Films
Nepal
Genre: Drama, Adventure, History
Director: Deepak Rauniyar
Country: Nepal
Release Date: 2016
Language: Nepali
Run Time: 89 minutes
Synopsis:
Anti-regime partisan Chandra confronts physical, social and political obstacles for his father's funeral. His search for a solution takes him to neighboring mountain villages and encounters with the police and rebel guerrillas. A portrait of post-civil war Nepal during the fragile deadlocked peace process.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfSLkMzv_aI
Viewer comment:
The best Nepali movie to date. White Sun is a balance of emotions and humour, and it portrays condition of villages of Nepal humorously. I think it's a great satire. Once you start watching the movie you will be living all the experiences Dayahang Rai goes through in the movie. The dialogue will hit you hard. It is the best Nepali movie I have ever watched; I feel lucky not to miss this movie.
Guinea
Genre: Documentary
Director: Cheik Fantamady Camara
Country: Guinea
Filming Locations: Nepal
Language: French
Color: Color
Run Time: 1 hr 37 minutes
Synopsis:
Story of a young caricaturist, BB, who works at a liberal newspaper and his relationship with his father, the Imam of the Great Mosque of Conakry. BB is in love with the daughter of his boss, but BB’s strict father does not approve.
Review:
Guinean Cheick Fantamady Camara's impressive debut feature proposes a romantic twist on the standby theme of African cinema, traditionalism vs. modernism, as a lovestruck cartoonist learns the spirits have chosen him instead of his religious older brother to succeed his father as imam of Guinea's capital, Conakry. Camara effortlessly steers "Clouds" as it suddenly veers from relaxed near-comedy to stark tragedy. Engrossing, well-constructed pic, winner of the audience prize at FESPACO, should see brisk fest play, while the wryly engaging characterizations could help snare a cable berth. — Ronnie Scheib, Variety
Viewer comment:
Very good movie! In 90 minutes you are the witness of many aspects (and problems) of contemporary Africa: religions, politics, traditions, Islam, animism, modern youth, men-women relationships, family, way of living, etc. A very intelligent movie! It's a travel inside day-to-day African life with love, emotions, drama, and laughing. Beautiful Africa! Good music, too. A lot of different characters, everyone well-defined and well-played. The movie is both complex and simply built, made for all audience but with a strong criticism of hypocrisy. Maybe the most important aspect is that the young characters of the movie, men and women, are strong without hatred; they will fight for a new Africa with hope and enthusiasm.
Argentina
Genre: Drama, Biography, Crime, History
Director: Santiago Mitre
Country: Argentina
Release Date: 2022
Language: Nepali
Color: Color
Run Time: 140 minutes
Synopsis:
The story of how a team of young legal assistants under hero prosecutor Julio Strassera managed to gain a conviction of the leaders of Argentina’s deadliest dictatorship— against all odds and in a race against time to bring justice to the victims of the Military Junta.
Awards:
Golden Globes Award winner, 2023
Goya Awards winner, 2023
Venice International Film Festival winner, 2022
Morocco
Genre: Documentary
Director: Maryam Touzani
Country: Morocco
Release Date: 2022
Language: Arabic
Color: Color
Run Time: 2 hr 2 minutes
Synopsis:
Halim and Mina run a traditional caftan store in one of Morocco's oldest medinas. In order to keep up with demanding customers, they hire a talented young man as an apprentice, and find their relationship turned upside down.
Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFJBaGlt0FI
Awards:
International Critics’ Prize at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, 2022
Top prize for International Feature at New York’s Newfest, 2022
Haifa International Film Festival, 2022
Marrakech International Film Festival, 2022
Viewer Comment:
A sensitively drawn chamber piece for the three actors. Lubna Azabal especially delivers a finely crafted performance encompassing the breadth of human emotions. Wonderful.
Uganda
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Director: Kizito Samuel Saviour
Country: Uganda
Release Date: 2023
Language: English
Color: Color
Run Time: 90 minutes
Synopsis:
Nkwanzi finds herself pregnant with no idea of how it happened. Not wanting to believe it’s the holy spirit, she embarks on a journey of discovery that changes her life in unexpected ways.
Trailer:
https://filmfreeway.com/NkwanzisSlip
Director’s Statement:
This is a story of a young lady who gets pregnant but has no memory of how it happened.
With this story I am targeting the youths who are more into partying and drinking not knowing what they can end up doing whilst drunk and not in control of themselves. I want young girls out there to learn from this story and to let them know what to avoid and how to go about certain situations in life.
Someone who watches Nkwanzi’s journey will be more careful on how to behave when they attend parties, not to drink so much to be out of control. I am using different girls to represent lives of people that exist in reality, everyone in the story has a purpose and I believe everyone’s character will impact the viewers’ mind and lives in one way or another.
On the other hand, through the characters of Josh and Abdul, am targeting the young male youths who live a young wild and free life of no responsibilities and such males who deny their responsibilities in case such a situation comes into their path, Abdul’s advice to Josh and Josh’s final decisions will inspire other male youths like him to not run away from such responsibilities in life.
This story is based on real life experiences of friends, and friends of friends I have seen go through the same and telling such a story from my observation will be a life-saving entertainment tool to many girls who might have fallen victim of the same situations.
Jordan
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Director: Zaid Abu Hamdan
Country: Jordan
Release Date: 2021
Language: Arabic
Color: Color
Run Time: 111 minutes
Synopsis:
Years after escaping a dictated life, four estranged and offbeat sisters are forced to come together to find their suddenly missing father. In their search for their father, secrets are revealed, and more questions are raised.
Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CdhPid6DX0
Reviews:
This film tackles several issues that women in our Arab society are still suffering from. The film’s script is full of details that reflect the director’s apt knowledge of women and the worlds they live in, resulting in vivid and vibrant characters. — Ola El-Shafie, ElWatan Website (Arabic)
Zaid Abu Hamdan made a bold film on the taboos that women suffer from—a topic that filmmakers, especially in the Levant region, hardly dare to address. — Malek Khouri, Kitabat (Arabic)
Viewer comment:
Great! One of the best movies out there! Everything from A to Z! Its a must watch. It shows reality in some Arab countries—in their alleys and how society really is. Professional actors. They made this movie so real and very touching! Way to go, Jordan. So proud.
Awards:
Best Film Award, Palm Springs International ShortFest in 2021
Colombia
Genre: Drama, History
Director: Fernando Trueba
Country: Colombia
Release Date: 2020
Language: Spanish, Italian, English
Color: Color, B & W
Run Time: 136 minutes
Synopsis:
An author recalls life with his father, a university professor who fought against oppression and social inequality, and the circumstances of his murder by Colombian paramilitaries.
Synopsis::
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-mt1qgSp6oI
Awards:
35th Goya Awards winner, 2021
Platino Awards winner, 2021
Peru
Genre: Documentary
Director: Henry Vallejo
Country: Peru
Release Date: 2020
Language: Spanish, Quecha
Color: Color
Run Time: 1 hr 32 minutes
Synopsis:
Elisbán arrives in the city of Puno, too late to meet his friend Hermogenes, with whom he was going to work. The delay spoils everything. Stranded in Puno, homeless and without money, he survives wandering from unstable small jobs in a city that sharpens his loneliness at every step.
Ghana
Genre: Drama
Director: Salifu Zakari
Country: Ghana
Release Date: 2020
Language: English, Akan
Color: Color
Run Time: 91 minutes
Synopsis:
Drops of Happiness tells the story of the struggles that young graduates face in their search for gainful employment and the lengths they are willing to go to make things work. The movie follows Nii Lantey, a hardworking family man who will do anything to ensure his family is comfortable. After graduating with first-class honours from the university, his search for a job has proved futile due to Ghana’s high unemployment rate. Things get worse when his wife Abena also loses her job, and it becomes impossible to fend for their family. His best option in life is to travel to another country to seek for greener pastures but the means of traveling end up being the beginning of their woes as a family.
Senegal
Genre: Drama
Director: Mamadou Dia
Country: Senegal
Release Date: 2019
Language: Fulah, French
Color: Color
Run Time: 1 hr 47 minutes
Synopsis:
Two fathers are at odds over their children's marriage, but what starts as a friendly family disagreement quickly devolves into the couple becoming pawns in a bitter dispute about tradition, progress and the nature of Islam. At stake: how a small community slowly drifts towards extremism.
Recognition:
Golden Leopard Filmmakers of the Present, Swatch First Feature Award
Turkmenistan
Genre: Historial drama
Director: Wepa Isangulyyew
Country: Turkmenistan
Release Date: 2022
Language: Turkmen
Run Time: 2 hr 20 minutes
Synopsis:
A young man sets off on a long journey, on the orders of the Turkmen ruler. Many adventures, trials, and exciting enounters await him.
Thailand
Genre: Documentary
Director: Sitisiri ‘Dome’ Mongkolsiri
Country: Thailand
Release Date: 2023
Language: Thai
Color: Color
Run Time: 2 hr 10 minutes
Synopsis:
Aoy is a woman in her twenties who cooks at her family’s humble noodle stall. She gets talent-spotted by Tone, the sous chef of Hunger, a distinguished private chef team led by the brilliant yet borderline abusive Chef Paul. Under Paul’s merciless mentorship and through baptisms by fire feeding the one per cent of Thai society–generals, new-money crypto bros and influencers–Aoy eventually becomes a formidable chef in her own right. But at what cost?
Nepal
Genre: Documentary
Director: Tsering Rhitar Sherpa
Country: Nepal
Release Date: 2013
Filming Locations: Nepal
Language: Nepali
Run Time: 2 hr 20 minutes
Summary:
Set in the early 2000s, Uma is a story about Uma, her brother Milan, and their widowed mother living in rural Nepal during the Maoist insurgency.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfSLkMzv_aI
REVIEWS:
Shreya Paudel of The Kathmandu Post praised the director writing "[he] shot the movie beautifully with stunning camera work and angles." ... The best thing about Uma is its non-partisan approach. It does not have black and white characters, rather it treads in the grey zones of reality. It is not a revolutionary fable, nor it is a piece of anti-Maoist propaganda. It is just a story of the times we lived in. ...
https://kathmandupost.com/movie-review/2020/04/10/revisiting-uma-a-maoist-combatant-s-story
UMA—PERCEPTION FLANKED BY POLITICS (2013): Torn in the prodigal war between 1996 and 2006, Nepal floated as a country divided into three hierarchies: the so-called elites, the ordinary citizens, and the rebellion of the Maoists in a superficial war between the Government and the party for the working class people—as they supposed—the Maoists. Amidst this illusory chaos, a family finds itself torn in the brink of reality—with a touch of revolutionary, a spirit of obligation, and a nature of empathy. ...
.. Flying from the creations of New Wave Nepalese Cinema, Uma is an accomplishment. Despite flaws in the story and minor faults in the exposition, characterization, and dramatics, Uma touches. It occupies—primarily due to astounding performances by the special two and everybody involved, a dynamic and stunning second portion, breathtaking visuals, cinematography, and photography; melodic and just perfect background music, and the splendor of meaningful cinema coming from home, sweet home. —Rey Kissna
https://reykissna.wordpress.com/2013/05/31/uma_2013
Ghana
Genre: Documentary
Director: Rachel Boynton
Country: Ghana
Release Date: 2014
Filming Locations: Ghana, Nigeria
Language: English
Run Time: 1 hr 39 minutes
Summary:
The film's central story follows a small group of American explorers at Dallas-based oil company Kosmos Energy. Between 2007 and 2011, with unprecedented, independent access, Big Men's two-person crew filmed inside the oil company as Kosmos and its partners discovered and developed the first commercial oil field in Ghana's history. Simultaneously the crew filmed in the swamps of Nigeria's Niger Delta, following the exploits of a militant gang to reveal another side of the economy of oil: people trying to profit in any way possible, because they've given up on waiting for the money to trickle down. So what happens when a group of hungry people discover a massive and exquisitely rare pot of gold in one of the poorest places on earth?
REVIEWS:
....Tagging neither heroes nor villains, Ms. Boynton wonders instead who benefits from, and who is harmed by, the billions of dollars in play. Should the enormous risks and staggering costs of getting to “first oil” guarantee its finder — in this case, a small Texas start-up called Kosmos Energy — a sweetheart deal from the Ghanaian government? —Jeanette Catsoulis, NYTimes
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/14/movies/big-men-looks-at-ghanaian-oil-discovery.htm
“‘Big Men’ provides a compelling account of the murky waters of corporate engagement with the state in Africa. Looking specifically at the case of Ghana and Nigeria, this documentary provides veritable insight into how corporate greed, state insensitivity to the needs of the people continue to define relationships within extractive enclaves of Africa. As the documentary shows, oil and the politics of it would continue to shape relationships in spaces of extraction such as Nigeria and Ghana for a long time to come.” Omolade Adunbi PhD, Assistant Professor in Department of Afroamerican and African Studies, Faculty Associate in Program in the Environment, University of Michigan
“There aren’t many people who can see what New York financiers, Nigerian rebels, Texas oilmen, and Ghanaian politicians have in common, and few film-makers could weave a story to make the connections for the rest of us. Rachel Boynton does just that in “Big Men” — a visually arresting and intellectually probing investigation.” Professor J.S. Maloy, Kaliste Saloom Endowed Chair in Political Science, University of Louisiana Lafayette
“No single resource is more essential to modern life than oil, and no film offers a more incisive look at how the enormous wealth oil creates subverts the morality of individuals, corporations, even entire countries than Rachel Boynton’s compelling documentary ‘Big Men’.” Kenneth Turan, L.A. Times
“If you want to know how the world works, as opposed to how we are told it works – or how we wish it might work – you need to see ‘Big Men,’ a remarkable new investigative documentary about oil, money, Africa and America that comes with Brad Pitt’s name attached as executive producer but was directed by Rachel Boynton.” Andrew O’Hehir, Salon.com
“There are three categories of schemers in ‘Big Men,’ Rachel Boynton’s illuminating documentary about the oil business in West Africa: businessmen, politicians and bandits. Sometimes, though, it’s hard to tell the types apart.” Mark Jenkins, NPR
“Here’s the rare current-affairs documentary that doesn’t just show us something gone wrong in some part of our world. Rachel Boynton’s first-rate ‘Big Men’ instead peels the skin off the world itself, revealing the gears as they grind away, casting familiar doc scenarios in shades of illuminating gray: The heroes and villains in global business aren’t always easy to suss out, but it’s never hard to spot the victims.” Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice
“Boynton pulls the thread and unravels a tale that gives fair balance to all sides of the equation, while asking a much bigger question about whether or not true human nature is guided by self-preservation (read: greed) or if people can truly act in the greater good. And the answers are surprising.” Kevin Jagernauth, The Playlist
“Like a number of recent hot-button docus, from ‘Crude’ to ‘Inside Job,’ Rachel Boynton’s extraordinary ‘Big Men’ should come tagged with a warning: The side effects of global capitalism may include dizziness, nausea and seething outrage. Using razor-sharp journalistic skill to untangle the knotty saga of an American petroleum company’s entrance into the West African republic of Ghana, Boynton’s film also poses a series of troubling philosophical questions: Is unchecked greed an intrinsic part of the human character? Is ‘the greater good’ ever more than a convenient euphemism where big business and big government are concerned? Wide fest exposure and ancillary sales seem assured for this Tribeca world premiere, which also richly deserves a theatrical pickup.” Scott Foundas, Variety
China
Genre: Drama
Director: Zhang Yimo
Country: China
Release Date: 2018
Filming Locations: China
Language: Mandarin
Run Time: 116 minutes
Summary:
Set during China's Three Kingdoms era (AD 220-280, Shadow (Ying) is the story of a great king and his people, who will be expelled from their homeland and will aspire to claim it. The king, violent and ambitious, of mysterious methods and motives; his general, a visionary who yearns to win the final battle but needs to prepare his plans in secret; the women of the palace, who struggle to find redemption in a world where they have no place; and a commoner called "Lord of all the world", will be the characters around who turn the inexorable forces of this story.
About the film:
Shadow was celebrated by critics upon its release, with many praising its cinematography and set design. On the film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 94% based on 103 reviews and an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Beautifully filmed and inventively choreographed, Shadow is a thrilling and visually sumptuous wuxia epic that finds director Zhang Yimou near peak form." On Metacritic, the film has an average score of 81 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Armenia
Genre: Narrative feature
Director: Nora Martirosyan
Country: Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan
Release Date: 2021
Filming Locations: Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan
Language: French, Armenian, English, Russian
Run Time: 1 hr 40 minutes
Color: Color
https://worldfilmreviews.us/armenia-should-the-wind-drop/
Storyline:
Should the Wind Drop (Si le vent tombe) is told from the perspective of Alain Delange (Grégoire Colin), a French engineer who is sent to assess the suitability of reopening the Stepanakert Airport. Alain knows nothing of the history of Nagorno-Karabakh nor of the political significance of the airport. For him, this is just another job, one that is almost boring. He just wants to get it done and return from this obscure outpost to his regular life in Paris.
But, gradually, the locals break through his indifference, and he begins to understand the importance of the airport from the Armenian point-of-view. He meets the director of the airport, a journalist sent to cover his visit, workers who keep the airport in immaculate condition despite the fact that it does not yet host any flights, and children and others who are doing their best to get on with their daily lives in what, to understate the case, are difficult conditions.
As for the airport...wildfires? No problem because it is protected by fire breaks. Winds? No problem because they don’t interfere with the takeoffs and landings of aircraft. Its proximity to the Azerbaijan border? Well, yes, that is a concern, but flight paths can be established in the opposite direction. Eventually Alain appears on local television and speaks to the Armenian journalist announcing his proposed certification of the airport.
But then, in the middle of the night, Alain receives a call from a representative of the French government. And everything changes.
Should the Wind Drop includes side stories about a boy who steals water from the airport and sells it by claiming it comes from a sacred healing spring, and about a “madman” who understands the forest near the border.
Official submission of Armenia for the 'Best International Feature Film' category of the 94th Academy Awards in 2022.
AWARDS:
• David Wallechinsky reviews international films
• Cinema as Airport: On Nora Martirosyan's SHOULD THE WIND DROP
• Writing: Movies [Chris Knipp]
Haiti
Genre: Short
Director: Hugues Gentillon
Country: Haiti
Release Date: 2014
Filming Locations: Haiti
Language: Haitian, French, English, Latin
Run Time: 14 minutes
Storyline:
In Haiti, Dr Jeudi Forstner is kidnapped and trapped in a prison cell under the charge of voluntary manslaughter. His wife, Marie Forstner, believes that he did not commit the crime. She begins a journey to free him. What she encounters would become one of the greatest true stories ever told.
In so few minutes, Love Me Haiti mirrors 21st century geo-political corruption at its best. The film does it suspensefully by presenting the life of a couple: two doctors who naively think humanitarian medicine is about treating those in needs, having divine faith and hoping for a cure but soon find themselves fighting something beyond belief—a criminal injustice system in a decaying world. In simple words, the film twistfully illustrates how life is a bitch.
VIEWER COMMENTS:
yes 10/10
webpun 29 September 2014
Much credit should go to doctor and filmmaker Hugues Gentillon, who has synthesized a virtual story out of Haiti's reality.
Love Me Haiti is a popular story, suspense filled, beautifully crafted and genuinely brilliant! I like the way in which tension builds up throughout the story.
No doubt, Love Me Haiti will fuel discussion about geopolitical corruption, which is the basis of the film, and will also send more people to read about the filmmaker, which is also the basis of the film. I wonder how much of the story is about Dr.Hugues Gentillon himself? The story also has an experimental feel. The beginning is the end... The end is the beginning...
It left me wondering: "How close to the truth did the antagonist actually come?"
amazing 10/10
lindnw129 September 2014
Love Me Haiti tells so much in so few minutes. It reminds me of The Constant Gardener where everyone trusts no one. The antagonist gets himself into more trouble as he discovers the explosive secret involving his wife's murder.
The etiquette of bribery stigmatizes the poor while big business and corporate corruption is on the edge of the rich people that are trying to get richer themselves - holding back the country's development...
The actors' performance is convincing. The jail cell scene is really well acted and cinematography, especially the lighting on the face is amazing! The local language boosts up realism to a point that I felt I was watching a faux cinéma vérité manifesto!
Drama in Haiti 8/10
eccsa11 June 2014
Love me haiti is a love story/drama set in Haiti the film starts with a transcript I believe to be taken from the local radio station of a man describing the turbulent times and suffering of the people. I am unclear of the meaning but by following the video as the broadcast is made I understand the problem is war inflicted over the past 50 years, we are then presented with the information that the speaker has now been assassinated and the start of the film commences now knowing the plot.
A very dominant feature is the background music throughout the film it builds tension and increases seriousness from start to finish and helps make the film have a lot of depth.
I don't want to give away to much about the story line, however the main characters. Marie Forstner played by Aurelia Khazan provides a realistic performance demonstrating a good acting ability. I also enjoyed the directors overall vision for the film this is often difficult with low budget productions but I feel overall it came together well and I can see larger productions in drama or possible crime thrillers in his future.
Dominican Republic
Genre: Drama
Director: Noelia Quintero
Country: Dominican Republic
Release Date: 2020
Filming Locations: Domincan Republic
Language: Spanish with English subtitles
Run Time: 128 minutes
Summary:
Papi recounts a day in the life of Sonia, an 8-year-old girl with a vibrant imagination. Her flashbacks and surreal flights of fancy shed light on her relationship with her father, who is only ever known as the elusive "Papi" figure.
AWARDS:
Soberana 2020 Best Film
Tanzania
Genre: Drama
Director: Sako Shamte
Country: Tanzania
Release Date: 2021
Filming Locations: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Language: English, Swahil
Run Time: 1 hr 45 minutes
Summary:
Four Tanzanian women are unknowingly connected through their ability to persevere through extreme hardships in the city of Dar-es-Salaam. The film revolves around four contemporary women characters, Tumaini, Angel, Stella and Rose, told in four chapters.
REVIEWS:
The city of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania is the dwelling of these four women who persevere through life to realize their dreams and push through life’s difficulties. Black Unicorn Studios chooses a guerilla form of filmmaking, using the handheld camera as an overseer, fixing its eyes on the lives of the four women. This less formal form of filmmaking gives a very raw feel to the overall narrative and is often able to portray the battles of life for characters in a very realistic manner.
https://dmtalkies.com/binti-summary-review-2021-netflix-tanzanian-film-semo-shame/
The film does not offer solutions, instead leaving it to the audience to wrestle more with the problems faced by the women. In this respect she is like the great Italian film director Federico Fellini who in an interview said that he does not like to end his films with a “solution” to the moral problem of his protagonists, that he wants to leave the audience with the responsibility for seeing a solution (if there is one), otherwise, they are getting off too easily. What Seko Shamte leaves us with is the opportunity to wrestle with the concerns of three modern women.
https://readthespirit.com/visual-parables/binti-2021/
VIEWER COMMENTS:
“Wonderful gem.”
“I really enjoyed this film. Its refreshing to watch something with a bit of heart and head and no flashy effects or silliness. It's a simple and honest film that isn't pretending to be something it isn't. I thought the connections between each story, and the underlying narrative about the role and impact the male characters were playing in each woman's life, interesting and engaging.”
“Sometimes scenes were a little overwrought and it might have had better pace if the women's stories had been interwoven rather than linear. Maybe. And there were a couple of issues with continuity that were somewhat distracting. But an excellent movie in many ways.”
