CONTENTS International Competition Jury Films Cinema of the ...

CONTENTS 

International Competition 

Jury 

Films 

Cinema of the World 

Retrospectives 

Jan Jakub Kolski (Poland) 

Mira Nair (India) 

Michael Cacoyannis (Greece) 

Jean Becker (France) 

Jim Jarmusch (USA) 

Country Focus 

Mexico 

Georgia 

Taiwan 

Sri Lanka 

Homage 

Eric Rohmer 

Cannes Kaleidoscope 2010 

Contemporary Iranian Cinema: A Glimpse 

Cinema Digital 

Inspirations: Tales of Courage

Students Cinema: The New Risk Takers 

Australian Indigenous Images on Screen 

Indian Premieres 

Indian Panorama: Features & Non-Features

COMPETITION SECTION/JURY 

Jerzy Antczak 

Writer, Director, Producer 

Poland 

Jerzy Antczak graduated from the Theatre Academy in 

Lodz in 1949. He directed two versions of Maria 

Dabrowska’s novel, Nights and Days (1972) both for 

theatrical release and as a TV series of 12 episodes. It 

opened to great reviews and became the highestgrossing 

feature ever in the history of film business in 

Poland. 

In 1975, he made Nights and Days, which, among other 

accolades, won the Silver Bear for best female lead role 

and was nominated for an Academy Award in the best 

language film category. 

Among the most significant films of his career are The Shot 

(1966), Countess Cosel (1968) and The Nuremberg 

Epilogue (1970). 

Antczak is co-founder of the Polish Masterpiece Theatre. 

From 1963 to 1978, he was the head of the Polish 

Theatrical Programs. He has to his credit more than 100 

productions as a writer, director and producer. The Master 

(1966), a TV special, earned Antczak the Prix Italia at the 

prestigious World Television Festival in Palermo, Italy. 

Since 1985 Antczak has been teaching at the Film School 

at UCLA in Los Angeles as a tenured professor.

In 2002, he wrote, produced and directed Chopin – Desire 

for Love, a feature film that sold in 35 countries and 

fetched him a Platinum Remi at the World Fest Houston in 

the period piece category. His other notable directorial 

work includes The Lady of the Camellias (1994), a feature 

for TV; Path of Glory (1995), a production for Polish 

Masterpiece Theatre; and Caesar and Pompey (1996). 

------------------------------------- 

Sturla Gunnarsson 

Filmmaker 

Canada 

Oscar nominated, Genie, Gemini and Emmy Awardwinning 

director Sturla Gunnarsson is one of Canada’s 

most prolific and eclectic filmmakers, moving with ease 

between feature 

films, documentaries and television drama. 

Feature films include the medieval epic, Beowulf & 

Grendel, starring Gerard Butler, Stellan Skarsgaard and 

Sarah Polly, Rare Birds, starring William Hurt, Andy Jones 

and Molly Parker, 

and Such A Long Journey, starring Roshan Seth, Om Puri 

and Naseeredin Shah. Between them the films received 

over 20 Genie Award nominations and were among the 

top 

grossing Canadian films in the years they were released. 

Gunnarsson’s most recent film is Force of Nature, a 

feature documentary about iconic Canadian 

environmentalist David Suzuki. It premiered at this year’s 

Toronto International Film Festival where it won the 

People’s Choice Documentary Award. Other 

documentaries include the non-fiction thriller,

Air India 182, the post-apartheid love story, Gerrie & Louise 

and the cinema verite classic, Final Offer. 

Gunnarsson has worked extensively in television, directing 

both long form and episodic drama, including Defying 

Gravity, Intelligence and DaVinci’s Inquest, for which he 

won a Gemini Award for best directing. Long form drama 

includes Scorn and 100 Days In The Jungle, both of which 

won Gemini Awards for best TV movie, and the 

Canada/UK mini-series Above And Beyond, for which 

Gunnarsson received the Directors Guild Award for best 

direction. 

Gunnarsson is the national president of the Directors Guild 

of Canada. 

-------------------------- 

Mick Molloy 

Writer, Actor, Producer 

Australia 

Mick Molloy is one of Australia’s most recognised and 

successful comedians. He has made his mark across the 

media as a popular writer, performer and producer in film, 

television and radio. He has been named Australian 

Movie Star of The Year at the prestigious Australian Movie 

Convention in recognition of the outstanding success of 

his films at the Australian box office. He has been named 

Producer of the Year by The Screen Producers Association 

of Australia, which is the highest accolade possible from 

Australia’s most important industry body. 

In a huge career spanning more than two decades 

Molloy has been crucial to the growth, development and

success of Australian comedy. He has been involved in 

seminal Australian projects such as Crackerjack, BoyTown, 

The Degeneration, The Late Show and Kath & Kim. His 

national radio show Martin/Molloy revolutionised the 

drive-time radio slot in Australia. 

Mick is a much loved and sometime controversial 

Australian cultural icon. 

----------------------------------------- 

Olivier Père 

Festival Programmer and Author 

France 

Olivier Père was appointed artistic director of the Locarno 

International Film Festival (Switzerland) in 2009, having 

been the director of the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight since 

2004. Born in 1971 in Marseilles, France, and educated at 

the Sorbonne in Paris, Père joined the French 

Cinémathèque in 1995, serving as a programmer. He has 

written about films for the publication Les 

Inrockuptibles since 1997. In 2010 he participated in the 

book Take 100 the Future of film (Phaidon, New York) and 

co-wrote with Marie Colmant Jacques Demy (La 

Martinière, Paris). 

---------------------------- 

Revathy 

Actor, Director 

India 

Revathy has done more than 100 films in five Indian 

languages as an actor. Recipient of several major awards 

for her performances in Mann Vasanai (Tamil), Manasa

Veena (Telugu), Killukam (Malayalam), Kakothi Kavile 

Appuppan Thadigal (Malayalam), Anjali (Tamil) and 

Devar Magan (Tamil), she also won the Tamil Nadu State 

Award for her on-screen work in Pudumai Penn and 

Thalamurai. 

She was given the National Award for the Best Supporting 

Actress for her portrayal in the film Devar Magan, directed 

by Bharathan. 

She turned director in 2002 with Mitr – My Friend. The film 

won the National Awards for best actress (Shobana), best 

editing (Bina Venu) and best English feature film. For Mitr – 

My Friend, Revathy also received the Silver Peacock, Jury 

award for Direction, in the International Film Festival of 

India at Delhi in 2002. 

Phir Milenge, staring Shilpa Shetty, Salman Khan and 

Abhishek Bachchan, in Hindi was her second directorial 

venture. The film is based on an individual’s fight against 

the attitude of the society towards an HIV+ person. She 

won wide critical acclaim for the film. 

Verukku Neer, a television serial for Doordarshan Kendra, 

Chennai, was also directed by Revathy. It was based on a 

Sahitya Academy Award-winning novel of the same 

name by Rajam Krishnan.

COMPETITION SECTION/FILMS 

IFFI 2010: Opening Film 

West is West 

United Kingdom, 2010, 102 minutes 

Director: Andy de Emmony 

Screenplay: Ayub Khan Din 

Camera: Peter Robertson 

Editor: Jon Gregory, Stephen O’Connol 

Production Design: Aradhana Seth, Tom Conroy 

Sound: Simon Willis 

Music: Rob Lane, Shankar Ehsaan Loy 

Producer: Leslee Udwin 

Cast: Om Puri, Linda Bassett, Aqib Khan, Jimi Mistry, Emil Marwa, 

Lesley Nicol, Ila Arun, Vijay Raaz, Nadim Sawlha 

Synopsis 

Manchester, North of England, 1975. The now much diminished, 

but still claustrophobic and dysfunctional, Khan family continues 

to struggle for survival. Sajid, the youngest Khan, the runt of the 

litter, is deep in pubescent crisis under heavy assault both from his 

father's tyrannical insistence on Pakistani tradition, and from the 

fierce bullies in the schoolyard. So, in a last, desperate attempt to 

'sort him out', his father decides to pack him off to Mrs Khan No 1 

and family in the Punjab, the wife and daughters he had 

abandoned 35 years earlier. It is not long before Ella Khan (Mrs 

Khan No2) with a small entourage from Salford, England, swiftly 

follows to sort out the mess, past and present. 

Andy de Emmony 

Andy is an award winning director in all formats: from commercials 

to TV series, and comedy to drama. He started his career on 

Spitting Image, directing ten series of the BAFTA nominated

satirical show. And has directed many sitcoms including RED 

DWARF (Winning an Emmy) and FATHER TED (Winning a BAFTA). 

After moving across to drama, he was BAFTA nominated for the 

first series of Cutting It and The Wife Of Bath one of two 

Canterbury Tales he directed, and again for Fantabulosa! starring 

Michael Sheen and based on the Kenneth Williams Diaries. 

Other notable credits include Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee, the 

three-part adaptation of the novel by Meera Syal, and the series 

At Home with the Braithwaites, A Thing Called Love and 55 

Degrees North. Andy recently directed the single drama Recovery 

(starring David Tenant and Sarah Parish) and Filth, The Mary 

Whitehouse Story, starring Julie Walters. His last completed film, 

God on Trial, set in Auschwitz was broadcast in Autumn 2008. 

------------------------------------ 

China 

Apart Together 

China, 2010, 93 minutes 

Director: Wang Quan’an 

Screenplay: Wang Quan’an and Na Jin 

Camera: Lutz Reitemeier 

Editing: Wu Yuxiang 

Music: Na Peng 

Production Design: Yu Baiyang, He Xufeng 

Cast: Lu Yan, Xu Kaigen, Mo Xiaotian, Ling Feng 

Production and Sales: Lighshades Film Production 

Synopsis 

A former nationalist soldier (Feng Ling) who fled mainland China in 1949 

returns home to his family years later. But his wife (Lu Yan) has a new 

common- law husband and he has never met his son before. The film won 

the Best Screenplay award at the 60 th Berlin Film Festival. 

Wang Quan’an 

Wang Quan’an is a Sixth Generation Chinese film director. He was born in Yan’an. 

He graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in 1991. Unlike many of his 

contemporaries, who focus on urban life, Wang's films emphasise China's rural life. 

He has directed three films thus far. His next film, titled Bai Lu Yuan (White Deer Plain), 

is currently in development. Wang has made it known that he would like to cast

fellow director Zhang Yimou in the lead role. Wang won the Golden Bear at the 2007 

Berlin Film Festival for his film Tuya’s Marriage. 

---------------------------------- 

Czech Republic 

Protektor 

Czech Republic, 2009, 98 minutes 

Director: Marek Najbrt 

Screenplay: Robert Geisler, Benjamin Tuček and Marek Najbrt 

Camera: Miloslav Holman 

Editor: Pavel Hrdlicka 

Sound: Tomas Zubek, Marek Hart 

Art Direction: Ondrej Nekvasil 

Production: Negativ Film Productions 

Synopsis 

Emil Vrbata, a radio host, is in love with his wife Hana, pursuing together a life 

they enjoy. It’s Prague 1939. Then comes war, and with it, German 

occupation. To survive and protect his wife Emil chooses to collaborate. 

Ultimately that threatens to destroy the very thing he is trying to protect: 

Hana. In dark times, a man becomes a hero even if it’s the last thing he wants 

to do. 

Protektor is Marek Najbrt’s second film. His first, CHAMPIONS, won three Czech 

lions (Czech Academy Awards). 

The title is cunningly ironic. The film opens on a Prague street in 1942, with a 

man, journalist Emil Vrbata, bicycling home furiously; it is the day that the 

Butcher of Prague, Reinhard Heydrich, Reichsprotektor of Czechoslovakia, 

has been assassinated. The film flashes back to the late 1930s, showing us Emil 

and his wife (Marek Daniel and Jana Plodková, both superb), popular movie 

star Hana Vrbatová, whose greater success tries her husband’s professional 

self-esteem; he becomes her “protector” for real, however, when to spare 

her reprisals, and to court success for himself, he joins a radio station and 

propagandizes on-air for the Third Reich. Hana, you see, is Jewish. Emil’s 

compromises to protect the love of his life generate horrible results. Now he is 

ordered to divorce and denounce his wife. Proceeding ahead in time, even 

beyond the (now comprehensible) 1942 starting-point, the loop-around 

structure, suggesting a noose, pulls tight. Drawing on the closing shot of 

Pabst’s Die Dreigroschenoper (1931), Protektor ends with a hauntingly out-offocus 

evocation of the Holocaust.

Marek Najbrt 

Graduated from Charles University with degrees in social sciences and 

documentary filmmaking (FAMU). He lives and works in Prague. From 1991- 

1998, he wrote and directed a number of amateur and professional 

audiovisual projects. Among the most important are the multi-media 

performances Balconies (Balkóny, 1994) and Seven Dreams Realized (Sedm 

splněných snů, 1996-1997), staged in the Prague theater Archa. In recent 

years, he has devoted his efforts towards directing films, the most ambitious 

project of which was Encyclopedia of the Universe, 2 cycles of short films for 

television produced by the production company Negativ and Czech 

Television. He debuted with the feature Champions. 

Denmark 

In a Better World 

Denmark, 2010, 100 minutes 

Director: Susanne Bier 

Screenplay: Susanne Bier, Anders Thomas Jensen 

Camera: Morten Soberg 

Editor: Pernile Bech Christensen, Morten Egholm 

Sound: Eddie Simonsen, Anne Jensen 

Music: Johan Soderqvist 

Producer: Sisse Graum Jorgensen 

Production: Zentropa Entertainment 

Synopsis 

The story traces elements from a refugee camp in Africa to the 

grey humdrum of everyday life in a Danish provincial town. The 

lives of two Danish families cross each other, and an extraordinary 

but risky friendship comes into bud. But loneliness, frailty and 

sorrow lie in wait. Soon, friendship transforms into a dangerous 

alliance and a breathtaking pursuit in which life is at stake. 

Susanne Bier 

Susanne Bier is Danish film director and screenwriter. She was born 

in Copenhagen in 1960 to Jewish parents. Her father’s family fled 

to Denmark in the 1930s when Hitler wrested power in Germany. 

Soon after her graduation, Bier made the critically acclaimed 

Freud’s Leaving Home, following it up with Family Matters. After the 

Wedding (2006), which she co-wrote with Anders Thomas Jensen 

and also directed, was Denmark’s official nomination for the

Oscars. In a Better World, too, will represent Denmark at the 

upcoming 83 rd Academy Awards. 

------------------------------------- 

India 

Just Another Love Story 

India, 2010, English, 129 minutes 

Director: Kaushik Ganguly 

Screenplay: Kaushik Ganguly 

Cinematography: Soumik Haldar 

Creative Director and Production Design: Rituparno Ghosh 

Art Direction: Tanmay Sengupta 

Music: Debojyoti Mishra 

Sound: Anirban Sengupta & Dipankar Chaki 

Cast: Chapal Bhaduri, Rituparno Ghosh, Indraneil Sengupta, Jisshu 

Sengupta, Churni Ganguly, Raima Sen, Arindam Sil, Charlotte 

Haywards 

Synopsis 

Seventy-plus Chapal Bhaduri, once famous for the feminine lead 

roles he played, is essentially a woman, biologically trapped in a 

man’s body. He lives a forsaken life, surviving on memories of his 

past until he meets Abhiroop Sen, an openly gay filmmaker who 

lures him with big money to reveal his tragic story in every detail 

for a documentary. 

Media wrath, homophobia, emotional conflicts and attractions 

ensue in the lives of the characters, while they come across their 

similar complexities, divided loyalties and similar bonds of 

sisterhood with a lover’s suffering ‘legitimate’ wife. Abhiroop is 

eventually to question his fake liberation, and face his essential 

solitude as a marginal being in society. 

Kaushik Ganguly 

Kolkata-born Kaushik Ganguly spent eight years as a teacher and 

freelance scriptwriter before turning a director in the year 1995

with tele-serial Raahat (Zee TV, Hindi). What followed were other 

serials - Bhalobasha Mandobasha, Amanisha, Khirki Theke Singha- 

Duar and acclaimed telefilms like Sesh Krityo, Ushno Tar Jonyo, 

Atithi and Collage to name a few. Marking his feature film debut 

with Waarish (2004), Kaushik went on to garner much acclaim for 

his second film Shunyo e Bukey (2005) which was screened at the 

London International Women’s Film Festival, Stuttgart Film Festival 

and L.A. International Film Festival. His other noted works are Ek 

Mutho Chobi, Brake Fail and Jackpot. 

-------------------------------------- 

India 

Moner Manush (The Quest) 

India, 2010, Bengali, 150 minutes 

Direction/Music/Choreography: Goutam Ghose 

Screenplay: Goutam Ghose 

Camera: Goutam Ghose 

Author of the story: Sunil Gangopadhyay 

Production Design: Samir Chanda 

Costume: Bibi Russel (Bangladesh), Neelanjana Ghose (India) 

Editor: Moloy bandopadhyay 

Sound: Anup Mukhopadhyay 

Lyrics: Lalan Fakir, Sahjad Firdaus 

Cast: Prosenjit Chatterjee, Raisul Islam Asad, Chanchal 

Chowdhury, Priyanshu Chatterjee, Syed Hasan Imam, Gulshan Ara 

Champa, Paoli Dam, 

Synopsis 

Rabindranath Tagore’s elder brother Jyotirindranath Tagore, an 

urban intellectual, meets the octogenarian Lalan Faqir and 

exchanges views with this man of native wisdom. This exchange of 

ideas forms the cinematic narrative of the film. 

It is a saga of the life and times of Lalan Faqir and his liberal sect 

who lived a life of high order in an otherwise superstitious 19th 

century Indian society and developed an extremely secular and 

tolerant philosophy based on the best of the liberal and 

enlightened tradition of Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. And thus

ecame an easy prey for the Hindu and Muslim fundamentalists. 

The love and compassion of Lalan is relevant more than ever in 

today’s world of intolerance and hate. 

Goutam Ghose 

An active part of group theatre movement in Calcutta, Goutam 

Ghose started making documentaries in 1973. His second 

documentary Hungry Autumn won him the main award at the 

Oberhausen Film Festival. Since then his feature films and 

documentaries has received world-wide recognition. Dakhal, 

Padma Nadir Majhi and Abar Arannye are some of his noted 

feature films; while Meeting a Milestone, Beyond the Himalayas 

and Ray are some of his prominent works as a documentary 

filmmaker. 

Besides several National Awards, Goutam Ghose has won 

accolades several eminent International festivals. The only Indian 

to win the coveted Vittori Di Sica Award, he was also awarded the 

Knighthood of the Star of the Italian Solidarity in July 2006. 

----------------------------- 

India 

Vihir 

India, 2009, Marathi, 115 minutes 

Director: Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni 

Story: Girish Kulkarni 

Screenplay: Girish Kulkarni 

Camera: Sudhir Palsane 

Editor: Niraj Voralia 

Art Directors: Sachin Bhilare, Ravin Karde, Ramcharantej Labani 

Costume Design: Kalyani Kulkarni, Minal Desai 

Music: Mangesh Dhakde 

Sound: Anthony B J Ruban, Pramod Thomas 

Producer: AB Corp Limited 

Cast: Madan Deodhar, Alok Rajwade, Renuka Daftardar, Jyoti 

Subhash, Dr. Mohan Agashe, Sulbha Deshpande, Girish Kulkarni

Synopsis 

A story of two adolescent boys Sameer and Nachiket (cousins 

who are best friends) standing on the cross roads of life - to 

choose between the life that leads to petty worldly small 

existence or the life of free existence that would let them spread 

their wings and soar high in open skies. They play a game of hide 

and seek in a rather unusual way where one cousin hides in death 

and the other is looking for him in the life around him. Sameer’s 

search leads him towards the experience of oneness where he 

can unite with Nachiket again! 

Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni 

Kulkarni is an alumni of FTII, Pune with a specialisation in direction. 

His Diploma film Girni won the National Award for Best Short Film 

and Best Direction (2005). He was selected as the only Indian 

student for the summer University course in LA Femis, Paris, in 2000. 

His short documentary Three Of Us premiered in Berlinale 2008 and 

received many international awards. Valu, Umesh’s first feature 

film premiered in Rotterdam 2008 was extremely successful with 

critics as well as common audience. 

--------------------------------------- 

Iran 

On Foot (Pay-e-Piyadeh) 

Iran, 2009, 85 minutes 

Director: Fereydoun Hasanpour 

Screenplay: Fereydoun Hasanpour 

Camera: Nader Masoumi 

Editor: Saeed Shahsavari 

Sound: Jahangir Mirshekari 

World sales 

IRIB Media Trade 

45, Hedayat St, Yakhchal Ave, Tehran, Iran 

Tel: +98 21 22548032 

Fax: +98 21 22551914 

Email:Ch_sales@iribmediatrade.ir, Shahrokhi@iribmediatrade.ir 

Synopsis

Love is a holy thing in Jafar’s family. They only marry when they fall 

in love. Jafar, 35, has not yet fallen in love. A stranger comes to 

the village. She’s the new teacher of the school. Jafar thinks she is 

the one he can marry. 

Fereydoun Hasanpour 

Born in 1961, Fereydoun Hasanpour is a graduate of film directing 

from Faculty of Dramatic Arts, Tehran University. He made his 

debut feature Summer Holidays in 1995. His films Money and 

Sunflower Farm were awarded in the video competition section in 

different editions of Isfahan Children Film Festival. 

--------------------------------------- 

Israel 

Valley of Strength 

Israel, 2010, 107 minutes 

Direction: Dan Wolman 

Screenplay: Ran Aviad 

Camera: Shoshana Wolman 

Editor: Eli Yarkoni 

Sound: Yoav Dahari 

Production: Dan Wolman Film Production 

15 Ido Ramat Gan, Israel 52233 

Tel: +972 3 5742683 

Fax: +972 3 5742683 

Email: danwol@zahav.net.il 

Cast: Tamar Elkan, Zion Ashkenazi, Yaacov Bodo, Levana 

Finkelstein, Ezra Dagan, Rotem Zisman, Eric Yitzhakov 

Synopsis 

This is a historical epic which interweaves the story of the first 

wave of Jewish European migration to Palestine, at the end of the 

19 th century, with an unusual love story between Fania, a young 

Russian immigrant ,and Yechiel, a native Jew.Seventeen year old 

Fania, her baby daughter, elderly uncle and her retarded brother

arrive by boat at the port of Jaffa, having survived a “pogrom” 

(massacre), in which all other members of their family, were 

killed.As they’ve come to Palestine with no financial means, she, 

her baby daughter, and her uncle, face evacuation from the 

inn.At the inn, Fania meets Yechiel, a young widower, whose wife 

died of malaria, leaving him to care by himself for their two 

children. He is attracted to Fania and offers to marry her. Having 

no real choice, she accepts and sets up north with him.At the 

heart of this saga of survival and struggle lies a dramatic love 

story. Fania is burdened by a deep and harrowing secret she is 

unable to share with anyone else. But, without sharing it with her 

husband Yechiel, their marriage cannot be consummated. 

Dan Wolman 

Born in Jerusalem in 1941. Made many films over the last forty 

years, among them The Dreamer, Floch and Hide and Seek which 

were presented at festivals such as Cannes, Venice and Berlin. 

----------------------------- 

Japan 

Sword of Desperation 

Japan, 2010, 114 mins 

Director: Hideyuki Hirayama 

Writers: Shohei Fujisawa (novel), Hidehiro Ito, Itaru Era 

Producer: Hidehiro Ito 

Synopsis 

The expert swordsman Kanemi Sanzaemon is a man of principle, 

first and foremost. His decisive, violent handling of high-level 

corruption in the court of the local feudal lord landed him in 

solitary confinement for two years. He has now been released, 

with one caveat he cannot comprehend: He must serve as 

bodyguard to the lord he betrayed. This thrilling, masterfully 

stylized tale of honour combines classic samurai action with a taut 

story of intrigue and betrayal. 

Hideyuki Hirayama 

Hideyuki Hirayama was born in Fukuoka in 1950. After graduating 

from the Department of Broadcasting, College of Art, Nihon

University, he made his debut as a director with Maria no Ibukuro 

(1990). He has works of various genres under his belt, including the 

Haunted School series, The Laughing Frog (2002), OUT (2002), 

Samurai Resurrection (2003) and Three for the Road (2007). 

