated Fighting Harada in Japan after an impressive fifteen rounds to become World Bantamweight Champion and an instant national hero. Through the use of abundant pristine archive material and interviews with Lionel and those close to him, Eddie Martin’s dazzling doc chronicles the unprecedented impact of Rose’s victory, on a successful and respected Aborigine, on interracial relationships and on the socio-political situation of Australia at the time. 

Courtesy of the Melbourne Film Festival

 

And finally, Tom Murray‘s In My Father’s Country completes the trio: The focal point of this stunning documentary is the initiation ceremony of a young boy of the Dhuruputjpi community in Northern Australia. In preparation for this rite of passage the elders try to instil the wisdom of their ancestors into the next generation; a generation that has to deal with a world that is changing and at odds with their own way of life. Tom Murray’s unique film allows you to witness and experience an exotic, almost forgotten world; one whose existence grows every day more precarious. 

Courtesy of the Melbourne Film Festival

 

 

 

 

Click here to find out more about the 15th London Australian Film Festival.

Girl Power (The Family of Woman Festival II: 2009, featuring LUMO by Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt, PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL by Gini Reticker, MY HOME, YOUR WAR by Kylie Grey and A WALK TO BEAUTIFUL by Mary Olive Smith).

Next week sees the opening of The Family of Woman Festival in Idaho. Now in its second year, the festival, which is also a fundraising event, screens documentary films from countries in which women have become the victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, forced migration and other extreme situations. The creation of the Americans for the United Nations Populations Fund, the event is aimed at generating funds which will contribute to the health and dignity of women worldwide.

Courtesy of IMOW

Amidst the fascinating array of films on offer is Gini Reticker‘s Pray the Devil Back to Hell. It chronicles the remarkable story of the courageous Liberian women who came together to end a bloody civil war. Thousands of women who are ordinary mothers, grandmothers, aunts and daughters, both Christian and Muslim, came together to pray for peace and then staged a silent protest outside of the Presidential Palace in Liberia. Armed only with white T-shirts and the courage of their convictions, they demanded a resolution to the country’s civil war. Their actions were a critical element in bringing about an agreement during the stalled peace talks. 

Also being screened is Lumo (2007), directed and produced by Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt, Nelson Walker III, Louis Abelman and Lynn True. The film tells the story of a young Congolese woman on an uncertain road to recovery at a unique hospital for rape survivors.

Joining these two eagerly-awaited screenings is My Home, Your War (2007), directed by Kylie Grey. Seen through the eyes of an ordinary Iraqi woman, the effect of the Iraq war is revealed. Shot in Baghdad over three years that span the time before, during and after the invasion of Iraq, this profoundly moving film brings a perspective rarely available to U.S. audiences. Insightful interviews are fused with intimate footage, set against a backdrop of vibrant scenes of Baghdad.  

Courtesy of Tadias

Finally, Mary Olive Smith‘s award-winning A Walk to Beautiful (2007) follows five Ethiopian women suffering from devastating childbirth injuries on their journey to reclaim their lost dignity. They have been rejected by their husbands and ostracized by their communities… left to spend the rest of their lives in loneliness and shame, but they make a choice to take a long and arduous journey to find a cure and a new life. So successful, the film has led to the launch of an educational outreach programme.

Click here to find out more about the festival and the films on offer.

The Movies that Matter Festival 2009 – [formerly known as the Amnesty International Film Festival]

 

Courtesy of Amnesty Film Festival

The words film and festival, when uttered in the same sentence usually conjure images of glitz and glamour with a few A-listers thrown in for good measure. Unsurprisingly, pangs of extreme jealousy soon follow. Do not fear, however, as I am not here to dangle such an event before your yearning eyes, rather, to tell you about the Movies That Matter Festival 2009. First things first, put April 2nd in your diaries… Now that’s done I can tell you why this is an event not be sniffed at…

An initiative of the Dutch section of Amnesty International, the Movies That Matter Festival will be offering up features, documentaries, shorts on human rights and human dignity.

Using cinema to move and alert the public, opinion leaders and policy makers to human rights and situations in which these rights and human dignity are at issue, this could not be further from what we have come to expect from a film festival, even if it tried.

The festival is running from April 2nd until April 8th, at the Hague, and is open to the public. Hoorah!

For information on film festivals near you simply click here.

Ooh What a Lady! (LADY KUL EL-ARAB, Ibtisam Salh Mara’na: 2008) at the ZagrebDox

 

Courtesy of ZagrebDox

The Israeli documentary Lady Kul El-Arab by Ibtisam Salh Mara’na last week won best international film at this year’s Croation documentary festival, ZagrebDox.

Angelina, the first Druze woman to attempt significant steps in the Israeli fashion world, finds herself in the middle of a complicated conflict in which the tradition and values of her society clash with her brave efforts to choose her own way in life. Duah Fares, a young woman from the Druze village of Sagur in the Galilee, was one of the 12 finalists in the beauty pageant for Israeli-Arab women – ‘Lady Kul El-Arab.’ While preparing for the pageant, a special relationship develops between Duah and fashion designer Jack Yaakob. Together they go to Tel Aviv to register Duah for the general Israeli beauty contest as well. Duah breezes through the preliminary selections for the contest and changes her name to Angelina.

Lady Kul El-Arab, which set out as a glamorous film about a beauty pageant, turned into a moving story of a family caught between cultures. In her fifth film, director Ibtisam Mara’ana succeeds in delicately drawing the dramatic and touching portrait of a young woman who finds herself at the heart of a struggle which fascinates the whole country.

Click here to find out more.

A Woman’s Work is Never Done (A VIDA POLITICA, Kat Mansoor & THORNS AND SILK, Paulina Tervo at the Birds Eye Film Festival 2009)

 

Courtesy of ICA

Monday night (March 9th) will see the premiere of two very unique documentaries; A Vida Politica by Kat Mansoor, and Thorns and Silk by Paulina Tervo. Made in Brazil and Palestine respectively, these two films are the result of a thoroughly exciting collaboration, Real World, which unites the Institute of Development Studies’ Pathways of Women’s Empowerment programme and Screen South. 

A Vida Politica is a series of creative films exploring the activism of four inspirational Brazilian women, as they demonstrate innovative ways of bringing hidden issues into the public domain. [Dir. Kat Mansoor, Brazil, 12min]

Thorns and Silk offers not one but four fascinating stories from Palestine, featuring women who work in jobs conventionally associated with men. [Dir. Paulina Tervo, Palestine, 12min]

As if this weren’t enough to whet your appetites, the screening will be followed by a panel and Q&A with both directors. If this sounds like your cup of tea, get down to the Birds Eye Festival at the ICA in London, this Monday at 6.45pm.

The first in a long line of fascinating films looking at the world through women’s eyes, I’m sure.

SMILE PINKI (Megan Mylan: 2008)

 

Courtesy of the BBC

The big names don’t always take the prize at award ceremonies, and today may well be no exception. The unlikeliest of winners – an eight-year old Indian girl named Pinki, born with a cleft lip might just surprise us all.

Competing against three other shorts (in the category of best short documentary at the Oscars), Smile Pinki charts one girl’s journey from exclusion to acceptance – albeit a short one – with just 39 minutes running time.

It isn’t long to go before the winners are announced, but I’ve got a feeling that whichever way the results go, Pinki will be smiling all the same.

Check out the BBC for the full story.