9/10 It's a perfect stuff from Tanzania
mwakasape12 January 2022
The best from Tanzania, well directed, the plot and dialogues at its best, without forgeting actors and actresses they have really give their all Watch this and you won't regret almost 2 hrs of a tremendous drama from Tanzania, this shows how much Tanzania movie industry move to the next step.
3/10 Wasted Effort
niaz_islam18 January 2022
The movie revolves around few women who are going through their own struggles with their life and how they finally cope with these struggles.
As the production budget was not huge viewer has to overlook some superficial things in the movie. The story was full of clichés which made the movie quite predictable and unenjoyable at the same time. It was felt that the screenplay failed to connect the audience to the story. Also the acting of the cast looked sloppy in the most part, had a lot of room for improvement.
7/10 Great Product From Tanzania / Excellent Acting
ayaanbhojani5 March 2022
Binti is a really good storical film from Tanzania that shows women's lives in different aspects, also the acting of all the 4 ladies is extraordinary. A great attempt in bongo land (First wonderful thing that Tz has actually showed by making a really great and well directed film), what doesn't go with the filmis its pace which is actually slow though keeps u hooked ... I rate it a 7.3/10 stars
Bolivia
Genre: Drama
Director: Alejandro Loayza Grisi
Country: Bolivia
Release Date: 2022
Filming Locations: Bolivia
Language: Quechua, Spanish, subtitles
Run Time: 1 hr 27 minutes
Storyline:
In the Bolivian highlands, an elderly Quechua couple has been living the same daily life for years. During an uncommonly long drought, Virginio and his wife Sisa face a dilemma: resist, or be defeated by the environment and time itself. With the arrival of their grandson, Clever, the three of them will face, each in their own way, the environment, the necessity for change, and the meaning of life itself.
AWARD(S):
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema Dramatic competition at Sundance
REVIEW(S):
https://www.indiewire.com/2022/01/utama-review-sundance-bolivian-film-1234692912/
https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/utama-review-our-home-1235165876/
...One of the best aspects of “Utama” is how the cinematography (by Barbara Alvarez) impressively captures Bolivian life in the highlands. There’s a simplicity to this life that’s devoid of urban stresses but brings difficulties in other ways. A lone cell phone is the only modern device seen in the movie, which shows a rural lifestyle that has existed for centuries.
Most of all, “Utama” is a compelling snapshot of a specific family’s perspectives and definitions of loyalty and home. It’s an interesting presentation of the dilemma that some people face, when the have to choose between clinging to old traditions or embracing new ways of living. Not everyone watching “Utama” can relate to this rural ranch lifestyle, but most viewers can find some emotional connection to the movie’s characters, who are trying to get through life in the best way that they can, even if not everyone around them agrees with their choices. —Carla Hay
https://culturemixonline.com/review-utama-starring-jose-calcina-luisa-quispe-and-santos-choque
Ukraine
Genre: Drama
Director: Kateryna Gornostai
Country: Ukraine
Release Date: 2021
Filming Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine
Language: Ukrainian, English, Italian, Russian
Run Time: 122 minutes
Summary:
16-year-old Masha, who sees herself as an outsider, is studying in an ordinary high school in Kyiv. Her close friends Yana and Senia share her non-conformist status and help her not to feel strange and detached. In addition to worry about future exams, Masha is forced to leave her comfort zone when falling in love with her classmate Sasha. She understands that if she does not dare to ask, she will never know whether her love for a guy is mutual. While focusing on Masha, the film also switches to the perspectives of Senia, Yana, and Sasha to offer a fuller picture of their lives and relationships.
From debut Ukrainian director Kateryna Gornostai, this is a deeply personal story about self- discovery and the patience it requires.
REVIEWS:
"The film convincingly covers a variety of important topics which appeal to us as young people. Platonic love, queerness, solidarity and psychological stress reinforce the effect of the film as an authentic coming-of-age story. By virtue of creative visualisation techniques, it becomes clear in an artistic manner how our generation dreams, feels and experiences life. The message is conveyed that it is part of life to face certain fears in order to be able to enjoy the most exciting years of youth" —Statement of the Youth Jury, Berlinale
"Emotional and subjective realism takes precedence in this otherwise naturalistic and observational film" —Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times
"Gornostai’s strengths are also evident in her recreations of adolescent egoism" —Elizabeth Weitzman, The Wrap
Genre: Documentary
Director: Evgeny Afineevsky
Country: Ukraine
Release Date: 2015
Filming Locations: Ukraine
Language: Ukrainian, Russian, English
Run Time: 1 hr 38 minutes
Summary:
Documentary about the Euromaidan protests: Over 93 days in Ukraine, from 21 November 2013 to 23 February 2014, what started as peaceful student demonstrations became a violent revolution and full-fledged civil rights movement.
REVIEWS:
Dan Fainaru of Screen Daily: "Consistently avoiding any attempt at political analysis, Afineevsky's cameras show ever-expanding crowds, young and old, men and women, Christians, Jews, Muslims, academics and proletarians, all united under the one common cause, the removal of a man who, in their eyes, embodied the concept of corruption. Often exasperated by the politicians who were supposed to represent them and who cheated them, these people were willing to die, if necessary, to achieve their goal, displaying an idealistic fervour (i.e. the joined support of all religions) rarely encountered in normal circumstances".
Eric Kohn from IndieWire: "Winter on Fire features the intensity of an action movie and the fury of a clear-eyed polemic. [...] An exciting montage of the developing crowd ends with close to a million protestors gathered together at the centre of town in a stunning act of defiance. [...] Despite the ongoing power of these scenes, Winter on Fire achieves its finest shot with a bird’s eye view of the Maidan protests, as thousands of activists push back against a black mass of officers and congeal into an insurmountable wall. With images like these, Afineevsky doesn't need to push the message about the protesters' durability; it's right there on the screen."
Jay Weissberg from Variety: "Winter on Fire is an "accessible film, with greater TV appeal, but it's also limited by its insistence on shoehorning everything into one perspective, albeit a perspective shared by the majority of Ukrainians."
AWARDS:
The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and the Primetime Emmy Award in the Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking category. It was also one of the winners of the 2016 Television Academy Honors.
Cambodia
Genre: Drama
Director: Huy Yaleng
Country: Cambodia
Release Date: 2020
Filming Locations: AnPhnom Phen, Cambodia
Language: Khmer
Run Time: 110 minutes
Summary:
Having lost a leg, a man lives on his cyclo-trishaw, which he drives to provide for his children, after his wife abandons them. Based on a true story.
In October 2020, the film was selected to represent Cambodia in the Best International Feature category at the 2021 Oscars
VIEWER COMMENTS:
Though full of cliches, it’s a good production and story of a struggling, poor father. It was very popular in Cambodia, and was Cambodia’s entry for the Academy Awards—though not nominated. Free on youtube, with subtitles.
https://jfphn.org/portfolio/huy-yaleng/
Ethiopia
Genre: Drama/History/Romance
Director: Moges Tafesse
Country: Ethiopia
Release Date: 2019
Filming Locations: Ankober, Ethiopia
Language: Amharic with English subtitles
Run Time: 98 minutes
Summary:
Ethiopia, 1916: Gobeze is a timid, peace-loving, young man of 25; a brilliant student who dedicates his whole life to "Sem Ina Werq" (which are riddles with dual meaning). He is caught in bed with Aleme by Gonite, her husband and a wealthy old landlord. Following the old Ethiopian tradition, both men's clothes are bound together and the rivals set off on a long journey to the royal court to stand trial.
REVIEWS:
“This magical morality play is the impressive feature debut of Moges Tafessa who makes the best of a shoestring budget to create a fabulous fable of love, justice and poetry set in 1916.”
... magic realism at its best. Combining breath-taking landscapes with superb performances piqued by humour and irony, Tasser takes the audience by storm in a tense and moving ethnological drama suffused with passion, jealousy and bitter anger of the traditional Ethiopian establishment. — Meredith Taylor
https://filmuforia.com/enchained-quragaye-2019/
https://www.thereporterethiopia.com/article/going-back-time
https://borkena.com/2020/04/08/enchained-quragnaye-a-historical-drama-written-directed-by-moges-tafesse
VIEWER COMMENT:
“Best story with best director; an extraordinary view of traditional law, from Africa.”
Iran
Genre: Drama
Director: Asghar Farhad
Country: Iran
Release Date: 2016
Filming Locations: Teheran
Language: Persian
Run Time: 125 minutes
Storyline:
Forced to leave their collapsing apartment building Teheran, Ranaa and Emad, an Iranian couple who happen to be performers rehearsing for Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," rent a new apartment from one of their fellow performers. Unaware of the fact that the previous tenant had been “a woman of ill repute,” having many clients, they settle down. By a nasty turn of events one of the clients pays a visit to the apartment one night while Ranaa is alone at home taking a bath and the aftermath turns the peaceful life of the couple upside down
AWARDS:
2017 Academy Award Winner: Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
2016 Cannes Film Festival Winner: Best Screenplay; Best
2017 Golden Globes Nominee: Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language
2016 Munich Film Festival Winner: Best International
VIEWER COMMENTS:
10/10 A True Gem
necid-70967 24 October 2016
Masterfully shot in Teheran, the film follows the ill fortunes of a theatrical married couple who, while rehearsing Miller's play Death of a Salesman, find themselves having to abandon their crumbling apartment and to seek alternative accommodation. The film is openly an allegory about social, urban and marital decay. But way beyond it, it is about the costs of masculine pride. By far more than a very good 'Iranian film', this is a superb statement about the unbearable consequences of trying to live up to codes of honour that centre on the female body. In my opinion, actress Taraneh Alidoosti is the hero of the film, both in her performance and in the role she occupies in the script. In contrast to appearances, she is the mover of everything that takes place in this fantastic film. A cinematic poem and a masterpiece in unfolding the twists of human psychology.
gizmomogwai 28 February 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Asghar Farhadi's films A Separation (also Oscar gold) and About Elly (not Oscar-recognized, but pretty good nevertheless) were shocking films. Not just for their stories- Farhadi does excel in intense and gripping drama with a touch of mystery to them- but for the face they put on Iran, very different from what many viewers go in expecting. Where are the cries for jihad? The outcry against Great Satan? The plots to wipe Israel off the map? The burning people in the street? Why are they living in apartments and homes and not caves? Farhadi certainly does give us more of that here. Early on, we hear a cell phone go off with a very familiar ringtone, and the protagonists are performing Death of a Salesman. You might think the US is banning these people for a reason, but Farhadi's films show us that, apart from a big difference in government, Iranians themselves are like people anywhere. Substitute "Muhammad" for "Jesus" and "Koran" for "Bible" and his films could be set in Kansas or Mississippi.
As for the "intense and gripping drama with a touch of mystery" part, The Salesman also delivers once again. This touches on the issue of violence against women, with the protagonist trying to uncover who assaulted his wife. But the film also deals, in a very human way, with the trauma his wife lives with in the aftermath. There is intensity in the climax- is there going to be revenge? The Salesman is no tasteless rape-and-revenge movie; it's a finely crafted drama that can be different things at once.
6/10 35 years of love or betrayal?
Norman1718 20 September 2016
I loved how this movie had some women characters that shows the exact situation of Iranian women. The old lady: "Oh...thank god you are alive. Thank you for saving him. He is my everything. I can't live without him." These are the words of an old lady in a 35 year-old marriage toward his husband which has been cheating on her for 3 years! How dumb is she!? It's the story of many women in Iran which because of their situation should obey their husbands and love them blindly. Raana: She has been raped but she doesn't have the courage to sue also she is so embarrassed that this may become a discredit to her. The prostitute: Imagine A mother with a young daughter what should she do for a living?Nothing in a society specified for Men but to sell her body to those Men! And finally the woman in the taxi: This woman knows the situation of all the women above. She is now a women who had lost her trust to all men.Either something happened to her or to her friends she now sees men all like together. She's so paranoid that she doesn't see that Emad is doing nothing.
Myanmar
Genre: Documentary
Director: The Myanmar Film Collective
Country: Myanmar
Release Date: 2022
Filming Locations: Myanmar
Language: Burmese
Run Time: 104 minutes
Summary:
How does it feel to be forgotten by the world? After the military coup in 2021, these film diaries of young opposition activists in Myanmar use the cinema screen to communicate with the world in a different way than allowed by TV news.
AWARDS:
Winner: Amnesty International Film Prize
Winner: Berlinale Documentary Award
Nominee: Panorama Audience Award for Best Documentary
REVIEWS:
By Nick Holdsworth
FEBRUARY 17, 2022
You’ve all seen the extraordinary social media clip – a svelte young Burmese woman dances to loud music in an outdoor social media streamed aerobics class, unwittingly capturing a convoy of black SUVs driving up to a security checkpoint in front of Myanmar’s parliament in the capital Naypyidaw, as she unwittingly captures the first moments of the country’s dramatic military coup a year ago.
The clip – complete with its upbeat soundtrack – swells to a crescendo as she punches the air in time to the music, mirroring the scene unfolding behind. Apparently unaware of the convoy, little does she know that her country is about to plunge into a brutal and bloody crisis, driven by the greed and sheer evil of a kleptocratic military cabal, angered that the populace keeps voting against it in the general elections it has so graciously allowed since 1990.
The anonymous Myanmar Film Collective who – at considerable personal risk – shot Myanmar Diaries, open their powerful and poetic chronicle of a year of rising violence with the video.
It is the last innocently joyful piece of footage in the film.
Next, there are a series of smartphone clips that show how rapidly events spiralled from peaceful protest sparked by General Min Aung Hlaing’s power grab on February 1, 2021, to a brutal crackdown by the junta that has left at least 1,549 dead and more than 9,130 arrested, charged or sentenced since.
There is an utterly compelling sequence early on in this brief and balanced 70 minutes mixture of pure documentary and dramatised reconstructions based on true stories from the resistance. A 67-year-old woman stands alongside an open-backed truck in a city under martial law, fearlessly berating the young paramilitary police officers. They sat impassively behind the wood and steel bars that hold them back – for now. “You’re protecting the dictator!” she shouts, wagging her finger like a fierce school ma’am of old.
The at-times shaky mobile phone footage is viscerally powerful.
OTHER REVIEWS:
Riecks-Filmkritiken [Michel Rieck] (German, English): https://riecks-filmkritiken.de/myanmar-diaries/
Niger
Film: Rain the Color of Blue with A Little Red in It (Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai)
Also Known As: Rain the Color of Blue with a Little Red in It
Director: Christopher Kirkley
Country: Niger
Filming Locations: Agadez, Niger
Release Date: 29 January 2015 (USA)
Language: Tamashek
Run Time: 75 minutes
Color: Color
Summary: “A revolutionary story of guitars, motorcycles, cell phones, and the music of a new generation:…”
Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai (in English: Rain the Color of Blue with A Little Red In It) is a 2015 Niger drama musical film directed by Christopher Kirkley and co–produced by Sahel Sounds, L'Improbable and Tenere Films.[2][3] It is the world's first Tuareg-language fiction film. The film is based on the real life incidents of famous musician Mdou Moctar.
The film has shot at Agadez, Niger. The film received positive reviews and won several awards at international film festivals. It is a homage to Prince’s 1984 rock drama Purple Rain.
Afghanistan
Film: Hava, Maryam, Ayesha
Director: Sahraa Karimi
Country: Afghanistan, Iran, France
Filming Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan
Release Date: 6 October 2019 (USA)
Language: Persian, Dari
Run Time: 83 minutes
Color: Color
Summary: Three Afghan women from different social background, living in Kabul, are facing a big challenge in their lives. Hava, a traditional pregnant woman whom no one cares about, is living with her father and mother in law. Her only joy is talking to the baby in her belly. Maryam, an educated TV news reporter, is about to get a divorce from her unfaithful husband, but finds out she is pregnant. Ayesha, an 18-year old girl accepts to marry her cousin because she is pregnant from her boyfriend who disappears after hearing the news. Each of them has to solve her problem by herself for the first time.
Thailand
Film: Death of the Sound Man, SHORT
Director: Sorayos Prapapan
Country: Thailand, Myanmar
Release Date: 31 August 2017 (Italy)
Language: Thai
Run Time: 16 minutes
Color: Color
Summary: Two sound recordists let their imaginations loose to find satisfying sounds for a film project. But will their voices ever be acknowledged?
IMDB user review: It may be hard to appreciate this film for its true splendour, specially for those who always expect direct narrative cinema in every film they watch. But bear with it, the effort pays up. This is a film about filmaking, but more presicely, this is a masterclass on cinema itself. It has long been known in the artistic world that observation is permeated with ideology, and that the form of any artistic object is in itself a manifestation of the creator's ideology. Somehow, most of cinema's audiences seem to have missed this, and expierience cinema as an objective representation of the world. This film is a funny, intelligent, and nuanced reminder that there is no such thing as 'objective representation'. Form is content, never forget. Nowadays, when the audiovisual image is king among all, this film is as relevant as it gets. Man, this film should be mandatory in every highschool around the globe. It is worldwide available on Vimeo.
Uganda
Film: 94 Terror
Director: Richard Mulindawa
Country: Uganda
Filming Locations: Kasensero, Rakai, Uganda
Release Date: December 2018 (Uganda)
Language: Kinyarwanda, English
Run Time: 106 minutes
em>Sound Mix: Stereo
Color: Color
Summary: Keza, a survivor of the Tutsi and Hutu slaughter that happened in the 1994 Rwanda genocide, tells the struggle and loss of her beloved family and her escape across the river Kagera into Uganda.
After the assassination of Rwanda President Juvenal Habyarimana, the Hutus condemned the Tutsis and invaded their homesteads, killing whoever looked Tustsi. Keza's family was murdered as she watched. She narrowly escaped with the help of her friends: Shema—a Hutu, and Mutesi—a Tutsi. Together they must sneak through the bush to make it out of Rwanda alive.
Winner of Best Viewers’ Choice Movie Award at the 2018 Uganda Film Festival Awards.
Winner of the Best Costume award at The African Film Festival (TAFF) in Dallas, Texas, in 2019.
Lesotho
Film: This is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection
Director: Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese
Country: South Africa, Italy, USA, Lesotho
Filming Locations: Lesotho
Release Date: 2 April 2021 (USA)
Language: Southern Sotho
Run Time: 120 minutes
Color: Color
Summary: When her village is threatened with forced resettlement due to reservoir construction, an 80-year-old widow finds a new will to live and ignites the spirit of resilience within her community.
Official submission of Lesotho for the 'Best International Feature Film' category of the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021.
Kenya
Film: Rafiki
Director: Wanuri Kahiu
Country: Kenya, South Africa, Germany, Netherlands, France, Norway, Lebanon, UK
Filming Locations: Nairobi, Kenya
Release Date: 19 April 2019 (USA)
Language: English, Swahili
Run Time: 83 minutes
Color: Color
Rafiki (Swahili for ‘friend’) is a 2018 Kenyan drama film directed by Wanuri Kahiu. It is the story of romance that grows between two young women, Kena and Ziki, amidst family and political pressures around LGBT rights in Kenya.
Summary: Kena and Ziki long for something more. Despite the political rivalry between their families, the girls resist and remain close friends, supporting each other to pursue their dreams in a conservative society. When love blossoms between them, the two girls will be forced to choose between happiness and safety. Inspired by Monica Arac de Nyeko’s “Jambula Tree,” which chronicles a story of two girls in love in Uganda, “Rafiki” challenges deep rooted cynicism about same sex relationships among actors, crew, friends, and family in Kenya.
Ecuador
Film: The Porcelain Horse, (Mejor No Hablar [de Ciertas Cosas])
Director: Javier Andrade
Country: Ecuador
Release Date: 13 October 2012 (Poland)
Language: Spanish
Run Time: 100 minutes
Color: Color
Paco Chavez's life is careless and charming. It's a life of illicit drugs and a forbidden love affair he carries with Lucia, his former high school sweetheart, now married to another man. One night, Paco and his younger brother Luis, enter their parent's home to steal a porcelain horse to pawn in order to score more drugs. Their father catches them and a fight ensues. The consequences of that fight will haunt both brothers forever.
Official submission of Ecuador to the Oscars 2014 best foreign language film category.
Haiti
Film: Thus Spoke the Sea, (Men sa lamnè di / Ainsi parla la mer), DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Director: Arnold Antonin
Release Date: 2020
Run Time: 49 minutes
Thus Spoke the Sea from Haitian director Arnold Antonin has been described as a “very poetic documentary” about the director’s homeland and the ongoing “love story” between Haitians and the sea."
Synopsis
The Haitian Sea as you have never seen or heard it. In this documentary, the Sea tells its story with the Haitian people. Wave after wave, the Sea caresses its riches, unveils its mysteries, and raises a cry of alarm. From the over-exploitation of its resources to the effects of climate change and pollution, the Sea tells you its adventures while immersing you in its different shades of blue. It exposes with frankness and candor the challenges to be taken up and the opportunities to be seized before it is too late. Voodoo priestesses, fishermen, merchants, artists, entrepreneurs, urban planners, historians, biologists, climate experts, all of them children of Haiti, come to be one with their Sea which also gives them a voice in its story. This film is an invitation to travel. An invitation to discovery but also to awareness: Haiti's horizon will be coastal or will not be.
India
Film: Gully Boy
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Country: India
Release Date: 14 February 2019 (USA)
Filming Locations: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Language: Hindi, English
Run Time: 154 minutes
Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos
Color: Color
Storyline:
Gully Boy is a film about a 22-year-old boy “Murad” from a ghetto in Mumbai, India. The son of a driver, his parents worked hard to get him educated so that he could have a white-collar job. Meanwhile, Murad realizes his calling to be a rapper. Authentic Hip Hop in India is a recent phenomenon and like anywhere else in the world, is rising from the streets. Art is a distant dream for the colonized poor of India and this story is about Murad's journey from realizing his love for rap and chasing his dream to inadvertently transcending his class. The film showcases street rap from the crevices of Mumbai's by lanes. The poetry is conscious of the city's socio-economic fabric and highlights the challenges faced by the disenfranchised youth in the minority population.
Mongolia
Film: The Two Horses of Genghis Khan (Das Lied von den zwei Pferden)
Genre: Documentary
Director: Ambasuren Davaa
Date of Release: 3 June 2010 (Germany)
Language: Mongolian
Run Time: 90 minutes
Color: Color
Storyline:
A promise, an old, destroyed horse-head violin and a song believed lost lead the singer Urna back to Outer Mongolia. Her grandmother was forced to destroy her once loved violin in the tumult of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. The ancient song of the Mongols, “The Two Horses of Genghis Khan,” was engraved on the violin's neck. Only the violin's neck and head survived the cultural storm. Now it is time to fulfill the promise that Urna made to her grandmother. Arrived in Ulan Baator, Urna brings the still intact parts of the violin—the head and neck—to Hicheengui, a renowned maker of horse-head violins, who will build a new body for the old instrument. Urna leaves for the interior to look there for the song's missing verses. But she will be disappointed. None of the people whom she meets on the way seem to know the old melody of the Mongols.