------------------------------------------ 

Poland 

Little Rose 

Poland, 2010, 118 minutes 

Director: Jan Kidawa-Blonski 

Screenplay: Maciej Karpinski, Jan Kidawa-Blonski 

Cinematography: Piotr Wojtowicz 

Editor: Cezary Grzesiuk 

Sound: Wieslaw Znyk, Joanna Napieralska 

Art: Joanna Bialousz 

Cast: Andrzej SEWERYN, Magdalena BOCZARSKA, Robert WIECKIEWICZ, Jan Frycz, 

Krzysztof Globisz, Grazyna Szapolowska 

Production: WFDiF Documentary & Feature Films Studios in Warsaw, Chelmska 21,00- 

724 Warsaw, Poland; Producer: Wlodzimierz Niderhaus, contacts: +48225593409, fax: 

+4822 8406741 festiwale@wfdif.com.pl; wfdif@wfdif.com.pl 

Co-production companies: 1. Telekomunikacja Polska S.A., Warsaw, Dominik Lesage 

2. Monolith Films, Mariusz Lukomski 

Sales: Monolith Films, 00-724 Warsaw, Chelmska 21, Mariusz Lukomski, +4822 8511077- 

78, fax: +4822 8511079, info@monolith.pl 

Synopsis 

An agent of the Communist Security Service makes his mistress 

expose the true self of a noted dissident writer. Against her better 

judgement, the girl falls in love with the very man she is out to trap. 

This is an emotional story of a love triangle. 

Jan Kidawa-Blonski 

Jan Kidawa-Blonski is a film director, screenwriter, film and TV 

producer born in 1953. He studied archirecture at the Silesian 

Polytechnic and direction at the state film school in 

Lodz.(PWSFTViT). In 1981 he graduated from the direction faculty. 

In 1982-1991 he worked with Silesia, OKO, and Zodiak Film Studios; 

in 1991- co-founder and Chairman of the Gambit Production Ltd. 

that produces features, documentaries, commercials and TV 

programs in 1990-1994 chairman of the Association of the Polish 

Filmmakers; in 1990-2001 member of the Polish Committee of

Cinematography; in 1997-2001 member of the Board of Directors 

of the Association of Independent Film & TV Production. His 

directorial credits include Three Feet Above the Ground (1984), 

Men’s Business (1988), Dairy in a Marble (1992), Virus (1996), and 

Destined for Blues (2005). 

-------------------------------------- 

Russia 

Bibinur Story 

Russia, 2009, 98 minutes 

Director: Yuri Feting 

Screenplay: Mansur Gilyazov, Yury Feting 

Camera: Miksim Drozdov 

Production Design: Vladislav Orlov, Bulat Gilvanov 

Music: Radik Salimov 

Sound: Igor Sidenko 

Producer: Svetlana Bukharaeva 

Cast: Firdaus Akhtyamova, Ernest Timerkhanov, Ruslan Mustafin, Nasikh 

Fizyarakhmanov, Rezeda Khadiullina, Renata Minvaleeva, Nailya Gareeva 

Production: Sabantuy Studio with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the 

Russian Federation and Tatarkino of the Ministry of Culture of Tatarstan 

Synopsis 

And old woman called Bibinur sees a dream telling her that she is going to 

die next Friday. So Bibinur has to use the time she has to repay all of her debts 

and to prepare for teh final bow. Suddenly criminal businessmen and 

landowners appear in the village. They intend to sell the land where now the 

old cemetery is. One of them, Jihangir, who is used to the glamorous life of 

the big cities having lived the most part of his life abroad, has now for the first 

time in his life arrived on Tartar land. The young man stays in Bibinur’s house 

for the night and she tells him about her life. As a result, he realises that Bibinur 

is righteous and that his own ancestors came from this village. For the old 

Bibinur, Juhangir is ready to confront his companion and refuse to sell the 

land. 

Yuri Feting 

Yuri Feting, born in 1956, graduated from Institute of Theatre of Boris Schukin 

by State academic theatre of E. Vakhtangov (1978). Till 1989 he worked in the 

Theatre of Lenin Komsomol and the Theatre Rock Opera. In 1990 he 

graduated from the courses of script writers and directors (workshop of Yury 

German). From 1995 till 1998 he worked as a director on the television

programme Vzglyad. In 2000 he debuted in cinema with the film 

Rozhdestvenskaya Misteriya (2000). His second film, Myths of My Childhood 

(2005), received prizes at such film festivals as Kinoshok and New Russian 

Cinema. Feting also teaches in the St. Petersburg Film University. 

-------------------------------------------- 

Spain 

Paper Birds 

Spain, 2010, 125 minutes 

Director: Emilio Aragon 

Screenplay: Fernando Castets 

Camera: David Omedes 

Editor: Jose Salcedo 

Music: Emilio Aragon 

Sound: Segio Burmann, Eduardo Garcia Castro, Pelayo Gutierrez, 

Marc Orts 

Art: Fernando Gonzalez 

Producers: Emilio Aragon, Mercedes Gamero 

Cast: Fernando Cayo, Roger Princep, Imanol Arias, Carmen 

Machi, Javier Coll, Cristina Marcos, Ana Cuesta 

Synopsis 

Jorge and Enrique are two artists in the post-Spanish Civil War 

times that adopt an orphan child called Miguel. With a varieté 

company that travels around the country, Jorge and Enrique see 

the horrors left by the war. Meanwhile the Republic Army watch 

Jorge and the rest of the company suspecting that some of them 

are collaborating with the rebels opposed to the Francoist 

Regime. 

Emilio Aragon 

Emilo Aragon belongs to a family of artists, and the art of 

entertaining and moving audiences has always been his gift. He is 

a multi awarded television and theatre producer/director and 

music composer. Paper Birds is his debut as a film director. 

-------------------------------- 

Switzerland/Germany

The Big Cat 

Germany/Switzerland, 2010, 89 minutes 

Director: Wolfgang Panzer 

Screenplay: Claus P Hant, Dietmar Guntsche 

Camera: Edwin Horak 

Editor: Jean-Claude Piroue 

Production Design: Josef Sanktjohanser 

Producers: Dietmar Guntsche, Wolfgang Behr, Claudia Wick, 

Benito Muller, Wolfgang Muller 

Cast: Bruno Ganz, Ulrich Tukur, Marie Baumer, Christiane Paul, 

Edgar Selge 

Synopsis 

The Big Cat, inspired by the true experiences of Swiss author 

Thomas Hürlimann, tells a fascinating story of love and political 

power. The film provides a personal and unusual insight to the life 

of a statesman, portraying the Swiss Federal President’s last two 

days in office. While preparing for a royal state reception in honor 

of the Spanish King, an intrigue is planned behind his back, 

intending to cause his downfall. Private interests and the struggle 

for political power get tangled up and result in a dangerous 

mixture of highly explosive forces. 

Wolfgang Panzer 

Wolfgang Panzer was born in 1947 in Munich and grew up in Turin 

and Lausanne. He studied Romance Languages and Literature, 

Sociology and Journalism in Lausanne and Fribourg. During his 

studies, he started working as a reporter and editor for Swiss 

Television. At the age of 23, he returned to Munich for his studies at 

the University of Television and Film (HFF). Since 1978, he has been 

working as a freelance author, producer and director. 

--------------------------------- 

Taiwan 

Taipei Exchanges 

Taiwan, 2010, 82 minutes

Director: Hsiao Ya-Chuan 

Screenplay: Hsiao Yu-Chuan 

Camera: Lin Tse-Chung 

Editor: Tao Chu-Chun 

Sound: Tu Du-Che 

Art: Lee Tung-Kang 

Cast: Gwei Lun-Mei, Chang Han, Zaizai Lin 

Production: BIT Production 

World Sales: Atomic Future/ Atom Cinema 

T: 886 (0) 2 2370 1666 

F: 886 (0) 2 2370 1665 

8F.-5, No.6 Hengyang Rd. Taipei 100 Taiwan 

Synopsis 

Doris’s Café is a homely space where people could relax and enjoy the soothing 

afternoon sun and daydream. The aroma of coffee and home-baked desserts fills 

the air. The café is meant to be as elegant as its owner, Doris, but has been turned 

upside down by her sister, Josie. Ignoring Doris’s protest, Josie starts exchanging 

goods with costumers in the shop. Objects of various kinds begin to accumulate; 

discarded by their previous owners, they prove to be treasures in the eyes of others. 

The activity of swapping goods upstages Doris’s coffee-making and becomes the 

biggest attraction of the shop. 

One day a man walks in by chance. He loves brownie with espresso and that 

happens to be Doris’s favourite combination as well. He brings 35 bars of soaps from 

35 different cities in the hope of trading them for something special. Every time he 

comes in, he orders a cup of coffee and tells a story of one of the soaps. These 

exotic tales fill Doris’s mind with beautiful images and she materialises them in her 

paintings. 

In the end, Doris is willing to swap her heart for these enchanting tales - she longs to 

see these cities with her own eyes…During the process of this exchange, what 

exactly does the man get from the soaps on which his memories are engraved? 

Hsiao Ya-Chuan 

Born in 1967 in Taiwan, Hsiao Ya Chuan graduated from the Fine Art Department of 

the National Institute of Arts. He began making short films in 1988 and was awarded 

with Golden Video Award, Golden Harvest Award and China Time Award. He has 

been working in commercial films since 1994 and was awarded with Golden China 

Time CF Award, New York CF Award, and 4A CF Award. In 1997, Hsiao was the 

Assistant Director of the feature film, Flowers of Shanghai. His first feature-length film, 

Mirror Image, was selected in the Director’s Fortnight at the Cannes in 2001 and won 

numerous awards. In 2010, Hsiao finished his second feature, Taipei Exchanges. 

--------------------------------

Thailand 

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives 

Thailand/UK/France, 2010, 113 minutes 

Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul 

Screenplay: Apichatpong Weerasethakul 

Camera: Yukontorn Mingmongkon, Charin Pengpanich, 

Sayombhu Mukdeeprom 

Editor: Lee Chatametikool 

Sound: Akritchalerm Kalayanamitr, Koichi Shimizu 

Set Designer: Akekarat Homlaor 

Cast: Natthakam Aphaiwonk, Sakda, Kaewbuadee, Geerasak 

Kulhong, Jenjira Pongpas, Thanapat Saisaymar 

Synopsis 

Suffering from acute kidney failure, Uncle Boonmee has chosen to 

spend his final days surrounded by his loved ones in the 

countryside. Surprisingly, the ghost of his deceased wife appears 

to care for him, and his long lost son returns home in a non-human 

form. Contemplating the reasons for his illness, Boonmee treks 

through the jungle with his family to a mysterious hilltop cave -- the 

birthplace of his first life... 

Apichatpong Weerasethakul 

Apichatpong Weerasethakul (b. 1970, Bangkok) grew up in Khon 

Kaen, a city in the north east of Thailand. He has a degree in 

Architecture from Khon Kaen University and a Master of Fine Arts in 

Filmmaking from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has 

been making films and videos since the early 90s. 

He is one of the few filmmakers in Thailand who have worked 

outside the strict Thai studio system. In his films, he experiments with 

certain elements found in the dramatic plot structure of Thai 

television and radio programs, comics and old films. He finds his 

inspiration in small towns around the country. In his work, he often

uses non-professional actors and improvised dialogue in exploring 

the shifting boundaries between documentary and fiction. 

In 2000, he completed his first feature, Dokfa nai Meuman, a 

documentary that has been screened at many international 

festivals and received enthusiastic reviews and awards as well as 

being listed among the best films of the year 2000 by Film 

Comment and the Village Voice. He is active in promoting 

experimental and independent films through Kick the Machine, 

the company he founded in 1999. He is currently working on 

several video projects and a new feature, Tropical Malady. 

----------------------------------- 

TURKEY 

The Crossing 

Turkey, 2010, 95 minutes 

Director: Selim Demirdelen 

Screenplay: Selim Demirdelen 

Camera: Aydin Sarioglu 

Producer: Turker Korkmaz 

Cast: Güven Kirac, Sezin Akbasogullari 

The hero of Turkish writer/director Selim Demirdelen's psychological 

drama is a painfully shy middle-aged accountant named Güven 

(Güven Kirac), who measures out his life in equal portions of work 

and family: the highlight of each weekday seems to be an 

afternoon phone call from his small daughter, assuring her father 

that she's home safe from school. But Güven has a secret, we 

soon learn: he has no daughter, no wife, no family at all. In the 

wake of tragedy, this bulky, quiet man in a buttoned-up cardigan 

has constructed an elaborate domestic fantasy to help him cope. 

Demirdelen enriches this portrait of loneliness with those of two of 

Güven's co-workers, a prickly young man named Haydar (Umut 

Kurt) and a struggling young mother, Arzu (Sezin Akbasogullari), 

recently separated from her alcoholic husband. Then there’s

Güven’s explosive upstairs neighbor, Vedat (Cengiz Bozkurt), who 

torments his wife, daughter and ancient mother with screaming 

rants. 

Set alternately in the stifling accountancy office, the dark, rainy 

streets of Istanbul and the bleak hospital where the various 

traumas of its characters are revealed, The Crossing is a 

compelling examination of an ordinary man's extraordinary 

capacity for sacrifice and of the mysterious ties that bind us. 

Güven Kirac's performance as the anonymous Everyman is 

beautifully detailed down to the smallest gesture of bewilderment 

or despair. 

Selim Demirdelen 

Selim Demirdelen is a Turkish writer-director. The Crossing is his 

debut feature. 

USA 

Shit Year 

USA, 2010, B&W, 95 minutes 

Director: Cam Archer 

Screenplay: Cam Archer 

Camera: Aaron Platt 

Editor: Madeleine Riley 

Sound: Nate Archer, Cam Archer 

Art Direction: Elizabeth Birkenbuel 

Costumes: Stephanie Volkmar 

Music: Mick Turner 

Producers: Jay Van Hoy and Lars Knudsen 

Cast: Ellen Barkin, Bob Einstein, Luke Grimes, Melora Walters, 

Theresa Randle 

Synopsis

Renowned actress Colleen West (Ellen Barkin) abandons her 

successful career for a secluded life in the hills. But the quiet and 

peace of mind she longed for is disrupted by the noisy 

construction of neighboring housing developments. Before long, 

Colleen discovers that she really can't stand herself now that she 

has given up the only thing that she has ever truly been 

passionate about. As an alternative to isolation, she reluctantly 

befriends her jubilant, whimsical neighbor (Melora Walters) and 

reconnects with her estranged brother (Bob Einstein) who drops 

by unannounced after hearing about her retirement. Haunted by 

loneliness and past desires, Colleen begins to feel as if she has 

lived her life through the characters she has played on stage and 

screen. Ultimately, she is forced to confront loss, her failures and 

mistakes, by reliving a recent affair with younger actor Harvey 

West (Luke Grimes) whom she met during her final stage 

performance. Reality becomes inseparable from Colleen's 

unhinged obsessions in a hallucinatory struggle to accept her own 

vulnerability and reclaim herself. 

Cam Archer 

Cam Archer lives and works in Santa Cruz, California. Shit Year is 

his second feature film. 

-------------------------------

Retrospective: Jan Jakub Kolski 

One of the most distinguished Polish film directors, an author of 

documentaries, feature films as well as theatre plays, a 

cinematographer (a graduate of the Cinematography and 

Television Production Department at PWSFTViT /State Film School/ 

in Łódź), a writer. Each of his new films is a remarkable event in the 

Polish cinema, each of them wins awards at the Polish Film Festival 

in Gdynia and is a success at international film events. Kolski is a 

member of the European Film Academy. 

Feature films: 

1990 Pogrzeb kartofla (The Burial of a Potato) – Cannes IFF, Un Certain 

Regard 

1992 Pograbek (A Knacker) 

1993 Magneto 

Regard 

Jańcio Wodnik (Johnnie, the Aquarius) – Cannes IFF, Un Certain 

1994 Cudowne miejsce (A Miraculous Place) – Berlin IFF, Panorama 

1995 Grający z talerza (One Who Made Music From Plates) – Berlin IFF, 

Special Jury 

Prize at the Tokyo IFF; 

Szabla od komendanta (The Commander’s Saber) 

1998 Historia kina w Popielawach (The History of Cinema in a Village of 

Popielawy) – 

Berlin IFF, Grand Prix of the Cinema Tout Ecran in Geneva; 

2000 Daleko od okna (Keep Away From The Window) 

2003 Pornografia (Pornography) – Venice IFF, Competition; 

2005 Jasminum – Moscow IFF, Competition; 

2009 Afonia i Pszczoły (Happy Aphonya); 

2010 Wenecja (Venice) 

-----------------------------------

The Burial of a Potato 

1991, 96 minutes 

Director: Jan Jakub Kolski 

Screenplay: Jan Jakub Kolski 

Camera: Wojciech Todorow 

Editor: Ewa Pakulska 

Sound: Norbert Zbigniew Medlewski 

Art Direction: Jacek Turewicz 

Production: Irzykowski Film Studio 

Cast: Franciszek Pieczka, Adam Ferency, Mariusz Saniternik, Ewa 

Zukowska, Grazyna Blecka-Kolska, Boguslaw Sochnacki, Grzegorz 

Herominski 

Synopsis 

Spring 1946. Mateusz, an old harness- maker, returns to his 

native village from a concentration camp form Germany . He 

finds his house empty, all his property stolen, and the 

neighbours are hostile to him in a strange way. Barely coping 

with difficulties and humiliations, he regains part of his lost 

property. But the aggressive behaviour of the people around him 

is on the increase. They attempt to set his house on fire and shoot 

him. They justify their acts by maintaining that Mateusz is a Jew. 

In part, their animosity is caused by the fear that their share in the 

land to be distributed free of charge among the peasants would 

be smaller than expected. But this is not the most important 

reason. The enmity of the villagers is the result of their sense of guilt 

for the death of Mateusz's son. They allowed a young lieutenant to 

die rather than be suspected of collaborating with the anticommunist 

underground movement, which would be tantamount 

to losing their claim on the dreamt of piece of land. 

In an act of retaliation, the old harness -maker digs out his son's 

body and forces the three most responsible peasants to form a 

funereal span. They are made to haul the carriage to the 

cemetery to give their victim a proper burial.

----------------------------- 

Happy Aphonya 

2009, 110 minutes 



Camera: Krzystof Ptak 

Editor: Witold Chominski 

Music: Dariusz Gorniok 

Sound: Jacek Hamela 

Art Direction: Michal Hrisulidis 

Costume Design: Barbara Sikorska-Bouffal 

Producer: Lambros Ziotas 

Cast: Grazyna Blecka-Kolska (Afonia), Mariusz Saniternik (Rafal), 

Andrey Bilinov (Russian) 

Synopsis 

Year 1953. At a small, closed station somewhere in the west of 

Poland, where Afonia and paralysed Rafal are recovering from 

the war trauma, a Russian man, a former sports champion, arrives. 

He wants to discover the secrets of Rafal, a former wrestler, which 

are hidden in his sketches. Afonia falls madly in love with the 

stranger… 

---------------------------------------- 

The History of Cinema in the Village of 

Popielawy 

1998, 100 minutes 



Camera: Krzysztof Ptak 


Sound: Andrzej Zabicki 

Art Direction: Wojciech Saloni-Marczewski 

Production: Figaro Film, TVP S.A. – Film Agency, Canal +, APF, 

Silesia Film

Cast: Krzysztof Majchrzak, Bartosz Opania, Grażyna Blecka-Kolska, 

Michał Jasinski, Tomasz Krysiak 

Synopsis 

A ironic story about a village family whose ancestral tinkerer built 

the first cinematograph and whose succeeding generations have 

devoted their lives to the cinema… 

Fifty years before the Lumiere Brothers, Josef Andryszek, first of that 

name, blacksmith, and a genius invents cinema in Popielawy, a 

little village in the heart of Poland. It is now recounted by Staszek, 

a ten-year old boy sent to live in the village with his grandparents. 

Staszek befriends Szustek, the youngest Andryszek and starts to 

share his passion for the strange machine invented by his 

grandfather, of which only drawings remain. 

A host of colourful characters, whose paths meet – or rather 

collide – in a lively to and fro span three generations: that of the 

grandfather and the invention of the machine, that of Szustek’s 

father; and that of the two boys, the action of which is set in the 

early 1960s. 

-------------------------------------- 

Johnnie, the Aquarius 

1993, 101 minutes 



Camera: Piotr Lenar 


Art Direction: Tadeusz Kosarewicz 

Production: Vacek Film, TVP S.A. – Film Agency 

Cast: Franciszek Pieczka, Grażyna Blecka-Kolska, Bogusław Linda, 

Katarzyna Aleksandrowicz, Olgierd Łukaszewicz 

Synopsis 

A wandering tramp (Olgierd Łukaszewicz) finds a mare along a 

path through a field. The animal, beaten and gravely ill, dies. The

tramp buries the mare and casts a spell on the village where the 

mare was beaten to death. 

Jancio [Johnnie] (Franciszek Pieczka), philosopher and a man who 

loves life, and his young wife Weronka (Grażyna Blecka-Kolska), 

live in the village. He is at peace with God and doesn’t expect to 

be tested by Him. One day Johnnie discovers he has the power to 

perform miracles. He decides to leave his pregnant wife and 

venture out into the wide world, promising to return before the 

birth of their child. He wanders through villages curing people. His 

fame grows as does his conceit… 

----------------------------------------- 

Keep Away from the Window 

2000, 104 minutes 


Screenplay: Cezary Harasimowicz, based on the story by Hanna 

Krall 

Camera: Arkadiusz Tomiak 

Art Direction: Michal Hrisulidis 

Production: Close Up, TVP S.A. – FILM AGENCY; APF, Canal + 

Cast: Bartosz Opania, Dorota Landowska, Dominika Ostalowska, 

Karolina Gruszka, Krzysztof Pieczynski, Dariusz Toczek 

Synopsis 

In a small town, during the German occupation, lives a childless 

couple – Barbara and Jan. They hide a young Jewish woman 

Regina, who has to spend most of the time in an old wardrobe not 

to be seen by anybody. With time Regina gets pregnant with Jan. 

Barbara starts to pretend that it is she who is going to have a baby 

and carefully prepares everything to the upcoming childbirth. The 

child – a girl named Helusia – is born in secret. Helusia has two 

mothers now – Barbara considers her to be her own child. Regina 

helplessly watches how she loses her daughter. One day, she 

disappears without a trace. 

The war passes by, Helusia grows up, but the secret still lingers. 

Years later, as Jan is dying, he must tell Helusia who her real 

mother is...

A Miraculous Place 




Camera: Piotr Lenar 


Sound: Norbert Zbigniew Medlewski 

Art Direction: Tadeusz Koserewicz 

Production: Irzykowski Film Stduio, TVP S.A. – Film Agency; WFF 

Cast: Grazyna Blecka-Kolska, Adam Kamien, Krzysztof Majchrzak, 

Mariusz Saniternik, Elzbieta Debska 

Synopsis 

Love story of a priest and a waitress. A young, handsome priest, 

Jakub, comes to small village to run his first-ever parish. In the 

neighborhood people await a miracle. Their priest, Andrzej, is kind 

of impetuous and weird. Yet, the miracle occurs… somewhere in 

Jakub's new parish. The easy-going waitress gets struck by the 

marks of Christ. The villagers are shocked. Priest Jakub and the 

waitress fall for each other. The village does not accept them. 

People attack the waitress’ house. In her defence stand “evil " 

priest Andrzej. 

--------------------------------------- 

Pornografia (Pornography) 

2003, 117 minutes 


Screenplay: Jan Jakub Kolski, based on a novel by Witold 

Gombrowicz 

Camera: Krzysztof Ptak 


Sound: Bertrand Come, Katarzyna Dzida-Hamela, Jacek Hamela, 

Herve Buirette 

Art Direction: Andrzej Przedworski

Production: Heritage Films, MACT Production, TVP SA – Film 

Agency, Canal +, WFDiF 

Cast: Krzysztof Majchrzak, Adam Ferency, Krzysztof Globisz, 

Grazyna Blecka-Kolska, Grzegorz Damiecki, Jan Frycz, Irena 

Laskowska, Sandra Samos 

Synopsis 

Broadly adapted from the Polish author Witold Gombrowicz's 

satiricaI 1960 

novel, Pornografia, the film expands the conventional definition of 

its provocative title to embrace a more generalized view of 

people's selfish, antiheroic behaviour during wartime. Its particular 

fascination and satirical target is the prurient obsession of the old 

with the sex lives of the young. 

The story, set in Nazi-occupied Poland in 1943, is narrated by 

Witold (Adam Ferency), a cynical middle-aged writer who travels 

with his friend Fryderyk (KrzysztofMajchrzak), a theater and film 

director, to the country estate of Hipolit (Krzysztof Globisz), a 

landowner involved in the resistance. The film's opening scene, set 

in the city before their departure, observes Witold and Fryderyk 

and their fashionable bohemian friends strutting and posing at a 

stuffy salon. Witold wryly observes that the war that threatens to 

consume them is of little concem to these babbling, self-important 

culturati. 