Pakistan
Film: Zinda Bhaag
Director: Meenu Gaur and Farjad Nabi
Country: Pakistan
Release Date: 18 October 2013 (USA)
Filming Locations: Lahore, Pakistan
Language: Punjabi, Urdu
Run Time: 115 minutes
Color: Color
Storyline:
What makes a man step into a cargo container that is going to be sealed for days? Why does he step into a flimsy overloaded boat to face a stormy sea? Or dart across international borders dodging bullets? What are the compulsions faced by men in Pakistan, which make them take extreme risks to chase a mirage of a secure future in alien lands?
Set against the backdrop of the world of illegal immigration, Zinda Bhaag is a film about three young men trying to escape the reality of their everyday lives ... and succeeding in ways they had least expected. In a nondescript neighbourhood of Lahore, three friends are desperate to get on to the fast track to success. Khaldi, Taambi and Chitta, all in their early twenties, believe that the only way out ... is to the West. The journey that unfolds through the story of this film gives us a peep into what constitutes the everyday in the lives of many young men and women in Pakistan—a sense of entitlement that cannot be fulfilled, desperation to ...
Official submission of Pakistan to the Oscars 2014 best foreign language film category.
Armenia
Film: I Am Not Alone
Genre: Documentary
Director: Garin Hovannisian
Country: Armenia, USA
Release Date: 4 March 2020 (UK)
Filming Locations: Yerevan, Armenia
Language: English, Armenian
Run Time: 90 minutes
Color: Color
I Am Not Alone is an Armenian-American documentary film that profiles Armenian politician Nikol Pashinyan and his role in the 2018 Armenian revolution. Music for the film was composed by Armenian-American Serj Tankian, who also participated as an executive producer.
In 2018, Armenia experienced a peaceful revolution that’s inspiring to anyone challenging power. Nikol Pashinyan—a former journalist and political prisoner turned Member of Parliament—begins a march by himself to protest Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan trying to extend the reach of his power. The film observes how Pashinyan’s campaign slowly grows from one person into a mass movement. Briskly paced and offering a balance of perspectives, I Am Not Alone is a feat of nonfiction storytelling.
DOCNYC 2019 AUDIENCE AWARD
Nepal
Genre: Drama
Director: Prashant Rasaily
Date of Release: 2013
Language: Nepali
Run Time: 1 hour 52 minutes
Summary: The story of Kaancha and Kumari.
Namibia
Genre: Dramatic short
Director: Florian Schott
Date of Release: 2019
Language: English and Afrikaans
Run Time: 29 minutes
Summary: A story of how rhinoceros poaching triggers social change in rural Namibia, seen through the eyes of a 9 year old girl. #baxuandthegiants #ShortFilm #ShortFilms
Guatemala
Genre: Drama
Director: Kenneth Müller
Date of Release: 2017
Language: Spanish
Run Time: 70 minutes
Summary: A dying Guatemalan war veteran agrees to accompany a girl searching for information about her grandfather, his comrade in arms. Flashbacks show the campaign the men fought in when young.
Septiembre, un llanto en silencio is a drama inspired by the struggles faced by Müller’s brother Fausto after a guerrilla terrorist bombing left him permanently deaf. “What happened to my brother really affected me, because my first language was sign language and not Spanish. With this movie I wanted to exorcise something I was carrying from seeing my brother suffer all these years,” the filmmaker explained.
For the fictionalized version of the story, Müller changed the gender of the protagonist and centered his narrative on a young deaf girl named Theresa (played by non-deaf actress Constanza Andrade). Theresa wishes to have a fulfilling life, but is constantly ostracized by those around her. Since Andrade isn’t hard of hearing in real life, Müller took the actress to meet his brother and to spend time with the deaf community of Guatemala. The experience helped her understand what it means to live in a country that doesn’t provide opportunities for people with disabilities.
“I named the film Un llanto en silencio (A silent cry) because I thought the image of a deaf person screaming and crying was very powerful, as we see in the film. If I cry, I can hear myself. But for a deaf person, no matter how hard they cry they can’t hear themselves or their pain,” he noted. With his film, Müller hopes to not only create awareness and empathy for those who deal with hearing loss, but to give a face to the victims of the armed conflict in Guatemala’s recent past.
India
Genre: Drama
Director: Ivan Ayr
Date of Release: 2019
Language: Hindi
Run Time: 97 minutes
Summary: Soni, a young policewoman in Delhi, and her superintendent, Kalpana, have collectively taken on a growing crisis of violent crimes against women. However, their alliance suffers a major setback when Soni is transferred out for alleged misconduct on duty.
Reviews
Ivan Ayar’s film is one of the best Indian movies of the decade. Unlike the hyper-exaggerated fantasy about other police dramas, Ivan Ayr roots the police drama Soni in realism and keenly observes the patriarchal society’s omnipresence without dramatising the events. Soni pushes the boundaries of cinema until it spills out enriching cinematic pleasure on its path to explore the fragments of Indian society that have hardly been captured on film before. He avoids the genre tropes, which he could easily have fallen victim to, subverts the theatrics and sensationalism, and patiently deconstructs the power of hierarchy that widens the gender gap.
This is a micro-budget film about two women police officers. They are torn between the ethical and moral dilemma of their duty as an officer and their wish to uproot crimes centred around women, like gender prejudice and sexual harassment. The movie is further solidified by the two moving and nuanced performances which have already gone unnoticed this year.—Nafees Ahmed, “High on Films”
IMDB VIEWERS
Honest and brutal masterpiece Soni is an excellent work of art. Its to the point representation of the reality makes it a definite watch. Its beauty lies in the two leading ladies. Each has her own persona ,which is quite different from the other—hence they somehow balance each other. The conflicted characters and their performances are brilliant. In addition the cinematography is good. The calm yet dark Delhi is shot very well.
Behold the truth of our country, India! The protagonist 'Soni' and her boss play their parts to the hilt with equal aplomb. Everyone seems like a non-actor yet they do full justice to their roles, (and) there is no over -the-top cinematography or sad songs … The screenplay, direction, dialogue delivery, and expressions of all the actors are spot on. The camera is totally oblivious. We get to see things … from a female cop's viewpoint. The beautiful Delhi winters, warm clothes, and the change of conduct of cops while on duty and registering a complaint to being in plainclothes and buying groceries … are the small things to notice... There is no overacting.
The movie is all about the lower and upper middle class and their daily lives as cops in the capital. The story and plot could have been worked on a little to add a little more masala, but each script and director have their own take on things and they have done full justice to the same. It’s a must-watch and highly recommended film; one takes home something after watching it.
Subtle, honest, hardhitting portrayal of women in police: I am in awe and love with this movie. Each and every moment of the movie was like delving deep in the unconscious realms of the minds of the women. The subtleness which Ivan Ayer showed in directing the frames is exceptional. The way Saloni Batra portrayed the mid aged IAS officer, Kalpana is fabulous. she captured the crux of the character. She BECAME Kalpana. Geetika was so gripping as the hothead Soni, who is dealing with emotional voids in her life and in society. The portrayal deserves applause. She seemed so real, maybe she knew what it felt to be a girl who is frustrated with what society has to offer. Its an extension into the awakening conscious of the filmmakers, actors and our society as a whole.
I hope that people like Ivan Ayer, Anand Gandhi, Sohum Shah will keep walking on this path and showing us the darkest, corrupt, and unjust practises in our society—behind the veils of our obscure traditions, practices and egos.
Costa Rica
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Director: Hernan Jiminez
Date of Release: 2016
Language: Spanish
Run Time: 97 minutes
Summary: Diego, a hopeless romantic desperately trying to salvage his relationship with long time girlfriend Sofía, plans a beach getaway to propose and clear the air. A 'chance' encounter with Sofía's old friend Malena will cast doubts on his relationship and skewed understanding of love, quickly turning a perfect weekend in paradise into Diego's worst nightmare.
Official submission of Costa Rica for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 89th Academy Awards in 2017.
AMAZON.COM Reviews
Really Entertaining: I was in the mood for a fun movie set somewhere exotic and this one did not disappoint! It was really funny, and the cinematography was beautiful. The drama in it was unexpectedly good too, definitely hooked me into the story. Reminded me a bit of Y Tu Mama Tambien, expect not as serious. Definitely worth watching.
Five Stars: great movie i highly recommend this... talent of Costa Rica production.
Disappointing but not altogether dull: Hernan Jimenez is the most successful modern comedian that Costa Rica has had to date, no doubt about that. (Check out his stand-up comedy if you get a chance). I did, however, wish that his characters had more depth and intrigue to them. At times the dialogue was dull and could have been balanced with more comedy. This film's location (Santa Teresa, Costa Rica) couldn't have been in a more exotic location and was totally eclipsed by irrelevant dialogue and tasteless b-footage not to mention it made very evident the fact that the country suffers from poor road infrastructure. The director of photography really dropped the ball on this one. If the director had shot the film better and taken advantage of such a beautiful location it would have greatly influenced the protagonists actions and determination of why he had chosen to propose in such a visual paradise. Unfortunately for the audience this was all lost because the cinematography was so lacking that the audience was made to believe that this is just another surfer beach in Costa Rica, which I might add is not, it's one of the best. The ending of the film was as dull and unimaginative as the cinematography. I greatly respect Hernan Jimenez for his work as a comedian and actor not to mention his great work ethic but I do believe that novice mistakes were made which could have been avoided. I look forward to his future projects.
Ghana
Film: Ghanaian Music–Echoes of the Ancestors
Genre: Short Music Documentary
Director: Caroline Hopkins
Date of Release: 2012
Language: English
Run Time: 26 minutes
Summary: Short music documentary, which explores the traditional music of Ghana, the influence of Western ideologies and the cultural significance of preserving the essential elements of such an ancient practice. The documentary includes live traditional drum/dance performances by the Korye Dance Theater in Cape Coast, as well as a series of interviews from local members of the indigenous community.
Myanmar
Genre: Documentary, News
Director: Anders Ostergaard
Date of Release: 2009
Language: Burmese, English
Run Time: 84 minutes
Summary: Using smuggled footage, this documentary tells the story of the 2007 protests in Burma by thousands of monks.
Storyline: Thousands of citizens of Myanmar take to the streets in several cities to protest the Asian nation's repressive regime. The protests take on a new degree of seriousness when dozens of monks launch their own marches down city streets. This documentary from Anders Ostergaard focuses on the work of videographers and citizen journalists who defy the government's crackdown on the media—a brave bunch who manage to transmit footage of the uprising to the outside world.
Awards: Nominated for a 2010 Academy Award. Winner of Denmark’s 2009 Robert Award for Best Documentary and Bodil Award for Best Documentary.
USER REVIEWS FROM IMDB:
The cry for freedom: This Oscar-nominated documentary tells the story of what happened in Burma in 2007 when the military suppressed 100,000 protesters.
Underground reporters captured what was happening. The footage has been shown on news stations, but this is a collection of the footage showing a complete story.
The reporters faced death or life imprisonment to get this footage. Once the military realized that the footage was being sent by the reporters, and not foreign journalists, they systematically hunted them down.
Those who were not arrested, spread out through the country.
It was a touching story of how the people stood up to oppression. They were not teabaggers, but people willing to die for freedom.
Frustrating and terrifying: In 1962, the Burmese government was overthrown in a coup by the socialist military, who maintained control of the country until 2011. During this time, Burma deteriorated into poverty, while any protests or statements made against the ruling government were quickly crushed through intimidation, torture, outlandishly long jail sentences and executions. In 1988, a series of marches, rallies and protests now known as the 8888 Uprising were brought to a bloody end as the military killed 3,000 civilians in the streets.
With the media controlled by the state and a ban on any footage leaving the country, the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) has trained its journalists to work as guerrilla cameraman, working in the shadows to capture any acts of oppression or revolution. They work as a network but rarely meet, communicating using mobile phones and internet chatrooms, and frequently putting themselves at great personal risk. Being captured could mean death, with our narrator, known as 'Joshua', having his footage wiped early on by secret police and being forced into exile. Clever reconstructions of Joshua receiving updates on a new uprising now known as the Saffron Revolution, led by the Buddhist monks, forms a tense narrative.
The footage captured by the DVB is astonishing, with the action taking place right before your eyes. It is also, at times, incredibly intimate. Early on, the monks distrust the DVB, suspecting they are secret police. When the cameramen are attacked by plain-clothes military, the monks protect them and trust is immediately solidified. You are instantly swept up by the protesters elation and feel their incredible sense of hope, so it's absolutely shattering to see it all torn away. Director Anders Ostergaard weaves the footage together expertly, and the film is wholly deserving of its Best Documentary nomination at the Academy Awards in 2010 (and probably deserved to win). It's as close as you could get to being on the streets of a country under a crushing regime, and the results are frustrating and terrifying.
Colombia
Genre: Documentary
Director: Alan Ereira
Date of Release: 2012
Language: English, Spanish
Run Time: 1 hour 52 minutes
Summary: A feature-length documentary film made by and with the Kogi, a genuine lost civilization in Columbia, who are warning of the perilous situation of the Earth.
The Kogi felt the need to physically demonstrate the reality of environmental pollution in their physical environment and to show how easily critical interconnections within the natural world can be damaged or destroyed. They were keen to show that action at one specific site can affect other sites many miles away. For this film they learnt to use cameras so the film includes their own footage.
Watch as they walk along the invisible Black Line to explain how it connects a series of environmentally powerful 'hot spots' along the Caribbean Coast. Hear their own views and follow commentary from Western scientists about what is happening on the cost.
From director Alan Ereira: The Kogi once traded with Maya and Aztecs. Their civilization still survives hidden on Colombia's highest mountain. They believe they are guardians of the world. Their leaders are trained from infancy in darkness to work by connecting with 'aluna', a cosmic consciousness. They perceive 'black lines' that connect special sites essential to life. In 1990, convinced that we were destroying the earth, they sent a warning through a British film-maker and then withdrew. They have now concluded that we cannot have grasped the warning and they have to explain it better if the world is to survive. So they recalled the film-maker and instructed him to film their demonstration of these connections, using 400km of gold thread. So begins a truly bizarre journey. We see people who have no wheel or writing, who know nothing of our world, seriously discussing dark energy with a leading astronomer and correctly identifying objects seen by the Hubble telescope. (From IMDB.com)
Reviews
"In my opinion, this movie gives us the immense opportunity to hear the critical message from ALUNA, meaning our Great Mother. ALUNA the movie is for people who are concerned about the status of the world, that want to do their part to help our environment and are interested to recover their spiritual nature and consciousness for harmony and balance.”
—Regine Veraguas
From Facebook:
Aluna, A Journey to Save the World, is an important feature-length documentary film made by and with the KOGI, a genuine lost civilization in Columbia, in which they dramatically warn of our perilous situation on planet earth. The Kogi live hidden on an isolated triangular pyramid mountain in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia, nearly five miles high, on the Colombian-Caribbean coast.
The Kogi believe that they live in order to care for the world and keep its natural order functioning and out of concern for our seriously deteriorating situation on our planet they emerged in 1990 to work with Alan Ereira and made their first film, a documentary for BBC1, "From the Heart of The World: the Elder Brother's Warning" (1990). The first documentary showed the Kogi emerge to offer their concern for people of the modern world who are urged to change their ways or suffer environmental disaster.
Their first film had a stunning global impact, and is now probably the most celebrated film ever made about a tribal people. It helped shape the Rio Conference, it led to the King of Spain visiting the Kogi and to a complete transformation of the Colombian attitude to these people. Today, each new Colombian president has to visit the mountain and seek their blessing.
But now the Kogi have summoned Alan Ereira back to say that we did not actually listen to what they said. They now understand that we learn through our eyes, not our ears. In the face of the approaching apocalypse, they have asked Ereira to make a film with them which will take the audience on a perilous journey into the mysteries of their sacred places to change our understanding of reality. This is not a work of fiction. ARE YOU READY TO BE CHANGED?
For more information visit www.alunathemovie.com.
Peru
Genre: Drama
Director: Óscar Catacora
Date of Release: 2018
Language: Aymara
Run Time: 86 minutes
Summary: An elderly couple try to survive in Los Andes of Peru while they wait for their son.
This is the first movie shot entirely in Aymara, an indigenous language spoken by the Aymara people of the Andes, in the south of Peru and in the northwest of Bolivia.
IMDB USER REVIEWS:
Honesty and Sincerity
Strip away all of these skyscrapers, their glass windows, packaged meats, and cell-phones. Two people, really living next to one another, knowing both the comfort and horrors of life. Each swell of life's tide carrying out, just a little bit more away from the place they used to call home, makes the couple, and their life more valuable than any crest whitening strip, or gucci stiletto we worship in so many places.
If you're wishing for the real world, you'll find it here, haunting, unforgettable, and beautiful to the core even in the depth of its most terrible moments.
More lives would be valued, if more lives were given up for the loneliness of others. 🙏🏼Amen
Feelings
I cannot express the way that I felt when I saw this film, but, I must to say that Wiñaypacha may be one of the most shocking film that I've ever seen, because I think that it tries to express somehow the simplicity of the Andean life, that sometimes the life is real and loneliness can be shares with the person you love.
Brilliant
A film that explores the truth about the forgotten places in the Andes—not only in Peru but all the Andean country.
Rwanda
Film:
Genre: Drama/Romance
Director: Alrick Brown
Date of Release: 2011
Language: English and Kinyarwanda
Run Time: 80 minutes
Summary: A young Tutsi woman and a young Hutu man fall in love amidst chaos; a soldier struggles to foster a greater good while absent from her family; and a priest grapples with his faith in the face of unspeakable horror.
Nominations: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture
Awards: Sundance Film Festival Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic
IMDB USER REVIEWS:
Amazing Film I went to a screening of this film with the director and cinematographer who did a great Q&A. It simply blew me away. It's full of incredible and moving performances by a cast of mainly first-time actors. It's a series of expertly interwoven short stories -- all based on true stories—each of which will stick with you. It's a gripping, suspenseful tale that also does a remarkable job of showing the humanity, the hopes, the humor, and the dreams of Rwandans. Hearing how this film got made so beautifully at such a low budget was truly inspiring. Filmmakers should go see it to see what is possible to do on a low budget these days— though really anyone with a dream would be well-severed to watch it.
Touching film !! At the time of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the Mufti of Rwanda issued a fatwa forbidding Muslim from participating in the killing of Tutsi. Therefore mosques became places of refuge where Muslims and Christians, Hutu and Tutsi came together to protect each other .Amidst this chaos in which the Hutu married with Tutsi women were menaced a young Tutsi woman and a young Hutu man fall in love (I have lived 4 years in Rwanda in the 70s and mixt marriages Hutu-Tutsi were common). So the film shows how people in Rwanda intended to help each other in his tremendous moments of hate. The film shows also the efforts for the reconciliation!! Kinyarwanda is a very good film.
Roger Ebert’s 4-star review: I thought I knew something about Rwanda, but I didn't really know very much. I was moved by "Hotel Rwanda" (2004), but not really shaken this deeply. Not like this. After seeing "Kinyarwanda," I have a different kind of feeling about the genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994. The film approaches it not as a story line but as a series of intense personal moments. The characters speak both English and the nation's own language, Kinyarwanda. The film's co-writer and director, a Jamaican named Alrick Brown, says he was surprised the first time he learned that all Rwandans speak the same tongue. Here was a nation in which the members of one tribe, the Hutu, set about to massacre the members of another tribe, the Tutsi. Yet were they really even members of different tribes?
South Africa
Genre: Virtual Reality Documentary Short
Director: Dylan Valley
Date of Release: 2019
Language: English
Run Time: 11 minutes
Summary: This provocative documentary explores the intersection of art, activism, and social justice in Johannesburg. When artists/activists Masello and Evan take up residence in an abandoned mansion in an affluent part of Johannesburg, they proclaim their occupation to be an artistic and political act in defiance of inequalities in land ownership in South Africa. Is it illegal squatting—or political protest? Do these disenfranchised individuals have a valid claim to land that centuries ago was stolen?
The emotional topic of land ownership is at the centre of Azibuye: The Occupation, a virtual reality documentary which tackles this contentious issue through the eyes of two homeless people who illegally occupy a mansion in Johannesburg.
Reviews
Groundbreaking exploration of art, activism, social justice: “This provocative documentary explores the intersection of art, activism and social justice in Johannesburg. Masello and Evan are part of a black artist/activist collective who break into an abandoned mansion in the wealthiest part of Johannesburg and occupy it as an artistic and political act to defy property inequities in South Africa,” writes the Sundance Institute.
Chad
Genre: Drama
Director: Mahamat Saleh Haroun
Date of Release: 2013
Language: French and Arabic
Run Time: 101 minutes
Summary: GriGris is a 2013 French-Chadian drama about a 25-year-old man with a paralyzed leg who dreams of becoming a dancer. But his dreams are dashed when his stepfather falls critically ill. To save him, Grigris ends up working for a gang of petrol smugglers.
Official submission of Chad to the Oscars 2014 Best Foreign Language Film category.
IMDB USER REVIEWS
Dance dance dance the night away African writer/director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun has created a drama based on a gifted dancer Souleymane Démé and has captured so much atmosphere of the world of Chad that his drama is truly a work of art. The lighting, the music, the actors—all are excellent and the story is deeply moving.
Grigris is a quiet gifted dancer who suffers from a malformed withered left leg, yet in spite of his deformity he enhances his income by dancing in the clubs at night: the exuberant crowd places money in this clothes and his hat in response to the exceptional dancing the man performs. His day job is working for his stepfather, Ayoub, in Ayoub's shop that offers a variety of services from tailoring to photography. And in the photography aspect of his work he meets Mimi who wants some photographs for her 'modeling job' (Mimi is a prostitute.) Grigris falls in love, but when Ayoub falls critically ill Grigris must make more money to pay the hospital bills. He is sucked into being a transporter of petrol for the black market. Things do not go well for Grigris and after some unfortunate events Grigris and Mimi must escape and in doing so confront their private demons in hopes of creating a new life.
The story is solid if a bit plodding at times, but the brilliance of Souleymane Démé's dancing alone makes the film stunning. There are many subtle and not so subtle metaphors about the current state of African nations that will touch the hearts of those fortunate enough to see this fine film. It is a plea of humanity on every level.
A Film from Chad … Once again an African filmmaker illustrates how economics, often imposed from without, destroy whilst contrasting the hope that remains within the African country's societies as reflected in its traditions. It is refreshing to find the country is Chad; one of the more impoverished French-speaking countries and less well known. It is with a heavy heart that I read the end credits and discovered how much support and finances were needed from Europe to help make the film and get it distributed. But it is not a heavy heart that the film encourages as Grigris is a survivor who makes the best of what life offers him whether that be in a city where he is Grigris the dancer or a village where he becomes Souleyman, a family man.
Russia
Genre: Documentary
Director: Rodion Ismailov
Date of Release: 2017
Language: Russian
Run Time: 82 minutes
Summary: There is no bigger cliché about Russia than saying that it is very big. It is true though: Russia spans across nine time zones and the entire width of Asia. Despite this size, train travel remains one of the most popular ways to get around, and the Trans-Siberian Railway evokes the romantic dreams of Russians and foreigners alike. Director Rodion Ismailov captures what this journey is really like: common celebrations, political discussions, missing loved ones just parted with or those who are going to be seen, tons of snacks, a lot of time to kill, and landscapes which keep changing. Third-class travel is a Trans-Siberian in a nutshell for those who cannot currently embark on it in real time.
The film takes us into the third-class wagons of the Moscow-Vladivostok train, the longest train journey in the world, which crosses Russia on the most extensive railway route in the world, and portrays the passengers on this Trans-Siberian route from an intimate, close range.
By capturing stories and anecdotes of ordinary Russians met by chance on the train, this endless journey becomes a metaphor of a country in perpetual motion, while the passengers' faces form a social portrait of contemporary Russian society.
AWARDS: Best Documentary. Heimatfilm Festival/ PRIX MONDE EN REGARDS. Jean Rouch International Film Festival/ Special Mention. Campania Film Festival/ Special Mention. Yalta International Film Festival/ Best Documentary. Visual Ethnographic Film Festival/ Special Jury Prize. International Film Festival "Saratov Sufferings"/ 2nd Place. International Film & TV Festival "Northern Character"/ Special Jury Prize. International Film Festival “Slavic tale"/ 2nd Place. International Tourism Film Festival "Dating Russia"
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS: Moscow International Documentary Film Festival/ International Documentary Film Festival "Cronograf"/ Amsterdam Cineblend Festival/ Der neue Heimatfilm Festival/ ČortaFest International Festival of Mountaineering and adventure film/ International Motivational Film Festival/ International Documentary Film Festival "Flahertiana"/ Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival/ Filmfest Eberswalde/ PRIX EUROPA - European Broadcasting Festival/ Campania Film Festival/ World Film Festival/ Ethnographic Film Festival "Eyes and Lenses"/ Buzau International Film Festival/ NAFA International Ethnographic Film Festival/ Jerusalem Anthropological Film Festival.
Benin
Film: Femmes aux yeux ouverts (Women with Eyes Open)
Genre: Documentary
Director: Anne-Laure Folly
Date of Release: 1994
Language: French with English subtitles
Run Time: 52 minutes
Femmes aux yeux ouverts (Women with eyes open) is a Togolese documentary film directed by Anne-Laure Folly. It covers the lives of contemporary African women in Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal and Benin.
Director Anne-Laure Folly said of it: "I wanted to show African women's ability to reach the end of the 20th century and to enter the 21st century positively, that is, by articulating a set of problems, questions, and answers that contribute to world development. I wanted to show that they participate fully in the questions that concern all women."
The film won the Silver Medal at the 1994 Monte Carlo Television Festival. According to Kenneth W. Harrow, the film has a "rational substratum and structuring". The film tries to communicate a universally valid value system for women. Alice Walker said of the film: "It takes courage to see the true condition of women in the world and to speak out about it. Courage and a strong stomach. The women in this film possess the necessary radical vision that neither romanticizes nor renders remote the obvious consequences of female enslavement."
Benin
Film: Angélique Kidjo: l'amazone (Angelique Kidjo: the amazon)
Genre: Documentary
Director: Pascal Signolet
Date of Release: 1997
Format: DVD; Dolby digital; region code 1
Language: Songs sung in Fon; French dialogue, English subtitles
Run Time: 60 minutes
This portrait of Angelique Kidjo ... follows her on her return to her West African home country of Benin after being away for thirteen years. Mixed with performances from a homecoming concert in Cotonou and informal visits with mentors from her homeland, the film looks at the traditions, colors, sounds and rhythms of Benin which form the core of Kidjo’s ever-evolving musical fusion of reggae, samba, funk, gospel and zouk"--Container.
Rwanda
Film: Rwanda pour mémoire
Genre: Documentary
Director: Samba Félix Ndiaye
Date of Release: 2003 (Senegal)
Country: Senegal, France, Rwanda
Language: French
Run Time: 69 minutes
Summary: In 1994, between April and July, the massacre of Tutsis and and moderate Hutus left one million dead. Instigated by Fest’Africa, a dozen African authors met four years after the events as writers in residence at Kigali, to try to break the silence of African intellectuals on this genocide.
In May 2000, on the occasion of the publication of series of works based on this experience, writers and artists from Africa and elsewhere gathered in Rwanda. Facing up to the scars left by the genocide, Samba Felix N’Diaye manages to find just the right sense of distance to film the inexpressible while nevertheless communicating a message of hope. Writers in the film include Boubacar Boris Diop, Véronique Tadjo, Benjamin Sehene, Nocky Djedanoum, Koulsy Lamko and Yves Simon, who all participated in a writer in residence program organized in Rwanda in May 2000 by the Fest'Africa literature festival based in Lille, France.
Colombia
Film: Ciro y Yo (Ciro and Me)
Genre: Documentary
Director: Miguel Salazar
Date of Release: January 2018
Country: Colombia
Language: Spanish
Run Time: 11 minutes
Filming Locations: La Macarena, Meta, Colombia, and Bogota, Colombia
Summary:Ciro Galinda was born on August 29th, 1952, in Colombia, and wherever he’s gone, war has found him. Ciro’s life sums up Colombia’s history: like so many Colombians, Ciro is a survivor. He has run away from war for more than 60 years and now dreams of living in peace.
Ciro y Yo is a journey to memory, seeking to give words to sorrow; a journey similar to that of Colombia in times of peace: in a search to recover its dignity. It won first prize as Best Documentary at the 2018 Havana International Film Festival.
Reviews: As a university student ,documentary filmmaker Miguel Salazar met Ciro Galindo, a peasant from Natagaima, a town in the region of Tolima, Colombia. Salazar met him during an exploratory tour. Ciro assigned him one of his sons to be his guide in the zone, but soon after Salazar had to inform Ciro how his son had disappeared when falling into a high dark waterfall. Thus began a deep friendship and a story that Salazar followed step by step, until finally he found a way to show the life of Ciro Galindo, who for 65 years had lived a life affected by poverty and violence from landowners, emerald miners, the guerrillas, and finally the lethal alliance between the State and the paramilitaries. Ciro found himself displaced and homeless, his family decimated, surrounded by misery and desolation. But he never gave up. To this day, Ciro is still active in helping his people live with dignity. After a decades-long war, this is the drama of thousands of families in Colombia today, represented by a brave survivor whose motor was always the hope of finding peace and happiness.
—EdgarST, 25 December 2018
Namibia
Film: Katutura
Genre: Drama
Director: Florian Schotta
Date of Release: October 2015 (Namibia), February 2016 (USA)
Also Known As: The Place Where We Do Not Belong
Country: Katura, Namibia
Language: English
Run Time: 114 minutes
Summary: Katutura follows a group of characters experiencing the gravity of living in a Township, where dreams are poised to die. Ex-convict Dangi has to deal with living a law-abiding life, an extramarital son, and an old flame who his wife doesn't know about. Gangster Shivago explores a new market to sell his drugs and Kondja, a teenager in a wheelchair who helps street kids, falls in love for the first time. Their paths intertwine and their lives collide in both hopeful and brutal ways. Katutura deals with the struggle of everyday life in the township. There is crime, drug abuse, violence, but it also shows the strength of the community as well as the bustling creativity in the place, otherwise known as “the place where we do not belong.”
Peru
Film: El Abuelo (The Grandfather)
Genre: Comedy
Director: Gustavo Saavedra
Date of Release: June 2018 (Peru)
Country: Peru, Colombia
Language: Spanish
Film Location: Peru
Summary: Abuelo/Grandpa is about to turn 80. His son and grandsons begin a journey to his homeland, Huamachuco, a place he has not seen since he was 9 years old. Along the way they discover an unexpected past and the journey will become a path of no return. El Abuelo is directed by Gustavo Saavedra and was released in 2018.
Ethiopia
Film: Lamb
Genre: Drama
Director: Yarad Zeleke
Date of Release: September 2015 (France)
Country: Ethiopia
Language: Amharic
Run Time: 94 minutes
Summary: When Ephraim, an Ethiopian boy, is sent from his homeland to live with distant relatives after the death of his mother, he takes his beloved sheep with him. One day, his uncle announces that he will have to sacrifice his sheep for the upcoming religious feast, but Ephraim is ready to do anything to save his only friend and return home. Lamb was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival and was the first Ethiopian film to be included in the Official Selection. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival and was selected as the Ethiopian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards (but was not nominated).
Kyrgyzstan
Film: A Father’s Will (Atanyn Kereezi)
Genre: Drama
Director: Bakyt Mukul, Dastan Zhapar Uulu
Date of Release: August 2016 (Canada)
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Language: Kyrgyz
Run Time: 112 minutes
Summary: After living as an immigrant in the USA for 15 years, Azat flies to Kyrgyzstan to his family village. His father, Murat, died in the USA a year ago. It was his dying wish to pay back the money he owed to the villagers. Azat discovers the family home derelict. Choro, the younger brother of Murat, and their relations left a long time ago. Despite most villagers not liking him, Azat repairs the family home and repays the money his father owed. One day, Choro, who was imprisoned because of Murat, arrives and the most important question about Murat's will is decided. Official submission of Kyrgyzstan for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 89th Academy Awards in 2017.
Tonga
Film: Leitis in Waiting
Genre: Documentary
Director: Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson
Date of Release: July 2018 (USA)
Country: Tonga
Language: English, Tonga
Run Time: 72 minutes
Summary: Leitis in Waiting is a raw yet tender portrait of Joey Mataele, the leader of an intrepid group of leitis, or indigenous transgender women, fighting a rising tide of religious fundamentalism and intolerance in their South Pacific Kingdom. The film follows Joey, a devout Catholic of noble descent, as she organizes an exuberant beauty pageant presided over by a princess, provides shelter and training for a young contestant rejected by her family, and spars with American-financed evangelicals threatening to resurrect colonial-era laws that would criminalize the leitis' lives. With unexpected humor and extraordinary access to the Kingdom's royals and religious leaders, her emotional journey reveals what it means to be different in a society ruled by tradition, and the challenge of fulfilling the promise of human rights for all without forsaking culture and tradition. This is an inside story, created by a transgender Native Hawaiian who once competed in Joey's beauty pageant.
—Dean Hamer
Tonga
Film: When the Man Went South
Genre: Drama
Director: Alex Bernstein
Date of Release: March 2014 (USA)
Country: Kingdom of Tonga
Language: Tonga
Summary: Instructed to set out on a journey by his village chief, Flying Fox heads south to learn about his strengths as a man. During his journey he meets two warring villages and attempts to mediate their differences. Flying Fox applies the lessons he learned on his journey when he returns to his home village to find trouble.
—Agent Ogden
Description: Before white men ever pressed their toes into Tongan sand, Tonga was a pristine island nation of sky blue water, thriving rainforests and lush hilltops. When the Man Went South tells the story of a Tongan hunter named Flying Fox who, upon the suggestion of his chief, ventures out from the comforts of his village to discover the ways of the world that exist beyond his own island.
—Anonymous
South Africa
Film: Winnie
Genre: Documentary
Director: Pascale Lamche
Date of Release: January 2017
Time:98 minutes
Description: Description: While Nelson Mandela is serving a life sentence, his wife experiences the raw violence of apartheid and fights on the front lines and underground. … Winnie Madikizela-Mandela may be one of the most misunderstood and intriguingly powerful contemporary female political figures. Her rise and seeming fall from grace bear the hallmarks of epic tragedy.
Summary:There may be no life in South African politics more narratively riveting than that of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Her ex-husband Nelson may have the more grandly heroic arc, having endured 27 years in captivity to bring democracy to his nation, but her parallel story — one that includes triumph, disgrace and exile, the worshipful embrace of one population sector and the moral disgust of another, complete with a still-disputed murder mystery — is the stuff of true cinema. Though she has met with mixed fortunes on the biopic front over the years, a dedicated feature-length documentary on her is long overdue, making Pascale Lamche’s “Winnie,” which features rare and extensive first-hand testimony from the lady herself, something of an event. It’s a shame, then, that “Winnie” gradually reveals itself to be rather a specious work, unabashedly one-sided in its adherence to the “mother of the nation” line pushed by her admirers, and its factually selective absolution of Madikizela-Mandela from still-compelling criminal charges. …
Lamche’s film, for which she won a directing award at Sundance, is inarguably valuable as a historical document, giving its still-fiery 80-year-old subject a generous platform to tell her side of a contentious story. As a documentary, the film’s achievement is considerably more, well, arguable — both in terms of its contribution to the Mandela mythos, and to the ongoing debate over the documentary filmmaker’s responsibility in presenting factual material to potentially uninformed audiences. …
Lamche ultimately does her fascinating, complicated subject a disservice by stacking the deck so heavily in her favor.
… If anything, the life and legacy of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela deserves messier treatment, a film as thorny and agitated and many-angled as the woman it portrays. (Indeed, a study on the scale of Ezra Edelman’s eight-hour “O.J.: Made in America” would be entirely warranted.) “Winnie” is best viewed as a starting point: It certainly offers viewers more to chew on than 2011’s misguided (if similarly romanticized) biopic of the same title. … What’s critically missing here is the historical friction that might encourage those newly intrigued by her story to probe further; viewers should be advised to bring their own pinch of salt.
—Taken from Sundance Film Review published in Variety
Other Commentary:If Nelson Mandela was often perceived and portrayed as a saint even during his lifetime, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who was married for 38 years to the man who would become South Africa’s first post-Apartheid president, was most certainly not. Accusations, trials and investigative commissions have been a part of her life for decades, and Pascale Lamche’s new feature documentary, simply titled Winnie, has the thankless task of sorting through decades of muckraking and controversy, hoping to uncover the complexities and truth of the real person behind the woman once referred to as “the mother of a nation.”
Whether the documentary succeeds in doing that depends not only on Lamche’s arguments and relative skills but also on the viewer, who needs to decide whether the fact the director was given access to Ms. Mandela four times over the course of two years might have had an impact on what (aspects of which) stories got told and how (for example, there is no mention of her criminal convictions in the 2000s). That said, broadcasters will likely line up because of the value of the Mandela name. The film premiered as part of Sundance’s world documentary strand.
Nominated for the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Documentary.
Myanmar
Film: Golden Kingdom
Genre: Drama
Director: Brian Perkins
Date of Release: June 2016
Country: Myanmar
Filming Location: Ethiopia
Language: Burmese
Run Time: 104 minutes
Summaty: Golden Kingdom is a narrative feature film about four orphan boys, novice monks living in a Buddhist monastery in a remote part of Northeast Burma. The head monk departs on a long journey from which he may never return, leaving the boys alone in the middle of the forest. Once the boys are on their own, strange, magical occurrences begin to pass. Orphan Witazara realizes he must protect the three other boys throughout this series of bizarre events, which threaten to unravel the fabric of the young monks' reality.
The picture is less about its story than creating a sense of place. It's aided by one of the most immersive soundscapes since The Revenant, and Golden Kingdom's world is only slightly less dangerous.
Golden Kingdom is set and filmed entirely on location in Myanmar, and is the first international feature film produced in Myanmar since its reopening.
Uganda
Film: Queen of Katwe
Genre: Drama
Director: Mira Nair
Date of Release: September 2016 (USA)
Country: Uganda, South Africa
Language: English
Awards: Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Young Actor, Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Costume Design
Run Time: 124 minutes
Description: A Ugandan girl sees her world rapidly change after being introduced to the game of chess.
Summary: Living in the slum of Katwe in Kampala, Uganda, is a constant struggle for 10-year-old Phiona (Madina Nalwanga) and her family. Her world changes one day when she meets Robert Katende (David Oyelowo), a missionary who teaches children how to play chess. Phiona becomes fascinated with the game and soon becomes a top player under Katende's guidance. Her success in local competitions and tournaments opens the door to a bright future and a golden chance to escape from a life of poverty.
Critic reviews: Directed by Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding), this inspiring drama manages to both capture the hardship of living in a Ugandan slum AND work as a feel-good Disney movie.
Armenia
Film: Spitak
Genre: Drama
Director: Aleksandr Kott
Date of Release:April 2016 (Russia), December 2018 (USA)
Country: Armenia
Language: Armenian
Run Time: 98 minutes
Summary:Gor is trying to fly to Armenia from Moscow to search for his family stuck at the very epicentre of the 1988 earthquake. Once there, Gor rushes through what's left from the town in search of his small house. On his way, he meets various characters, each one of them with his or her personal tragedy and challenge. The locals strive to find their loved ones - alive or dead, where dead is almost as good as alive because it means that people can get a proper burial. Medics try to help those who survived, working day and night despite the shortage of the medicaments and performing surgeries with the materials on hand. Soldiers and volunteers risk their lives to clear the debris. As Gor doesn't give up looking for his family, his wife and small daughter are still alive under the debris. But as long as there is love, there is hope. Official submission of Armenia for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 91st Academy Awards in 2019.
User Review: “Haunting “is the one word I would use to describe this film. Watched last night as part of the Ft Lauderdale International Film Fest & it was stirring. The director's visual choices & camera movements were like fine choreography. Minimalist at times in approach, it still wowed with some technique. The performances from the cast were at times chilling. Many wonderful elements.
—Review by richnice2000, Nov 2018
Madagascar
Film: Madagascar, a Journey Diary
Genre: Documentary
Director: Bastien Dubois
Date of Release: 2009
Language: French
Run Time: 11 minutes
Summary: Famadihana is an ancient Malagasy custom that means "the turning of the dead." A symbol of the importance of the worship of ancestors, and a chance to move the remains of ancestors from their first tomb to their final resting place, it is an occasion for festivities, dance and the sacrifice of zebus. The movie is filmed like the travel journey of a Western traveler in search of these customs. The pages turn, the drawings come to life, and the luxuriant landscapes of Madagascar appear one after another. The celebrations may commence.
In January 2011, Madagascar, a Journey Diary was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short. It was selected at Sundance and Dawn Breakers International Film Festival in 2009.
India
Film: Story of an Egg (Ondu Motteya Kathe)
Director: Raj B. Shetty
Date of Release: 2017
Language: Kannada
Run Time: 124 minutes
Summary (IMDB): Janardhan a 28 year old Kannada Lecturer from Mangalore who is quite an introvert comes to know from an astrologer that he would attain sanyasa (embrace asceticism) if he doesn't get married within a year. Hearing this Janardhan is now in a situation of trouble & desperation as he has never had a decent conversation with females until now in his life & all the proposals his family has seen also has gone in vain as he doesn't look great, physically. Janardhan continues his search for a beautiful bride. In this journey he faces various situations & conflicts which in turn gives him a chance to revisit his inner core & experience his self-discovery. Does Janardhan find his bride or does he attain spiritual path? These questions form the rest of the story.
Mali
Film: Timbuktu
Director: Abderrahmane Sissako
Date of Release: 2014
Language: Tamasheq, Bambara, Arabic, French, and some English. English subtitles.
Run Time: 97 minutes
Summary (Rotten Tomatoes): Not far from the ancient Malian city of Timbuktu, now ruled by the religious fundamentalists, proud cattle herder Kidane (Ibrahim Ahmed aka Pino) lives peacefully in the dunes with his wife Satima (Toulou Kiki), his daughter Toya (Layla Walet Mohamed), and Issan (Mehdi Ag Mohamed), their twelve-year-old shepherd. In town, the people suffer, powerless, from the regime of terror imposed by the Jihadists determined to control their faith. Music, laughter, cigarettes, even soccer have been banned. The women have become shadows but resist with dignity. Every day, the new improvised courts issue tragic and absurd sentences. Kidane and his family are being spared the chaos that prevails in Timbuktu. But their destiny changes abruptly in this stunningly rendered film from a master of world cinema. © CohenMedia
Indonesia
Film: Kartini
Director: Hanung Bramantyo
Date of Release: 2017
Language: Javanese, Bahasa, Dutch
Run Time: 122 minutes
Summary (IMDB): This is a story about the most famous Indonesian heroine, Kartini. In the early 1900s, Indonesia was still a colony of the Netherlands, Java is a land where noble families rule under Dutch supervision. Only noble and royal family were able to get education. Women weren't allowed to get higher education, even women of royal blood. Women in the Javanese culture only had one purpose: to be a bride for a man with royal blood. Kartini grew up to fight this caste system, fight for equality for women, and most importantly, she fought for the right for everyone to get an education regardless of their social status or gender. This is an emotional journey of Kartini where she has to defy her own family and her own culture—and she has to fight to change rules and traditions that are considered sacred in Java.
Ghana
Film: I Sing of a Well
Director: Leila Djansi
Date of Release: 2009
Language: English
Summary (IMDB): When Prince Wenambe hands the little kingdom of Kotengbi over to Mansa Musa to protect, he wins the throne from his father. To ascend the throne though, he must find a wife. His choice is the beautiful Soraya who is betrothed to Dume the hunter. But he is the Prince and what he wants he gets, so Wenambe marries Soraya in the time when Mansa Musa begins to sell the Kingdom of Kotengbi to slave traders. The folly of choice. Wenambe becomes a pawn of the gods; taunted daily by Alarka the old seer, he turns into a man troubled and confused, and not even the son Soraya bears him is able to wipe away his shame. He becomes a ruler of slaves, but the gods still weave an intricate web, yarn after yarn, and a new era is born, a new hope—though lined with the arrival of other slave traders even more powerful than Mansa Musa himself.
Senegal
Film: Magical Protection (Moolaadé)
Director: Ousmane Sembène
Date of Release: 2004
Language: Bambara, French
Run Time: 124 minutes
Summary (IMDB): In an African village, this is the day when six 4-9-year-old girls are to be 'cut' (the act of female genital mutilation). All children know that the operation is horrible torture and sometimes lethal, and all adults know that some cut women can only give birth by Caesarean section. Two of the girls have drowned themselves in the well to escape the operation. The four other girls seek "magical protection" (moolaadé) by a woman (Collé) who seven years before refused to have her daughter circumcised. Moolaadé is indicated by a coloured rope. But no one would dare step over and fetch the children. Moolaadé can only be revoked by Collé herself. Her husband's relatives persuade him to whip her in public into revoking. Opposite groups of women shout to her to revoke or to be steadfast, but no woman interferes. When Collé is at the verge of fainting, the merchant takes action and stops the maltreatment. Therefore he is hunted out of the village and, when out of sight, murdered. Written by Max Scharnberg, Stockholm, Sweden
Philippines
Documentary: Sacred and Profane (Bundok Banahaw)
Director: Dempster Samarista
Date of Release: 2017
Language: Filipino
Run Time: 104 minutes
Summary (Facebook): "Bundok Banahaw/Sacred and Profane is an exploration of the titular mystical mountain using secret histories and sacred knowledge as a way of piecing together the Philippines's cultural psyche." —from Rappler Awards: Best Documentary, Cinema One Originals 2017
Nicaragua
Documentary: Sunflowers of Nicaragua (Girasoles de Nicaragua)
Director: Florence Jaugey
Date of Release: 2017
Language: Spanish
Run Time: 70 minutes
Summary (IMDB): Sixteen female sex workers have been named judicial aides by Nicaragua's Supreme Court to facilitate the resolution of conflicts that come up in their work. It is the first time in the world that sex workers have had access to this function. The film accompanies some of these women in their mediation work and in the actions they promote through their association, Girasoles (Sunflowers) de Nicaragua, to gain recognition and regulations for autonomous sex work.
Colombia
Film: The Colors of the Mountain (Los Colores de la Montaña)
Director: Carlos César Arbeláez
Date of Release: 2010
Language: Spanish
Run Time: 90 minutes
Summary (IMDB): Manuel, 9, has an old ball with which he plays football every day in the countryside. He dreams of becoming a great goalkeeper. His wishes seem set to come true when Ernest, his father, gives him a new ball. But an unexpected accident sends the ball flying into a minefield. Despite the danger, Manuel refuses to abandon his treasure... He convinces Julián and Poca Luz, his two friends, to rescue it with him. Amid the adventures and kids' games, the signs of armed conflict start to appear in the lives of the inhabitants of 'La Pradera.'