------------------------------------ 

Wenecja (Venice) 

2010, 110 minutes 


Screenplay: Jan Jakub Kolski, based on a story, Venice, by 

Włodzimierz Odojewski 

Camera: Artur Reinhart 


Music: Dariusz Górniok 

Sound: Jacek Hamela 

Art Direction: Joanna Macha 

Producer: Michał Kwieciński

Cast: Magdalena Cielecka, Marcin Walewski, Agnieszka 

Grochowska, Grazyna Blecka-Kolska, Julia Kijowska, Teresa 

Budzisz-Krzyzanowska, Mariusz Bonaszewski 

Synopsis 

Eleven-year-old Marek has an obsessive desire to go to with his 

family to Venice, the city on water. He has learned all of its streets 

and squares by heart. Will his dream come true? Well, it is 1939, 

Hitler is getting set to invade Poland and his father has joined the 

army. Instead, Marek and his mother go to Aunt Veronica’s villa in 

Zaleszczykach on the San. He builds a replica of Venice (if he 

can’t go to Venice then have it come to him) when the basement 

floods. 

Venice tells a story of a journey never taken. A story in which the 

power of dreams makes it possible to turn a flooded cellar into the 

most romantic city on Earth. As the WW2 rages on outside the 

window, the “Venetian” cellar awakens great expectations and 

passions. 

At first, these are the dreams of children, full of pure belief in 

making the things possible by a force of will and mind, but later 

the further generations of a big family join the specific play that 

changes into a ritual of an attempt of overcoming the hostile 

world by the human spirit. 

The special, old, family nest-house seems to be a final asylum and 

brings a promise of safety. This feeling flows gradually over to the 

next and next circles of the family’s friends, neighbors and – finally 

– total strangers that one day come inside. How will it stand the 

confrontation with the cruelty of war?

Retrospective: Mira Nair 

Mira Nair is the rare, prolific filmmaker who fluidly moves between 

Hollywood and independent cinema. After several years of 

making documentary films, Mira Nair made a stunning entry on to 

the world stage with her first feature, SALAAM BOMBAY! (1988), 

now hailed as a classic. The film received more than 25 

international awards, including an Academy Award Nomination 

for Best Foreign Film, BAFTA, and the Camera D’Or (for best first 

feature) and Prix du Publique (for most popular entry) at the 

Cannes Film Festival in 1988. 

In the following decade, Nair directed four features: MISSISSIPPI 

MASALA (1991), THE PEREZ FAMILY (1995), KAMA SUTRA: A TALE of 

LOVE (1996), and MY OWN COUNTRY (1998). In 2001, Nair's 

MONSOON WEDDING won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film 

Festival and was nominated for a Golden Globe and a BAFTA, 

becoming one of the highest grossing foreign films of all time. In 

2002, Nair directed HYSTERICAL BLINDNESS for HBO which gave the 

channel its highest original film ratings ever, winning the Golden 

Globe for star Uma Thurman, and 3 Emmy Awards for Gena 

Rowlands, Ben Gazzara and design. In 2004, Nair directed Reese 

Witherspoon as Becky Sharp in Focus Features' stunning 

adaptation of Thackeray's VANITY FAIR. A year later, Nair's 

adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri's bestselling novel THE NAMESAKE 

became another critical and commercial success for the director. 

A long time activist, Nair divides her energies between filmmaking 

and her two successful non-profit organisations. In 1988, she used 

the profits of SALAAM BOMBAY! to create the Salaam Baalak Trust 

which has directly impacted government policy on streetchildren 

in India. 20 years later, the trust’s 25 centers provide a safe and 

nurturing environment for 5000 street children annually. In 2005, 

Nair founded Maisha, a filmmakers' training program based in East 

Africa. In its 5 years of operation, Maisha has trained hundreds of 

students from Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania in 

screenwriting, directing, producing, acting, sound design, editing, 

and cinematography.

Equally committed to the short film form, Nair has directed six films, 

all of which are included on the Criterion Collection's 2009 

compilation of her work. Following the tragic events of September 

11, 2001, Mira joined a group of eleven renowned filmmakers; her 

film is a retelling of a true story of a mother’s search for her son 

who did not return home on that fateful day. In 2007 Nair's New 

York based production company, Mirabai Films, produced AIDS 

JAAGO, a series of 4 short films made by India's cutting-edge 

directors and stars.The series, designed to help de-stigmatize AIDS 

in india, has been seen by over 2 million viewers worldwide. Nair's 

own short film for the series, called MIGRATION, deals with AIDS as 

the class leveler in society by following its transmission through 

interweaving stories linking rural and urban india. Nair also 

directed a segment of the feature film '8' as one of eight directors 

each creating a short film to address a different Millienium 

Development Goal. Her film,"How Can It Be" deals with gender 

equality. Her subsequent work includes: "Kosher Vegetarian," Mira's 

segment of the feature film NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU, starring 

Natalie Portman and Irrfan Khan, and AMELIA, the 2009 feature 

film starring two time Academy Award® winner Hilary Swank, 

which tells the thrilling account of legendary aviation pioneer 

Amelia Earhart. 

Currently in development is Nair's MONSOON WEDDING, a musical 

on Broadway based on her beloved film, as well as her 

forthcoming feature, THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST, an 

adaptation of Mohsin Hamid's bestselling novel. 

-------------------------- 

Amelia 

USA/Canada, 2009, 111 minutes 

Director: Mira Nair 

Screenplay: Ronald Bass, Anna Hamilton Phelan 

Camera: Stuart Dryburgh 

Editor: Allyson C. Johnson, Lee Percy 

Sound: Dave Paterson, Drew Kunin 

Production Design: Nigel Churcher 

Production: Fox Star Studios

Cast: Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, Christopher 

Eccleston, Joe Anderson 

Synopsis 

An extraordinary life of adventure, celebrity and continuing 

mystery comes to light in AMELIA, a vast, thrilling account of 

legendary aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart (two time Academy 

Award® winner Hilary Swank). 

---------------------------------- 

The Day the Mercedes Became a Hat 

South Africa, 1993, 10 minutes 


Screenplay: Helena Kriel, Mira Nair 

Camera: Miles Goodall 

Production & Sales: Mirabai Films 

Synopsis 

Chris Hani, South Africa's Communist Party Leader, was 

assassinated in April 1993, causing a wave of fear to sweep 

through the country's white community. This is the tale of one 

family as they leave South Africa on the day of Hani's funeral. 

----------------------------- 

How Can It Be? 

USA/Canada, 2008, 9 minutes 


Screenplay: Rashida Khan, Suketu Mehta 

Camera: Declan Quinn 

Editor: Allyson Johnson 

Production & Sales: LDM Productions, Ace and Company, 

Mediascreen 

Cast: Ranvir Shorey , Konkona Sen Sharma 

Synopsis

One of eight shorts commissioned by the United Nations on 

themes concerning global society, How Can It Be? explores 

gender equality. It’s the story of Arif and Zainab who live with their 

son, Munna, in Brooklyn. Zainab makes the complicated decision 

to leave her protected life and follow her heart. 

---------------------------------- 

Hysterical Blindness 

USA, 2002, 99 minutes 


Screenplay: Laura Cahill 


Editor: Kristina Boden 

Sound: Mary Ellen Porto, Tom Nelson 

Production Design: Jeffrey Mossa, Judy Rhee 

Production: HBO 

Cast: Uma Thurman, Gena Rowlnds, Juliette Lewis, Ben Gazzara, 

Justin Chambers 

Synopsis 

It's 1987 in Bayonne, New Jersey. The bars are full and smoky and 

Debby (Thurman) and Beth (Lewis) are out looking for a good 

time. Debby is searching for the kind of love they sing about in 

songs, the kind that lasts forever. What she can't see is that most 

guys are only looking for a love that lasts one night. 

-------------------------------- 

India Cabaret 

India/UK/Canada, 1985, 58 minutes 


Camera: Mitch Epstein 

Sound: Alex Griswold 

Synopsis 

This documentary examines the line separating "good" and "bad" 

women in Indian society by focusing on the dancers at a Bombay 

strip club, a frequent patron, and his stay-at-home wife.

-------------------------------------- 

Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love 

India/US/UK/Germany/Japan, 1996, 117 minutes 


Screenplay: Helena Kriel (written by), Mira Nair (written by), and 

Wajida Tabassuh (story by) 


Editor: Kristina Boden 

Sound: Stuart Levy 

Art Direction: Nitin Chandrakant Desai 

Cast: Rekha, Indira Varma, Sarita Choudhury, Naveen Andrews, 

Avijit Dutt 

Synopsis 

In this visually striking saga of one woman's search for personal 

and sexual freedom in 16th century India, Maya (Indira Varma) is 

a servant girl who is a handmaid to Tara (Sarita Choudhury), a 

princess. 

---------------------------------- 

The Laughing Club of India 

India, 1999, 28 minutes 


Camera: Adam Bartos 

Editor: Barry Alexander Brown 

Sound: Nicholas Renbeck 


Synopsis 

A documentary that explores the power of laughter through the 

strangely popular phenomenon of laughing clubs in 

contemporary Bombay. Founded by a medical doctor, Madan 

Kataria, these clubs bring hundreds of people together, beyond 

caste or class, to laugh for 40 minutes each day. 

-------------------------------------------

Migration 



Screenplay: Zoya Akhtar (writer), Vishal Bhardwaj (dialogue) 

Camera: Jay Jay Odedra 


Sound: Dave Paterson, Dominick Tavella 

Production Design: Dilip More 

Producer: Mirabai Films 

Cast: Raima Sen, Irrfan Khan, Shiney Ahuja, Tinnu Anand 

Synopsis 

Migration deals with the AIDS virus as the great class leveller in 

society by following its transmission through interweaving stories 

linking urban and rural India. 

---------------------------------------------- 

Monsoon Wedding 

India/USA/Italy/Germany/France, 2001, 114 minutes 


Screenplay: Sabrina Dhawan 


Editor: Allyson C. Johnson 

Sound: Kevin Banks, Kevin Lee 

Production Design: Sunil Chabra 

Producer: Mirabai Films 

Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shetty, Vijay Raaz, 

Tillotama Shome, Vasundhara Das, Parvin Dabas 

Synopsis 

Five interweaving stories are told in the four days and nights 

leading up to an elaborate upper-class wedding. Each story 

navigates different aspects of love, crossing boundaries of class, 

continent and morality. 

---------------------------------------

The Namesake 

India/USA, 2006, 122 minutes 


Writers: Sooni Taraporevala (screenplay), Jhumpa Lahiri (novel) 

Camera: Frederick Elmes 


Sound: Dave Paterson, Ed Novick 

Production Design: Suttirat Anne Larlarb 

Production: UTV 

Cast: Kal Penn, Tabu, Irrfan Khan, Jacinda Barrett, Zuleikha 

Robinson, Brooke Smith 

Synopsis 

The Namesake is a family drama about the Gangulis, who came 

to the US from India in order to experience a world of limitless 

opportunities – only to be confronted with the perils and confusion 

of trying to build a meaningful life in a baffling new society. 

------------------------------------------ 

Salaam Bombay! 

UK/India/France, 1988, 113 minutes 


Screenplay: Sooni Taraporevala 

Camera: Sandi Sissel 


Sound: Margaret Crimmins (supervising sound editor), Mary Ellen 

Porto (sound editor) 

Production Design: Nitin Chandrakant Desai, Nitish Roy 


Cast: Shafiq Syed, Hansa Vithal, Chanda Sharma, Raghuvir Yadav, 

Anita Kanwar, Nana Patekar 

Synopsis

Shot on-location on the streets of Bombay, Mira Nair's Salaam 

Bombay! is the gritty tale of Krishna (Shafiq Syed, a runaway 

discovered by Nair), a boy kicked out of his home, and 

abandoned by the travelling circus he had joined. In desperation, 

he uses the little money he has to buy a one-way ticket to the 

nearest city, which turns out to be Bombay. 

--------------------------------------- 

September 11 

India, 2002, 11 minutes 9 seconds and one frame 


Screenplay: Sabrina Dhawan 



Production Dsign: Alain Brigand 

Cast: Tanvi Azmi, Kapil Bawa, Taleb Adlah 

Synopsis 

Based on the true story of Talat Hamdani who lost her son, Salman, 

on September 11, and believed he was being unjustly detained 

by the Government for questioning . 

------------------------------------------------------ 

So Far From India 



Camera: Mitch Epstein 

Editor: Ann Schaetzel 

Sound: Alex Griswold 


Synopsis 

Ashok Sheth is one of many Indian immigrants working in subway 

newsstands in New York City. This documentary follows his journey 

back home to Ahmedabad, where he is forced to confront the 

conflicts between his ancestral culture and his new life in America.

-------------------------------------- 

Vanity Fair 



Screenplay: Matthew Faulk, Mark Skeet, Julian Fellowes 



Sound: Tony Martinez , Drew Kunin 

Production Design: Nick Palmer, Sam Stokes, Lucinda Thomson 

Production: Focus Pictures 

Synopsis 

Set in post-colonial England and with Reese Witherspoon starring 

as Rebecca (Becky) Sharp who uses her wit, guile and sexuality to 

clamber up the social ladder of London society. Adapted from 

the classic novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, this stunning 

and provocative period tale explores an enormous panorama of 

themes.

RETROSPECTIVE: MICHAEL CACOYANNIS 

Michael Cacoyannis 

Born on June 11, 1922 in Limassol, Cyprus, Michael Cacoyannis 

was the elder son of Sir Panayiotis and Lady Cacoyannis. He 

studied law in London and was called to the Bar (Barrister-at-law) 

in 1943. While working for the BBC's Greek service, first as a news 

announcer and then as a producer of cultural programs, he also 

studied acting at the Central School of Dramatic Art in London 

and directing at the Old Vic School. 

Not long after his debut as an actor in 1947, he decided to 

concentrate instead on directing. In 1952 he left London to settle 

in Athens and one year later the success of his first film (“Windfall in 

Athens”) marked the beginning of an international career in 

directing. Among them “Stella”, “A Girl in Black”, “A Matter of 

Dignity”, “Zorba the Greek” and the trilogy of “Electra”, “The 

Trojan Women”, “Iphigenia”, his films were regularly screened at 

the most prestigious international film festivals, receiving awards 

and distinctions. Cacoyannis has worked with some of the best 

and most distinguished actors of his time, in Greece, Europe and 

Hollywood. 

Cacoyannis has distinguished himself not only as an international 

filmmaker, but also as a stage and opera director, with critically 

acclaimed productions in Greece, the U.S. France and other 

European countries. He has published several screenplays, he has 

translated Shakespeare’s plays into Greek and Euripides into 

English, and he has written the lyrics of some of the best-known 

and best-loved Greek songs. 

It was Cacaoyannis' initiative that led to the dramatic new 

illumination of the Acropolis He enlisted the services of the famous 

French Engineer Pierre Bideau for a study, and after generous 

donations by the Friends of Athens, which he established, the

project finally received backing from the Ministry of Culture and 

the City of Athens. 

In 2003, Cacoyannis established a charitable foundation in his 

name, whose aim is to support , preserve and promote the arts of 

Theatre and Cinema. The foundation’s Cultural Centre, located in 

Piraeus Street, in the district of Tavros, opened it's doors to the 

public in October. 

For his work and overall contributions to the Arts, Michael 

Cacoyannis has been awarded the Order of the Golden Phoenix 

(Greece), the Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres (France), the 

Grand Cross / Order of Makarios 3rd (Cyprus) and the Special 

Grand Prix of the Americas (Montreal). He has been honoured by 

the Greek Academy with its highest award for national services 

and with Lifetime Achievement Award by the Salonica, Jerusalem 

and Cairo Film Festivals, as well as the American Hellenic Institute 

in Washington. He has been declared an Honorary Citizen of 

Limassol, Montpellier and Dallas, and has received Honory 

Doctorates from Columbia College (Chicago), Athens University, 

Cyprus University, and the Aristotelio University of Salonica. 

The Cherry Orchard 

English, 1999, 137 minutes 

Director: Michael Cacoyannis 

Screenplay: Michael Cacoyannis, based on the play by Anton Chekhov 

Camera: Aris Stavrou 

Cast: Charlotte Rampling, Alan Bates, Katrin Cartlidge, Owen Teale, Frances 

de la Tour, Michael Gough 

Synopsis 

Madame Ranevskaya is a spoiled aging aristocratic lady, who returns from a 

trip to Paris to face the loss of her magnificent Cherry Orchard estate after a 

default on the mortgage. In denial, she continues living in the past, deluding 

herself and her family, while the beautiful cherry trees are being axed down 

by the re-possessor Lopakhin, her former serf, who has his own agenda.

The Day the Fish Came Out 



Screenplay: Michael Cacoyannis 

Camera: Walter Lassaly 

Cast: Tom Courtenay, Colin Blakely, Candice Bergen, Ian Ogilvy, Paris 

Alexander, Arthur Mitchell, Tom Klunis 

Synopsis 

A cautionary tale. A plane carrying a weapon more dangerous than a 

nuclear weapon goes down near Greece. To prevent panic, the officials go 

in dressed as tourists (who are dressed so casually that the pilots assume that 

they are all gay). The pilots are not to make themselves known and can't 

contact the rescue team. The secrecy causes a comedy of errors, including 

the desolate Greek Isle deciding that since tourists have now arrived, they 

have to become touristy. 

Electra 

Greek, 1962, 110 minutes 


Screenplay: Michael Cacoyannis, based on Euripides’ play 


Synopsis 

Electra and her brother Orestes plot to kill their mother after the siblings come 

to believe she murdered their father, King Agamemnon. 

Iphigenia 




Camera: Nikos Arvanitis 

Cast: Irene Papas, Kostas Kazakos, Kostas Karras,Tatiana Papamoschou, 

Christos Tsagas, Angelos Yannoulis, Panos Mihalopoulos

Synopsis 

When the Athenians took off in ships to recover their fabled noble daughter 

Helen from Paris of Troy, their sailing ships were stalled for lack of wind among 

a group of islands. They didn't have enough food on board for a long stay at 

sea, and some of the expedition leaders, including Agamemnon and 

Meneleus, the cuckolded husband of Helen, decide to go ashore and kill 

some deer. However, they know that those particular deer are sacred to the 

gods, and that killing them would bring a curse for impiety onto the whole 

group. The head of the expedition, on examining the subsequent oracles, 

tells Agamemnon that the Athenian fleet will have no wind until he sacrifices 

his own daughter Iphigenia to atone for the death of the sacred deer. 

Clytemnestra, the girl's mother, tries everything in her power to prevent the 

sacrifice but is unsuccessful. 

Our Last Spring 

(Epoika) 



Screenplay: Michael Cacoyannis and Jane Cobb, adapted from the novel 

by Cosmas Politis 


Cast: Jenny Russell, Panos Goumas, Alexander Mamatis, Nikiforos Naneris, 

Tasso Kavadia, Marie Ney 

Synopsis 

The lives of some high schoolers are turned upside down when one of their 

own is accidentally killed and his peers start to rebel against the society they 

live in. 

Stella 

Greek, 1955, B&W, 90 minutes 


Screenplay: Michael Cacoyannis, based on a play by J. Cambanellis 

Camera: Costas Theodorides 

Cast: Melina Merkouri, George Foundas, Alekos Alexandrakis, Christina 

Kalogerikou, Voula Zouboulaki, Dionyssis Papayannopoulos, Sofia Vempo, 

Costas Kakavas 

Synopsis 

Stella is a singer. Although she is in love with Miltos, a soccer player, she 

repeatedly rejects his marriage proposals. When Miltos finally forces her to

accept the idea of marriage, Stella does not appear in church, despite Miltos 

repeatedly warning her that he will kill her if she doesn't marry him. Miltos kills 

her with a dagger at end of the film. 

Sweet Country 

English, 1986, 1947 


Screenplay: Michael Cacoyannis, based on a novel a Carolyn Richards 

Camera: Andreas Bellis 

Cast: Jane Alexander, John Cullum, Carole Laure, Franco Nero, Joanna 

Pettet, Randy Quaid, Irene Papas 

Synopsis 

Anna and Ben are an American couple who have relocated to Chile (circa 

1973), which is in turmoil due to the recent murder of Chilean President 

Salvador Allende, whose revolutionary leftist ideas angered the military. Anna 

and Ben become friends with Eva, the matriarch of a Chilean clan whose 

daughter Anna worked for Allende. Anna's connection to the slain Marxist 

leader causes anguish for both families, particularly when Eva and many 

others are imprisoned and tortured, for their political beliefs. 

The Trojan Women 




Camera: Alfio Kontini 

Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Genevieve Bujold, Vanessa Redgrave, Irene 

Papas 

Synopsis 

Hecuba, Queen of the Trojans and mother of Hector, one of Troys most 

fearsome warriors, looks upon the remains of her kingdom; Andromache, 

widow of the slain Hector and mother of his son Astyanax, must raise her son 

in the war's aftermath; Cassandra, Hecuba's daughter who has been driven 

insane by the ravages of war, waits to see if King Agamemnon will drive her 

into concubinage; Helen of Troy, waits to see if she will live. But the most 

awful truth is unknown to them until Talthybius, the messenger of the Greek 

king, comes to the ruined city and tells them that King Agamemnon and his 

brother Menelaus have decreed that Hector's son Astyanax must die — the

last of the male royalty of Troy must be executed to ensure the extinction of 

the line. 

Windfall in Athens 

Greek, 1954, B&W, 91 minutes 


Screenplay: Michael Cacoyannis 

Camera: Alvize Orfanelli 

Cast: Ellie Lambetti, Dimitri Horn, George Pappas, Taso Kavadia, Sapho 

Notara, Chris Pateraki 

Synopsis 

Mina (Ellie Lambeti) is a charming salesgirl. She buys a lottery ticket, but she 

finds out soon that it has been stolen from her. Pavlos (George Pappas), a 

married lawyer, enamored with her, helps her to track down the ticket. After 

a while they discover it at a penniless musician's hands (Dimitris Horn), who 

had bought it from a street kid. When Alexis, the musician, wins the lottery, 

Mina claims the money with the help of the lawyer. Soon, Mina and Alexis 

fall in love. 

Zorba the Greek 

Greek & English, 1964, B&W, 142 minutes 


Screenplay: Michael Cacoyannis, based on a novel by Nikos Kazantzakis 


Cast: Anthony Quinn, Alan Bates, Lila Kedrova, Irene Papas, George 

Foundas 

Synopsis 

Basil, a young English writer of Greek ancestry, meets an older, free-spirited 

Greek peasant named Zorba on the island of Crete. While Zorba pursues a 

relationship with Madame Hortense, an aging French courtesan, the 

inhibited Basil summons up the courage to court a young widow. The 

young, unhappy Englishman finds himself learning valuable life lessons from 

Zorba, the earthy peasant who has a zeal for everything he does.

Retrospective: Jean Becker 

Jean Becker is the son of filmmaker Jacques Becker and the 

brother of cinematographer Etienne Becker. He began his career 

as an intern in his father’s films. Besides assisting his father, he also 

assisted director Julien Duvivier and Henri Verneuil. In 1961 he 

made his first film Un nommé La Rocca (A Man Named Rocca) 

followed by three films including Tender voyou (Tender Scoundrel) 

(1966), that were critically and commercially successful. 

After completing the episodes of the hit television series Les saintes 

cherries (1965-1970), Becker took a break from filmmaking for 

nearly twenty years. He returned in 1983 with L'été meurtrier (One 

Deadly Summer). The film was a huge success and was 

nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Festival de Cannes and also 

got four Cesars (1984). 

Becker tried his hand at advertising films and became one of the 

leading directors in this field. In 1986 he won the César for Best Film 

Advertising for Le Clemenceau. Success and critical acclaim 

followed in his following films like Élisa (Elisa) (1995), Les Enfants du 

Marais (Children of the Marshlands) (1999), Effroyables jardins 

(Strange Gardens) (2003), Dialogue avec mon jardinier 

(Conversations with My Gardener) (2007), Deux jours à tuer (Love 

Me No More) (2008) and more recently la tête en friche (My 

Afternoons with Marguerite) (2010). 

He has worked with a diverse set of actors like Vanessa Paradis, 

Gerard Depardieu, Jacques Villeret, Suzanne Flon, André 

Dussollier, Josiane Balasko, Thierry Lhermitte, Benoit Magimel, 

Daniel Auteuil, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Albert, Marie-Josee Croze, 

Pierre Vaneck, Gisele Casadesus, Isabelle Adjani and many 

others. 