Nepal
Film: Highway to Dhampus
Director: Rick McFarland
Date of Release: 2014
Language: English, Nepali
Run Time: 100 minutes
Summary (IMDB): Set in the Annapurna Mountains of Nepal, two disparate worlds collide when a spoiled British heiress (Rachel Hurd-Wood) visits the headmistress of a small orphanage (Suesha Rana) in an attempt to fix her image through charitable acts. Amidst both hope and tragedy, the western-savvy bush pilot (Raj Ballav Koirala), and American photojournalist hired as chaperon (Gunner Wright) discover they too have reasons to change. This story falls between the difficult yet promising path we walk to live better, give more fully, and to love.
Haiti
Documentary: Serenade for Haiti (Serenad pou Ayiti)
Director: Owsley Brown
Date of Release: 2016
Language: Haitian Creole and French
Run Time: 78 minutes
Summary (IMDB): A classical music school in the heart of troubled Port-au-Prince, Haiti, thrives despite decades of entrenched poverty and political strife. When a catastrophic earthquake completely destroys the school in 2010, a stunned and devastated faculty and student body pick up the pieces and find a way to adapt through the power of music and community. Devotion to each other and to the possibilities that the future still holds for them are expressed in the footage of children rehearsing in the rubble and in the rich musical heritage they have inherited.
Mongolia
Documentary: The Eagle Huntress
Director: Otto Bell
Date of Release: 2016
Language: Kazakh
Run Time: 87 minutes
Summary (IMDB): This spellbinding documentary follows Aisholpan, a 13-year-old nomadic Mongolian girl who is fighting to become the first female eagle hunter in twelve generations of her Kazakh family. Through breathtaking aerial cinematography and intimate verité footage, the film captures her personal journey while also addressing universal themes like female empowerment, the natural world, coming of age, and the onset of modernity.
Argentina
Film: Intimate Stories (Historias Mínimas)
Director: Carlos Sorin
Date of Release: 2002
Language: Spanish
Run Time: 92 minutes
Summary (IMDB): Near the provincial town of San Julian, three vibrant characters undertake seemingly mundane journeys that turn out to be subtly life changing. A lonely, fastidious traveling salesman is on a quest for the perfect cream cake to win the widow of his dreams. A grizzly grandfather hitchhikes to town to find his forgotten lost dog and seek forgiveness. A poor young mother hopes to win the grand prize--a microprocessor--as a contestant on a TV game show. In the end, the three will get more or less what they set out for, but it will come to them in ways that they never expected. — Sujit R. Varma
Turkey
Film: Winter Sleep (Kis Uykusu)
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Date of Release: 2014
Language: Turkish, English
Run Time: 196 minutes
Summary (IMDB):Aydin, a former actor, runs a small hotel in central Anatolia with his young wife Nihal, with whom he has a stormy relationship, and his sister Necla, who is suffering from her recent divorce. In winter as the snow begins to fall, the hotel turns into a shelter but also an inescapable place that fuels their animosities... Written by Cannes Film Festival
Sudan
Documentary: Lost Boys of Sudan
Directors: Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk
Date of Release: 2003
Languages: Dinka and English, with English subtitles
Run Time: 87 minutes
Summary: Lost Boys of Sudan is an Emmy-nominated feature-length documentary that follows two Sudanese refugees on an extraordinary journey from Africa to America. Orphaned as young boys in one of Africa's cruelest civil wars, Peter Dut and Santino Chuor survived lion attacks and militia gunfire to reach a refugee camp in Kenya along with thousands of other children. From there, remarkably, they were chosen to come to America. Safe at last from physical danger and hunger, a world away from home, they find themselves confronted with the abundance and alienation of contemporary American suburbia.
Nepal
Film: The Black Hen (Kalo Pothi)
Director: Min Bahadur Bham
Date of Release: 2015
Language: Nepali
Run Time: 90 minutes
Summary:
The film is based on a journey embarked on by two friends, Prakash and Kiran—belonging to different castes—in search of a missing hen, and unaware of the tyranny brought by the fragile 2001 ceasefire during the Nepalese civil war.”
From Wikipedia:
Sophia Pande of Nepali Times wrote that the film is "an example of the new wave of Nepali cinema, the kind that chooses to portray stories with truth and heart, over melodrama and action.”
The Himalayan Times wrote in its review: "A mixture of tragedy and comedy, while portraying the brother-sister bond, friendship, caste-based discrimination and the then time of Maoist insurgency in the country, Kalo Pothi has been made with finesse."
Clarence Tsui of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Bolstered by stirring performances from his cast, Bham and his crew have produced an evocative piece about harsh lives unraveling in a war-torn, rustic land. Mixing moments of humor and tragedy, along with realism and the ethereal—the latter embodied in fantastic dream sequences illustrating Prakash’s suppressed feelings of grief and loss—Black Hen is an effective showcase of a promising filmmaker in flight.”
Best Film at Venice International Film Festival, Critics Week, 2015
Myanmar
Film: The Lady
Director: Luc Besson
Languages: English, Burmese
Date of Release: 2011
Run Time: 132 minutes
Summary:
The story of Aung San Suu Kyi, as she becomes the core of Burma’s democracy movement, and her relationship with her husband, writer Michael Aris.
“THE LADY is an epic love story about how an extraordinary couple and family sacrifice their happiness at great human cost for a higher cause. This is the story of Aung San Suu Kyi and her husband, Michael Aris. Despite distance, long separations, and a dangerously hostile regime, their love endures until the very end. A story of devotion and human understanding set against a background of political turmoil which continues today. THE LADY also is the story of the peaceful quest of the woman who is at the core of Burma's democracy movement.” Written by Europa Corp
Ukraine
Documentary: Maidan
Director: Sergei Loznitsa
Date of Release: 2014
Language: Ukrainian
Run Time: 130 minutes
A chronicle of the civil uprising against the regime of president Viktor Yanukovych that took place in Kiev (Ukraine) in the winter of 2013/14. The film follows the progress of the revolution: from peaceful rallies, half a million strong, in the Maidan square, to the bloody street battles between protesters and riot police. —Written by Cannes Film Festival
“… history happens in real time and not in film time. Therefore, a brave documentary film maker who has come along with an honest and thoughtful film of the gradual events that took place in Kiev should be applauded for NOT rushing to over edit... This is a smouldering view of history that leads the viewer across the optimism of political protest through to the blunting of a crushed national moment. The singing and re-singing of the national anthem is caught beautifully and helps explain the motivation and passion of the protesters. Ultimately, the power of this film is that it shows what a revolution or at least attempted revolution looks like from the inside. We do not have this for 1789 or 1917 but we have a bit of it now for Kiev.” —IMDb
Madagascar
Documentary: Island of Lemurs: Madagascar
Director: David Douglas
Date of Release: 2014
Language: English
Run Time: 39 minutes
Summary:
Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman narrates Island of Lemurs: Madagascar, the incredible true story of nature's greatest explorers: lemurs. Captured with IMAX 3D cameras, the film takes audiences on a spectacular journey to the remote and wondrous world of Madagascar. Lemurs arrived in Madagascar as castaways millions of years ago and evolved into hundreds of diverse species but are now highly endangered. Join trailblazing scientist Dr. Patricia C. Wright on her lifelong mission to help these strange and adorable creatures survive in the modern world. Directed by David Douglas and written and produced by Drew Fellman, Island of Lemurs: Madagascar is a presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures and IMAX Entertainment. Written by Anonymous —IMDb
Thailand
Film: How to Win at Checkers (Every Time)
Director: Josh Kim
Date of Release: 2015
Language: Thai
Run Time: 80 minutes
Summary:
‘After the loss of both parents, 11-year-old Oat faces an uncertain future when his older brother must submit to Thailand's annual military draft lottery. Unable to convince his brother to do whatever he can to change his fate, Oat takes matters into his own hands resulting in unexpected consequences. Based on the stories from the bestselling book Sightseeing, by Rattawut Lapcharoensap, the film is set in the economic fringes of Bangkok and examines the joys and challenges of growing up in contemporary Thailand. HOW TO WIN AT CHECKERS (EVERY TIME) is director Josh Kim's debut feature film” —IMDb
Niger
Documentary: The Fruitless Tree (L'Arbre sans fruit)
Director: Kidy Aïcha Macky
Date of Release: 2016
Language: French/French subtitles
Run Time: 52 minutes
Winner of the 2016 Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) Documentary Prize.
The Fruitless Tree by Aïcha Macky: Woman among mothers, an analysis by Olivier Barlet (Source: Africultures. Translated from French by Beti Ellerson).
Aïcha Elhadj Macky was only five years old when her mother died after childbirth. It is this trauma that Aïcha, who is married, still without children, reconstructs in this film about infertility and its disorder. She starts with childbirth: the calm and the advice of the midwife, the fatigue of the mother, the arrival of the child. Then a spoken letter that refers back to it: "Dear Mother, behind the camera, I tremble throughout my body"; before concluding: "In my sleepless nights, your spirit guides my steps."
This film builds on the emotion of this personal implication, as an interrogation of society, a question posed to all of us. The task was not easy, as the subject remains taboo in Nigerien society. How to convince one to share? How to film a face that does not want to be seen? Aïcha Macky accomplishes this very well. With her small technical team, she has an eye for detail, the lighting, the mood. The camera, the editing, are of great tenderness. The testimonials are subtle conversations, where she displays the quality of attentiveness, of glances, of silences. It was necessary to have this level of sensitivity in order to show these very delicate issues in an environment where sex remains a taboo subject, where a woman does not have the right to go uncovered.
… Must one have a child in order to accomplish her personal life as a woman? For Aïcha, who is labeled as a "tree without fruit," it was with this film that she could assert herself above all as a woman among mothers—a place that requires courage and determination, but that will give courage to the many women confronted with men’s indifference towards their suffering, the suspicion and rejection of husbands and their families, the taking of co-wives to ensure fertility... Women's rights are perceptively discussed, clearly but without a banner, notably through the comments of an imam at the Islamic school who encourages pursuing a divorce if the marriage does not lead to the woman’s enjoyment and pleasure in the same way it does for the man, and to file a grievance to the religious leaders in the case of refusal.
This is the unspoken that Aïcha confronts head-on. She is not satisfied to only denounce the plight of women who are rejected because of infertility; on the basis of the testimony of those who fight for their dignity, she demands the ability to control one’s own destiny. This film, hence, is a project; not only to correct these practices, but also and above all to tell through word and image; and in this way to speak to the world and contribute to change.
Published on the African Women in Cinema Blog in partnership with Africultures |
Publié sur l'African Women in Cinema Blog en partenariat avec Africultures
Dominican Republic
Film: Sand Dollars (Dólares de arena)
Directors: Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas
Date of Release: 2014
Language: Spanish, English, French
Run Time: 84 minutes
Summary:
“An older European woman becomes enchanted with a young Dominican woman who must struggle to make ends meet. Love brings a flow of entanglements in a drama which unfolds like palm trees in an irresistible storm.” —IMDb
Guatemala
Film: Volano (Xcanul)
Director: Jayro Bustamante
Date of Release: 2015
Languages: Mayan, Spanish
Run Time: 100 minutes
Summary:
“María, a seventeen-year-old Mayan (Kaqchikel) girl, lives on the slopes of an active volcano in Guatemala. An arranged marriage awaits her, but her suitor must first spend months working in the city. It is a world María knows nothing of, but is forced to grapple with when problems arise.” - IMDb
India
Fim: The Lunchbox (Dabba)
Director: Ritesh Batra
Date of Release: 2013
Languages: Hindi, English
Run Time: 104 minutes
Summary:
“A mistaken delivery in Mumbai's famously efficient lunchbox delivery system connects a young housewife to an older man in the dusk of his life as they build a fantasy world together through notes in the lunchbox.” – IMDb
Lesotho
Film: The Forgotten Kingdom
Film: The Forgotten Kingdom
Director: Andrew Mudge
Date of Release: 2013
Language: Southern Sotho
Run Time: 101 minutes
Summary:
A young man reluctantly embarks on a journey to bury his estranged father in the remote mountain village where he was born. He finds himself drawn to both the mystical beauty and hardships of the people of the land he had forgotten.
Iran
Film: Daughter (Dokhtar)
Director: Reza Mirkarimi
Date of Release: 2016
Language: Persian
Run Time: 103 minutes
Summary:
A young girl leaves her hometown in south of Iran for a half-day trip without permission of her strict father to attend a close friend's goodbye party. On her way back home, hazy weather changes all she had planned.
Winner of the Golden Peacock award at the 47th International Film Festival of India (IFFI)” - IMDb
Peru
Film: The Bad Intentions (Las malas intenciones)
Director: Rosario García-Montero , 2011
Languages: Spanish
Summary: With humor and heart, this offbeat drama tells the story of Cayetana, a solitary Peruvian 8-year-old girl
Fiji
Film: The Land Has Eyes (Pear ta ma 'on maf)
Director: Vilsoni Hereniko, 2004
Languages: Rotuman
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About the film: Pear ta Ma ‘on Maf / The Land Has Eyes (87 min., 2004) is a visually stunning film set on the remote island of Rotuma in the South Pacific. Directed by Vilsoni Hereniko, it is the first indigenous-made feature-length film from Fiji. Its making is an admirable example of how the process of producing a movie can be as important as the finished film.
“I wanted to give something back to my community; I wanted my people to take pride in their language,” Hereniko, a professor at the University of Hawaii, told an audience as he introduced the film during the fifth-annual imagineNative Film Festival in Toronto, Ontario. “Today, people no longer live in traditional thatched-roof houses. The whole movie set had to be constructed, yet after we were done, people moved in and are living there.” The film also encouraged the people of Rotuma to relearn traditions such as mat weaving and canoe-making.
Summary: The Land Has Eyes centers around Viki, a young girl who fights to clear her family’s name in the face of the island’s corrupt colonial administration. Strong, independent, and smart, she is inspired by the Warrior Woman from her island’s mythology as she enters womanhood amidst cultural and family challenges. The lush beauty of the island contrasts with her struggle for justice as she follows her dream of leaving the remote island to pursue further education in Fiji.
Viki adores her father, a patient, traditional Rotuman man named Hapati, and listens intently to his stories. When she becomes angry with her mother and sister for keeping her from learning how to cook and weave mats, Hapati encourages her to develop her scholastic abilities. Viki excels in school, where she learns English quickly, but her world begins to crumble when Hapati is wrongly accused of stealing coconuts by their wealthy neighbor, and their community turns against them. Because Hapati cannot understand English, his neighbor is able to frame him and only Viki, hiding under the court window, knows of the injustice. The movie’s title comes from Hapati’s reassurance to Viki of the ancient Rotuman belief that the land is vigilant and will eventually avenge wrongdoing.
When Hapati’s overwork to pay off his court fine overtakes him, Viki enters into her own inner, surreal realm, as the village people gossip about her mental instability and rebellious ways. The end of the story proves that her father was correct about the land’s vigilance.
The beautiful visuals, haunting music, and realistic characters lend honesty and simplicity to this story, which is based on Hereniko’s own life story. The director lived on Rotuma Island until he was 16, when he won a scholarship to complete his secondary education in Fiji. In the 1960s and 1970s, administrators for the former British colony had no knowledge of the local customs or language, and often allowed corrupt members of the community to take advantage of fellow islanders. The importance of knowledge both old and new are woven together throughout the film, as the heroine bucks tradition and uses her modern education, along with her respect for her cultural beliefs, to win justice for her family.
Argentina
Film: The Secret in Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos)
Director: Juan José Campanella, 2009
Languages: Spanish
Subtitles: English, French
Run Time: 129 minutes
Summary: A retired legal counselor writes a novel, hoping to find closure for one of his past unresolved homicide cases—and for his unreciprocated love for superior, both of which still haunt him decades later
SUMMARY: Recently retired criminal court investigator Benjamin (Ricardo Darin), decides to write a novel based on a twenty-five year old unresolved rape and murder case, which still haunts him. Sharing his plans with Irene (Soledad Villamil), the beautiful judge and former colleague he has secretly been in love with for years, Benjamin’s initial involvement with the case is shown through flashbacks, as he sets out to identify the murderer. But Benjamin’s search for the truth will put him at the center of a judicial nightmare, as the mystery of the heinous crime continues to unfold in the present, testing the limits of a man seeking justice and personal fulfillment at last.
REVIEW Amazon.com: The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos), an Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film, is part cold-case mystery, part long-lost love story, and part thriller set both in the present and in 1970s Argentina, under the tight control of its infamous military dictatorship. Director Juan José Campanella manages to tread easily across these genres with a story that's gripping, a little outlandish, and compelling--if full of a growing sense of dread. The Secret in Their Eyes stars Ricardo Darín as Benjamin, a policeman who gets pulled into investigating a decades-old crime, and becomes drawn in, almost against his will, as layers of information about the missing (murdered?) girl slowly come to light. As Benjamin investigates, he runs into a woman for whom he has long carried a torch, Irene (Soledad Villamil), an ambitious judge who had also at one point been involved in adjudicating the old crime. The chemistry between Benjamin and Irene is part of the "secret in their eyes," as the pull between the old colleagues becomes palpable. But also palpable is the hold that this unsolved crime has over Benjamin--a creepy borderline obsession that is reminiscent of the American film noir classic Laura. Fancy cinematography and well-crafted flashbacks to the era of the crime, set against the backdrop of the military dictatorship, add extra depth to what is a truly original story, told in layers with great intelligence. Fans of great mysteries and dramas, and of lost love that may again be found--will not want to miss The Secret in Their Eyes. --A.T. Hurley
Uganda
Film: State Research Bureau
Director: Matt Bish , 2010
Languages: English
Summary: State Research Bureau, also marketed as S.R.B., is a Ugandan action film directed by Matt Bish. It's a story based on Uganda's dark past and exposes the brutality of the president's secret intelligence police that ran safe houses.
In this look at what really happened in the so-called “safe houses” before 1986, a family tries to flee the troubled country but is intercepted along the way...they are to meet face-to-face with the notorious captain Yusuf, who runs one of these units. It's the 80's and what he calls “his unit” is a reflection of the 70s: "State Research Bureau."
The Gambia
Film: Welcome to the Smiling Coast: Living in the Gambian Ghetto
DOCUMENTARY
Director: Bas Ackermann , 2015
Languages: English
A documentary that captures the daily struggles of 15 youngsters moving within the informal economy of the Gambian tourism industry of sun, safari and sex. With the lure of a better future just around the corner, do they try their luck abroad or find their peace at home?
Togo
Film: Ashakara (In French with English sub-titles)
Running Time: 97 Minutes
Country: Burkina Faso, France, Switzerland
Genre: Action, Comedy, Thriller
Summary: Set in Togo, West Africa, Ashakara is a modern African tale. An African doctor finds a cure to a deadly virus and decides to mass-produce the drug at low cost in Africa. However, a pharmaceutical multinational does not want the doctor to succeed and sends an agent to Africa first to buy the drug, and then to destroy it. Mixing action, suspense, good humor, and a lucid depiction of the contemporary African continent, Ashakara entertains and educates all at once.
REVIEW NY TIMES: Dr. Kara (James Campbell-Badine) has heard that local people from his Togolese village of origin have a way to treat a disease that Europeans have only recently started suffering from. He goes home to discover this substance, and enters into a fight against a drug company, which already markets a competing substance which is less effective, to make it possible for real research into the new substance's benefits to continue. The drug company wants to buy up "rights" to the drug and all the research associated with it so that they can suppress it in favor of their already existing drug; this is much, much cheaper than doing new studies and new research. The only trouble is, it has nothing to do with the cure and treatment of disease. Dr. Kara's assistant is not as committed to healing as he is, and is negotiating with the drug company in return for huge amounts of cash. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
Micronesia
Film: Papa Mau
Director: Na’alehu Anthony, 2010
USA I 2010 I 57 min I English and Satawalese with English subtitles
Summary: PAPA MAU: THE WAYFINDER recounts the fundamental role that master navigator Mau Piailug played in reawakening Polynesian pride by teaching Hawai'ians the dying art of traditional voyaging without the aid of instruments. While the art of non-instrument navigation was lost in Polynesia, it lived on in the tiny Micronesian atoll of Satawal, in a man named Mau. Chosen at birth and trained from an early age, Mau was not only destined to become a master of this dying tradition, but he also had the singular foresight to create a wayfinding legacy for all of Oceania by sharing his knowledge with a new generation of Hawaiian navigators. When Mau successfully guided Hōkūle'a to Tahiti in 1976, the voyage launched a collective reawakening of cultural pride and unity throughout the Pacific. PAPA MAU: THE WAYFINDER documents three decades of Mau's legacy through voyaging adventures. It is a story of great adversity, the testing and mending of relationships, and even loss of life, but ultimately, it is a story of collective courage and hope for Hawaiians. Sail along on this remarkable journey of an iconic voyaging canoe and of a renewed people, both guided by the wisdom of Papa Mau, the master wayfinder who breathed life back into the sails of Polynesia's voyaging tradition.
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Morocco
Film: Ali Zaoua: Prince of the Streets (Ali Zaoua, prince de la rue)
Director: Nabil Ayouch , 2000
Languages: Arabic, French
90 minutes
Summary: A Moroccan crime drama tells the story of group of homeless children living on the streets. The decision by some to leave their gang prompts retribution from the gang’s leader. After one of the children dies, the rest try to come up with the resources to give their friend a proper burial.
2000 Stockholm Film Festival
2000 Amiens International Film Festival
Ghana
Film: Mummy's Daughter
Director: Frank Rajah Arase , 2006
Drama
Languages: English
Summary: Frank Rajah Arase (Beyonce the President's Daughter, Darkness of Sorrow) is carving out a name for himself in this, one of his best productions yet. He is able to bring out the best in the dream team trio of Jackie Appiah, Van Vicker and Nadia Buari, reunited again as the leads in his ensemble cast for this old tale of the wicked stepmother.
It's not exactly Cinderella, and it's not Ever-After either. It is unique it is own way. A man keeps a secret from his wife and the secret comes back to haunt him one day when his wife catches him in public with another woman and child. Before long, the man is involved in a life threatening car accident and on his deathbed he confesses to his wife that he had a girlfriend before he married her and that she became pregnant. Rather than destroy lives, he decided to marry his wife and keep the girlfriend and her child on the side. Knowing that the girlfriend has died the man entrusts the child in the care of his wife right before he dies.
Fifteen years later, the child Anita (played by Nadia Buari) has grown up thinking that her stepmother is her actual mother but the wicked ways of the woman she calls “mother” forces her to ask questions. Her mother treats her own daughter (played by Jackie Appiah) like a princess yet treats Anita like a slave girl. One day, Anita decides to look for a job so that she can fend for herself. She finds a job in the company of one of her mother's friends. There she catches the eye of her boss's son (played by Van Vicker), who instantly falls in love with her. Little does the budding couple know that Anita's stepmother has been shadowing the same man for her own daughter. All hell breaks lose when the mother discovers the two lovebirds kissing one night.
Ghana
Film: Emmanuel's Gift
DOCUMENTARY
Director: Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern , 2005
This documentary tells the story of 27-year-old Ghanaian Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, born with a deformed leg. The disabled are often disdained or even murdered at birth in Africa, but Emmanuel is determined to be a part of society. After receiving a bicycle, thanks to a grant for handicapped athletes, Emmanuel rides across Ghana, challenging stereotypes in the process. Emmanuel travels to America to receive a prosthetic leg and spreads awareness of human rights for the disabled everywhere he goes.
IMDB: If you are born disabled in Ghana, West Africa you are likely to be poisoned, or left to die by your family; and if you are not poisoned or left for dead, you're likely to be hidden away in a room; and if you're not hidden, you are destined to spend your lifetime begging on the streets. Of the twenty million people in Ghana, two million are disabled. This is the story of one disabled man whose mission-and purpose- is to change all that forever. In Emmanuel's Gift, filmmakers Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern have uncovered a story as compelling as it is important. Narrated by Oprah Winfrey, the film chronicles the life of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, a young Ghanaian man born with a severely deformed right leg, who today, against incalculable odds, is opening minds, hearts and doors-and effecting social and political change throughout his country. While Emmanuel's message is vital: people with disabilities are valuable contributors to any society, his method is inspirational. Emmanuel begins his quest with a bicycle ride, over 600 kilometers, across Ghana with one leg-and continues to spread his vision with grit and resolve. Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern have been documenting Emmanuel's plight for over a year, having shot over 100 hours of powerful imagery. The film includes original footage shot in Ghana, California, Oregon and New York, as well as photographs and other acquired film/video of Emmanuel's early years. Through it all, they have created an intimate insight into the mind and heart of a visionary whose unforgettable journey transcends continents and cultures and becomes each of ours to share.
Mongolia
Film: Tuya's Marriage (Tuya de hun shi)
Director: Quan'an Wang , 2006
Languages: Mandarin
Summary: Tuya is the persevering wife of Bater, a herdsman who lost his legs exploring water in the Neimenggu (Inner Mongolia) grassland that is vanishing due to desertification. Tuya takes up the sole responsibility to make a living for the family, but she also injures herself from her hard labor and risks paralysis. Faced with harsh reality, the couple decides to divorce so that Tuya can seek a better life. Imposing her own conditions of remarriage—her new husband must take care of Bater, their children, and their poor herding land—the strong-minded, stubborn, but gentle Tuya embarks on a search for a new husband. She meets suitors who are rich but disingenuous, likable but shy, but she manages to save a suicidal Bater who still longs for Tuya and their children. This is a drama set in the steppes that takes its subjects seriously.
Armenia
Film: If Only Everyone
Director: Nataliya Belyauskene , 2012
Languages: Armenian
Drama/War ‧ 1h 38m
Summary: The story of friendship between an Armenian veteran of the Nagorno-Karabakh war and the daughter of one of his fallen comrades.
Sasha, a girl from Russia, travels Armenia to find a Nagorno-Karabakh war veteran named Gurgen. After finding him, she tells him that she would like to visit and plant a tree at the grave of her father, who died in the war serving with Gurgen. He, however, is not very interested and directs her to a village to find some of the others who served with her father during the war. Responsibility eventually gets a hold of Gurgen as he steals a car from his mechanic shop and makes the trip with the young girl. After assembling some of the members of Sasha's father's unit, Gurgen has a hard time with the process. He feels guilty for Sasha's father's death since it was his capture that led to the rescue operation that took his life. Furthermore, he doesn't know how to tell Sasha that her father's grave is actually on the other side of the front line. When they eventually reach the military post at the front, the commander in charge refuses to approve their plans.
During the night, Gurgen and Sasha make the trip across and are able to plant the tree. As the sun rises, an Azerbaijani villager sees the two and captures them with his rifle. After questioning them, he finds out the reason they are visiting the grave and breaks into tears, having lost his 10-year-old son during the war. He lets them go with the promise that they'll plant one at the grave of his son on the Armenian side. After planting the tree at the young boy's grave, they begin their trek back to town. While stopping for a restroom break, the bodyguards of the oligarch whose car Gurgen had stolen catch up with them. They beat the veterans and take the car, leaving them stranded. Sasha, who did not see the scene that took place, finds the men and tries to ask in broken Armenian, "Are you alright?" Finding humor in her terrible Armenian, they all break down in hysterical laughter.
NOTE Controversy arose around the film when Azerbaijani writer Elchin Huseynbeyli claimed that the plot of the film contains many of the same elements as his story Sun Blinding (Azerbaijani: Gözlərimə gün düşür), written in early 2010. However, Michael Poghosyan (writer of "If Only Everyone") claims that he wrote the script in early 2010 after meeting with people who lived through the war and the production followed in the spring of 2010. Additionally, Michael Poghosyan stated, "We could similarly accuse the Azerbaijanis of stealing the story of our film Longing, where the main hero crossed a border to die in his homeland."
Armenian entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, but did not make the shortlist.
Armenia
Film: Lost & Found in Armenia
Director: Gor Kirakosian, 2013
Languages: English and Armenian
Comedy | 1h 40m
Summary: On a vacation in Turkey after a bad breakup, a parasailing accident leaves Bill stranded in a small Armenian village, where he is accused of being a spy. There he meets a young woman (Angela Sarafyan) who helps him escape from misfortune.
6.4/10IMDb67%Rotten Tomatoes
Armenia
Film: Orphans of the Genocide
Director: Bared Maronian , 2014 (initial release date 2010)
DOCUMENTARY | 1h 31m
Languages: English and Armenian
Summary: Orphans of the Genocide was written and directed by four-time regional Emmy Award-winning American-Armenian filmmaker Bared Maronian, and deals with the Armenian Genocide: By the end of WWI over 150,000 Armenian children were left parentless as a direct result of the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Authorities. Near East Relief commissioned by the US Congress catered to over 132,000 Armenian orphans alone.
Film was premiered in 2015 at the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
Indonesia
Film: Denias, Singing on the Cloud (Denias, Senandung Di Atas Awan)
Director: John de Rantau , 2006
Languages: Indonesian, Papuan Malay
Summary: A movie based on a true story about a boy in a remote village in the island of Papua, whose learning spirit is so strong he's willing to take a long, rough journey to go to a school. Denias is from Aroanop, a small village at Jayawijaya Mountain in western Papua Island. A poor villager in Papua, Denias's dream is to get a better education by going to school. He travels for days crossing fields, mountains and rivers to get to a school in the nearest city, but when he gets there, he faces discrimination due to his lowly status as a peasant. Regardless of the hardships he faces, Denias never gives up, and with the help of two friends, he finds the strength to persevere.
REVIEW
“… a fantastic film with some wonderful acting and absolutely breathtaking views of West Papua in Indonesia. … tremendous insight given in to the inhabitants of this remote region. We see the education system in this neck of the woods and the opportunities or lack of opportunities. It really puts Indonesia on the map; generally news coming out of such an amazing country tends to be rather negative. Great actors and some brilliant scenes full of emotion.”
AWARDS
Received the 2007 Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Children's Feature Film.
Selected as the official Indonesian entry to the 2008 80th Academy Awards, in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
Namibia
Film: Tjitji—The Himba Girl
Director: Oshosheni Hiveluah, 2014
Languages: Otjihimba & English
Documentary: Paths to Freedom
Director: Richard Pakleppa, 2014
Languages: Various languages with English subtitles
Moldova
Documentary: Mama Illegal
Director: Ed Moschitz, 2011
Languages: Moldovan/Romanian
Film: The Unsaved
Director: Igor Cobileanski, 2013
Documentary: Panihida
Director: Ana Felicia Scutelnicu, Titl Molina, 2012
Peru
Film: Asu Mare
Director: Ricardo Maldonado, 2013
Languages: Spanish
Film: Gospel of the Flesh
Director: Eduardo Mendoza de Echave, 2013
Languages: Spanish
Sierra Leone
Documentary: Brownstones to Red Dirt
Director: Dave LaMattina and Chad N. Walker, 2010
Languages: English
Short Film: Ebola: A Poem For the Living
Director: Firdaus Kharas, 2014
Languages: Versions in 17 languages
Film: Sara De Coward Hunter (full length film)
Director: Gen. Mammie, 2014
Language: Krio
Ecuador
Documentary: The Death of Jaime Roldós
Director: Lisandra I. Rivera and Manolo Sarmiento, 2013
Languages: Spanish with English subtitles
Film: Feriado (Holiday)
Director: Diego Araujo, 2014
Languages: Spanish
Thailand
Film: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Director: Apichatpong Weerasethalkul, 2010
Languages: Thai
Film: Pee Mak
Director: Banjong Pisanthanakun, 2013
Languages: Thai
Tanzania
Film: Maangamizi: The Ancient One
Director: Martin Mhando and Ron Mulvihill, 2001
Languages: Swahili | English
Educational: Chumo (YouTube full-length)
http://www.chumofilm.com/home.html
Director: Jordan Riber, 2011
Languages: Swahili (English subtitles)
Ethiopia
Film: Teza
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76SXyconicc
Director: Haile Gerima, 2008
Languages: English, subtitles
Mexico
Documentary: Narco Cultura
Director: Shaul Schwarz, 2013
Languages: Spanish
Film: Club Sandwich
Director: Fernando Eimbcke, 2011
Languages: Spanish
Turkey
Film: Uzak
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2002
Languages: Turkish
Documentary: Crossing the Bridge of a Sound
Director: Fatih Akin, 2005
Film: Somersault in a Coffin
Director: Dervis Zaim, 1996
Mozambique
Documentary: Grande Hotel
Director: Lotte Stoops, 2010
Languages: Portuguese
Film: Virgem Margarida (Virgin Margarida)
Director: Licínio Azevedo, 2012
Languages: Portuguese/French
Ethiopia
Film: DIFRET
Director: Zeresenay Mehari, 2014
Languages: Amharic with English subtitles
99 minutes — Ethiopia
SYNOPSIS: Three hours outside of Addis Ababa, a bright 14-year-old girl is on her way home from school when men on horses swoop in and kidnap her. The brave Hirut grabs a rifle and tries to escape, but ends up shooting her would-be husband. In her village, the practice of abduction into marriage is common and one of Ethiopia's oldest traditions.
Meaza Ashenafi, an empowered and tenacious young lawyer, arrives from the city to represent Hirut and argue that she acted in self-defense. Meaza boldly embarks on a collision course between enforcing civil authority and abiding by customary law, risking the continuing work of her women's legal-aid practice to save Hirut's life.
Written by Sundance Film Festival
Documentary: Sincerely, Ethiopia
Director: Nathan Araya, 2013
Languages: English, subtitles
www.sincerelyethiopia.com
DESCRIPTION: Ethiopia is Africa’s oldest independent country and the continent’s second-most-populous nation. It is often depicted as a poverty-stricken, famine-saturated land crumbling from conflict. But to Ethiopian natives, the country is viewed in a more honest and uplifting light, one that exposes the people’s strong sense of pride and the land’s transcendent beauty often reflected in its rich culture.
Its breathtaking landscape is home to over 93 million people, many of whom face harsh realities, yet carry on with a sense of strength and courage.
While the challenges Ethiopia has faced (and still tackles) are well documented, the ability of its people to overcome hardships has often been overlooked – until now.
Filmmaker Nathan Araya has stepped in to fill that void with the documentary Sincerely, Ethiopia. Araya, a 28-year-old Ethiopian-American, set out to tackle the negative perceptions of his homeland by placing his film’s focus on a more positive portrayal of Ethiopian life and culture.
Araya banded together a group of friends who spent four years researching, fundraising, traveling, and documenting to create a film that tells Ethiopia’s fascinating story the way they thought best. The group focused on inspiring narratives of Ethiopians who have dedicated their lives to addressing the country’s ongoing challenges.
Viewers will meet Eden Gelan, the co-founder of the Beza Community Development Association (BCDA) – an organization that provides aid to those with HIV through medical support and counseling. They will be introduced to Yohannes Gebregeorgis, a public advocate for educational and literacy development among Ethiopia’s youth. Gebregeorgis is the founder of Ethiopia Reads and has been honored as a CNN Hero.
The documentary also tells the story of Biruktawit Tagesse, who works with vulnerable adolescent boys in Ethiopia to help them develop a strong sense of self-esteem and positive, creative imaginations.
Then there is Addisu’s tale as part of the Adugna Community Dance Theatre – which is regarded as the only modern, contemporary dance company in the nation. Addisu works at the theatre to welcome and train some of Ethiopia’s most extraordinary dancers. He teaches them to use their body motions and art to express their powerful take on a number of social injustices.
Viewers are left with a renewed sense of Ethiopia and the multi-talented people that compose its cultural fabric.
Synopsis abridged from Lilly Workneh: http://thegrio.com/2013/12/04/sincerely-ethiopia-new-documentary-unveils-inspiring-tales-from-ethiopia/
For a review see: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/samuel-getachew/sincerely-ethiopia_b_5008126.html
Cameroon
Film: Man on the Bottom
Director: Christopher Baldi, 2007
Languages: English
90 minutes – Cameroon
From IMDB: This thriller features a cheating wife who blackmails her young lover, forcing him to help her plot the murder of her rich husband.
Documentary: Born This Way
Director: Shaun Kadlec, Deb Tullmann, 2013
Languages: French / English
82 minutes – USA / Cameroon
From IMDB: Born This Way is a portrait of the underground gay and lesbian community in Cameroon. It follows two young Cameroonians, as they move between a secret, supportive LGBT community and an outside culture that, though intensely homophobic, is in transition toward greater acceptance.
From the film’s website: www.bornthiswaydocumentary.com
SYNOPSIS : There are more arrests for homosexuality in Cameroon than any other country in the world. With intimate access to the lives of four young gay Cameroonians, Born This Way steps outside the genre of activist filmmaking and offers a vivid and poetic portrait of day-to-day life in modern Africa. Lyrical imagery, devastating homophobia, the influence of western culture, and a hidden-camera courtroom drama mysteriously coalesce into a story of what is possible in the global fight for equality.
FILMMAKERS’ COMMENTS: We met Steave Nemande, the founder of Alternatives Cameroun (the first LGBT center in Cameroon) at a Human Rights Watch event in Los Angeles. He told us about a very brave group of LGBT people who congregate at Alternatives. He described how they work and play there: doing HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, providing psychological counseling, and supporting people who are rejected by their families—but also throwing amateur runway fashion shows, dance parties, and soccer matches. And during all of this, exploring together what it means to be gay, lesbian, African, human—in a place where none of these things are simple. He said that he believed many people in that community were ready, for the first time, to tell their stories.
We traveled alone to Cameroon on tourist visas. We spok e almost no French, the official language, and though we have both traveled widely, neither of us had ever been to Central Africa. We had no idea what kind of film we would end up with. We only knew that we would determine the structure and content by listening to the people who agreed to share their stories and their lives.
Documentary: Sisters in Law: Stories from a Cameroon Court
Director: Florence Ayisi, Kim Longinotto, 2005
Languages: Pidgin English, subtitles
104 minutes – Cameroon
Wikipedia says: The film centres around four cases in Cameroon involving violence against women. It shows women seeking justice and effecting change on universal human interests issues. It also shows strong and positive images of women and children in Cameroon. Portrays the lives of women in children in Cameroon and living by the Islamic law (Sharia law.) In addition, the cases that are examined within the film particularly deal mainly with the inequality of women and children. Specifically one of the children was beaten with a cane and the aunt was charged with child abuse.
Reception: Screened in over 120 film festivals around the world, and also in Art House cinemas in Europe and USA. It has won many film awards including the prestigious Prix Art et Essai at the Cannes film festival in May 2005, Best Documentary Film at Hawaii International Film Festival, Audience Award at International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), Best Documentary on a Contemporary issue, Grierson Award, Social Justice Award for Documentary Film at Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Best International Documentary at Real Life on Film Festival, Melbourne and Best Single Documentary, Royal Television Society.
For more films relating to Cameroon:
https://mubi.com/lists/lost-continent-cinema-of-cameroon
http://istanbulfilms.blogspot.com/2010/05/best-movies-from-cameroon-3.html
Sri Lanka
Film: The Road from Elephant Pass (Alimankada)
Director: Chandran Rutnam, 2008
Languages: Sinhalese and Tamil with English subtitles
120 minutes – Sri Lanka
The Road from Elephant Pass is a 2008 action thriller film set during the Sri Lankan Civil War, based on the novel The Road from Elephants Pass by Nihal De Silva.
SYNOPSIS: The story focuses on the themes of war and survival in a complicated relationship, involving characters of different races and from opposing liberation organisations.
Sri Lankan Army Captain Wasantha Ratnayake is ordered to guard Kamala Velaithan, a member of LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), and to deliver her to army headquarters in Colombo. However, due to ambushes and injuries along the way, Kamala and Wasantha are forced into a mutually co-operative situation, which broadens and deepens to the point where they find it hard to operate without the other. A relationship grows between these two people, who started out as enemies. Together, they survive poachers, elephants, and the extreme dangers of the jungle. These intense experiences, which force them to co-operate, eventually evolve into an unexpected love affair.
Documentary: Arise: The Sri Lankan Metal Music Documentary
Director: Dinesh Guneratne, Naveen Marasinghe, 2010
Languages: English
Sri Lanka
This documentary film takes a deeper look at the lives of four-underground metal bands in Sri Lanka. The documentary explores the life and difficulties faced by these musicians and presents a story from their point of view.
Documentary: No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka
Director: Callum Macrae, 2013
Languages: English
49 minutes – UK
SYNOPSIS: An intense documentary about the final awful months of the 26-year-long Sri Lankan civil war, as told by the people who lived through it. …A chilling expose of war crimes and crimes against humanity, told through extraordinary personal stories and shown through dramatic and disturbing video evidence.
The film documents the horror of this war in footage recorded by both victims and perpetrators on mobile phones and small cameras, capturing direct evidence of war crimes, summary execution, torture, and sexual violence.
The film starts in September 2008, when an air of deep foreboding hung over Kilinochchi, the de facto capital of the Tamil homelands of Northern Sri Lanka. The armed forces of the ultra-nationalist Sinhalese government of Sri Lanka were on the move, and the brutal secessionist army of the Tamil Tigers was retreating. After 26 years of war, the scene was set for the final awful endgame.
The filmmakers looked at and translated hours of raw footage showing the day-to-day life of the people who lived and in many cases died during the 138 days of hell which form the central narrative of the film.
The film is built around compelling personal stories. There is a young British Tamil visiting relatives in Sri Lanka who became trapped, along with hundreds of thousands of other men, women, and children, desperately fleeing the government onslaught. Trained as a medical technician in the UK, she found herself helping in a makeshift hospital while doctors treated hundreds of badly injured people, in some cases performing major surgery without general anaesthetic. Others who tell their stories include two of the last UN workers to leave Sri Lanka. Inevitably, too, this film is the story of some who didn’t make it.
No Fire Zone brings the story up to date. The Sri Lankan government still denies all this happened. The repression and ethnic restructuring of the Tamil homelands in the north of Sri Lanka continues, and journalists and government critics are still disappearing. The government will tolerate no opposition, and has even turned on its own judiciary.
Without truth there can be no justice in Sri Lanka. And without justice there can be no peace. This film is part of that truth-telling.
For more films about or related to Sri Lanka: http://www.imdb.com/country/lk
Malawi
Documentary: Deep Roots Malawi
Director: Kenny Gilmore, Cedar Spring Wolf (as Cedar Wolf), 2012
Languages: English
56 minutes – USA / Malawi
IMDB synopsis: Malawi. This small land-locked African nation has long been a treasure chest of ancient Central-South African culture. As one of the continent’s great crossroads, Malawi has witnessed and absorbed great migrations from all points of the compass, each contributing to a richly charismatic music and dance heritage that has never been put before the public—until now. Deep Roots Malawi is a documentary aiming to expose some of the musical secrets of this captivating country, and has been filmed in cooperation with key figures in the music industry, along with one of the world's leading experts on Malawian music, Dr. Waliko Makhala. The film also raises issues about the survival of deeply felt cultural traditions in the modern world, and hence the reverberations of the story go throughout modern Africa and beyond. Written by Benjamin Cobb
http://www.kennygilmore.com/2012/07/08/deep-roots-malawi-official-movie/
Documentary: William and the Windmill
Director: Ben Nabors, 2013
Languages: 96 minutes – USA / Malawi
William Kamkwamba was 14 when he set out to build a windmill, using bits of bicycles, scraps of wood, perhaps a flip-flop or two, and with only a battered library book as his guide. His windmill successfully generated power for his impoverished Malawian family, which is in itself pretty extraordinary, but that's one small part of this story.
William’s achievement attracted considerable attention, and he was invited to speak at a TEDGlobal conference. The hit of the show, he was taken under the wing of an American entrepreneur and flown to New York. What followed was a whirlwind of radio and television interviews, book offers, parties, and more. How would a young man from Malawi cope with this full-on experience, so far from family and home?
Turkey
Film: Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Bir Zamanlar Anadolu'da)
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2011
Languages: Turkish
157 minutes – Turkey
SYNOPSIS: In the dead of night, a group of men, including a police commissioner, a prosecutor, a doctor and a murder suspect, drive through the Anatolian countryside, the serpentine roads and rolling hills lit only by the headlights of their cars. They are searching for a corpse, the victim of a brutal murder. The suspect, who claims he was drunk, can't remember where he buried the body. As night wears on, details about the murder emerge and the investigators own secrets come to light. In the Anatolian steppes nothing is what it seems; and when the body is found, the real questions begin.
Wikipedia’s description: A drama co-written and directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan and based on the true experience of one of the film's writers, telling the story of a group of men who search for a dead body on the Anatolian steppe.
The film was a co-winner of the Grand Prix at the 2011 Cannes Festival, and was Turkey's official submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but did not make the shortlist.
Sight & Sound film magazine listed it at #8 on its list of best films of 2012. Stephen Holden, film critic for The New York Times, called Once Upon a Time in Anatolia the sixth best movie of 2012 and "a searching reflection on the elusiveness of truth."
Film: My Father and My Son (Babam ve Oğlum)
Director: Çağan Irmak, 2005
Languages: Turkish
108 minutes – Turkey
A drama written and directed by Çağan Irmak about a family torn apart by the 1980 Turkish coup d'état. The film went on nation-wide release in 2005 and became one of the highest-grossing Turkish films in history.
Film: The Road / (Yol)
Director: Yılmaz Güney, Şerif Gören, 1982
Languages: Turkish, Kurdish
114 minutes – Turkey
Yol (Turkish for "The Road" or "The Way") is an older but classic Turkish film. The screenplay was written by Güney, but it was directed by his assistant Şerif Gören, who strictly followed Güney's instructions, while Güney was in prison. Güney escaped from prison, took the negatives of the film to Switzerland, and later edited the film in Paris.
The film is a portrait of Turkey in the aftermath of the 1980 Turkish coup d'état: its people and its authorities are shown via the stories of five prisoners given a week's home leave. The film caused much controversy in Turkey, and was banned until 1999 (ostensibly due to Yılmaz Güney's involvement rather than its content).
Yol tells the story of several prisoners on furlough. Seyit Ali travels to his home to find that his wife has betrayed him and works as a prostitute. She was caught by her family and held captive for Seyit Ali to end her life in an honor killing. Though determined at first, he changes his mind when she starts to freeze while travelling in the snow. Despite his efforts to keep her alive, she dies. Her accidental death relieves Seyit Ali from family pressure and also saves him from justice, but he returns to jail with an internal struggle over what has happened.