------------------------------- 

One Deadly Summer 

1983, 130 minutes 

Director: Jean Becker

Screenplay: Sébastien Japrisot 

Camera: Étienne Becker 

Editor: Jacques Witta 

Sound: Guillaume Sciama 

Art Direction: Jean-Claude Gallouin 

Producer: Christine Beyout 

Cast: Isabelle Adjani, Alain Souchon, Suzanne Flon, Jenny Clève 

Synopsis 

In spring 1976, a 19-year-old beauty, her German-born mother, 

and her crippled father move to the town of a firefighter 

nicknamed Pin-Pon. She is beautiful, provocative, aggressive, and 

totally unpredictable with animal like sensuality. Pin-Pon 

immediately falls madly in love with her. At first, she pretends to 

ignore him. However, after alternately rebuffing and luring him on, 

she goes out with him. He is different, gentler and more thoughtful 

than the other boys she claims to know. He makes her laugh and 

champagne makes her cry over her memories of happier days. 

Pin-Pon understands nothing but he is in love. One night he takes 

her to the barn where her fathers’ piano is stored away. How is he 

to know she has decided to use him in the unrelenting plot of 

vengeance that obsesses her? Elusive, Evasive, sometimes 

exuberantly gay, sometimes in despair, she is enigmatic. But 

patiently and with savage obstinacy, she weaves her web, using 

the fascination aroused by her beauty and mystery to attain her 

goal, determined to go to any extremes, even death, even 

madness. 

Elisa 

1995, 115 minutes 

Director: Jean Becker 

Screenplay: Jean Becker, Fabrice Carazo 

Camera: Étienne Becker 


Sound: William Flageollet 

Art Direction: Thérèse Ripaud 

Producer: Christian Fechner

Cast: Vanessa Paradis, Gerard Depardieu, Clotilde Courau, 

Sekkou Sall 

Synopsis 

When her husband walks out on her, Elisa attempts to kill her 

young daughter Marie and then commits suicide. Marie, 

however, survives, and grows up in an orphanage. Twenty years 

later, Marie’s troubled past is reflected in her lifestyle. She and her 

friend Solange occupy themselves by shoplifting and generally 

causing trouble. When she discovers where her missing father is 

living, Marie sets out to find him, with the intention of killing him. 

When she meets him, he turns out to be not the heartless brute she 

had expected... 

Conversations with My Gardener 

2007, 109 minutes 


Screenplay: Jean Cosmos, Jacques Monnet, Jean Becker, Jean 

Cosmos (dialogues) 

Camera: Jean-Marie Dreujou 


Sound: Jacques Pibarot 

Producer: Louis Becker 

Cast: Daniel Auteuil, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Fanny Cottençon, 

Alexia Barlier 

Synopsis 

A successful, fifty-something Parisian artist goes back to his roots 

and returns to provincial France and his childhood home. He has 

neither the energy nor the talent to keep up the sprawling land 

around the house, and takes out a small ad to find some local 

help. Completely by chance, the first applicant, who turns out to 

be the right one, is an old school friend whom the painter has not 

seen since his childhood. He becomes the gardener. As they 

spend time in each other’s company, the painter sees a man with 

an honest and simple view of the world. They enjoy a kind of 

belated brotherly adolescence that encompasses their families,

their experiences, carrots, pumpkins, life, death, air travel, currant 

bushes, tastes and colors. And by seeing everything through each 

other’s eyes, they each see the world anew. With no artifice, they 

invite us to enjoy their discovery of an everyday life that is for 

sharing, another key concept for the gardener who grows things 

to give to others, just as the painter paints to show others. Henri 

Cueco, the author on whose memoirs the film is based, was 

himself a painter and radio broadcaster with a keen eye for the 

simple ways of life. Here he brings us this touching tale of friendship 

that is as captivating and simple as a love story. 

Love Me No More 



Screenplay: Eric Assous, Francois d’Epenoux, Jean Becker 

Camera: Arthur Cloquet 


Sound: Jacques Pibarot, Vincent Montrobert, Francois Grouit 

Producer: Louis Becker 

Cast: Albert Dupontel, Marie-Josée Croze, Pierre Vaneck, 

Alessandra Martines 

Synopsis 

Forty- two-year old advertising executive Antoine is married to 

Cécile, has two children and lives in a nice house in the Paris 

suburbs where he gets on well with his neighbours. Of course, 

there is his discreet affair with Marion, which could upset this 

happy balance. And then one ordinary day, his life is turned 

upside-down. During a meeting with one of his agency’s big 

clients, he gets carried away and upsets the project. His partner 

suggests he takes a break and gets some rest, but Antoine is 

determined to put an end to their partnership and offers to buy 

him out. Back home for the weekend, he starts to systematically 

destroy everything he has built up over the years. His wife accuses 

him of having an affair and he doesn’t deny it. He’s unpleasant, 

elusive, and he pushes her right to the limits. For his birthday, his 

kids do some drawings for him but his usual indulgence 

evaporates and he comes down hard on them. His friends are

throwing a surprise party, but he takes great pleasure in insulting 

them all. In a last fit of rage, Antoine throws everyone out. After 

one final, dreadful conversation with Cécile, he leaves the family 

home. In the space of a single weekend, Antoine, a seemingly 

trouble-free guy, destroys his entire life. Is it a mid-life crisis? Is he 

losing his mind? It’s anybody’s guess...Love Me No More is based 

on a novel by the writer Francois d’Epenoux.

Retrospective: Jim Jarmusch 

With his trademark shock of white hair and ultra-cool rock 

star persona, Jim Jarmusch is the archetypal auteur of 

American independent film. Born on January 22, 1953, in 

Akron, Ohio, Jarmusch was the son of a former film critic 

for the Akron Beacon Journal. In University, he went to 

Paris as an exchange student and spent most of his time 

at the Parisian cinemas. Upon his return to New York, 

Jarmusch transferred to Columbia University, where he 

eventually received a degree in English literature. With no 

film experience, he was accepted into New York 

University’s Tisch School of the Arts and soon found himself 

a teaching assistant to legendary maverick filmmaker 

Nicholas Ray. Ray helped him get funding for his thesis 

project, Permanent Vacation (1980). Though the film was 

later released to critical acclaim, his professors were 

underwhelmed by his final project and Jarmusch never 

got a degree from N.Y.U. 

Coffee and Cigarettes 

USA/Italy/Japan, 2003, 95 minutes, B&W 

Director: Jim Jarmusch 

Screenplay: Jim Jarmusch 

Cinematography: Tom DiCillo, Frederick Elmes, Ellen Kuras, Robby 

Müller 

Editor: Jim Jarmusch, Terry Katz, Melody London, Jay Rabinowitz 

Art Direction: Laura Chariton, Tom Jarmusch 

Cast: Roberto Benigni, Steven Wright, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Alex 

Descas, Cate Blanchett, Steve Coogan, Alfred Molina, RZA, Bill 

Murray, Joie Lee, Cinqué Lee, Steve Buscemi, Joseph Rigano,

Vinny Vella, Vinny Vella Jr., Renée French, Isaach de Bankolé, 

Jack White, Meg White, William Rice, Taylor Mead 

Synopsis 

Jim Jarmusch’s black-and-white feature Coffee and Cigarettes 

contains three vignettes originally released as short films along 

with separate yet somewhat related sketches. As the title 

suggests, most of the vignettes involve famous people smoking 

cigarettes and drinking coffee. The first, “Coffee and Cigarettes,” 

is a six-minute short from 1986 starring Stephen Wright and Roberto 

Benigni. The 1989 installment, “Memphis Version,” stars Steve 

Buscemi, Joie Lee, and Cinqué Lee. The award-winning 1993 

segment, “Somewhere in California,” stars musicians Iggy 

Pop and Tom Waits. The remaining sketches include Cate 

Blanchett performing a dual role, a conversation with Bill Murray 

and members of the Wu-Tang Clan, and Alfred Molina and British 

television actor Steve Coogan as themselves. In its full length 

version form, Coffee and Cigarettes was shown at the 2003 

Venice Film Festival. 

Dead Man 

USA/Germany/Japan, 1995, 121 minutes, B&W 



Cinematography: Spherical - Robby Müller 

Editor: Jay Rabinowitz 

Sound: Jim Jarmusch, John Lurie 

Art Direction: Jim Jarmusch 

Cast: Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Crispin Glover, John Hurt, Lance 

Henriksen, Michael Wincott, Robert Mitchum, Gabriel Byrne, Mili 

Avital, Eugene Byrd, Iggy Pop, Billy, Bob Thornton, Alfred Molina, 

Gibby Haynes 

Synopsis 

A dark, bitter commentary on modern American life cloaked in 

the form of a surrealist western, Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man stars 

Johnny Depp as William Blake, a newly-orphaned accountant

who leaves his home in Cleveland to accept a job in the frontier 

town of Machine. Upon his arrival, Blake is told by the factory 

owner Dickinson (Robert Mitchum) that the job has already been 

filled. Dejectedly, he enters a nearby tavern, ultimately spending 

the night with a former prostitute. A violent altercation with the 

woman’s lover (Gabriel Byrne), also Dickinson’s son, leaves Blake a 

murderer as well as mortally wounded, a bullet lodged 

dangerously close to his heart. He flees into the wilderness, where 

a Native American named Nobody (Gary Farmer) mistakes Blake 

for the English poet William Blake and determines that he will be 

Blake’s guide in his protracted passage into the spirit world. 

Down By Law 

USA, 1986, 107 minutes, B&W 



Cinematography: Robby Müller 

Editor: Melody London 

Art Direction: Janet Densmore 

Cast: Tom Waits, John Lurie, Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, 

Ellen Barkin, Billie Neal, Rockets Redglare, Vernel Bagneris, 

Timothea, L.C. Drane 

Synopsis 

When fate lands three hapless men—an unemployed disc jockey 

(Tom Waits), a small-time pimp (John Lurie), and a strong-willed 

Italian tourist (Roberto Benigni)—in a Louisiana prison, their singular 

adventure begins. Described by director Jim Jarmusch as a “neo– 

Beat noir comedy,” Down by Law is part nightmare and part fairy 

tale, featuring fine performances and crisp black-and-white 

photography by esteemed cinematographer Robby Müller. 

Mystery Train 

USA/Japan, 1989, 110 minutes 

Director: Jim Jarmusch


Cinematography: Robby Müller 

Editor: Melody London 

Art Direction: Jeff Butcher 

Cast: Masatoshi Nagase, Youki Kudoh, Nicoletta Braschi, Elizabeth 

Bracco, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Joe Strummer, Rick Aviles, Steve 

Buscemi, Cinqué Lee, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Rufus Thomas, Jodie 

Markell, Sy Richardson 

Synopsis 

Written and directed by the ever-unpredictable Jim Jarmusch, 

Mystery Train comprises three short anecdotes involving foreign 

tourists in Tennessee. Each story is set in a fleabag Memphis hotel 

which has been redressed as a “tribute” to Elvis Presley. Story #1 

involves two Japanese tourists whose devotion to Elvis blinds them 

of everything around them. Story #2 finds eternal victim Nicoletta 

Braschi sharing a room with stone-broke Elizabeth Bracco and 

having her problems solved by a spectral vision of The King. And 

story #3 offers the further misadventures of Bracco, her no-good 

boyfriend and her dysfunctional family. 

Night on Earth 

France/UK/Germany/USA/Japan, 1991, 129 minutes 



Cinematography: Frederick Elmes 

Editor: James Rabinowitz 

Sound: Elisa Birnbaum 

Art Direction: Diana Burton, Jeff Butcher 

Cast: Gena Rowlands, Winona Ryder, Lisanne Falk, Alan Randolph 

Scott I, Anthony Portillo, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Giancarlo Esposito, 

Rosie Perez, Richard Boes, Isaach DeBankolé 

Synopsis

A collection of five stories involving cab drivers in five different 

cities. Los Angeles - A talent agent for the movies discovers her 

cab driver would be perfect to cast, but the cabbie is reluctant to 

give up her solid cab driver's career. New York - An immigrant cab 

driver is continually lost in a city and culture he doesn't 

understand. Paris - A blind girl takes a ride with a cab driver from 

the Ivory Coast and they talk about life and blindness. Rome - A 

gregarious cabbie picks up an ailing man and virtually talks him to 

death. Helsinki - an industrial worker gets laid off and he and his 

compatriots discuss the bleakness and unfairness of love and life 

and death. 

Permanent Vacation 




Cinematography: Tom DiCillo James A. Lebovitz 

Editor: Jim Jarmusch 

Art Direction: Jim Jarmusch 

Cast: Chris Parker, Leila Gastil, John Lurie, Frankie Faison, Lisa 

Rosen, Richard Boes, Ruth Bolton, Sara Driver, María Duval 

Synopsis 

This is film school dropout Jim Jarmusch's first film. Widely ignored in 

the US, but was noticed in Europe. It was a completely new 

independent style of film making unlike other American films. A 

youth in his 20's, Aloysius Parker (played by Christopher Parker), 

unemployed, lazy searching for the "meaning of life". He is 

interested in nothing in particular. A broken family background of 

missing dad, institutionalized mother and a broken relationship 

with his girlfriend. Turns to be philosophical, roams around dirty 

and less crowded urban New York City searching for answers and 

meets very eccentric people. He first visits his mother in the 

institution, a shady, dusty, unsettling place; then as he drifts 

around the city he meets a war veteran who sometimes thinks he's 

still at war. Then at night he meets a saxophone player who plays 

uninteresting musical notes, then an unwelcoming lunatic Latin 

girl, then at a theatre he meets a popcorn girl who is ensnared

about Eskimos and at the same place he meets an ardent jazz 

fan. Finally he accidentally encounters a young lady with a Ford 

Mustang which he steals away and sells. At dawn he packs his 

suitcase with passport and clothes, decides to go away and 

boards a ship to depart from New York leaving his girl behind. 

Stranger Than Paradise 

USA, 1984, 89 minutes, B&W 



Cinematography: Tom DiCillo 

Editor: Jim Jarmusch, Melody London 

Cast: John Lurie, Eszter Balint, Richard Edson, Cecillia Stark, Danny 

Rosen, Rammellzee, Tom DiCillo, Richard Boes, Sara Driver 

Synopsis 

Rootless Hungarian émigré Willie (John Lurie), his pal Eddie 

(Richard Edson), and visiting sixteen-year-old cousin Eva (Eszter 

Balint) always manage to make the least of any situation, whether 

aimlessly traversing the drab interiors and environs of New York 

City, Cleveland, or an anonymous Florida suburb. With its delicate 

humour and dramatic nonchalance, Jim Jarmusch’s one-of-akind 

minimalist masterpiece, Stranger Than Paradise, forever 

transformed the landscape of American independent cinema.

MEXICAN NEO NOIR 

Abel 

Mexico/USA, 2009, 83 minutes 

Director: Diego Luna 

Screenplay: Augusto Mendoza, Diego Luna 

Camera: Patrick Murguia 

Editor: Miguel Schverdfinger 

Set Designer: Brigitte Broch 

Cast: Christopher Ruiz-Esparza, Gerardo Ruiz-Esparza, Jose Maria Yazpik, Karina 

Gidi, Geraldine Alejandra 

Synopsis 

Abel, a nine-year-old boy, has stopped talking since his father left home. One 

morning he starts to speak again, pretending to be the head of the family. No one 

dares to challenge this miracle. One day a man shows up at the door: his father. 

Diego Luna 

Diego Luna was introduced to worldwide audiences with his starring role in the 

award-winning Y tu mamá también, alongside life‐long friend Gael García Bernal, by 

director Alfonso Cuarón. Beginning his professional acting career on stage at the age 

of seven, and making his television debut at age twelve in El Abuelo Y Yo, Luna has 

appeared in theatre productions such as De Pelicula, La Tarea (based on Jame 

Hurnberto Hermosillo’s movie of the same name), Comedia Clandestina, and El 

Cantaro Roto, for which he accepted the 1996‐1997 “Best Male Newcomer Award 

Award” from the Association of Theatre Reviewers. Under the direction of Antonio 

Serrano (Sexo, Pudor y Lagrimas), he performed Sabina Berman’s Moliere. He also 

produced The Complete Works of William Shakespeare in Mexico, for which he won 

the 2001‐2002 “Best Comic Actor” award from the Association of Theatre Reviewers. 

Luna’s feature films include Harmony Korine’s Mister Lonely, Before Night Falls by 

director Julian Schnabel, Luis Estrada’s Ambar, Erwin Neumaier’s Un Hilito De 

Sangre, Gabriel Retes’ Un Dulce Olor A Meute, Marisa Sistach’s El Cometa, Fernando 

Sarinana’s Todo El Poder, Criminal by Stephen Soderbergh, The Terminal by director 

Steven Spielberg, Solo Dios Sabe (What God Knows), Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, 

Open Range alongside director and star Kevin Costner, Frida opposite Salma Hayek 

by director Julie Taymor, Carambola, Fidel (for Showtime), Ciudades Oscuras, and 

Soldados de Salamina by director David Trueba. Luna most recently reunited with 

friend Gael Garcia Bernal as an actor in Carlos Cuaron’s Rudo y Cursi. Last year, he 

starred in award‐winning Milk opposite Sean Penn by director Gus Van Sant. 

Abel is Luna’s debut feature as a director. He currently resides in Mexico City. 

---------------------------------------

The Crime of Padre Amaro 

2002, 118 minutes 

Director: Carlos Carrera 

Screenplay: Vicente Lenero, based on a novel by Jose Maria de Eca de Queiroz 

Camera: Guillermo Granillo 

Editor: Oscar Figueroa 

Music: Rosino Serrano 

Producers: Daniel Birman Ripstein, Alfredo Ripstein 

Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal, Ana Claudia Talancon, Sancho Gracia 

Synopsis 

The movie is set in modern times. Gail Garcia Bernal stars as the newly ordained 

Padre Amaro, who arrives in Los Reyes, a small town in the fictional state of Aldama, 

to start his life serving the church. He is a protege of the ruthless political bishop, 

while the local priest, Father Benito is having a years-long affair with a local 

restaurant owner. Benito is building a large hospital and recuperation centre, which 

is partly funded by a drug lord. Meanwhile, another priest in the area, Father Natalio 

is under investigation for supporting left-wing insurgents in his secluded rural church 

area. Amelia, a local sixteen-year-old girl, teaches catechism to the young children in 

the town, and is the daughter of the restaurant owner who is having an affair with 

Benito. At the start of the story, she is contemplating marriage to Reuben, a young 

journalist beginning his career, but tension is depicted as Reuben is a non-believer 

and Amelia strongly Catholic. Reuben's father is an avowed anti-clerical atheist who 

is unpopular within the town for his strong opinions. Young Amaro soon becomes 

infatuated with the beautiful Amelia, who is strongly attracted to him and asks 

awkward questions about love and sin in the confessional. 

Carlos Carrera 

With only three feature films, Carlos Carrera is considered one of the best young 

directors of the new Mexican cinema. He began as an animator at 12 years old and 

wrote, produced and directed a number of animated-shorts before filming his first 

live-action movie, a docummentary short titled Un Vestidito Blanco como la Leche 

Nido (1989). He studied filmmaking at the Training Center of Cinematography 

(Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica) in Mexico City. After that, Carrera made 

his first feature, La Mujer de Benjamín (1991). This film won the Mexican Academy 

Award for Best Original Screenplay and many prizes in film festivals. After his second 

feature film, La Vida conyugal (1993), Carrera made El Héroe (1994), an animated 

short winner of the Golden Palm at Cannes Festival. 

----------------------------------- 

Familia Tortuga

Turtle Family 

2006, 139 minutes 

Director: Rubén Imaz Castro 

Screenplay: Rubén Ímaz Castro with Gabriela Vidal 

Camera: Gerardo Barroso Alcalá 

Editing: Leon Felipe González Sánchez y Rubén Imaz Castro 

Sound: Leon Felipe González Sanchez 

Art Direction: Yulene Olaizola León 

Original Music: Galo Durán 

Producer: Maribel Muro 

Cast: José Ángel Bichir, Luisa Pardo, Manuel Plata López, 

Dagoberto Gama 

On the eve of a special day, the family bonds faced with a shared 

sentiment of a regretted absence, appear fragile. Uncle Manuel, a 

remarkable man, is determined to help his adolescent nephews and 

support his brother-in-law, an unemployed unionist. Mother’s home is 

now a place where the family, amid lost dreams, is in danger of 

disintegration. 

Rubén Ímaz Castro 

Ruben Imaz Castro was born in Mexico City in 1979. He studied at the 

Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (C.C.C.) in Mexico City, from 

1999 to 2006. In 2004 he was selected to participate at the Berlinale 

Talent Campus 2 with his one minute short film Cicatriz. Familia Tortuga 

is his thesis project and first feature film. 

------------------------------------ 

Japon 

2002, 128 minutes 

Director: Carlos Reygadas 

Screenplay: Carlos Reydas 

Camera: Diego Martinez Vignatti, Thierry Tronchet 

Editing: Daniel Melguizo 

Production Design: Alejandro Reygadas 

Cast: Alejandro Ferretis, Magdalena Flores, Yolanda Villa, Martin 

Serrano, Rolando Hernandez

Synopsis 

A man with no name limps through the Mexican high country in what he 

intends to be his last journey. It is clear that he hates himself and is 

tired of life, but in order to prepare for death he seeks first the solitude 

of the mountains and finds shelter with Ascen, an elderly widow living 

on the outskirts of a mountain village. 

Carlos Reygadas 

Carlos Reygadas, born in Mexico City in 1971, burst on the global scene 

with Japon. With two more remarkable films since then, Battle in 

Heaven and Silent Light, both of which competed for the Palme d’Or in 

Cannes, he has emerged as one of the most exciting filmmakers in the 

business today. Reygadas discovered his passion for cinema after 

watching the work of Andrei Tarkovsky, whose influence can be clearly 

seen in his approach to cinema. 

-------------------------------- 

Norteado 

(Northless) 


Director: Rigoberto Perezcano 

Screenplay: Edgar San Juan & Rigoberto Perezcano 

Camera: Alejandro Cantu 

Editing: Miguel Schverdfinger 

Sound: Ruy Garcia 

Art Direction: Ivonne Fuentes 

Production & Sales: Cinema Republic Av. Rosario Manzaneque 

25,Torrelodones28250 Madrid, Spain 

P. +34 91 859 39 94 email: info@cinemarepublic.es 

Cast: Alicia Laguna, Harold Torres, Luis Cárdenas, Sonia Couoh 

Synopsis 

Andrés reaches the Mexican border to cross into the United States. 

Between each attempt, he discovers that Tijuana, the city that adopts 

him, is a troubled one. As he waits there, Andrés is not only confronted 

with his feelings and what he left behind, but also with those he meets 

in Tijuana: Cata, Ela, and Asensio.

Rigoberto Perezcano 

Rigoberto Perezcano. Zaachila (Mexico). His training as a filmmaker is 

the result of having directed documentaries. His documentary film XV en 

Zaachila participated in different festivals, receiving several national and 

international prizes. In 2001 he landed a Rockefeller-MacArthur Ford 

scholarship for writing the screenplay of Carmín Tropical, his next 

project. Norteado, is his first full-length feature. 

------------------------------------ 

Noticias Lejanas 

(News from Afar) 

2004, 120 minutes 

Director: Ricardo Benet 

Producer: Ángeles Castro, Hugo Rodríguez 

Screenplay: Ricardo Benet 

Cinematography: Martín Boege 

Editing: Lucrecia Gutiérrez 

Sound: Isabel Muñoz 

Music: Guillermo González Philips 

Production Companies: CCC, IMCINE-FOPROCINE 

Cast: David Acron, Mayahuel del Monte, Martín Palomares, Gina Moret, 

Lucia Muñoz 

Synopsis 

A 17-year-old-youth, who has grown up in a village in the middle of a 

salt flat, undertakes a journey of initiation to the city in an attempt to 

break his family’s circle of marginalization. With the idea that “you 

cannot change the future, but you can the past”, fate sends him back to 

his starting point, where circumstances lead him to kill his father and set 

fire to his house, to save his mother and brother and give fate another 

chance. 

Ricardo Benet 

Ricardo Benet studied architecture at UNAM, graduate school in Art 

History in Florence, Italy, photography at the Pompidou Center in Paris 

and film at the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (CCC). Currently, 

he is working as director and cinematographer and teaches Art History, 

Esthetics and Film at various institutions. Among his directorial works

are the 35 mm short films Antes Meridiano (2000), Fin de Etapa (2002) 

and En Cualquier Lugar (2005). Noticias Lejanas is his first feature film. 