Mehmet Salih has been arrested for his role in a heist with his brother-in-law, whom he abandoned while being shot at by police. Now his in-laws want nothing to do with him, and he is forced to tell his wife Emine the truth. Emine and Mehmet Salih decide to run away by train. On the train, they get caught in the toilet while having long-awaited sex with each other. They are saved from an angry mob by the train's officers and held in a cabin before being handed over to officials. But then a young boy from Emine's family, who had boarded the train, shoots both Mehmet Salih and Emine.
Ömer returns to his border village which the army monitors due to smuggling. Ömer arranges to cross the border to escape prison. Though Ömer is determined, he abandons this plan after his smuggler brother is shot dead. As a result of his brother's death, Ömer inherits the responsibilities of his brother's wife and children, as dictated by tradition.
Each prisoner in the film suffers from a conflict that threatens his freedom, as well as from traditions that are imprisoning.
Documentary: Anadolu'nun Kayıp Şarkıları (Lost Songs of Anatolia)
Director: Nezih Ünen, 2010
Languages: Turkish
102 minutes – Turkey
This film has been hailed as Turkey’s first musical-documentary and features approximately 20 musical numbers shot on location in various places around Anatolia. It examines the influence of ancient civilizations, rituals, and mythology on traditional music and dance.
Documentary: Son Buluşma (The Last Meeting)
Director: Nesli Çölgeçen, 2007
Languages: Turkish
90 minutes – Turkey
A depiction of the memoires and daily life of three of the last veterans of the Turkish War of Independence (1919–1923). Marksman Private Ömer from Çorum pays first a visit to his commander, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, at Anıtkabir in Ankara. He then travels to meet his comrades, Combat Medic Corporal Veysel in Konya and Cavalryman Yakup in Eskişehir. When the film was shot in 2006, Ömer Küyük was 106 years old, Veysel Turan 105 and Yakup Satar 108. In the film, they remember the wartime and say farewell to each other.
Shortly after the material for the documentary was filmed, all three veterans died, and so they did not see the premiere in 2008, held in Çorum, the hometown of Ömer Küyük.
Documentary: Ekümenopolis: Ucu olmayan sehir (Ecumenopolis: City Without Limits)
Director: Imre Azem, 2011
Languages: Turkish, English
88 minutes – Turkey / Germany
A Turkish-German co-production, this documentary takes its name from an imaginary concept devised in 1967 by the Greek urban planner Constantinos Doxiadis. The concept suggests that the metropolitan cities of the modern world will expand to such sizes that they will merge into one huge city in the future.
Best categorized as urban horror, this film shows how Istanbul has become a city without limits: it continues to expand uncontrollably, with speculation playing a large role. The 3rd Bosphorus bridge will be built, attracting more migration, urbanization, and traffic to the one-third of the city that’s currently relatively peaceful and unpopulated. It shows how the metropolitan administration equates “development” with the number of shopping malls, residences with fake ponds and so-called ecological gardens, and endless construction. It shows how wrongful urbanization policies disrupt the historical fabric of the city, the old neighborhoods, and forests and water basins. The film also shows clearly that the government simply does not care about the issues.
IMDB says: The story of Istanbul and other Mega-Cities on a neo-liberal course to destruction. It follows the story of a migrant family in their on-going struggle for housing rights.
www.timeoutistanbul.com/en/istanbulbeatblog/936/ecumenopolis-city-without-limits/
South Africa
Film: Fanie Fourie's Lobola
Director: Henk Pretorius, 2013
Languages: Zulu, Afrikaans, English
South Africa
SYNOPSIS: The story of the complications that ensue when an Afrikaans man and Zulu girl fall in love, especially when the traditional custom of "lobola," or dowry, makes things even more difficult for them.
For a review and trailer:
www.timeslive.co.za/entertainment/2013/03/07/fanie-fourie-s-lobola-does-sa-proud-minister
When an Afrikaans man romances a Zulu woman, there’s bound to be a price to pay. In the case of Fanie and Dinky, it ends up being her dowry (known in South Africa as lobola).
Even the lovers can scarcely believe that it’s come to this. After all, Fanie asked her out on a dare and she accepted to deter her dad’s incessant matchmaking. And so they find themselves caught in a culture clash with Fanie having to calculate the precise value of the love of his life. Combining hilarious storytelling with social commentary, this romantic comedy is a potent tale of new love running headlong into outdated attitudes.
"A Romeo & Juliet fable that buries worn-out issues and clichés and celebrates an optimistic New South Africa… Pretorius spins moments of absolute magic with his subtle and skillful telling… We need films like Fanie Fourie’s Lobola to show how the best of two broken worlds can unite into a harmonious whole… It also shows that there is much more to paying your lobola than delivering cows; it’s about understanding and respecting the cultural differences that separate and embrace a new world that outshines the old."—Daniel Dercksen, All Africa
Film: Tsotsi
Director: Gavin Hood, 2005
Languages: Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, English
94 minutes – UK / South Africa
Based on a story by Athol Fugard
Set in Johannesburg slum, the film tells the story of Tsotsi, a young street thug who steals a car only to discover a baby in the back seat. It is an adaptation of the novel Tsotsi, by Athol Fugard. The soundtrack features Kwaito music performed by popular South African artist Zola and a score by Mark Kilian and Paul Hepker featuring the voice of South African protest singer/poet Vusi Mahlasela.
This film won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film in 2006.
Documentary: Music for Mandela
Director: Jason Bourque, 2013
Languages: English
82 minutes – Canada
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P0vp5WCjik
A theatrical documentary that explores the role music played in the extraordinary life of one of the world's most important icons. From Nelson Mandela's imprisonment to his release, to the present day celebrations of his legacy, the music born out of his inspirational journey is commented on by his closest friends, former exiled musicians, current international artists, and community volunteers, who use music today to motivate and educate. Combining striking visuals with freedom songs, pop music and hip-hop, this is a stirring tribute to the man himself and to the ultimate power of music.
Documentary: Dear Mandela
Director: Dara Kell & Christopher Nizza, 2011
Languages: English and Zulu
93 minutes – South Africa / USA
SYNOPSIS: When the South African government promises to ‘eradicate the slums’ and begins evicting shack dwellers from their homes, three friends who live in Durban’s vast shantytowns refuse to be moved. They are part of a new generation who feel betrayed by the broken promises of Mandela’s own political party, the African National Congress. DEAR MANDELA follows their journey from their shacks to the highest court in the land as they invoke Nelson Mandela’s example and become leaders in an inspiring social movement. Determined to stop the evictions, they meet with their communities by candlelight and discover that the new innocuous-sounding ‘Slums Act’ legalizes the evictions and violate the rights enshrined in the country’s landmark constitution. With the help of pro bono lawyers, they challenge the Slums Act all the way to Constitutional Court.
The extraordinary achievements of the shack dwellers donot come without a price. As the beloved Mandela's portrait beams down from schoolroom chalkboards and shack walls, the three learn of the sacrifices that come with leadership. Shack demolitions, assassination attempts, and government repression test their resolve to continue. By turns devastating, inspiring, and funny, DEAR MANDELA offers a new perspective on the role that young people can play in political change and is a fascinating portrait of South Africa coming of age. This is the remarkable story of Abahlali BaseMjondolo – Zulu for ‘people of the shacks,’ and is considered the largest movement of the poor to emerge in post-apartheid South Africa.
Winner, Grand Jury Prize, Brooklyn Film Festival Winner; Best Documentary, Brooklyn Film Festival Winner; Best South African Documentary, Durban International Film Festival; African Academy Award Nominee For Best Documentary Winner
Documentary: Mandela (aka Mandela: Son of Africa, Father of a Nation)
Director: Angus Gibson, Jo Menell, 1996
Languages: English
118 minutes – South Africa / USA
The official film biography of Nelson Mandela. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
The film touches on Nelson Mandela's childhood, family, education, and his long struggle to gain freedom for all the ethnic groups in South Africa. It includes his experiences in the Robben Island prison before becoming the first democratically elected president of the ethnically united South Africa. Interviews include: F.W. de Klerk, Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela, Eugene Terre'Blanche, (Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging Party).
Film critic Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times) liked the film but felt more information should have been included, especially the motivations of F.W. de Klerk. He wrote, "The actual story of the events leading to the election is more complicated and interesting. Yes, South Africa suffered from economic sanctions. But it could have survived for many years before caving in; it forged clandestine trading arrangements with countries ranging from China to Israel, and its diamonds still found their way onto the fingers of brides all over the world. Civil unrest was widespread, but South Africa had a fearsome array of police and military forces to counter it. If white South Africa had been adamant, apartheid would still be law...None of those events are told in Mandela, which simplifies the transfer of power into a fable of black against white; it all but implies that de Klerk was unwilling to see power change hands."
Mozambique
Film: O Jardim do Outro Homem (Another Man's Garden)
Director: João Luis Sol de Carvalho, 2006
Languages: Portuguese
80 minutes – Portugal / Mozambique
SYNOPSIS: Sofia, a young girl in Mozambique who is studying to be a doctor, finds that her professor wants more from her than hard work. An unwillingness to compromise her values and potentially her health may cost her a place at the university—and her future.
Documentary: The Guide
Director: Jessica Yu, 2013
Languages: English
40 minutes
From IMDB: The Guide is a coming-of-age tale set against the restoration of a war-torn national park in Mozambique. Raised near Gorongosa National Park, young Tonga Torcida dreams of becoming a tour guide. But when he meets famed biologist E.O. Wilson, his new view of the world around him, and his future, places him at a crossroads. Should Tonga become a guide, or take on a bigger role in trying to keep the park alive?
Documentary: Life after Death (Vida después de la muerte)
Director: Jorge A. Borda, 2013
Languages: English, Spanish
51 minutes – Spain / USA
Mozambique is bordered by South Africa and Tanzania and the channel that bears its name. The capital, Maputo, has a population of 1.3 million and is its political, administrative and judicial center. The capital is overcrowded with immigrants from the country's interior, where the opportunities for work are few. The contrast between the prosperous ruling class and the bulk of the population is huge. The poverty rate is over 50% and life expectancy is around 50 years... one of the lowest on the continent.
These figures do not even take into account the AIDS epidemic. Despite its late arrival in Mozambique, the devastating effect of AIDS is anticipated to cause a 10-year drop in life expectancy.
After suffering a bloody 15-year war, Mozambique is currently one of the world's 15 poorest countries. Of the population of 25 million, half live below the absolute poverty line... with 30% living in extreme poverty. The lack of an economic infrastructure means that social instability is a latent factor, particularly in combination with natural disasters that can leave many families destitute. The marks of war and hunger can be seen everywhere.
Mutilations are a constant sight, as are disease, extreme poverty, and the inhumane conditions under which the population lives. The film suggests that it is incumbent upon developed countries to take immediate action to provide help.
For other films about or related to Mozambique:
www.imdb.com/country/mz and mubi.com/lists/lost-continent-cinema-of-mozambique
Vanuatu
Film: Till There Was You
Director: John Seale, 1990
Languages: English
90 minutes – Australia / Vanuatu
SYNOPSIS: Frank Flynn is summoned from New York by his brother Charlie to Vanuatu. He arrives only to find Charlie dead, and Frank becomes involved with his late brother's partner, Viv, and Viv's unhappy wife, Anna.
Film: Love Patrol (TV series)
Director: Peter Walker, 2007
Languages: English
21-minute episodes – Vanuatu
Wikipedia: Love Patrol is a ni-Vanuatu television series. It is the first locally-produced television series in Vanuatu. Produced by Wan Smolbag Theatre, it is a soap opera with a serious message, intended primarily to educate viewers on the topic of AIDS. It also tackles youth unemployment, police brutality, and the hypocrisy of keeping youth uninformed about sex. UNAIDS reported that it explores "the growing issues of high rates of STIs among young people, high teenage pregnancy, lack of discourse on sex, and risk taking behaviours in [...] Pacific communities". It has been described as an "edutainment" series.
Fiji Times review: "Love Patrol centres on the life of Mark, a detective who works in a police station in an urban centre somewhere in the Pacific. Mark desperately wants his wife to have a child but he gets caught up with Rita, a singer in a bar. The series also involves a gang of boys who steal from a minister's house, and the search for the boys exposes the other side of paradise. The mini-series aims to look at the causes of the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in the region."
Documentary: Yakel: The Real-Life Avatar Tribe
Director: Rachael Wilson, 2011
Languages: Tanna language with English subtitles
USA / Vanuatu
Film website: www.yakel3dfilm.com
SYNOPIS: Set in the small, tribal village of Yakel on the Vanuatu island of Tanna, this is the remarkable story of 108-year-old Chief Kowia as he nears the end of his long, eventful life. The survivor of tribal wars, colonization, epidemics, WW2, violent volcanic eruptions, and destructive cyclones, he has remained steadfast throughout to his ‘kastom’ life, choosing to reject the trappings of the modern world in favor of a life free of material goods.
To keep the dangerous world at bay, his people have had to create a world of their own. The jungle provides life’s necessities: clothing is made from grass, village huts from trees. Bush medicine is abundant and food crops thrive in the super-fertile volcanic soils gifted by the relentless, belching eruptions of nearby Mt. Yasur. The tribe’s guidelines of love and respect are played out daily in ritual and ceremony, with all guidance coming from ancestral spirits. It’s a harmonious, peaceful world.
But Chief Kowia is the last of his generation. Facing his mortality, he worries what will happen to his people when he is no longer there to guide them. Will his culture stay strong? Or will the outside world lure his people from their happy, uncluttered lives, tempting them with seemingly greater riches?
Also of concern is the fascination the outside world holds for primitive cultures. Yakel is visited by tourists and film crews seeking a peek at an incredible world that has remained unchanged for hundreds of years.
Without Chief Kowia’s influence, can the people of Yakel continue to hold the world at bay?
Shot in stereoscopic 3D; English subtitles appear in 3D within the 3D footage.
Rwanda
Film: Hotel Rwanda
Director: Terry George, 2004
Languages: English
121 minutes – USA
SYNOPSIS: Hotel Rwanda is a dramatic feature film about Paul Rusesabagina, a Kigali hotelier, and the events around the Hôtel des Mille Collines, a sanctuary for Tutsis and moderate Hutus after its owner shut his doors against the genocide. The film was nominated for multiple Academy Awards, and is on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 most inspirational films of all time.
Documentary: Finding Hillywood
Director: Leah Warshawski, Christopher Towey, 2013
Languages: English
USA
IMDB SYNOPSIS: Set amongst the hills of Rwanda, Finding Hillywood chronicles one man's road to forgiveness, his effort to heal his country, and the realization that we all must one day face our past. A unique and endearing film about the very beginning of Rwanda's film industry and the pioneers who bring local films to rural communities on a giant inflatable movie screen. For most Rwandans this is the first time they have seen a film, let alone one in their local language, Kinyarwanda. Thousands of people show up to watch films in stadiums next to mass graves, and in locations where horrible crimes took place during the genocide.
Finding Hillywood is a real life example of the power of film to heal a man and a nation.
Documentary: Sweet Dreams
Director: Lisa Fruchtman, Rob Fruchtman, 2012
Languages: Kinyarwanda
89 minutes – USA / Rwanda
IMDB SYNOPSIS: Ingoma Nshya is Rwanda's first and only all-women's drumming troupe. Made up of women from both sides of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the troupe offers a place of support, healing, and reconciliation. When the group decides to partner with two young American entrepreneurs, of Brooklyn's Blue Marble Ice Cream, and open Rwanda's first-ever ice cream shop, these remarkable Rwandan women embark on a journey of independence, peace, and possibility. Sweet Dreams interweaves intimate, heart-wrenching stories with joyous and powerful music to present a moving portrait of a country in transition. (Written by International Film Circuit)
Film website: www.sweetdreamsrwanda.com
NY Times review: www.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/movies/in-sweet-dreams-rwandan-entrepreneurship.html?_r=0
For additional documentaries featuring Rwanda, go to:
www.imdb.com/search/title?countries=rw&genres=documentary&sort=moviemeter
Guatemala
Film: Las marimbas del infierno (Marimbas from Hell)
Director: Julio Hernández Cordón, 2011
Languages: Spanish
74 minutes – Guatemala
SYNOPIS: Boldly exploring the boundaries of fiction and documentary, emerging Guatemalan filmmaker Julio Hernández Cordón’s original and entertaining film follows three musicians from Guatemala City as they attempt to fuse improbable musical styles. The result is a skillfully constructed narrative that reflects on important issues in contemporary Guatemalan culture. Don Alfonso plays the marimba (xylophone) for a living but as his traditional music is seen as increasingly old-fashioned, he finds himself without a job. When his glue-sniffing godson introduces him to Blacko, an old heavy-metal legend of the Guatemalan underground, they decide to do something radical and fuse the sounds of the marimba with heavy metal. This innovative idea sparks the beginning of an unexpected collaboration. Filled with laugh-aloud moments, Marimbas from Hell is brilliantly farcical, but with a sharp strain of melancholy. Hernández Cordón continues his work with non-professional actors, creating an incredibly fresh and unique story that conveys a moving and authentic sense of Guatemalan life.
QUOTES/REVIEWS: “… a brilliant and absurd comedy however you look at it, funny and moving at the same time, whose centerpiece is an excellent excuse to create a fun and original story… this notable film from Guatemala is one of the best Latin American comedies in a long time, a true gem that should not be missed.” Robert Koehler, VARIETY “A likable work, a mix of documentary and fiction whose characters resound with the humorless humor of Smoke, the Wayne Wang film with Harvey Keitel. Very precarious, yes, but with something that sets it apart itself from others, united in their vision of a forgotten continent. Actors not actors, locations “just around the corner.” A little surprise, over all for those who search for authentic Latin American cinema.” - Isabel Croce, DIARIO LA PRENSA
Documentary: When the Mountains Tremble
Director: Pamela Yates, Newton Thomas Sigel, 1983
Languages: English, Spanish
83 minutes – USA
Wikipedia: This 1983 documentary film focuses on the war between the Guatemalan Military and the Mayan Indian population of Guatemala. The film centers on the experiences of future Nobel Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992, nine years after the film came out. When The Mountains Tremble won the Special Jury Award at the Sundance Film Festival, the Blue Ribbon Award at the American Film Festival, and the Grand Coral Award/Best North American Documentary at the Havana Film Festival.
N.B. In 2014, filmmaker Pamela Yates said she would be re-editing the film to correct an error. A scene will be corrected to show that the Batzul massacre highlighted in the film was committed NOT by the military, but by leftist rebels disguised as soldiers. Yates has said she will also amend a 2011 follow-up documentary, "Granito: How to Nail a Dictator."
Documentary: Qak'aslemal (Our Existence)
Director: Alejo Crisóstomo, 2007
Languages: Maya
26 minutes – Guatemala
SYNOPSIS from IMBD: Qak'aslemal presents the diverse worlds that form the multicultural and multiethnic Guatemala. Through the personal view of its director, we see a knitting of images of Guatemalan people, the surroundings, jobs, and traditions in four musical movements: Genesis, Cultures, Religion, and Death. The arid view of the sandstone pillars of Momostenango, the hands of the women weavers of San Juan la Laguna, the huge kites of Sumpango, and the ruins of the Mayan civilization are some of the images registered to make an analogy with the cycle of life, in a perfect balance of beauty and reality.
For additional documentaries featuring Guatemala, go to:
www.imdb.com/search/title?at=0&countries=gt&genres=documentary&sort=moviemeter,asc&start=51
Mongolia
Film: The Story of the Weeping Camel (Die Geschichte vom weinenden Kamel)
Director: Luigi Falorni, Byambasuren Davaa, 2003
Languages: Mongolian
90 minutes – Germany / Mongolia
A German docudrama about a family of nomadic shepherds in the Gobi Desert trying to save the life of a rare white bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) calf after it was rejected by its mother.
SYNOPSIS from IMBD: Springtime in the Gobi Desert, South Mongolia. A family of nomadic shepherds assists the births of their camel herd. One of the camels has an excruciatingly difficult delivery but, with help from the family, out comes a rare white colt. Despite the efforts of the shepherds, the mother rejects the newborn, refusing it her milk and her motherly love. When any hope for the little one seems to have vanished, the nomads send their two young boys on a journey through the desert, to a backwater town in search of a musician who is their only hope for saving the colt's life.
Awards: Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Documentaries
Film: The Cave of the Yellow Dog
Director: Byambasuren Davaa, 2005
Languages: Mongolian
93 minutes – Germany / Mongolia
A gentle fable about the limitations of life and acceptance. A girl learns the painful lesson of letting go of want when her father insists on leaving behind her newfound stray dog. However, the ending of the film offers hope—a lesson of life being full of changes—and how the consequences of change may bring unexpected rewards.
SYNOPSIS: The story opens with Nansal returning from boarding school to her family. The family of five lives in a yurt and lives off of their livestock. Nansal's father is worried about his family's survival because of the wolves that have been attacking their herd.
When Nansal stumbles across a cave in which she finds a black and white dog. She brings the dog home and names it "Zochor" (Spot). Her father is worried, knowing that wolves live in caves and may follow its scent and kill their livestock.
The father departs for town to sell the pelts of the sheep killed by wolves. He instructs his wife to get rid of the dog before he is home. Nansal is sent out to graze the herd, but she gets lost. The mother is distraught when the herd comes back without Nansal and goes looking for her.
Nansal finds refuge in the yurt of an elderly woman, where Nansal hears the story of the Cave of the Yellow Dog, in which a yellow dog is trapped in a cave with no exit by a man who seeks to cure his daughter's illness.
The mother finds Nansal. Zochor is still with the family when the father returns home. He tries to sell Zochor to some wolf hunters, but when Nansal tells them she found him in a cave, the deal falls through.
When family moves on, they pack their belongings onto carts. The three children are put onto the carts, with Nansal watching her younger brother. Zochor is tied to a stake so he cannot follow them. Nansal is distracted by Zochor and does not watch her brother, who escapes.
The family travels several miles until they realize that the boy is not with them. The father turns back immediately and finds his son rushing towards a flock of vultures. When the boy is right next to the flock, Zochor breaks free and scares them away, and the boy is rescued.
From then on, Zochor travels in the wagon with Nansal.
Awards: Mongolia's contender for the 2005 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It won the 2006 Deutscher Filmpreis Award for Best Children's Picture.
Film: A Pearl in the Forest
Director: Enkhtaivan Agvaantseren, 2008
Languages: Mongolian
90 minutes – Mongolia
This is one of the first films to openly talk about events of the 1930s and the impact of the rise of Soviet communism on Mongolia. It is also one of the first films intended to present the history of the Buryats, one of the ethnic groups present in Mongolia.
IMBD: Is all fair when love becomes war? "Promises are like pie crusts: Made to be broken." In the 1930s, Stalin put Lenin's words into action with his infamous "purges," bringing horrors to the people of Mongolia - a geographically unified nation that he broke up with the shattering fist of political force. In the midst of a Mongolian Buryat village, Sendem is a young woman who has the curse of great beauty. Markhaa is the former villager who now returns to his hometown as a government spy. Although Sendem is already engaged to another, Markhaa is determined to use the power of his government authority to crush a village in order to take by force what he cannot win by love: the heart of Sendem. A tender blossom snapped from a tree and crushed underfoot, Sendem focuses her hope on the symbol of a hand-carved necklace once given to her by her fiancé ... and in a treasure more precious than a shimmering pearl that she leaves behind in the shelter of a dark Mongolian forest. - Written by Lewis Kocher
Film: The Story of the Weeping Camel (Die Geschichte vom weinenden Kamel)
Director: Luigi Falorni, Byambasuren Davaa, 2003
Languages: Mongolian
90 minutes – Germany / Mongolia
A German docudrama about a family of nomadic shepherds in the Gobi Desert trying to save the life of a rare white bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) calf after it was rejected by its mother.
SYNOPSIS from IMBD: Springtime in the Gobi Desert, South Mongolia. A family of nomadic shepherds assists the births of their camel herd. One of the camels has an excruciatingly difficult delivery but, with help from the family, out comes a rare white colt. Despite the efforts of the shepherds, the mother rejects the newborn, refusing it her milk and her motherly love. When any hope for the little one seems to have vanished, the nomads send their two young boys on a journey through the desert, to a backwater town in search of a musician who is their only hope for saving the colt's life.
Awards: Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Documentaries
Documentary: Morin Khuur - The Soul Of The Mongolian Horseman
Director: Benoît Ségur for UNESCO's Living Cultures, 2013
Languages: English and Mongolian
The steppes of Mongolia, in the heart of Central Asia, sometimes echo with the haunting sound of music that reaches into the hearts of animals and men. Omba is one of the last teachers of the morin khuur, a unique traditional fiddle, developed from the bond between the horsemen people and their mounts. Four young students are among the few children lucky enough to receive Omba’s teaching. They spend several months with her, to learn about this magical instrument, which is said to have healing powers. But first, they must train hard and fill themselves with the sounds of nature. When they return to their city, they will perform a concert in the theater of the provincial capital, to help perpetuate this oral tradition.
India
Film: Bombay Talkies
Director: Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, and Karan Johar, 2013
Languages: Hindi, English
127 minutes – India
An anthology of 4 short films, celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema:
- Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh, directed by Karan Johar: A short film dealing with the issue of sexual identity and honesty.
- Star, directed by Dibakar Banerjee: The story is an adaptation of Satyajit Ray's short story "Patol Babu, Film Star" about a failed actor who is struggling to make a living after his father’s death. In an important turn of events, he stumbles upon a final chance to prove himself to the world and more importantly, to his daughter.
- Sheila Ki Jawaani, directed by Zoya Akhtar: A 12-year-old boy aspires to be a Bollywood dancer. His father however wants him to be a football player. Meanwhile, his sister wants money to go on a School trip but is refused by their father who spent all his funds on the son's football training. But the brother comes to his sister's rescue and offers to perform to raise money for her trip. They organize a small ticketed event at an old garage, where the boy gets to help his sister AND to dance.
- Murabba (Fruit Preserve), directed by Anurag Kashyap: The story begins with Vijay traveling to Mumbai to fulfill his ailing father's desire: that Vijay meet Bollywood superstar Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, feed him homemade 'murabba'—and bring the remaining half-jar of murabba back to the father. Vijay's father believes that doing so will bring comfort to him and in turn lengthen his life. After Vijay has initial success in reaching Mr. Bacchchan, an accident makes fulfilling his father’s desire impossible—until the movie’s end, with Vijay's father contemplating how life takes a full circle.
Critical reception:
- Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 4/5 stars, and noted that the film "is one of those infrequent movies wherein you get to eyeball the superior efforts of four top notch film-makers in less than two hours. This reality alone makes the film a compelling watch, [along with] superior performances and absorbing themes … This celebration of cinema is a must watch!"
- Hindustan Times also raved: "Bombay Talkies is a unique experiment that works very well. The collaboration between four leading directors suggests a confidence that was rare in the industry even a decade ago."
- Tushar Joshi wrote that "Bombay Talkies is a format that needs to be praised for its concept. The sequencing of the stories works and the pace is swift, never showing signs of lethargy...."
- Sukanya Verma gave it 3.5/5 stars: "Bombay Talkies is an absorbing ode to the language of cinema that is part of our collective system. … Rani Mukerji’s flawless artistry as an imprisoned soul wearing a mark of normalcy elevates the emotional core of Johar’s story."
Film: Valley of Saints
Director: Musa Syeed (US), 2012
Languages: Kashmiri
82 minutes – India/USA
Sundance site description: Widely considered to be the crown jewel of Kashmir, Dal Lake is a sprawling aquatic community where erupting political violence often distracts from the natural beauty. Gulzar, a young, working-class boatman, plans to skip town with his best friend in search of a better life, but a weeklong military curfew derails their departure. Forced to wait it out, Gulzar takes a job assisting a pretty scientist named Asifa. As they navigate the floating landscape, collecting water samples for an environmental study, an unlikely relationship blossoms between the two. When Asifa’s research reveals harmful pollutants, Gulzar realizes that the ecology of the lake and an entire way of life face an alarming threat, and everything in his own life begins to take on a new hue. Lush cinematography heightens the region’s visual splendor in this enlightening feature debut from Musa Syeed. Intricately weaving contemporary issues with traditional culture and ancient myths, Valley of Saints is a vibrant, lyrical film about finding one’s path home in a changing world.
NY TIMES: "At the 2012 Sundance festival, "Valley of Saints," an entry from India and the United States, won the World Cinema Audience Award in the Dramatic category. …The Sundance jury praised the film for its “brave, poetic and visually arresting evocation of a beautiful but troubled region, and for its moving, nuanced and accurate depiction of the relationship between a local boatman and a young woman scientist whose research challenges the status quo and offers hope for a restored ecosystem."
Film: Barfi!
Director: Anurag Basu, 2012
Languages: Hindi
151 minutes – India
A romantic comedy-drama set in the 1970s, the film depicts the story of Murphy "Barfi" Johnson (a deaf-mute deaf man from Darjeeling) and his relationship with two women, Shruti and Jhilmil (who is autistic).
SYNOPSIS: His parents named him Murphy, but everyone calls him Barfi. Always ready with a prank, he's a charmer, especially with the ladies. In Darjeeling, Barfi is the talk of the town—even though he can neither speak nor hear. His bittersweet relationship with two beautiful young ladies sets in motion a chain of events that will turn his life upside down. A heartwarming tale of selfless love and about finding happiness in the smallest things in life.
Critics praised the performances, the direction, the screenplay, the cinematography, the music, and the positive portrayal of physically disabled people. The film was a major box-office success, becoming one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films of 2012 in India and overseas. The film was selected as India's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film nomination for the 85th Academy Awards.
Film: Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (English: This Youth Is Crazy)
Director: Ayan Mukerji, 2013
Languages: Hindi, English, French
160 minutes – India
A coming-of-age romantic comedy film that had a mixed critical reception: The film received positive to mixed reviews from critics. Taran Adarsh of bollywoodhungama.com noted that the film "is a revitalizing take on romance and relationships. A wonderful cinematic experience, it should strike a chord with not just the youth, but cineastes of all age-groups." However, Shubhra Gupta of Indian Express stated "This is a been-here, seen-this, much-too-long glossy creature, and not much else".
Saibal Chaterjee of opined that, "Overlong, sluggish and fluffy, it meanders through varied locations as the young lovers/friends seek to reconnect with each other after a few years of being apart." Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN concluded, "If you are seeking light-hearted mush, you're looking in the right place." Hindustan Times: "There is enough eye-candy in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani to see you through, but the film needs more meat and less dressing. Disappointing because there is a truckload of talent here. What rankles is what might have been."
Controversies: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed displeasure over the attribution of shots to Manali when they were filmed in north Kashmir's Gulmarg. He stated that apart from the temple and Span resort, all scenes were shot in Gulmarg. Many scenes and song sequences of the movie were shot at various locations in the Kashmir Valley, including the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg and Pahalgam.
The Delhi High Court on 11 June 2013 issued a ruling restraining the TV release of the film for allegedly using objectionable dialogues in context of the brand Rooh Afza.
Documentary: Gulabi Gang
Director: Nishtha Jain, 2012
Languages: Hindi
96 minutes
SYNOPSIS: The badlands of Bundelkhand in central India is a place of desolation, dust and despair. Yet it is hope that we find as we follow the pink sari-clad women of Gulabi Gang, who use words as weapons—demanding their rights, submitting petitions and haranguing corrupt officials. These women travel long distances by cart and tractor, bus and train, to wrest justice for women and Dalits, undeterred by sneering policemen and condescending bureaucrats. Their leader, Sampat Pal, is a rough-and-tough woman with a commanding personality. Despite her lack of education, she has evolved her own brand of feminism and egalitarian politics. Her strength lies in her words. Constantly on the move, one day she may be found investigating the suspicious death of a young woman, the next protesting against a corrupt official. The gang encounters resistance everywhere: whole villages connive in protecting the perpetrators of violence, but as the film pulls us into the centre of these blazing conflicts, it uncovers a complex story—disturbing yet heartening—as the fiery women of the Gulabi Gang empower themselves and take up the fight against gender violence, caste oppression and widespread corruption.
Documentary: Salma
Director: Kim Longinotto, 2013
Languages: Tamil
90 mins. – UK-India
Salma is a story of rare achievement – a Muslim woman who writes her escape out of family servitude in southern India. The documentary of a woman telling her own story in her own voice in her own village is as poignant as it is simple.
SYNOPSIS: Salma was a young girl of 13 in her south Indian village, her family locked her up, forbidding her to study and forcing her into marriage. For 25 years, words were Salma's salvation. She began covertly composing poems on scraps of paper and, through an intricate system, was able to sneak them out of the house, eventually getting them into the hands of a publisher. Against the odds, Salma became the most famous Tamil poet: the first step to finding her own freedom and challenging the traditions and code of conduct in her village.
About Salma: Salma, at age 44 the protagonist of this film, is a distinguished poet in the Tamil language. Given to a young aunt as a child because her father wanted a son, she was returned to her birth parents at five, and confined at puberty according to local practice in a room with one barred window that she shared with a sister. Once she’s married off, her husband’s family keeps her inside their home, where she begins writing, locked in the foul toilet that the entire family used, with a hidden pen on paper ripped from a calendar.
After more than 20 years of confinement, her poems reach the outside world. A journalist publishes her photograph, and village elders are furious. It’s too late –Salma runs for local elected office and her writings find a public, but the status of women in the village has barely changed. “She’s a good girl, but she’s too clever,” says Salma’s father.
In this frank portrait of women’s life, shot without crescendos or drama, the practices from the past remain current, and the locals are unrepentant for their unchanged ways. So are Salma’s nephews and sons, who are indifferent to her poetry and defend the wearing of the burka and the ban of cinema.
At every turn the director uncovers evidence that past injustices still rule. We visit more than one wedding where a child bride is prepared for the first night with her arranged husband. Longinotto does not need to overplay these scenes, as a young girl shivering with fear prepares to exchange one master for a new one. To paraphrase Salma, “We have so much time, but no life.”
Documentary: Faith Connections
Director: Pan Nalin, 2013
Languages: Hindi
115 minutes – India / France
A Sadhu who renounced society adopts a baby renounced by society.
Indian filmmaker Pan Nalin travels to the biggest gathering on earth, the Kumbh Mela, and the result is a cinematic narration of encounters with remarkable people: a runaway kid, a Sadhu, a mother who has lost her son, a Yoga Guru who has found an abandoned baby, and a Ganja (cannabis) supplying Holy man. A meditation on time and faith expressed in words and images, "Faith Connections" tries to explore the power of devotion.
Documentary: Katiyabaaz (Powerless)
Director: Deepti Kakkar, Fahad Mustafa, 2013
Languages: English, Hindi
84 minutes – India / USA
In Kanpur, India, a city with 15-hour power cuts, hundreds of people risk their lives to steal electricity, and an electricity thief provides Robin Hood-style services to the poor. Meanwhile the first female chief of the local electricity supply company has vowed to put an end to all illegal connections. In a summer of crisis, both come to terms with India's energy poverty.
Documentary: Beyond All Boundaries
Director: Sushrut Jain, 2013
Languages: Hindi
87 minutes – USA / India
As India, host of the 2011 World Cup of Cricket, begins its campaign to win the Cup after a 28-year drought, three ordinary Indians seek their salvation/escape from a difficult life through their passion for cricket: Sudhir, a penniless superfan who cycles across India to cheer the team; Prithvi, a 12-year old boy wonder who is a cricket prodigy; and Akshaya, a girl cricketer from Mumbai's slums. We follow Sudhir to see what drives the man who has renounced so much, including marriage, for his dream of cheering Team India forever; Akshaya as she competes in the trials for selection to the Mumbai Women's Team, and Prithvi as he copes with the unique pressures of being a cricket phenom in a cricket-crazy nation.
Documentary: Blood Relative
Director: Nimisha Mukerji, 2012
Languages: English
73 minutes – India
Blood Relative is a cinema verité documentary that follows the remarkable story of Indian activist Vinay Shetty, who is fighting to save two children who are dying from the rare disease Thalassemia. As a result of not being able to afford the life-saving medication, 14-year-old Divya and 24-year-old Imran have severely stunted growth and remain trapped in the bodies of children. Chronicling Vinay's battle against the Indian government to get Divya and Imran free medical treatment, the film gets unprecedented access into modern India's broken healthcare system. Caught in the middle are Vinay and the children he must look after who are bound together by ties stronger than blood.
Nepal
Film: Loot
Director: Nischal Basnet, 2012
Languages: Nepali
Nepal
Wikipedia: A crime action film set in contemporary Kathmandu, Nepal, where five ordinary guys try to find quick ways to get rich—including a plot to rob a bank in Kathmandu.
Loot features a soundtrack comprising mostly modern music. "Udhreko Choli" has become popular among young Nepalese. Nischal Basnet gave voice to the male part in the item song and Indira Joshi sang the female part.
It is considered as a cult Nepali film which urban youth can relate to mainly because of the dialect used. (In Nepal, Loot was certified “A” in its original release form, but some dialogues had to be censored to exhibit in cinema. Director Nischal Basnet has cited that due to the censored conversations, Loot was not allowed to be screened in India.)
Film: Kabaddi
Director: Babu Gurung, 2013
Languages: Nepali
123 minutes – Nepal
SYNOPSIS: The story of a love triangle among three characters: Kazi, a third standard failed young man from Mustang dreams of marrying Maiya, daughter of his maternal uncle. Maiya, a high school student, is peeved by Kazi’s idiotic behavior. This disappoints Kazi but never disheartens him. Supported by his two childhood friends, Beekay and Chantyal, he finally decides to marry Maiya through “capture marriage,” which is illegal but still practiced in some ethnic communities in Nepal. To find her long-gone father and to continue her studies in Kathmandu, Maiya elopes with a visitor named Bibek. Inflamed by her disappearance, Kazi heads to Kathmandu in search of Maiya and finds himself trapped in a city conspiracy.
Documentary: Waiting for Mamu
Director: François Caillaud, Dan Chen, Thomas A. Morgan, 2013
Languages: English
40 minutes – USA / Nepal
From IMDB: In some parts of the world, children whose parents are sent to prison and who lack other guardians are locked away along with their parents. This documentary short tells the story of what it means for a child to grow up in prison. Waiting for Mamu follows internationally-lauded social worker and 2012 CNN Hero of the Year award-winner Pushpa Basnet, founder of a development center for children who would otherwise grow up behind bars in her native Nepal.
We see what it means for a child to grow up in prison and yet find hope in unlikely places. During a prison tour as part of her university studies, Pushpa Basnet encountered a young girl who tugged at her shawl and smiled up at her. Pushpa promised the young girl’s mother she would be back to get her. Seven years later, Pushpa—known as “Mamu”—runs an organization that gives kids the chance to be kids and get an education. Some return to prison to be with their mothers at night, while some stay in her orphanage.
This film captures the hope of a child to be free from prison, even if just for the day, and to find a childhood.
"Most people see an injustice, get upset, do a short-term something and move on. … Pushpa dared to forge a new path, against all odds, to give incarcerated children an education and a future. To give them love and build their self esteem. To give them hope. She does all this without any claim to their future. I believe she has taken the definition of mother to a new level. Her story is an important one that should be told and I'm honored to have had the opportunity to help make that possible." –Susan Sarandon
The Waiting for Mamu website: www.waitingformamu.com
Documentary: Manakamana
Director: Stephanie Spray, Pacho Velez, 2013
Languages: Nepali, English, subtitles
118 minutes – Nepal / USA
SYNOPSIS: High above Nepal, cable cars transport visitors to an ancient Hindu temple, the site of a shrine to the wish-fulfilling goddess Manakamana.
For more documentaries related to Nepal, go to:
www.imdb.com/search/title?countries=np&genres=documentary&sort=moviemeter
Mauritania
Film: Heremakono (Waiting for Happiness)
Director: Abderrahmane Sissako(2002)
Documentary: Women on the Frontline – Mauritania.
Production:UNIFEM (2008)
Lesotho
Film: Likhapha Tsa Mali (Tears of Blood)
Director: Jeremiah Mosese (2010)
Documentary: Black Riders.
Director: Julian Benedikt (2003)
Ecuador
Film: Cronicas
Director: Sebastian Cordero (2004)
Crónicas is a 2004 Ecuadorian thriller film,
written and directed by Sebastián Cordero.
Documentary: Children of the Jaguar
Director: Eriberto Gualinga Montalvo (2012)
Haiti
Film: Does the President have AIDS?
Director: Arnold Antonin (2007)
Documentary: Herby, Jazz and Haitian Music
Director: Arnold Antonin (2012)
Jamaica
Film: Cool Runnings
Director: Jon Turleltaub (1993)
Film: Rockers, 25th Anniversary Edition
Director: Theodoros Bafaloukos (2005)
Documentary: Marley
Also see review at Rotten Tomatoes
Director: Kevin Macdonald (2012)
Ghana
Film: The Perfect Picture
Director: Shirley Frimpong-Manso (2009)
Film: The Destiny of Lesser Animals
Director: Deron Albright (2011)
Documentary: Inspired Thumbs
Director: Abraham Eguare (2012)
The Gambia
Film: The Mirror Boy
Director: Obi Emelonye (2010)
Documentary: Exchange: Six Faces of the Gambia
Director: Mathew Welsch (2009)
Philippines
Film: Sisterakas
Director: Wenn V. Deramos (2012)
Documentary: Give Up Tomorrow
Directors: Michael Collins & Marty Syjuco (2012)
Documentary: Philippines - The Travel Geek Documentary
Producer: Cyle O’Donnell
Turkmenistan
Film: Karakum
Directors: Arend Agthe; Uzmann Saparov (1994)
Documentary: Shadow of the Holy Book
Director: Arto Halonen (2006)
Documentary: Turkmenistan – Christmas in Ashgabat
Producer: BBC Radio 3 (2005)
Documentary: Black Sands
Also see review at IMDB
Director: Anastasis Agathos (2008)
Rwanda
Film: Munyurangabo
Director: Lee Isaac Chung, (2007)
Read review at Sun Times
Documentary: WE ARE ALL RWANDANS
Director: Debs Gardner-Paterson (2008)
China
Film: Lost in Thailand
Director: Xu Zheng (2012)
Film: Hero
Director: Ying xiong (2002)
Documentary: The Last Train Home
Director: Gui tu lie che (2012)
Cambodia
Film: Rice People
Director: Rithy Panh (1994)
Read review at IMDB.
Documentary: A Cambodia Journey Documentary
Producer: YMCA Cambodia Project (2012)
Documentary: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine
Director: Rithy Panh (2003)
Madagaskar
Film: DZAOMALAZA AND THE BLUE SAPPHIRE
Directors: Mamihasina A. Raminosoa; Rado Andriamanisa (2010)
Documentary: Angano…Angano, Tales from Madagascar
Directors: Cesar Paes; Marie-Clemence (1989)
Argentina
Film: Nine Queens (Nueve reinas)
Director: Fabian Bielinsky (2010)
Gabon
Film: The Lost Coast of Gabon
Director: Jon Bowermaster (2007)
Romania
Film: Video grams of a Revolution (Videogramme einer Revolution)
Director: Harun Farocki, Andrei Ujica (1992)
Botswana
Film: The No. 1. Ladie's Detective Agency
Director: Anthony Minghella (2008)
Pakistan
Film: Khuda Kay Liye
Director: Shoaib Mansoor (2007)
Indonesia
Film: The Raid: Redemption (Serbuan maut)
Director: Gareth Evans (2011)
Ghana
Film: Emmanuel's Gift
Directors: Lisa Lax, Nancy Stern (2005)
Czech Republic
Film: The Firemen's Ball (Hori, ma panenko)
Director: Milos Forman (1967)
Peru
Film: Milk of Sorrow (La Teta Asustada)
Director: Claudia Llosa (2009)
China
Film: Still Life (Sanxia haoren)
Director: Zhang Ke Jia (2006)
Panama
Film: The Tailor of Panama
Director: John Boorman (2001)
Vanuatu
Film: Vanuatu Short Clips
Niger
Film: Magic and Ecstasy in the Sahel
Director: Jason Buchanan (2005)
Ecuador
Film: End of Spear
Director: Jim Hanon (2005)
Ghana
Film: Ghana is in Africa
Director: Giovanni Messner (2005)
Congo
Film: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death
Director: Peter Bate (2004)
Nepal
Film: Beneath Everest: Nepal Reborn
Director: Tulsi Bhandari (2010)
Swaziland
Film: Dear Francis
Director: Jason Djang, Brent Gundel (2005)
Afghanistan
Film: Motherland Afghanistan
Director: Sedika Mojadidi (2007)
Ukraine
Film: Orange Winter
Director: Andrei Zagdansky (2007)
Nigeria
Film: Nollywood Babylon
Director: Ben and Addelman and Samir Mallal (2008)
St. Lucia
Film: Dr. Dolittle
Director: Richard Dolittle (1967)
Sierra Leone
Film: Fatal Birth
Director: David Shoo (2009)
Thailand
Film: Rak haeng Siam
Director: Chukiat Sakveerakul (2007)
Philippines
Film: Baler
Director: Mark Meily (2008)
Tanzania
Film: Nico’s Challenge
Director: Steve Audette (2009)
India
Film: Monsoon Wedding
Director: Mira Nair (2001)
Colombia
Film: Maria Full of Grace
Director: Joshua Marston (2004)
Ghana
Film: Kukurantumi - The Road To Accra
Director: King Ampaw (1983)
Pakistan
Film: Benazir Bhutto
Director: Jessica A. Hernandez and Johnny O'Hara (2010)
Brazil
Film: City of God
Director: Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund (2002)
India
Film: Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India
Director: Ashutosh Gowariker
Papua New Guinea
Documentary: Papa Bilong Chimbu
Director: Verena Thomas
Mongolia
Film: The Cave of the Yellow Dog
Director: Byambasuren Davaa
Mozambique
Film: Tree of Guns
Director: Dylan Howitt
Thailand
Film: The Overture
Director: Ittisoontorn Vichailak
Bangladesh
Film: Swopnodanay
Director: Golam Rabbany Biplob
Yemen
Film: A New Day in Old Sana'a
Director: Bader Ben Hirsi
Botswana
Film: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Director: Robert Jones
Tanzania
Film: The Marriage of Mariamu
Director: Ron Mulvihill, Nangayoma Ng'oge
Guatemala
Film: What Sebastian Dreamt
Director: Rodrigo Rey Rosa
Colombia
Film: The First Night
Director: Luis Alberto Restrepo