-------------------------- 

Parpados Azules 

(Blue Eyelids) 


Director: Ernesto Contreras 

Screenplay: Ernesto Contreras 

Camera: Tonatiuh Martínez 

Editors: Ernesto Contreras and José Manuel Cravioto 

Sound: Enrique Greiner, Erick Dounce 

Art Direction: Érika Ávila 

Music: Iñaki 

Costume Design: Gabriela Fernández 

Producers: Luis Albores, Érika Ávila, Ernesto Contreras, Sandra Paredes 

Cast: Cecilia Suárez, Enrique Arreola, Ana Ofelia Murguía, Tiaré Scanda and Luisa 

Huertas 

Synopsis 

When winning a trip for two to a paradisiacal place called Playa Salamandra, Marina 

discovers she has no one to share her prize with, so she decides to invite Victor, a 

complete stranger, to travel with her. Together, they will find that in order to fall in 

love, the idyllic scenarios and perfect situations are not important. If the necessary 

complicity to love doesn’t exist, there will be no way of looking into the other’s eyes 

with love. 

Ernesto Contreras 

Graduate from the University Center for Cinematographic Studies of the 

National Autonomous University of Mexico. His short films have been 

screened in festivals around Latin America, United States and Europe and have 

received several national and international awards. He has been grantee of the 

National Fund for Culture and Arts, as well as the Rockefeller, Ford, Typa, and 

Toscano foundations and the Sundance Institute. He participated in the Berlinale 

Talent Campus 2 and Cine en Construcción 10 in San Sebastián. Párpados Azules 

(Blue Eyelids) his first feature film, won the Best Iberoamerican Film, Best 

Iberoamerican Screenplay, and the Mezcal (Young Jury) awards during the XXII 

Guadalajara International Fim Festival in March of 2007, and was part of the official 

selection of the 46th International Critics’ Week during the 60th Cannes Film Festival 

that same year.

Country Focus: GEORGIA 

Georgian cinema qualifies as one of the world’s best-kept secrets of 

international cinema. Sharp in style, imagery, poetry yet savage, 

innovative, visceral, energetic and at the same time rooted in literature, 

the arts as well as cognition. It is apparent in the words of the 

renowned Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini who said, ‘Georgian film is a 

strange phenomenon, special, philosophically light, sophisticated and at 

the same time childishly pure and innocent. There is everything that can 

make me cry and I ought to say that it (my crying) is not an easy thing.’ 

Georgian cinema survives today with a long, complex and turbulent 

history. Cinema came to Georgia at the same time as in Europe in 1896. 

It travelled to various parts of Georgia and several cinema theatres 

opened up, however 1908 is officially considered the year cinema was 

born in Georgia. In 1908 enthusiast Vasili Amashukeli and Aleksndr 

Digmelov shot the first experimental shots as well as began shooting 

newsreels. In 1912 Vasili Amashukeli made his first full-length 

documentary Akaki Tsereteli's trip to Racha-Lechkhumi. While the 

documentary was based on a prominent poets’ tour of north central 

Georgian region, the first feature film Christine, directed by Alexandre 

Tsutsunava in 1916-1918, was based on a story by Georgian writer 

Egnate Ninoshvili. In a lot of the early Georgian cinema literature, 

theatre and cinema remained intertwined. A Film Department was 

established under the Peoples Education Commissariat in 1921, which 

from 1923 until 1933 was referred to as State Film Production. With the 

arrival of the Soviets in 1921, cinema became a chief method of 

propaganda. However Georgia continued to produce films based on 

national literary classics and was able to produce 20 - 25 feature films 

on the average every year. 

In 1921 the Soviet Red Army defeated Georgia and in 1922 Georgia was 

incorporated into the Soviet Union. In the first half of the 1920s Ivane 

Perestiani (Arsena Jorjiashvili (1921), Surami For-tress (1922)), 

Tsutsunava and Kote Marjanishvili amongst others paved the way for 

the establishment of the next generation of cinematographers. These 

included Mikheil Kalatozishvili, Mikheil Chiaureli, Kote Mikaberidze, 

Nikoloz Shengelaia and others. These directors and their films 

conditioned the rise of Georgian cinema from 1928. Famous films such 

as Eliso (1928) by Nikoloz Shengelaia, My Grandmother (1929) by Kote

Mikaberidze, Jim Shvante (1930) by Mikheil Kalatozov and Khabarda 

(1931) by Mikheil Chiaureli were made in a span of four years. These 

young directors developed a new and distinct cinematic form that made 

a mark in the history of Georgian cinema. Under the Soviets the 

masterpiece of avant-garde cinema My Grandmother (1929) by Kote 

Mikaberidze, was banned for forty years. In 1938, the Tbilisi 

Cinematographic Studio was established in Tbilisi. 

A propagandist stance emerged in the Georgian cinema of the forties 

and it is generally considered a period of stagnation. The end of the 

fifties saw a new wave of film directors and screenwriters. Magdanas 

Donkey (1955) by Rezo Chkheidze and Tengiz Abuladze, won the Best 

Fiction Film - Short at the 1956 Cannes film Festival. They along with 

other film directors like Eldar Shengelaia, Giorgi Shengelaia, Otar 

Ioseliani, Merab Kokochashvili, Sergei Parajanov, Aleksandre 

Rekhviashvil, Mikheil Kobakhidze, Lana Gogoberidze and others, 

revitalised the Georgian cinema once again, with a completely new 

cinematic language during the 60s. They introduced a new kind of 

protagonist who took on the establishment, laws and stereotypes. Their 

work however differed not just from their predecessors but also from 

each other. 

Several films from the 60s and the 70s were considered dissident in 

Soviet Georgia as they used metaphor, symbolism and national folklore 

as an expression of protest the soviet system. Films produced during 

this time include Giorgobistve by Otar Iosseliani, Alaverdoba by Giorgi 

Shengelaia, Extraordinary Exhibition by Eldar Shengelaia, and Big Green 

Valley by Merab Kokochashvili and are considered to be the best four 

Georgian films of all time. In 1972, the Faculty of Cinema was 

established at the Shota Rustaveli Institute of Theater that later 

developed into the Tbilisi Institute of Theater and Film. Some of the 

work produced in this period were censored and remained unreleased. 

In the 1980s another new crop of filmmakers emerged like Temur 

Babluani, Nana Jorjadze, Dito Tsintsadze, Tato Kotetishvili, Levan 

Zakareishvili, Gogita Chkonia, Aleko Tsabadze and others. Unfortunately 

they managed to make only a few films in Georgia as the Soviet Union 

began to collapse and the existing political, social and economic 

situation worsened. However Tengiz Abuladze made the last of his 

trilogy Monanieba"(Repentance) in1984, the earlier two being Vedreba 

(Entreaty) 1967, and Natvris Khe (The Tree of Desire) 1976, that won

him international fame and awards. The fall of the Soviet Union and the 

chaotic first few years of independence resulted in a period of 

stagnation in the 1990s. Georgia found itself in the midst of a civil war, 

ethno-territorial conflicts and economic crisis. Georgian cinema sector 

faced 10-12 years of stagnation. It was a period of transition from 

planned economy to market economy and the key issues were shortage 

of skills and an outdated infrastructure. Despite the conditions a number 

of popular films were produced, including Laka, Gamis Tsekva, Zgvarze, 

Isini, Ara, Megobaro, Otsnebata Sasaplao, Rcheuli, Ik Chemtan, Ak 

Tendeba and others. Babluani directed Udzinarta Mze in 1992 and won 

the Silver Bear prize at the Berlin Festival. Dito Tsintsadze debuted with 

Dakhatuli tsre in 1988 and later produced Sakhli (1991), Stumrebi 

(1991) and Zghvarze (1993). 

In recent years Georgian cinema is once again making a comeback. With 

new financial support from the state as well as private industry a new 

generation of talented filmmakers, along with those who stopped 

making films in the 90s, are making a mark. These include Dito 

Tsintsadze, Levan Koguashvili, Giorgi Ovashvili, Zaza Urushadze, Levan 

Tutberidze, Aleko Tsabadze amongst others. Many of them have 

received several international film festivals awards. 

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 

The Sun of the Sleepless 

1992, 123 minutes 

Director: Temur Babluani 

Screenplay: Temur Babluani 

Camera: Victor Andrievski, Nugzar Nozadze 

Sound: Vladimir Nikonov 

Cast: Elgudzha Burduli, David Kazishvili, Lia Babluani, Eka Saatashvili, 

Givi Sikharulidze 

Synopsis 

The director dedicated this lyrical, epic film-confession to the memory of 

his father who was a doctor. The film’s protagonist, an ambulance 

doctor, conducts dangerous experiments in search of a vitally important 

vaccine. His wife believes in his work, though his daughter would not 

understand him. His son, who is absolutely unlike his father in character, 

is trying to protect him. But self-denial in the name of science proves

too high a price. Just when he is on the verge of discovery, the doctor 

loses everything he has gathered as a result of his twenty-year-long 

work. This loss brings him even closer to his son. The shooting of the 

film continued for seven years (1985-1992), making it a metaphorical 

culmination of the Soviet cinematography and the Soviet way of life as a 

whole. 

Temur Babluani 

Temur Babluani graduated from Tbilisi State Theater Institute in 1979, 

being tutored by Tengiz Abuladze and Irakli Kvirikadze. He performed in 

the Soviet-era movies Our Youth (1969), Earth, This Is Your Son (1980), 

and Cucaracha (1982). He directed The Flight of Sparrows (1980), and 

The Brother (1981). His The Sun of the Sleepless (1992), for which he 

was also a composer, became a cult film in Georgia and won grand 

prizes at the festivals in Tbilisi (Georgia) and Sochi (Russia) as well as a 

Silver Bear for an outstanding artistic contribution at the Berlin 

International Film Festival, 1993. He was also the producer for A Chef in 

Love directed by Nana Jorjadze, which became the first, and so far the 

only, Georgian film to be nominated for the Academy Award. His elder 

son Géla Babluani is also a filmmaker and the younger, Giorgi, is an 

actor. 

The Legend of Suram Fortress 

Georgia/Soviet Union, 1984, 88 minutes 

Director: Sergei Parajanov, David Abashidze 

Screenplay: Daniel Chonqadze, Vaja Gigashvili 

Camera: Klimenko Yuri, Sergo Sikharulidze 

Editor: Kora Tsereteli 

Sound: Gary Kuntsev 

Synopsis 

This film is in memory of the Georgian warriors of all times who had 

given their lives for their country. It is based on an old Georgian legend: 

Preparing to defend their country from the onslaught of foreign 

conquerors, people started building a fortress, but each time the wall 

had reached the roof level, it collapsed. “The wall will hold if the most 

handsome young man is immured in it,” predicted a fortune-teller; 

hence forward stepped a young man who was ready to sacrifice his life

for his country. Thanks to that self-sacrifice, the fortress was erected, 

and nothing and no one could ever destroy it. 

Sergei Parajanov 

One of the 20th century's greatest masters of cinema Sergei Parajanov 

was born in Georgia to Armenian parents and it was always unlikely that 

his work would conform to the strict socialist realism that Soviet 

authorities preferred. After studying film and music, Parajanov became 

an assistant director at the Dovzhenko studios in Kiev, making his 

directorial debut in 1954, following that with numerous shorts and 

features. However, in 1964 he was able to make Tini zabutykh predkiv 

(1964), a rhapsodic celebration of Ukrainian folk culture, and the world 

discovered a startling and idiosyncratic new talent. He followed this up 

with the even more innovative Sayat Nova (1968) (which explored the 

art and poetry of his native Armenia in a series of stunningly beautiful 

tableaux), but by this stage the authorities had had enough, and 

Paradjanov spent most of the 1970s in prison. However, with the 

coming of perestroika, he was able to make two further films before 

succumbing to cancer in 1990. 

David Abashidze 

David Abashidze was born in 1924 and died in 1990. He was a Soviet 

Georgian film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1954 and 1988. 

Amongst the films he had acted include Chrichina (The Dragonfly) 1954, 

Magdanas lurja (Magdana's Donkey) 1955, Tetri karavani (The White 

Caravan) 1963, Didi mtsvane veli (Big Green valley) 1967, Pirveli 

mertskhali (First Swollow) 1975, and Pirosmani (Pirosmani) 1969 

amongst many others. He co-directed another film along with Sergei 

Parajanov, Ashug-Karibi (The Lovelorn Minstrel) 1988, in which he acted 

as well. 

Repentance 

Georgia/Soviet Union, 1984, 153 minutes, 

Director: Tenghiz Abuladze 

Screenplay: Tengiz Abuladze, Nana Dzhanelidze, Rezo Kveselava 

Camera: Mikhail Agranovich 

Editor: Guliko Omadze 

Sound: Dimitri Gedevanishvili

Cast: Avtandil Makharadze, Ya Ninidze, Zeinab Botsvadze, Ketevan 

Abuladze, Edisher Giorgobian 

Synopsis 

The day after the funeral of Varlam Aravidze, the mayor of a small 

Georgian town, his corpse turns up in his son's garden and is secretly 

reburied. But the corpse keeps returning, and the police eventually 

capture a local woman Zeinab Botsvadze accusing her of digging it up. 

Zeinab who had suffered mightily under the mayor's regime, refuses to 

allow the old man's corpse to be interred. Despite the son's Herculean 

efforts, Botsvadze continues digging up the late mayor's body, a 

symbolic gesture to prevent the dead man's villainy from being 

forgotten. Repentance was the first Soviet film that openly denounced 

the horrors of Stalinism. The Georgian director Tengiz Abuladze, known 

for his poetic and surrealist films, chose to make it allegorical, 

deliberately using anachronisms and making the leading character look 

like a combination of Stalin's henchman Lavrenti Beriya, Hitler, and 

Mussolini. The last name chosen for the leading character, Aravidze, is 

totally fictional as there is no such name in Georgia. In fact, "aravi" 

means "nobody" in Georgian. The film won many awards including the 

Cannes Film Festival Special Jury Prize. 

Tengiz Abuladze 

Tengiz Abuladze studied theatrical direction at the Chota Rustaveli 

Theatre Institute in Tbilisi, Georgia, and filmmaking at the VGIK (All- 

Union Cinematography Institute) in Moscow. He graduated in 1953, and 

joined Georgia Film Studios as a director. Repentance is the third 

instalment in his well known trilogy that includes Vedreba (Entreaty) 

1967, and Natvris Khe (The Tree of Desire) 1976. 

Pirosmani 

Georgia/Soviet Union, 1969, 86 minutes, 

Director: Georgy Shengelaya 

Screenplay: Erlom Akhvlediani , Georgy Shengelaya 

Camera: Konstantin Apryatin, Dudar Margievi, Aleqsandre Rekhviashvili 

Art Direction: Vaso Arabidze, Avtandil Varazi

Cast: Avtandil Varazi, David Abashidze, Zurab Kapianidze, Margo 

Gvaramadze 

Synopsis 

This film is about the great Georgian painter–primitivist Niko 

Pirosmanashvili (1862-1918). An unknown, self-taught painter roams the 

streets of a city, painting his pictures. The local people only know that 

his name is Nikola Pirosmani, that he is a kind and honest person, but 

nobody takes his painting seriously. To make his living and be able to 

buy paints, Nikola opens up a food shop. But very soon he goes 

bankrupt, for he is giving away butter and cheese to anyone who got no 

money. Already gravely ill, he paints his last picture, imbued with light, 

joy and love for life. 

Georgi Shengelaya 

Born in Moscow in 1937, Georgi Shengelaya has worked in the film 

industry as an actor, writer and director. Georgi Shengelaya’s father 

Nikolai Shengelaya was one of the pioneers of the; his mother was an 

early star; and his brother is also a director. His other films as include 

Two (1963), Melodies From an Old Quarter (1973), A Young Composer's 

Odyssey (1984) and Khareba and Gogi (1987). 

A Trip to Karabakh 

Georgia, 2005, 96 minutes 

Director: Levan Tutberidze 

Screenplay: Aka Morchiladze, Irakli Solomonashvili 

Camera: Goran Pavichevich 

Editors: Boris Machytka, Nico Tarielashvili 

Sound: Michal Houdek 

Cast: Levan Doborjginidze, Mikheil Meskhi, Dato Iashvili, Nutsa 

Kukhianidze 

Synopsis 

Early 1990s in Tbilisi. Civil war, checkpoints in the city streets and 

suburbs. Characters are similar to their surrounding atmosphere, lost in 

time and space. Gio, Gogliko, Sandro and Duda are friends. They live 

with the typical interests of 20-year-old lads - girls, cards and 

unfortunately drags. Older junkies send Gil and Gogliko to Azerbaijan to

uy some cheap drugs, but the young men lose their way in the dark 

and end up in Kharabakh, the Armenian-Azeri conflict zone. Despite his 

short-term imprisonment, Gio experiences an incredible sense of 

freedom. Winner of the Golden Vine, at the CIS and the Baltic States 

Festival, A Trip to Karabakh is based on the popular contemporary novel 

of the same name by Aka Morchiladze. A poignant and entertaining film 

about the futility of war. 

Levan Tutberidze 

Born in 1959 Levan Tutberidze studied film direction at the Tbilisi State 

University of Theatre and Film. He was the founder of the first 

independent film studio Aisi and one of the founders of the cinema 

house Amirani. He has appeared in several feature films as an actor. 

Other films directed by him include Makhare (1986), Nazares 

ukanaskneli lotsva (The Last Prayer of Nazare) 1988, Tsarsulis achrdilebi 

(Phantoms of the Past) 1996, Paper Bullet (2006) and I Love You Baby 

(in production).

COUNTRY FOCUS: TAIWAN 

Eat Drink Man Woman 

1994, 123 minutes 

Director: Ang Lee 

Screenplay: Ang Lee, Wong Huei Lin 

Camera: Jong Lin 

Editor: Tim Squyres 

Sound: Alex Albanese 

Production: Central Motion Picture Corporation, 6F, No. 260, Sec. 

2, Bade Rd., Zhongshan Dist., Taipei City, Taiwan; Telephone: 

+886-2-2778-1058 Fax: +886-2-2778-1048 

Cast: Guey-Mey Yang、Winston Chao、Chian-Lian Wu、Shiung 

Lung、Yu-Wen Wong 

Synopsis 

Trouble is brewing for old Mr. Chu, the greatest living chef of 

Taipei, and the father of three grown and rebellious daughters. It’s 

been years since. Mr. Chu’s wife died, leaving him to raise Jia-Jen, 

a school teacher seemingly devoted to her father, Jia-Chien, a 

driven executive who can barely stand her father’s company, 

and Jia-Ning, the youngest and most hopelessly romantic of the 

lot. Enter old Mrs. Liang, the nagging widow who’s just moved in 

next door, and suddenly the whole caln is wondering if Mr. Chu 

will soon be cooking for someone new…… But in the meantime, 

someone gets pregnant, someone else gets dumped, someone 

dies, and someone finds true love, and don’t be surprised to be 

completely surprised by what happens to whom! In this deliciously 

heart-warming comedy, director Ang Lee once again cooks up a 

feast of surprises and emotional twists, as traditional family ties 

come unravelled and marvelously knitted together again. 

Ang Lee 

Born in 1954 in Pingtung, Taiwan, Ang Lee has become one of 

today's greatest contemporary filmmakers. Lee graduated from 

the National Taiwan College of Arts in 1975 and then came to the

U.S. to receive a B.F.A. Degree in Theatre/Theater Direction at the 

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Masters Degree 

in Film Production at New York University. At NYU, he served as 

Assistant Director on Spike Lee's student film, Joe's Bed-Stuy 

Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983). 

After Lee wrote a couple of screenplays, he eventually appeared 

on the film scene with Pushing Hands (1992), a film reflecting on 

generational conflicts and cultural adaptation, centering on the 

metaphor of the grandfather's Tai-Chi technique of "Pushing 

Hands". The Wedding Banquet (1993) was Lee's next film. It won a 

Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. The third movie in his trilogy 

of Taiwanese-Culture/ Generation films, all of them featuring 

Hsiung Lung, was Eat Drink Man Woman (1994). 

Lee followed this up with Sense and Sensibility (1995), his first 

Hollywood-mainstream movie. It won Best Adapted Screenplay. 

Lee was also voted the year's Best Director by the National Board 

of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle. In 2000, Lee’s 

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) that is considered one of 

his greatest works. It swept the Oscar nominations, eventually 

winning Best Foreign Language Film, as well as Best Director at the 

Golden Globes, and became the highest grossing foreignlanguage 

film ever released in America. Lee then filmed the 

comic-book adaptation, Hulk (2003) – an elegant and skillful film 

with nice action scenes. The most recently won the 2005 Best 

Director Academy Award for Brokeback Mountain (2005), a film 

based on a short story by Annie Proulx. 

------------------------ 

Growing Up 

1983, 100 minutes 

Director: Chen Kun-hou 

Screenplay: Chu T'ien-wen, Ding Yah-ming, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Hsu 

Shu-chen 

Camera: Chen Kun-ho 

Editor: Liao Ching-song 

Sound: Tu Du-che

Cast: Chun-Fong Cheng、Fu-Hsen Tsue、Li-So Yu、Cheng-Tse 

Neo、Chwan-Wen Cheng、Cheng-Kuo Yen 

Synopsis 

She, a young mother, who pays the price for her love to her son 

named Trogar Pi, who lost his father. The boy is a mixture of justice 

and evil, of love and hate. Everyone did something wrong and 

foolish when he was young, but only Pis mother is humble enough 

to sacrifice her whole life for them. Can we say she is a brave 

woman in the other way? He, an old and tired father, who 

married this woman and accepted her boy. He can’t give them 

anything but love and a peaceful home. The father did nothing 

wrong, but he had to pay the frice for his love also. There is always 

something you must face in your life, and maybe this is the story 

you will identify with. 

Chen Kun-hou 

Born in Taichung in 1939, Chen passed the examination for 

employment at the state-run Central Motion Pictures Company in 

1962. (The company was later privatized and renamed the 

Central Pictures Corporation.) There, he worked as a 

cinematography assistant under Lai Cheng-ying and was 

promoted to the position of cinematographer in 1971. 

In 1972, Chen served as the cameraman for director Sung Chengshou’s 

film Story of Mother. For that film, he employed a simple, yet 

visually poetic style that powerfully complemented the tragic 

storyline. Subsequently, Chen was the cinematographer for many 

of director Lee Hsing’s movies, such as He Never Gives Up, The 

Story of a Small Town and My Native Land. In 1978, he won the 

Golden Horse Award for Best Cinematography for He Never Gives 

Up. 

In 1979, Chen began collaborating with director Hou Hsiao-hsien, 

with whom he had a philosophical rapport after working together 

under director Lee Hsing. With Hou taking charge of screenplays 

and Chen cinematography, the two alternated as director. They 

filmed a series of romantic comedies that became box office hits,

including Lover on the Wave, Spring in Autumn and The Girl from 

the South, which differed from the sentimental genre of cinematic 

love stories typical of the time, such as those adapted from novels 

by the highly popular woman writer Chiung Yao. 

After the 1982 Chen-Hou production The Green Green Grass of 

Home won the acclaim of movie critics, Chen and Hou joined with 

Hsu Su-chen and Chang Hua-kun to establish an independent 

production company. Evergreen Motion Picture Co., which gave 

them greater creative freedom. Initially, Evergreen cooperated 

with Central Motion Pictures to produce the low-budget film 

Growing Up, an adaptation from Chu Tien-wen’s novel by the 

same name. Besides doing well at the box office in 1983, the film 

received that year’s Golden Horse Awards for Best Feature Film, 

Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, contributing 

momentum to the New Wave Cinema or Taiwan New Cinema 

that was then just getting underway. 

With his wealth of experience, methodical work style and 

eagerness to give a hand to upcoming directors, Chen, along 

with Hou, was regarded as a spiritual leader of the new wave. In 

1983, he served as the cinematographer for The Sandwich Man, 

co-directed by Hou and two newcomers Wan Jen and Tseng 

Chuang-hsiang, helping them resolve visual effect problems and 

harmonize the film’s overall cinematographic mood. 

In 1985, Chen and Hou set up separate teams, striving to develop 

their own distinctive styles. In the years that followed, Chen has 

produced a new film every year, including My Favorite Season 

(1985), His Matrimony (1985), Drifters (1986), Osmanthus Alley 

(1987) and Spring and Autumn Tea House (1988). Most of his films 

were adapted from literary works, consistently exhibiting his gentle 

humanistic concern and artful mastery of visual effects. 

------------------------------ 

In Our Time 

1982, 106 minutes 

Directors: Tao JimEdward YangYi-Chen KeYi ChangSeng Wen 

Lan 

Screenplay: Jim Tao, Edward Yang, Ke Yi-chen, Chang Yi


Sound: Tu Du-che 

Cast: Sylvia Chang,、Li-Chun Lee、Kuo-hsiu Lee、Ying-Chen 

Chang、An-Ni Shih、Seng Wen Lan 

Synopsis 

For humankind, the elapsing of time means striving with 

vicissitudes of life to weather through – joys of growing up, 

inextricable bitterness derived from perceiving advancement of 

age, the dream cherished and the solitude borne in childhood, 

ardent expectations of a lass and her despondency, vigour and 

zealousness of youth, life of grown-ups thrown into a muddle and 

indulged in reminiscence. Four stories respectively directed by four 

potential and promising young film artists are perfectly combined 

and integrated into a consistent plot. 

Edward Yang 

Refer to biography under Taipei Story. 

Jim Tao 

Jim Tao followed up on an undergraduate degree in theater 

earned at Chinese Culture University in Taipei with a master of fine 

arts degree in film at Syracuse University in the United States. The 

experimental works he created during this time, including The End, 

Out of Focus and Once Again, were all well received. 

Tao found gainful employment at the Central Motion Pictures 

Company (later privatized and renamed Central Pictures 

Corporation) where, in 1982, he proposed the shooting of a lowcost 

anthology picture in four installments. Each segment was to 

be overseen by a different director. With the assistance of Li Yuan, 

Ming Chi and others, this idea came to fruition. The result was In 

Our Time. This box-office smash marked the birth of New Wave 

Cinema, a collection of vivid and realistic cinematic portrayals of 

life in Taiwan. Jim Tao, Edward Yang, Ko Yi-cheng and Chang Yi 

each directed one of the film’s installments. Tao’s contribution, 

Little Dragon Head, depicted Taiwan during the 1960s. The movie 

is well regarded for its use of lingering shots, props, color and

motion to shape the story through filming techniques. His other 

works include The Bike and I (1984) and Righteous God of Good 

Fortune and Virtue (1986). 

Ko Yi-cheng 

Born in 1949, film director Ko Yi-cheng holds a bachelor’s degree 

in motion picture arts from Taiwan’s World College of Journalism 

(now Shih Hsin University) and a master’s degree in film studies 

from Columbia University. He has lectured at Shih Hsin University 

and Chinese Culture University in Taipei. 

In 1981, Ko teamed up with directors Song Chun-so and Edward 

Yang for Sylvia Chang’s television drama series Eleven Women, in 

which he directed the episodes Happy Single Women and Last 

Summer. That same year, his experimental feature Labyrinthine 

Forest earned him a Golden Harvest Award—an award also 

conferred at the same ceremony on directors Wan Jen, Tsai Mingliang 

and Mak Tai-kit. 

Ko made his motion picture debut in 1982 when he directed 

Jumping Frog, the third in the four-segment movie In Our Time. 

Skillfully delivering criticism of society, the film reveals a deep 

social consciousness through a thoughtful, introspective style. The 

movie’s success not only launched the New Wave Cinema 

movement in Taiwan, but enabled Ko and his fellow newcomers 

to continue in their directing careers. In addition to directing, Ko 

appeared frequently in films made by other novice directors (such 

in Wan Jen’s Ah fei where he played the role of the father). 

His work Blue Moon (1997) was a highly experimental project. Shot 

in five episodes named by color—red, orange, yellow, green and 

blue—the episodes can played in any sequence to form 120 

possible storylines, each expressing a different mood and rhythm. 

Ko said that the aim of such a project was to explore the 

vicissitudes of life. 

------------------------------------------- 

Juliets 

2010, 106 minutes

Director: Chen Yu-Hsun, Shen Ko-Shang, Hou Chi-Jan 

Screenplay: Hou Chi-Jan, Yang Yuan-Ling, Shen Ko-Shang, Lu Hsin- 

Chih, Chen Yu-Hsun 

Camera: Mahua Feng, Tao Chien, Chen Chien-Li 

Editor: Ku Hsiao-Yun 

Sound: Frank Cheng 

Production: Khan Entertainment Co, Ltd., 

10F.,No.37,Sec.1,Kaifeng St., Taipei City 10044, Taiwan 

Telephone: +886-2-2389-0106 Fax: +886-2-2389-0161 

Cast: Vivian Hsu, Wang Po-Chieh, Lee Chien-Na, River Huang, 

Kang Kang, Liang He-Chun 

Synopsis 

In the 1970s, computers were not yet invented and there was still 

such a thing called censorship. Ju, a crippled girl,who never fell in 

love, worked in an old-fashioned printing store and spent all her 

time with ink. One day a good-looking boy came to the store with 

banned articles in his hands, Ju’s life was not monotonous 

anymore. 

Mei has just been through a breakup and is told a true story—in 

the ‘80s, a woman named Julie moved into a madhouse by 

faking insanity so that she could wait for her lover without being 

disturbed. 

One day in 2010, 40-year-old “Juliet” is broken-hearted and goes 

into the mountain, trying to commit suicide. The moment “Juliet” 

puts the rope around the neck, a commercial-shooting crew 

somehow shows up and gets in the way. Then “Juliet” meets 

someone that is more obstinate about love. After all this, what will 

be Juliet’s final decision—to live or to die? 

Chen Yu-Hsun 

Renowned Taiwanese commercial/ film director. Chen shot his first 

feature Tropical Fish in 1995 after years of working in TV. The film, 

commercially successful and critically acclaimed, was awarded 

the Blue Leopard Prize at Switzerland's Locarno Film Festival and 

was regarded as the most remarkable Taiwan comedy at the

time. His second film Love Go Go (1997) was also well received. 

Chen’s works are always marked by strong humour, which is rarely 

found in Taiwanese cinema. Chen has focused on commercials in 

recent years. Juliets - One more Juliet is his comeback feature to 

since his last movie in the late 90s. 

Hou Chi-Jan 

Born in 1973 in Taipei. Writer and film director. He worked on “the 

Database of Taiwan Cinema” from his college days, Hou’s works 

tend to be lyrical and stylish, and are often characterized by the 

theme of time and memory. His experimental short Stardust 

15749001 won the Grand Prix of Taipei International Film Festival in 

2003. The second short My 747 won the Grand Prix of Hong Kong 

ifva Independent Short Film & Video Award in 2006. His 

documentary work Taiwan Black Movies, presenting the cult films 

in the repressive age of Taiwan 1970s, was nominated for the 

Golden Horse Awards and invited to many international film 

festivals. His first feature film One Day was officially selected in the 

2010 Berlin International Film Festival. 

Shen Ko-Shang 

Graduated from the department of Motion Picture of National 

Taiwan University of Arts, Shen began to demonstrate his talent in 

directing and cinematography early on. In 1999, his thesis film 

Layover won the Best Short Film at Taiwan Golden Film Award and 

was selected for the Cinefondation section at Cannes Film 

Festival, proving the emergence of a new talent. He is well known 

as a documentary film director and cinematographer. The Pigeon 

Game and Baseball Boy are his most famous works. The former, 

documenting the unique pigeon racing practice in Taiwan, was 

broadcast in over 160 countries and won him the Best Director 

prize at Taiwan Golden Bell Awards. The latter entered Visions du 

Réel and won several awards in various festivals. His 

cinematography also brings him numerous related nominations 

and prizes. 

------------------------------------ 

The Sandwich Man 

1983, 102 minutes

Directors: Hou Hsiao-hsien, Tseng Chuang-hsiang, Wan Jen 

Screenplay: Wu Nien-jen 

Camera: Chen Kun-ho 


Sound: Tu Du-che 

Cast: Bo-Jeng Chen、Li-Ying Yang、Shen-Li Jo、Sha 

Chiang、Ding King、Chi Chan 

Synopsis 

This episodic film is adapted from novelist Tzen-Ming Hwan’s three 

short stories: A Taste of Apple, The Sandwich Man, and Vicki’s Hat. 

In the miserable years, several downbeat characters fight and 

struggle for their lives. The film depicts, sympathetically, their selfdepreciation 

and self-respect, laugh and tears, and hope and 

despair Most importantly, the film shows the heart sore and 

ignorance of the developing country people when facing the 

foreign civilization intrusion. 

Hou Hsiao-hsien 

Refer to biography under A Time Live and a Time to Die 

Wan Jen 

Wan Jen was born in Taipei in 1950. In the 1980s he worked with 

other new film directors, Hou Hsiao-Hsien,.Edward Yang… 

generated much talk about the coming of a New Wave in 

Taiwan. His subsequent features revealed his predilection for social 

and political critique. Such as “The Taste of Apple of The Sandwich 

Man” , “Ah Fei” , “Super Citizen” , “Super Citizen Ko”, “The war of 

betrayal 1895 (TV Series)”… He is considered one of the important 

directors of the Taiwan Cinema. He is now vice-president of the 

Directors Guild of Taiwan. 

Tseng Chuang-hsiang 

Tseng Chuang-hsiang was born in Hong Kong in 1947. He 

graduated from the Department of Foreign Languages and

Literatures at National Taiwan University before earning a master’s 

degree in fine arts in 1982 from the Department of Radio- 

Television-Film at The University of Texas at Austin. After his studies, 

Tseng returned to Taiwan where he built his career, starting out as 

a movie critic for newspapers such as the Hong Kong Times, then 

moving on to screenwriting and directing at the Central Motion 

Pictures Company (later privatized and renamed the Central 

Pictures Corporation), and later to directing at the Tomson Films 

Company. 

In 1983, Tseng’s drama Lifeline, based on a novel by Wang Wenhsing, 

won the award for Best 16mm Film at the Sixth Golden 

Harvest Awards for Outstanding Short Films. That same year, he 

teamed up with Hou Hsiao-hsien and Wan Jen in the three-part 

film The Sandwich Man. Tseng directed the second part, Vicki’s 

Hat, which portrayed how domestic industries suffered as a result 

of Japanese products being imported at below-market prices. 

In 1985, Tseng directed A Woman of Wrath (based on a novel of 

the same title by Li Ang), which explored the sufferings and 

oppression of women in the past and depicted the enormous 

sacrifices they have had to make under gender inequality. This 

film became a symbol of defiance against social oppression and 

earned Tseng recognition as one of Taiwan’s top new 

screenwriters of the 1980s. Thereafter, Tseng turned his attention to 

filming television dramas and documentaries. 

Tseng has taught at the Department of Radio, Television and Film 

at Shih Hsin University as well as the Department of 

Communication Arts at Chaoyang University of Technology. From 

2003 to 2006, he was head of the Department of Motion Pictures 

at National Taiwan University of Arts, where he currently works as 

associate professor. Tseng has also served on evaluation panels 

for the Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards, the Golden Harvest 

Awards for Outstanding Short Films, and the Taiwan International 

Documentary Festival. 

------------------------------------

Taipei Story 

1985, 120 minutes 

Director: Edward Yang 

Screenplay: Edward Yang, Tien Wen Chu, Hou Hsiao-hsien 

Camera: Wei Han Yang 

Editor: Chi Yang Wang 

Sound: Ta Ching Yang 

Production: 3H Productions Ltd., Telephone: 886-2-2239-5822 

Fax: 886-2-2230 3963 

Cast: Hou Hsiao-hsien, I-Chen Ko, Ko Su-Yun, Shufang Chen, Lai 

Denan, Suyun Ke, Lin Xiuling, Peng Sun, Tsai Chin, Wu Nien-Jen, 

Yang Lai-Yin 

Synopsis 

Ah-lung, a former member of the national Little League team and 

now owner of an old-style fabric business, faces a financial and 

relationship crisis. One day, he runs into a former teammate who 

is now a struggling cab driver. The two talk about the glory of their 

old times and they are struck by a sense of loss. Ah-Lung is living 

with his girlfriend, Ah-chin. They have known each other since 

childhood. Ah-ching is a westernized professional woman who 

grew up in a traditional family. Their relationship is unstable 

because Ah-chin finds out Ah-lung visited his ex girl friend. After an 

argument, Ah-chin tries to find comfort by hanging out with her 

sister's friends, a group of westernized young generation. In the 

end, the Ah-lung is dead in an accident and disappears from the 

modern Taipei city. 

Edward Yang 

Edward Yang was born in Shanghai in 1947, and grew up in Taipei, 

Taiwan. After studying Electrical Engineering in National Chiao 

Tung University, he enrolled in the graduate program at the 

University of Florida, where he received his Masters Degree in 

Electrical and Computer Engineering in 1974. During this time and 

briefly afterwards, Yang worked at the Center for Informatics 

Research. Yang had a great interest in film ever since he was a 

child, but put away his aspirations in order to pursue a career in

the high-tech industry. Thereafter, he went to Seattle to work in 

microcomputers and defense software. 

While working in Seattle, Yang came across the Werner Herzog 

film Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972). This encounter rekindled 

Yang's passion for film and introduced him to a wide range of 

classics in world and European cinema. Yang was particularly 

inspired by the films of Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni 

(Antonioni's influence has shown up in some of Yang's later works). 

------------------------------------- 

A Time to Live and a Time to Die 

1985, 138 minutes 

Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien 

Screenplay: T'ien-wen Chu, Hou Hsiao-Hsien 

Camera: Pih Bing Lee 

Editor: Liao Ching-Song 

Sound: Tu Du-Che 

Music: Chu-chu Wu 

Production: Central Motion Picture Corporation, 6F, No. 260, Sec. 

2, Bade Rd., Zhongshan Dist., Taipei City, Taiwan: 

Telephone: +886-2-2778-1058 Fax: +886-2-2778-1048 

Cast: Ann-Suan Yiu、Shu-Fan Sin、Fon Tan、Fun Mai 

Synopsis 

Grandma called him Ah-ha-gu. She believed that he was 

destined to become a big official, so she was always especially 

good to him. Ah-ha had an elder brother who weighed 39 kilos 

and didn’t have to do military service. He also had a younger 

brother who held a raw egg in his palm while he practised 

calligraphy, another younger brother, and a smart, pretty elder 

sister. Yet he never seemed to understand matters of life and 

death. To him, the consequences of the August 23 War with 

Communist China were that he no longer had any apples to eat. 

His days passed by helping the puny red ants defeat menacing 

black ants, and then aiding them in moving bread crumbs into 

their hole. During his high school years, his sister got married. He

got involved with gangs, and was always fighting. He had a crush 

on a girl in the neighbourhood, and for the first time started 

looking at himself in mirrors. One night, just as he was sharpening 

his knife in preparation for a big fight, his mother died. In the full 

bloom of summer, Ah-ha remembers his youth. 

Hou Hsiao-hsien 

Taiwan's premier director and winner of numerous film prizes all 

over the world, Hou Hsiao Hsien established himself as a leading 

figure of Taiwan New Wave in the last decade. He was born in 

China and moved to Taiwan in 1948. He spent his childhood in 

southern Taiwan. Upon completing his military service in 1969, Hou 

went to study filmmaking at the National Taiwan Academy of Arts. 

He graduated in 1972 and took various jobs before switching to 

films. He was an assistant director to veteran directors Li Hsing and 

Lai Cheng-Ying. He later formed partnership with 

cinematographer Chen Kun-Hou and took turns directing. 

He made his directorial debut with the film CUTE GIRLS in 1980. By 

his third film, GREEN, GREEN GRASS OF HOME (1981), he was 

nominated for a Golden Horse Awards, Taiwan's equivalent to the 

Oscars. Since, he has helped shape a whole new cinema 

consciousness in Taiwan. Hou captured international attention 

with THE BOYS FROM FENGKUEI (1983) and A SUMMER AT 

GRANDPA'S (1984), both a winner at Festival des 3 Continents, 

Nantes, France. His autobiographical film A TIME TO LIVE, A TIME 

TO DIE (1985), took home an international critics' award from Berlin 

in 1985 and was named the best film outside of Europe and 

America by the Rotterdam Film Festival. He then continued to 

make critically acclaimed films, DUST IN THE WIND (1986) and 

DAUGHTER OF THE NILE (1987), and was gradually known as one of 

the most innovative filmmakers of the world. In 1989, his A CITY OF 

SADNESS won the coveted Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival. In 

1993, his masterpiece THE PUPPETMASTER won jury prize in Cannes. 

His next films GOOD MEN, GOOG WOMEN (1995), the energetic 

GOODGYE SOUTH, GOODBYE (1996), FLOWERS OF SHANGHAI 

(1998), MILLENNIUM MAMBO (2001), CAFÉ LUMIERE (2004), and 

THREE TIMES (2005) were hailed by critics at the competition at the 

Venice Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival. 

As a producer, Hou has helped bring about classics as Edward

Yang's TAIPEI STORY, Zhang Yimou's RAISE THE RED LANTERN, Hsu 

Hsiao-Ming's DUST OF ANGELS, HEARTBREAK ISLAND, Wu Nien-Jen's 

A BORROWED LIFE and Chen Kuo-Fu's TREASURE ISLAND. He also 

took the lead acting role in TAIPEI STORY. 

----------------------------------- 

Viva l’Amour 

1994, 118 minutes 

Director: Tsai Ming-Liang 

Screenplay: Tsai Ming-Liang, Yang Pi-Ying, Tsai Yi-Jiun 

Camera: Liao Pen-jung, Lin Ming-kuo 

Editor: Shia-cheng Sung 

Cast: Chao-Jun Chen、Guey-Mey Yang、Kang-Sheng Lee 

Synopsis 

Hsiao-kang is a salesperson for columbarium. He sells niches for 

cremated remains of the dead. May is a real estate agent. She 

lives alone in a small apartment. Ah-jung sells female clothing at 

the doorway of a department store in late evenings. In a winter 

night of Taipei, the three slip into a vacant apartment downtown... 

They are together... They are not. 

Tsai Ming-Liang 

Tsai Ming-Liang was born in Malaysia on October 27, 1957. He 

graduated from the Chinese Cultural University of Taiwan and has 

written and directed for stage and television. His films have won 

many awards including the 1994 Golden Lion (Vive L’Amour, 

1994), the Silver Bear for Wayward Cloud (2004) and five FRIPESCI 

awards. 

In 2002, he received the distinguished medal of the Knight of 

Order of Arts and Letters from the French government. His recent 

film Visage was produced by and shot at the Louvre Museum in 

France.

From his first feature, Rebels of the Neon God (1992), to the recent 

playfully scandalous Wayward Cloud (2004) that won major prizes 

at the last Berlin International Film Festival, Tsai Ming-Liang has cast 

a dispassionate eye upon contemporary life and human relations, 

often happily mixing genres and moving from melancholy to 

black comedy. 

Tsai Ming-Liang is regarded as a master of contemporary cinema 

and is one of the generation of Taiwanese new wave film-makers 

who have made Taiwanese films so significant in world cinema. 

His other films include The River (1997), The Hole (1998), and 

Goodbye Dragon Inn (2003), a stylistic tour-de-force and moving 

requiem to the passage of time and the passing of the cinema. 

------------------------------

Country Focus: Sri Lanka 

Aaganthukaya (The Outcast) 


Director: Vasantha Obeysekera 

Screenplay: Vasantha Obeysekera 

Camera: Ruwan Costa 

Editor: Ravindra Guruge 

Art Direction: Rohan Samaradivakara 

Cast: Saumya Liyanage, , Chandani Seneviratne, Anjalee 

Ehalepola, Sanath Gunatilaka, Nimal Anthony, Giriraj Kaushalya, 

Chandrasoma Binduhewa, Damayanthi Fonseka, Somasiri 

Alakolange 

Synopsis 

The film depicts the personal conflict of a person who upholds 

justice, fair play and honesty as the prime values in life, being 

compelled to survive in a society that is politically dominated and 

rarely pays attention to moral codes, ethics and honesty. 

Sampath is a principal of a school, who is devoted to his vocation. 

He lives a very simple, exemplary life, struggling to give his wife, a 

music teacher and his primary school daughter the best he could 

afford with his and his wife’ s salary. Hid ideal in his life is his father, 

a principled man, who fell victim to the insurgency that erupted in 

Southern Sri Lanka, in late 1980s. Uncompromising on his principles, 

Sampath was victimized and often sent on transfer from one 

school to another. His strength was his honesty and devotion to 

the school he served, which he proved once again, when he was 

transferred to a school as its Principal , that was poorly 

administrated with provincial politics intervening. 

Vasantha Obeysekere 

Vasantha Obeysekere’s obsession with films made him study film 

making and in 1966, gave him the opportunity to venture into his 

most cherished career as a Film Director, when he was associated 

as the Co-Screen Play Writer and Assistant Director to the film 

“Sath Samudura” (Seven Seas) “Sath Samudura” was Sri Lanka’s

Official entry for the Moscow International Film Festival in 

1967.Obeysekere wrote and directed the movies “Vesgaththo” 

(Masked Men) in 1970. In 1971, Obeysekera obtained a certificate 

in “Cinematography” from the Conservatoire Independent Du 

Cinema Franciais in Paris. Ever since, Obesekera has achieved a 

highly respected status in the Sri Lankan Film Industry and society, 

contributing to the discourse in Art and Film as an award winning 

Film Director. Cinematic creations of Obeysekera are 

“Valmathwuvo”(Lost ones,1970) “Diyamanthi (Diamonds,1978),” 

Palangatiyo” (Grass Hoppers, 1979), “Dadayama” (The Hunt, 

1984) ,” Kedapathaka Chaaya” (Reflection in a Mirror, 1989), 

“Marurthaya” (The Storm,1995), “Dorakada Marawa” (Death at 

the Doorstep, 1998), “Theertha Yartha” (Pilgrimage, 1999),”Salelu 

Warama” (Web of Love, 2002) “Asani Warsha” (Wrath and Rain, 

2004), “Seuwandhi “ (Rose, 2006). 

Agnidahaya 

2001, 119 minutes 

Director: Jayantha Chandrasiri 

Screenplay: Jayantha Chandrasiri 

Camera: Ruwan Costa 


Art Direction: Jagath Imbulpe 

Cast: Yasoda Wimaladharma, Jackson Anthony, Kamal 

Addaraarachchci, Buddhadasa Withanarahchchi, Sanath 

Gunatilake, Gamini Jayalath 

Synopsis 

The story is set in the year 1664. Rajasinghe the Second, the King 

of the Kandyan Kingdom, is hemmed in by the Dutch, who control 

the maritime provinces of Sri Lanka, and threatened within his own 

kingdom by a rebel lord, Ambanwala Rala, who enjoys some 

support from influential Kandyan chiefs as well those who wielded 

considerable civil power in the villages. The film revolves around 

the lives of an exorcist (Punchirala, loyal to Ambanwala Rala), his 

assistant (Sobana), a woman called KIrimenike (whom Sobana is 

obsessed with) and her man, Herath. The story unfolds against the

ackdrop of this political turmoil, the rebellion and counter 

rebellion weaving in and out of the interplay among these 

characters and the cultural ethos that surrounds them. In the 

denouement, the protagonists discover themselves and each 

other, partly as result of the tumult they live through and partly in 

spite of it. 

Jayantha Chandrasiri 

Jayantha Chandrasiri is one among the new breed of film 

directors who has attempted to present something new on the 

screen. His efforts have been exceptional in quality and content. 

Having produced some very successful plays such as “Ath”, 

“Mora”, and “Oththukaraya” for the stage he turned to television. 

His first teledrama was “Weda Hamine”(Woman Doctor) , followed 

by “Dandubasnamanaya”(Range of an arrow), “Akala 

Sandya”(Untimely Dusk) , “Wesmuhuna” (Mask) and 

“Rejina”(Queen). He has received awards for his outstanding 

work. Agnidahaya is Chandrasiri’s first film. 

Ira Madiyama (August Sun) 

2002, 108 minutes 

Director: Prasanna Vithanage 

Screenplay: Priyath Liyanage 

Camera: M.D.Mahindapala 

Editor: A Sreekar Prasad 

Sound: Lakshminarayanan 

Art Director: Kanchana Talpawila 

Cast: Nimmi Harasgama, Peter D Almeida, Gayani Gisanthika, 

Nadee Kammalweera, Namal Jayasinghe, A.M.Mansoor, 

Mohamed Rahfiulla, Maheshwari Ratnam H.V.Thaheera, Rajeena 

Begum 

Synopsis 

The film revolves around three narratives which unfold 

simultaneously. During two scorching days in August, three 

different groups of people face different experiences due to 

circumstances beyond their control. These are ordinary people

thrown into the heat of war. The experiences they encounter may 

not be directly related to the conflict. These events, like the 

weather, govern their lives. Yet they have to continue beyond 

these encounters to exist in a society that is traumatized and 

disturbed by nearly twenty years of civil war between the 

majority,Sinhala government forces and the rebel movement from 

the minority Tamil community who are fighting for autonomy and 

self-determination. 

An eleven year old Muslim boy, Arfath, is struggling to keep his 

companion and friend , a dog, while the family are forced out of 

their home by rebels. Chamari, a young woman is looking for 

husband who is a solder missing in action. A young Soldier 

Duminda walks into a brothel to find his sister among the working 

girls. 

The main action of the film takes place in Sri Lanka’s northern 

territories, parts of which are controlled by the Tamil rebels who 

have created a de-facto separate state. These stories are about 

people who are struggling to hold on to their hopes and dreams 

while being swept up by the torrents of war. The film is about their 

quest for life. 

Prasanna Vithanage 

Born in 1962, Prasanna Vithanage became involved in theatre on 

leaving school. He translated and directed Bernard Shaw’s “Arms 

and the Man” and Dario Fo’s ‘Raspberries and Trumpets in 1991. 

In 1992, he directed his first film “Sisila Gini Gani” (Ice on Fire) It 

won nine OCIC Sri Lanka Awards, including Best Director, Best 

Actor and Best Director. 

In 1996 his second feature ‘Anantha Rathriya(Dark Night of the 

Soul), which he wrote and directed, participated in several 

International film festivals and won a Jury’s Special Mention at the 

First Pusan International Film festival. The film also won all the main 

awards at the 1996 Sri Lanka Film Critics Forum Awards (affiliated 

to FIPRESCI) including awards for the Most outstanding Film, Best 

Director and the Best Scriptwriter.

“Pawuru Walalu” (Walls Within), his third feature in 1997 won three 

awards at the Amiens International Film Festival. It also won ten 

out of eleven awards including Best Picture and Best Director, at 

the Sri Lanka Film Critics Forum Awards. 

His fourth feature ‘Purahanda Kaluwara’(Death on a Full Moon 

Day) of the same year , 1997, which he wrote and directed, won 

the Grand Prix at the Amiens Film Festival. Initially banned by the 

government of Sri Lanka, it was subsequently released after a long 

drawn out court case between Vithanage and the State. 

Me Mage Sandal (This is My Moon) 

2000, 104 minutes 

Director: Ashoka Handagama 

Screenplay: Ashoka Handagama 

Camera: Channa Deshapriya 


Music: Rohana Weerasinghe 

Cast: Jagath Chamila, Jayasiri Chandrajith, Naditha Dinesh 

Synopsis 

"Me Mage Sandai" (This Is My Moon), the internationally 

acclaimed film by Ashoka Handagama, unfolds a story of an army 

deserter and a Tamil girl in a border village of war-torn Northern Sri 

Lanka. 

Ashoka Handagama 

Born in 1962, Ashoka Handagama is one of Sri Lanka’s leading film 

directors. He graduated with a degree in Mathematics from the 

Universiry Jayawardhanpura, Sri Lanka. “Me Mage Sandal’ was his 

third feature film. 

Sudu Kaluwara (The Intruders)

2001, 128 minutes 

Director: Sudath Rohana 

Screenplay: Sudath Rohana 

Camera: Lal Wickramarachchci 

Editor: Elmo Haliday 

Sound: Lionel Gunaratna 

Art Direction: Lal Harindranath 

Cast: Sanath Gunathilaka, Jayalath Manorathne, Indrajith 

Navinna, W.Jayasiri, Buddhadasa Withanarachchi, Palitha 

Silva, Jayani Senanayaka 

Synopsis 

Arachchila (Village Headman) is a petit official with immense 

posers over the life and property of the people in the village under 

his charge. He is a loyal and obedient servant of British imperialism 

promoting an d stabilizing their political interests in occupation of 

Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) Wilson Herald a planter who arrives along 

with the British, transforms a natural forest into a coconut estate. 

Seemon Fernando a married man and outsider, arriving in the 

village starts a small scale business. In the mean time he carries on 

an affair with a woman in the village. 

Dingiri Banda who becomes friendly with Wilson construct the first 

tiled –house in the village earning the wrath and displeasure of 

Arachila who was later found guilty of felling illicit timber, and was 

sacked from office. Dingiri Banda succeeds him as the 

Arachchila. Meanwhile Wilson, who commenced a love affair with 

a beautiful village damsel Heen Menike, decides to marry her. 

Her father Appuhamy objects to the marriage on the grounds of 

cultural incompatibility and being contrary to the customs of the 

country. Podi Nilame, a grandson of Korale (Regional Chief), who 

is proud of his ancestry as well as his country, become indebted to 

Seemon and turns himself a tenant cultivator in his own land. 

Heen Menike become pregnant by Wilson and her mother Kiri 

Ethena commits sucide in pain of mind. Podi Nilame who loses 

everything goes to live a solitary life in a hut by the tank. Dingiri 

Banda marries Heen Menike. The tank that sustained the whole

village together with the tank civilization that lasted for thousands 

of years is dried up due to political, economic and cultural 

exploitation by the intruders, local and foreign, who wrecked the 

peaceful simple life of the people of Sri Lanka. 

Sudath Rohana 

Sudath entered the film industry as assistant director and assistant 

editor of the highly acclaimed film ‘Viragaya’ (1985), directed by 

Tissa Abeysekera, the eminent Sri Lankan filmmaker and 

screenwriter. Then onwards, he worked in the same capacity for 

several film and tele-drama directors. He launched into his career 

as a tele drama director with Amarawathi and Somadasa.(1990) 

Sudath is a leading Sri Lankan tele-drama director who has made 

his mark in the audio-visual art of weaving family, social and 

political themes into well-written plots which millions of TV viewers 

enjoyed and admired. Sudu Kaluwara is his first feature film. 

Udugan Yamaya (Against the Tide) 


Director: Sudath Devapriya 

Screenplay: Sudath Devapriya 

Camera: M.D. Mahindapala 


Sound: Kalinga Gihan Perera 

Art Direction: Rohan Samaradivakara 

Cast: Mauli Ferdinando, Tisuri Uwanika, Chandani Seneviratne, 

Suminda Sirisena, Richard Weerakkodi, Saumya Liyanage, Giriraj 

Kaushalya, Duleeka Marapana 

Synopsis 

This story is set in a remote village of Sri Lanka during the period of 

1989 civil war between young left wing insurgents and the state. 

Sirimal, a nine-year-old boy, lives with his parents in this village. 

Srimal’s father is the village ferryman. The suspicious activities of 

some rebel youth in the area and the occasional sound of 

gunshots do not go unnoticed. The Army visits the village looking 

for these youths and accuse the villagers about harbouring

terrorists. The Idyllic life of the village is slowly torn apart by the 

threat of sudden abductions and disappearances as the violence 

worsens. One day Srimal’s father goes missing with his ferryboat. 

Srimal is shocked and ends up in a withdrawn mental state. His 

mother looks for her husband in every Army prison camp... 

When the revolt is finally and brutally crushed by the State forces, 

the curfew is lifted, schools re-open and life slowly returns to 

normal. With the election of a new government a new era is born 

in the country. State officials visit the village, making inquires about 

the disappeared and offering cash compensation to their families. 

Bodies are being found in unmarked graves around the country. 

When Sirimal’s father’s body is finally discovered, Sirimal does not 

accept the fact that his father is dead. For him, his father is still 

alive and larger than life... 

Sudath Devapriya 

Sudath Devapriya entered the world of arts through the Si Lanka 

stage. Having acted in a number of stage plays, he followed a 

course in theatre arts for children and young adults conduct by 

the well known theatre personality Somalatha Subasinghe in 1981. 

He joined the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (Sri Lanka’s 

national television Channel) in 1983 as an Assistant Director and 

was responsible for the production of a large number of children’s 

dramas. In 1998 he directed a teledrama for children based on 

the popular novel ‘Ambayahaluwo” (The Best Friends) by well 

known novelist T.B.Illangarathe. His pioneer film creation “Elivena 

Davasa” won the award for the Best Screen Script at the Youth 

Festival organized by the National Youth Services Centre in Sri 

Lanka. His second Film “The Crossing” won two awards at the Sri 

Lanka Film critics Forum Award 1991 and was screened at the Faja 

International Film Festival in Iran and at Sao Paulo in Brazil. 

“Against the Tide” produced in 2003, is his third Film. 

Walapatala (Penumbra) 

2005, 

Director: Vijitha Gunarathne

Screenplay: Vijitha Gunarathna 

Camera: K.D.Dayananda 


Sound: Kalinga Gihan Perera 

Art Direction: Lal Harindranath 

Cast: Gamini Hathtotuwegama, Jayalath Manorathna, Saumya 

Liyanage, Palitha Silva, Jayani Senanayaka, Deepani Silva, 

Duleeka Marapana 

Synopsis 

As a radical political movement of youth spreads through the 

village, the politician Jayasundara senses threats against his 

political carrier. With the help from the school teacher 

Batuawaththa, a group of youth organizes a health information 

meeting in their village. The chief medical Doctor Manoharen, a 

leading member of the village community, participates as the 

resource person. Suddenly the meeting is interrupted by a violent 

attack made by a gang, and a boy gets injured. It becomes 

clear that Jayasundara and businessman Chatin are behind the 

attack. The Police Chief also is part of the power-circle of the 

village and closely collaborates with Jayasundara. He tries to 

persuade Manoharen not to write a medical report on the injured 

boy while arranging an arrest of the school teacher Batuwaththa 

and a few members of the youth circle’ Meanwhile a mother 

comes with her seven-month-old daughter to the hospital where 

Manoharen works. Jayasundara tries to discredit Manoharan by 

leaving allegations about misconduct; he bribes staff workers to 

spread rum ours about him. Finally they fabricate a story to the 

effect that he was drunk when he was starting the surgical 

operation on the baby. The operation is stopped. The baby is 

driven to another hospital. She dies during the second operation 

there. 

Vijitha Gunarathne 

Vijitha Gunarathna is a very special representative of the radical 

youth, who took up arms is an anti-state rebellion in Sri Lanka in 

1971. He survived the violent reprisals and while spending his days 

(1971-1973) in a ‘rehabilitation camp’ he directed his first full 

length play with the inmates, “Ladder and a Donkey’. Later he got

the opportunity to study in Sweden receiving a chance follow a 

full-time course in Drama and theatre in the Swedish state drama 

institution during the period 1976-1979. He came back to Sri Lanka 

in 1980 and thus began his brilliant carrier as playwright and a 

stage director in the Sri Lankan theatre. ‘Penumbra’ his first full 

length film.

CANNES KALEIDOSCOPE 2010 

Adrienn Pal 

Hungary, 2010, 136 minutes 

Director: Agnes Kocsis 

Screenplay: Ágnes Kocsis, Andrea Roberti 

Camera: Ádám Fillenz 

Editor: Tamás Kollányi 

Set Designer: Adrien Asztalos, Alexandra Maringer 

Sound: Herman Pieete 

Costume Design: Júlia Patkós, Mónika Kiss-Matyi 

Cast: Éva Gábor, István Znamenák, Ákos Horváth, Lia Pokornyi, 

Izabella Hegyi 

Synopsis 

Everyday life on the palliative care ward is an odious chore for the 

phlegmatic nurse Piroska – until she overhears the name of a new 

patient: Adrienn Pál. That’s what her best friend at school was 

called. However, it turns out that this patient is a moribund old 

woman. The memories now awoken motivate Piroska to search for 

her friend, with whom she has long lost contact. Her recollections 

spark a trip back to her childhood, her own memories mix with 

those of other people whose path she has crossed. Step by step, 

the overweight Piroska overcomes her mental lethargy. With each 

of her visits, she discovers more and more about herself and her 

school friend, and gradually finds her way back into real life. 

--------------------------------------------------- 

Certified Copy 

Iran/France/Italy, 2010, 106 minutes 

Director: Abbas Kiarostami 

Screenplay: Abbas Kiarostami 

Camera: Luca Bigazzi 

Editor: Bahman Kiarostami

Sound: Olivier Hespel, Dominique Vieillard 

Set Design: Giancarlo Basili, Ludovica Ferrario 

Producers: Marin Karmitz, Nathanaël Karmitz, Charles Gillibert 

and Angelo Barbagallo 

Cast: Juliette Binoche, William Shimell, James Miller, Jean-Claude 

Carriere, Gianna Giachetti, Adrian Moore 

Synopsis 

This is the story of a meeting between one man and one woman, 

in a small Italian village in Southern Tuscany. The man is a British 

author who has just finished giving a lecture at a conference. 

The woman, from France, owns an art gallery. This is a common 

story that could happen to anyone, anywhere. 

Abbas Kiarostami 

Abbas Kiarostami was born on 22 June 1940 in Teheran, Iran. He showed a 

keen interest in drawing early on and, at age 18, entered a graphic-art contest 

and won. He studied at the fine arts school in Teheran whilst making ends 

meet as a graphic designer, poster illustrator and commercial ad director. 

In 1969, he founded the cinema department of the Institute for the 

Intellectual Development of Children & Young Adults, which is also where he 

directed his first short films. In his first film, THE BREAD AND THE ALLEY, 

(1970), Abbas Kiarostami explores the weight of images and the relationship of 

realism and fiction. His preferred theme, the universe of childhood, is expressed 

over a long series of short, medium length and feature films, during which he 

has managed to establish a subtle balance between narrative and documentary 

style. HOMEWORK (1989), his last childhood film, is a good example of warm 

and poetic cinema that discreetly denounces the heavy aspects of Iranian 

society. With CLOSE-UP (1990), he turned a page. In less than one week, the 

director embraced a news story and, with the participation of the real life 

protagonists, made it a pretext to introduce reality into the realm of fiction. 

LIFE AND NOTHING MORE (1992) and THROUGH THE OLIVE TREES 

(1994) complete a trilogy that began with WHERE IS MY FRIEND’S HOUSE? 

(1990). In the latter, the devastating effects of an earthquake in northern Iran 

serve to uncover the lie that is cinema. 

-----------------------------

The City Below 

Germany, 2010, 110 minutes 

Director: Christoph Hochhausler 

Screenplay: Christoph Hochhausler, Ulrich Peltzer 

Camera: Bernhard Keller 

Editor: Stefan Stabenow 

Sound: Michael Busch, Rainer Heesch 

Set Designer: Tim Pannen 

Cast: Wolfgang Bock, Robert Hunger-Buhler, Corinna Kirchhoff, 

Nicolette Krebitz, Vam-Lam Vissay, Mark Waschke 

Synopsis 

A man and a woman at an art exhibition share a fleeting moment 

of attraction, which neither can act upon. Days later, a chance 

second meeting leads to an innocent coffee and the two 

strangers – both married - toy with their unexplainable fascination 

for each other. Svenja is curious and finds herself in a hotel room 

with Roland, but she does not consummate an affair. A powerful 

executive at the large bank where Svenja's husband works, 

Roland is used to getting what he wants. He manipulates the 

transfer of her husband to Indonesia to replace a recently 

murdered bank manager. Unaware of Roland’s actions, Svenja 

now ceases to resist... 

Christoph Hochhausler 

Christoph Hochhausler, born 1972, is a German film director 

screenwriter. In 2005, he made his first film, Low Profile, which 

made it to the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film 

Festival. The City Below is his second feature and it played in the 

same section in Cannes earlier this year. 

---------------------------------------- 

Film Socialisme 

Switzerland, 2010, 101 minutes 

Director: Jean-Luc Godard

Cast: Robert Maloubier, Patti Smith, Jean Marc Stehlee, Catherine 

Tanvier 

Synopsis 

A symphony in three movements. Things such as: 

A Mediterranean cruise. Numerous conversations, in numerous 

languages, between the passengers, almost all of whom are on 

holiday... 

Our Europe 

At night, a sister and her younger brother have summoned their 

parents to appear before the court of their childhood. The 

children demand serious explanations of the themes of Liberty, 

Equality and Fraternity. 

Our humanities 

Visits to six sites of true or false myths: Egypt, Palestine, Odessa, 

Hellas, Naples and Barcelona. 

Jean-Luc Godard 

Jean-Luc Godard is a French and Swiss filmmaker and one of the 

founding members of the Nouvelle Vague, or "French New Wave". 

Godard was born to Franco-Swiss parents in Paris. He attended 

school in Nyon, Switzerland, and at the Lycée Rohmer, and the 

Sorbonne in Paris. During his time at the Sorbonne, he became 

involved with the young group of filmmakers and film theorists that 

gave birth to the New Wave. 

Many of Godard's films challenged the conventions of Hollywood 

cinema, and he was often considered the most extreme New 

Wave filmmaker. His films often expressed his political ideologies as 

well as his knowledge of film history. In addition, Godards' films 

often cited existential and Marxist philosophy. 

--------------------------------------------- 

Outrage 

Japan, 2010, 109 minutes

Director: Takeshi Kitano 

Screenplay: Takeshi Kitano 

Camera: Katsumi Yanigijima 

Editor: Yoshinori Ota, Takeshi Kitano 

Sound: Senji Horiuchi 

Production Design: Norihiro Isoda 

Music: Keiichi Suzuki 

Cast: Ryo Kase, Jun Kinimura, Tomokazu Miura, Kippei Shina, Beat 

Takeshi 

Synopsis 

In a ruthless battle for power, several yakuza clans vie for the favor 

of their head family in the Japanese underworld. The rival bosses 

seek to rise through the ranks by scheming and making 

allegiances sworn over saké. Long-time yakuza Otomo has seen 

his kind go from elaborate body tattoos and severed fingertips to 

becoming important players on the stock market. Theirs is a neverending 

struggle to end up on top, or at least survive, in a corrupt 

world where there are no heroes but constant betrayal and 

vengeance... 

Takeshi Kitano 

Takeshi Kitano (born January 18, 1947) is a Japanese filmmaker, 

comedian, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, 

painter, and one-time video game designer who has received 

critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his 

highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. With the exception of his 

works as a film director, he is known almost exclusively by the 

name Beat Takeshi. Since April 2005, he has been a professor at 

the Graduate School of Visual Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts. 

Kitano owns his own talent agency and production company. 

---------------------------------- 

Route Irish 

UK/France/Belgium/Italy/Spain, 2010, 109 minutes 

Director: Ken Loach

Screenplay: Paul Laverty 

Camera: Chris Menges 

Editor: Jonathan Morris 

Set Designer: Fergus Clegg 

Music: George Fenton 

Cast: Andrea Lowe, Mark Womack, John Bishop, Trevor Williams 

Synopsis 

Liverpool, August 1976. 5-year-old Fergus met Frankie on his first 

day at school. They’ve been in each others’ shadow ever since. 

As teenagers they skipped school and drank cider on the ferry 

over the River Mersey, dreaming about travelling the world. Little 

did Fergus realise his dream would come true as a highly trained 

member of the UK’s elite special forces, the SAS. 

After resigning in September 2004, Fergus persuaded Frankie (by 

now an ex-Para)to join his security team in Baghdad. £10,000 a 

month, tax free. Their last chance to "load up" in this increasingly 

privatised war. Together they risked their lives in a city steeped in 

violence, terror and greed, and awash with billions of US dollars. In 

September 2007, Frankie died on Route Irish, the most dangerous 

road in the world. 

Back in Liverpool, a grief-stricken Fergus rejects the official 

explanation, and begins his own investigation into his soul mate’s 

death. Only Rachel, Frankie’s partner, grasps the depth of Fergus’s 

sorrow, and the lethal possibilities of his fury. As Fergus tries to find 

out what happened to Frankie on Route Irish, he and Rachel grow 

closer. As he approaches the truth behind Frankie’s death, 

Fergus struggles to find his old self and the happiness he shared 

with Frankie twenty years earlier on the Mersey. 

Ken Loach 

Ken Loach was born in 1936 in Nuneaton. He attended King 

Edward VI Grammar School and went on to study law at St. Peter's 

Hall, Oxford. After a brief spell in the theatre, Loach was recruited 

by the BBC in 1963 as a television director. This launched a long 

career directing films for television and the cinema, from Cathy 

Come Home and Kes in the ‘60s to Land and Freedom, Sweet

Sixteen, The Wind That Shakes the Barley and Looking for Eric in 

recent years. 

---------------------------------- 

A Screaming Man 

Chad/France/Belgium, 2010, 92 minutes 

Director: Mahmat-Saleh Haroun 

Screenplay: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun 

Camera: Laurent Brunet 

Editor: Marie-Helen Dozo 

Sound: Dana Farzanehpour 

Music: Wasis Diop 

Cast: Emil Abossolo M’byo, Youssouf Djaoro, Diouc Komal, 

Djeneba Kone, Heling Li, Hadje Fatime Ngoua, Marius Yelolod 

Synopsis 

Present-day Chad. Adam, sixty something, a former swimming 

champion, is pool attendant at a smart N’Djamena hotel. When 

the hotel gets taken over by new Chinese owners, he is forced to 

give up his job to his son Abdel. Terribly resentful, he feels socially 

humiliated. The country is in the throes of a civil war. Rebel forces 

are attacking the government. The authorities demand that the 

population contribute to the "war effort", giving money or 

volunteers old enough to fight off the assailants. The District Chief 

constantly harasses Adam for his contribution. But Adam is 

penniless; he only has his son.... 

Mahamat-Saleh Haroun 

Born in Chad in 1961, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun left the country 

during the civil war of the 1980s and relocated to France, by way 

of Cameroon. There he worked as a journalist before studying at 

the Conservatoire Libre du Cinéma in Paris. He is now more than a 

dozen years into his career as a filmmaker, shooting primarily in 

Chad. This career has so far produced three feature films and a 

number of shorts that have made Haroun one of the leading lights 

in African cinema. He excels at spinning narratives that begin with 

easily recognizable situations – usually the loss of a parent – and 

expand to encompass allegorical and political reflection on the

state of Chadian society. Often calm on the surface, Haroun’s 

filmmaking belies this calm with simmering strains of anger and 

melancholy. 

--------------------------------- 

The Tree 

Australia-France, 2010, 100 minutes 

Director: Julie Bertuccelli 

Screenplay: Julie Bertuccelli, adapted from Judy Pascoe's Our 

Father Who Art in the Tree 

Camera: Nigel Bluck 

Editor: Francois Gédigier 

Sound: Olivier Mauvezin 

Set Design: Steven Jones-Evans 

Costume Design: Joanna Mae Park 

Music: Grégoire Hetzel 

Producers: Les Films du Poisson (Yaël Fogiel & Laetitia Gonzalez), 

Taylor Media (Sue Taylor) 

Cast: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Marton Csokas, Morgana Davies, 

Aden Young, Gillian Jones, Penne Hackforth-Jones, Christian 

Bayers, Tom Russell, Gabriel Gotting, Zoe Boe 

Synopsis 

After the sudden death of her husband, Dawn must face her own 

mourning yet still care for her four children. Her only daughter, 8- 

year-old Simone, seems to take the loss the hardest of all. Simone 

shares a special secret with her mother: her father whispers to her 

through the leaves of the magnificient tree next to their home. 

Convinced he’s come back to protect the family, Simone spends 

more and more time up in the tree, speaking with her father. Soon, 

Dawn herself becomes mesmerized by the tree's commanding 

presence. When Dawn becomes more intimate with George, her 

new employer, the bond between mother and daughter is 

threatened. With branches infiltrating the house and roots 

destroying the foundations, the tree seems to be siding with 

Simone. Fearful the tree is in danger of being cut down, she 

protests by setting up house high up in the branches. But Dawn 

refuses to let the tree take control of her family...

Julie Bertuccelli 

Julie Bertuccelli started her film career as an assistant director, 

working with acclaimed directors such as Krzysztof Kieślowski, 

Bertrand Tavernier, Otar Iosseliani and Emmanuel Finkiel. She has 

also directed several highly regarded documentaries. Her feature 

debut was Since Otar Left, which she both wrote and directed, 

went on to win several major awards including the Grand Prize, 

International Critics Week, at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004 and 

a Cesar Award for Best First Feature. 

-------------------------------- 

We Are What We Are 

Mexico, 2010, 90 minutes 

Director: Jorge Michel Grau 

Screenplay: Jorge Michel Grau 

Camera: Santiago Sánchez 

Editor: Rodrigo Ríos Legaspi 

Sound: Federico Schmucler 

Music: Enrico Chapela 

Art Direction: Alejandro García 

Producer: Nicolás Celis 

Production: Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica 

Calzada de Tlalpan 1670, Col. Country Club, CP 04220, 

Mexico City, México 

Cast: Francisco Barreiro, Alan Chávez, Paulina Gaytán, Carmen 

Beato, Jorge Zarate, Esteban Soberánes, Daniel Giménez Cacho, 

Juan Carlos Colombo 

Synopsis 

A family is forsaken when the father dies; from that moment on his 

children and his widow confront a tempestuous moment. The four 

of them will have to face their worst nightmare, get food by 

themselves. Now, as it is decried, the oldest of the siblings, a 

confused teenager, will have to guide them all. 

Jorge Michel Grau

Jorge Michel Grau was born in Mexico City in 1973. He graduated 

with honors in directing from the Centro de capacitación 

Cinematografica (CCC), and studied communications at UNA M 

(Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) and directing at the 

Escola Superior de Cinema I Audivisuals de Catalunya (ES CAC) in 

Barcelona. Grau received a scholarship from FONCA (Fondo 

Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes/National Fund for Culture and 

Arts) in the support program for overseas studies and another from 

the Young Creators support program. He has studied stage 

direction at the National University Theatre School (CUT) and arts 

and direction with Professor Alejandro Luna at the CCC. 

He was selected for the “Morelia Lab” at the third Morelia 

International Film Festival and for the “Visionary Talent Campus” at 

the Guadalajara International Film Festival, organized by Berlinale 

Talent in March 2008. 

Somos Lo Que Hay (We Are What We Are) is Jorge Michel Grau’s 

first feature film. 

----------------------------------- 

Young Girls in Black 

France, 2010, 85 minutes 

Director: Jean Paul Civeyrac 

Screenplay: Jean Paul Civeyrac 

Camera: Hichame Alaouie 

Editor: Louise Narboni 

Sound: François Méreu, Sébastien Savine, Stéphane Thiébaut 

Cast: Elise Lhomeau, Léa Tissier, Elise Caron 

Synopsis 

Noémie and Priscilla, two teenage girls from working class 

backgrounds, cultivate the same violence, the same contempt of 

the world. They are a source of serious concern for family and 

friends, who sense them capable of going to extremes. 

Jean Paul Civeyrac

Jean Paul Civeyrac, born in Firminy in 1964, is a French director. 

After studying Philosophy at the University of Lyon, where he wrote 

a thesis on film opera. He joined La Femis. He has run the school’s 

department of directing since 1999. He has run the school's department of 

directing since 1999.

CONTEMPORARY IRANIAN CINEMA – A GLIMPSE 

The Day Goes and the Night Comes (Shabaneh-Rooz) 


Director: Omid Bonakdar and Keivan Alimohammadi 

Screenplay: Omid Bonakdar and Keivan Alimohammadi 

Camera: Morteza Poursamadi 

Editor: Omid Bonakdar, Keivan Alimohammadi, Siavash Pourkhalili 

Sound: Mehsi Saleh-Kermani 

Art Direction: Aidin Zarif 

Producer: Seyed Jamal Sadatian 

Synopsis 

Fashion designer Fouzhan Rahaie is going to marry her cousin, but when 

a young man named Babak Barman steps into her life, she must face 

new problems… Despite the hardships due to the sickness of hers and 

her mother’s as well as marriage breakdown, Marjan is trying to make a 

new start… Suffering from rheumatism and back pain, watercolor 

painter Siavash is leading a joyful life with his wife, Bahar, but bad days 

are sure to come… Because of indifference of his fiancé and schematic 

companions in the court, Taj-O-Soltaneh- Nasseredin Shah’s daughter- is 

sad and upset, but she tries to comfort herself while reviewing the past 

with her painting tutor Soleiman… 

Omid Bonakdar and Keivan Alimohammadi 

Born in 1972 in Tehran, Keivan Alimohammadi holds an BA in English 

Translation and he's a graduate of Training Center for Filmmaking too 

and he's been a film critic and translator in Iranian art magazines for 

four years. 

Born in 1969 in Tehran, Omid Bonakdar is a graduate of Training Center 

for Filmmaking who started his film career as a critic and translator for 

Iranian art periodicals. He's also an artist who has participated in some 

watercolor painting group exhibitions as well. 

Keivan and Omid made their friendship at the Training Center for 

Filmmaking and then they started their film career as critic and 

filmmaker together as a team. Keivan and Omid have co-dircted 9 short

and documentary films, edited 4 documentaries and collected 9 awards 

from Iranian film festivals. 

----------------------------- 

Evening of the 10 th Day (Asr-e Rouz-e Dahom) 

2010, 108 minutes 

Director: Mojtaba Raie 

Camera: Shapour Pour-Amin 

Editor: Hassan Hassandoust 

Costume & Production Designer: Hassan Rouhparvari 

Music: Mohammad Reza Aligholi 

Sound Recordist: Mehran Malakouti 

Sound Mix: Amir Hossein Ghasemi 

Producers: Manouchehr Mohammadi, Farabi Cinema Foundation 

World Sales: Farabi Cinema Foundation 

International Affairs 

13, 1st Floor, Delbar Alley, Toos St., Vali-Asr Ave., Tehran 19617, Iran. 

Tel: +98 21 22734939, 22741253, 22741254 

Fax: +98 21 22734953 

fcf1@dpi.net.ir / intl@fcf.ir 

http://www.fcf.ir 

Cast: Hanieh Tavassoli, Ahmad Mehranfar, Soghra Abisi, Salimeh 

Rangzan, Hossein Kahrizi, Mohammad Reza Ghaderi. 

Synopsis 

In the beginning of the Iraq’s invasion to Iran, an Iraqi sergeant found a 

baby girl after the occupation of Khorramshahr. Supposing her family 

was dead, he took the girl away. The girl’s sister was the only witness to 

what happened then. Years later, after the downfall of Saddam Hussain, 

at last sister of the lost girl, Dr. Maryam Shirazi, takes a chance to go to 

Iraq to find out about her… 

Mojtaba Raie 

Born in Isfahan in 1957, Mojtaba Raie is a graduate of filmmaking from 

the College of Cinema and Theatre of University of Arts. On his 

graduation, Raie made his debut feature, MAN AND ARMS, in 1988. He 

is best-known for Gazelle and The Birth of a Butterfly, which were 

represented and awarded in a number of international film festivals.

Feature Films: 1988 – MAN AND ARMS; 1990- SUMMER OF “79; 1992- 

THE TUNNEL; 1993- SAFE ZONE; 1995- GAZELLE; 1997- THE BIRTH OF 

A BUTTERFLY; 1998- TRIUMPHANT WARRIOR; 2003- SPRUCE; 2006- 

JOURNEY TO HIDALU; 2010- EVENING OF THE 10 th DAY. 

-------------------------------------- 

The Fateful Night (Shab-evaghe’e) 

2010, 106 minutes 

Director: Shahram Asadi 

Screenplay: Homayoun Shahnavaz 

Camera: Amir Karimi 

Editor: Hosein Ghazanfari 

Production Design: Abbas Bolvandi 

Music: Karen Homayounfar 

Sound Recordist: Yadollah Najafi 

Sound Mix: Amir Hosein Ghasemi 

Producer: Seyyed Ahmad Miralaee 

World Sales: Farabi Cinema Foundation 

International Affairs 

13, 1st Floor, Delbar Alley, Toos St., Vali-Asr Ave., Tehran 19617, Iran. 

Tel: +98 21 22734939, 22741253, 22741254 

Fax: +98 21 22734953 

fcf1@dpi.net.ir / intl@fcf.ir 

http://www.fcf.ir 

Cast: Hamid Farrokhnezhad, Ladan Mostofi, Habib Dehghan-nasab, 

Alireza Kamali-nezhad, Babak Ansari 

Synopsis 

Forty days after the outbreak of the war, Daryagholi moves his family 

from Abadan and then returns to his retail shop on the outskirts of 

Bahmanshir… 

Director’s View: The Fateful Night is the story of a journey from nothing 

to existence, from outside to inside! The whole world and our whole life 

in this world is nothing but a journey, necessarily, a journey combined 

with love, wisdom and heart! And the story of Daryagholi is the story of 

all of us, narrating a destiny, changeable and easy to penetrate! It tells 

about a path with a thousand branches and brings about that eternal 

question, “Which direction shall we take…?”

Sharam Asadi 

Born in 1954 in Salmas, Shahram Asadi started teaching at Los Angeles 

Valley College after graduating from the College of Film & Television in 

Iran, and doing postgraduate studies in U.C.L.A before his return home 

in 1988. Asadi made number of short documentaries and episodes of 

series for TV. He then was responsible for directing and producing 

several plays including “27 Wagons Full of Cotton” and “Death of a 

Salesman”. He directed his first feature Avinar in 1994, which won the 

first prize in Annonay International Film Festival 1994. Asadi is best 

known for his second feature, The Fateful Night, awarded as the best 

religious Iranian film in two decades in the opening ceremony of the 

22 nd Fajr International Film Festival 2004. He followed his directorial 

career by films such as Look at Me (2004). 

------------------------------------ 

The First Stone (Sang-e Aval) 


Director: Ebrahim Forouzesh 

Screenplay: Ebrahim Forouzesh 

Cinematography: Fereydoun Shirdel 

Editor: Bahram Dehghani 

Music: Mohammad MohammadAli 

Sound: Mehdi Saleh Kermani 

Producer: Seyed Alireza Sebt Ahmadi 

Production: Cima Film Center 

World Sales: IRIB Media Trade 

45, Hedayat St, Yakhchal Ave, Tehran, Iran 

Tel: +98 21 22548032 

Fax: +98 21 22551914 

Email: Ch_sales@iribmediatrade.ir 

Cast: Mohsen Tanabandeh, Andishe Fouladvand 

Synopsis 

Hassan Ali is the first person in the village who buys himself a 

gravestone. All villagers are surprised by Hassan Ali, making fun of him. 

Hassan Ali’s wife is mad at him and she also wants a gravestone. He 

promises to buy her one. This makes the other women in the village ask 

the same from their husbands. A challenge starts in the whole village,

everyone taking a bigger and more expensive gravestone. Many years 

later! The graveyard of the village is full of stones. But, at the age of 

108, Hassan Ali is still alive and healthy. 

Ebrahim Forouzesh 

Ebrahim Forouzesh was born in Tehran in 1939. He graduated in 

Cinema. His films include: The Jar, The Key, Children of Petroleum, 

Hamoon and Darya and Time for Love. 

------------------------------------------ 

The Other (Digari) 


Director: Mehdi Rahmani 

Screenplay: Mehran Kashani 

Camera: Reza Teimouri 

Editor: Nazanin Mofakham 

Sound: Mohammad Sheivandi 

Art Direction: Mehdi Rahmani 

Production & Sales: PFDC Company, No 35 4 TH Floor, Eastern Entrance, 

Khaghani Bldg, Somaye St, Shariaty, Tehran, Iran 

Synopsis 

A young boy is forced to go on a trip to the capital city, Tehran, with his 

soon to be step-father. Their relationship dramatically changes during 

their inevitable trip. 

Mehdi Rahmani 

Mehdi Rahmani, photographer and filmmaker, was born in Esfahan in 

1979. He graduated infilm making from I.R.I.B. University in 2005. He is 

a member of the Iranian Young Cinema Society. He has made the short 

documentaries, The Boys of Autumn, The Bridge’s Ballad and The 

Moonlight Prayer, the long documentary Smell of Tresses and the shoprt 

fiction film, Border Zone. He is a member of the Iranian Photographers’ 

Society and several photographic anthologies to his credit. The Other is 

Rahmani’s debut feature. 

-------------------------------- 

Please Do Not Disturb (Lotfan Mozahem Nashavid) 

2010, 80 minutes

Director: Mohsen Abdolvahab 

Screenplay: Mohsen Abdolvahab 

Camera: Mohammad Ahmadi 

Editor: Sepideh Abdolvahab 

Sound: Yadollah Najadi 

Art Direction: Amir Esbati 

Producers: Mohammad Ahmadi and Documentary & Experimental Film 

Center 

Sales: Iranian Independents, PO Box 15875-4769, Tehran, Iran, 

Tel: (+98-912) 3198693 

EMAIL: info@iranianindependents.com 

Cast: Baran Kosari, Afshin Hashemi, Hedayat Hashemi, Hamed Behdad, 

Shirin Yazdanian 

Synopsis 

In this film we see three stories that take place in Tehran, the capital 

city of Iran. In the first story, we see a young woman who has been 

beaten by her husband. The woman is about to complain legally, but the 

husband is concerned about his job and the embarrassment. The next 

story is about a clergyman whose wallet and documents have been 

stolen. The clergyman tries to get the documents back from the thief. 

The last story is the story of an elderly couple whose TV has broken. 

The couple is alone in the building and is afraid of opening the door to 

the young repairman. 

Mohsen Abdolvahab 

Born in 1957 in Tehran, Mohsen Abdolvahab is a graduate of Film 

Editing from IRIB College of Tehran. He started his film career by editing 

documentary and short films since 1980 and then he turned into making 

documentaries and mostly docu-fiction films. He’s already made 23 short 

and documentary films and he has received several national and 

international awards, including IDFA’s Silver Wolf Prize for Haj Abbas’ 

Wives in 2001. He co-directed two feature films, Gilaneh (2004) and 

Mainline (2006) with Rakshan Bani-Etemad as well. Please Do Not 

Disturb is his first independent feature film. 

----------------------------- 

Tehroun 

Iran-France, 2009, 95 minutes

Director: Nader Takmil Homayoun 

Screenplay: Nader T. Homayoun, Jean-Philippe Gaud, Mehdi Boustani 

Camera: Rémi Mazet 

Editor: Jean-Philippe Gaud 

Music: Christophe Julien 

Cast: Ali Ebdali, Sara Bahrami, Farzin Mohades, Missagh Zareh, Shahrzad 

Kamal Zadeh, Rovina Sekhavat, Attila Pessiani, Pejman Bazeghi 

Synopsis 

Ibrahim has left his village and family to try his luck in Teheran. 

However in this urban jungle, where everything can be bought or sold, 

the dream can rapidly turn into a nightmare. Implicated in the trafficking 

of new born babies, Ibrahim, with the help of his two friends, is forced 

to go deep into the slums of the city, in Tehroun, where cohabit 

prostitutes, beggars and gangsters... 

Nader Takmil Homayoun 

Nader Takmil Homayoun was born in Paris in 1968 and discovered Iran 

for the first time during the Islamic revolution. At the beginning of his 

career he worked there as a journalist and a film critic. In 1993 he 

passed the admission test at the directing department of LA FEMIS in 

Paris. He obtained his diploma four years later and then started to make 

films. His short film, C’est pour bientôt (2000) was selected for the 

Venice Film Festival. In 2005 he directed a documentary, Iran: A 

Cinematographic Revolution, which explored the history of Iran through 

its cinema. The film was broadcast on ARTE and awarded at several 

international film festivals. Tehroun, his first long feature, was awarded 

at the Critics Week at la Mostra de Venice 2009 and won the Grand Jury 

Prize at the Festival Premiers Plans in Angers 2010. 

----------------------- 

There is Nothing Behind the Door (Posht Dar Khabari 

Nist) 


Director: Shabnam Orfinejad 

Screenplay: Mehdi Ayoubifar & Kianoosh Ayyari 

Camera: Arash Khalaghdoost

Editor: Shabnam Orfinejad 

Sound: Amin Mirshekari 

Art Direction: Mohsen Panahi & Mahsa Azimi 

Producer: Kianoosh Ayyari 

Sales: Iranian Independents, PO Box 15875-4769, Tehran, Iran, 

Tel: (+98-912) 3198693 

EMAIL: info@iranianindependents.com 

Synopsis 

Leila, a young woman, after receiving the order for custody of her 

daughter, goes to her ex-husband’s flat, accompanied by a young 

policeman. However, the husband does not open the door. Meanwhile, a 

young jewel robber targets her sister who looks after an old woman at 

the same building. 

Shabnam Orfinejad 

Born in 1978 in Tehran, Shabnam Orfinejad is a graduate of Journalism. 

She started her film career as a script-girl and editor assistant in several 

TV series and feature films. There is Nothing Behind the Door is her first 

feature film. 

-------------------------------- 

Third Floor (Tabaghe-ye Sevvom) 


Director: Bijan Mirbagheri 

Screenplay: Bijan Mirbagheri 

Camera: S. Shahsvary 

Sound: Hossein Mafi, Kamran Saharkhiz 

Cast: Mahnaz Afshar, Pegah Ahangarani, Mehrdad Ziaie, Pasha Rostami, 

Masoud Sakhaie 

Synopsis 

The police raid a night party and everyone tries to escape at 

any cost. A drunken young girl jumps down to the third floor of 

the building and has to stay the night in the apartment of a 

lonely woman… 

Director's statement: "How do I dare to make films about 

youth? About people who do not need these films? Apparently

we have merely entertained ourselves, but young people are 

great. They are able to recognize, to decide, to stand firm for 

their ideals, to prove themselves to others... 

Bijan Mirbagheri 

Actor, director and director Bijan Mirbagheri was born in 1968 in Tehran. 

He has an arts degree in sculpture and a photography bachelor's degree 

from the Art University. He has been a painting instructor at the Centre 

of Artistic Creativity since 1985. He also works as an animator. He has 

made over 100 commercial teasers and a number of documentaries. He 

won a Silver Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival for his debut feature 

film, We Are All Fine (2005). 

-----------------------------

DIGITAL FILMS 

Billy Was a Deaf Kid 


Directors: Rhett and Burke Lewis 

Writers: Rhett and Burke Lewis 

Camera: Burke Lewis and Taylor Lewis 

Editor: Rhett and Burke Lewis 

Music: Paleo 

Cast: Rhett Lewis, Candyce Foster, Zachary Christian, Tappan 

Wybrow, Nikkol Christiansen 

Synopsis 

Billy is Archie’s brother. Archie loves Billy. Billy is deaf. Archie finds a 

toy radio to cure Billy’s deafness. Sophie thinks it’s stupid. Sophie is 

Archie’s girlfriend. Archie loves Sophie. Sophie isn’t quite sure 

about Archie. They spend their time waxing each other’s noses, 

deciding if getting slapped is worse than getting spit on, and 

arguing about anything that’s not worth arguing about. Then one 

day, Archie decides to steal Billy fare and square from their 

repressive sister. The adventure that follows will force them to 

seriously consider: Can relationships solely rely on riding couches 

through carwashes? Is a toy radio the cure to deafness? Is it legal 

to throw dead animals in dumpsters? These turn out to be very 

important questions in the lives of Archie, Sophie and Billy. And 

finding the answers come at a high price. 

Rhett and Burke Lewis 

Rhett and Burke Lewis are a scoop of Mango Crème Fudge in a 

plain old Vanilla filmmaking world. They grew up making ninjaaction 

movies in their backyard, where they became incredibly 

gifted with being able to light Rhett on fire and catch it on 

camera. They also consider themselves true filmmaking mavericks, 

because they both loved wearing cowboy boots when they were 

younger. Billy Was a Deaf Kid is their first feature. 

-----------------------------------

Holidays 


Director: Victor Moreno 

Screenplay: Victor Moreno 

Camera: Carlos Vasquez 

Editors: Víctor Moreno, Martin Eller 

Sound: Antonio de Benito 

Production & Sales: Víctor Moreno Rodríguez victor.moreno@dnoise.net 

+34 600505576 

Synopsis 

Each year thousands of tourists goes to Lanzarote for sun and 

beach while they recorded their routines. At the same time, some 

people still keep alive the awareness of their traditions and 

heritage of a figure like César Manrique. Confronted two worlds 

that show the complex co-existence between tradition and 

progress. 

Victor Moreno 

Victor Moreno is a Spanish writer-director who has been making 

films since 2007. His credits include: 

Fajas y corsés 2007 (short film) 

Fauna humana 2008 (short film) 

Felices fiestas 2008 (short film) 

El extraño 2009 (Winner of NOTODOFILMFEST 2009) (short film) 

El Género 2009 (short film) 

Gran enana 2009 (short film) 

Holidays 2010 (feature film) 

Feriantes 2010 (short film) 

---------------------------------------- 

The Red Machine 


Director: Stephanie Argy & Alec Boehm

Screenplay: Stephanie Argy & Alec Boehm 

Camera: Alec Boehm 

Editor: Pansy Heritage 

Production Design: Mel Horan 

Music and Sound Design: Mabel Echo 

Costumes: Kathy Pillsbury, Annemarie von Firley 

Producers: Stephanie Argy, Alec Boehm & Ken Cortland 

Cast: Lee Perkins, Donal Thoms-Cappello, Meg Brogan, Mauree 

Snyder, Eddie Lee, Madoka Kasahara 

Synopsis 

Washington DC, 1935: A hot-headed ace safecracker (Donal 

Thoms-Cappello) is forced to collaborate with a cool-as-ice U.S. 

Navy spy (Lee Perkins) to pull off the heist of a lifetime: Japan's 

Foreign Office has completely transformed its secret military codes 

and a prominent Japanese diplomat holds the key to his country's 

secrets in the form of a mysterious machine. As the thief and spy 

work together to unravel the workings of the device, they find 

more to the job than they bargained for as things get personal. 

Stephanie Argy and Alec Boehm 

Stephanie Argy and Alec Boehm began their writing and directing 

career with a series of short films, including the mock 1933 

newsreel, Gandhi at the Bat, which earned an honorable mention 

BAFTA at its world premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival, and 

Scene, the lead actor of which received a 2006 Scottish BAFTA for 

his performance. 

--------------------------------- 

Three Quarters 

Italy, 2009, 75 minutes 

Director: Roberto Longo 

Screenplay: Roberto Longo 

Camera: Roberto Longo 

Editor: Roberto Longo 

Sound: Francesco Franchina (audio), Alex Baranowski (music) 

Production Design: Roberto Longo

Production & Sales: Roberto Longo, via Galvani 13, 20010 

Vanzago (Milan), Italy 

Synopsis 

In an unrecognizable Milan, cold and inhuman, the marital 

relationship of Eva and Daniel floats through a sea made of halftruths 

and rigid daily routine. When the ability to hide his nature, 

that Daniele has always made a shield, crumbles unexpectedly, 

he will face his fearsome instincts. A man who comes from afar 

affects the fragile balance between the couple. 

Roberto Longo 

Born in Milan, May 1980. After graduating in 1999, he dedicated 

himself to music, photography and art until 2005 when it was his 

passion for cinema that took over. In 2006 he began a 

collaboration with Domus Film, a small production house in Milan. 

In 2007, along with other independent filmmakers, he founded 

“Filmaking.it”, a website and forum dedicated to Italian 

filmmaking, where he is still an administrator. The year 2007 was 

also when Roberto began work on TreQuarti (Three Quarters), the 

feature film which would take two years to complete. He is at 

present working on the screenplay of his next feature film with 

writer Massimo Vavassori. 

--------------------------------- 

New Brooklyn 


Director: Christopher Cannucciari 

Screenplay: Christopher Cannucciari 

Camera: Mark Karinja 

Editor: Brian Savelson 

Sound: Thomas Byrd 

Production Design: Marina Parker 

Music: Kyle Bobby Dunn 

Cast: Blanca Lewin, Pablo Cerda, Matt Cavenaugh, Frank Harts 

Synopsis

A young woman’s idealist vision of New York is suddenly dissolved 

after a shocking event happens in a place she thought was safe. 

Back home in Chile, Marta’s boyfriend, Alvaro, had kept her well 

protected and sheltered. Now that she is in Brooklyn without him, 

she is uncertain how to stop her abuser, Eddie. She pines for her 

roommate Angela’s help, but Angela blindly loves her brother 

Eddie and would never believe him capable of such a crime. 

Marta continues on with her life as she muses about the 

connection of Brooklyn’s gentrification to her abuse. Her one 

hope of salvation is the approaching arrival of her Chilean 

boyfriend. Alvaro eventually comes to New York, but instead of 

helping Marta he has plans of his own... 

Christopher Cannucciari 

Christopher Cannucciari is a writer and director based in 

Brooklyn, New York. He has produced reality television for MTV, 

most Made. Cannucciari draws much of his inspiration from his 

time working asan International photojournalist and street 

photographer for Washington Post and LA Times, while he was 

living more in Italy. He is best known for the creation of the online 

sensation, “Great Depression Cooking With Clara” with 2.5 million 

hits and counting. The success of the web episodes has led to 

Cannucciari’s first published book, Clara’s Kitchen. He has also 

been a part of the Peabody Award-winning Onion News 

Network. He has shot over 300 webisodes and is the head Director 

of Photographers for Onion’s” IFC and Comedy Central television 

shows. Cannuciari has a special talent in engaging everyday 

people and getting them to open up to the camera with 

surprising confidence. He is currently writing his next feature, which 

he will be directing in 2011. 

------------------------------------ 

God is D_ad 

USA/Korea, 2010, 96 minutes 

Director: Abraham Lim 

Camera: Abraham Lim 

Editor: Abraham Lim 

Sound: Joon Hyun Cho

Art Direction: Min Ah Lee 

Production: Abraham Lim 

Sales: Wonderphil Productions LLC, Phil Gorn, phil@wonderphil.biz 

Cast: Cy Shim, Derek Hicks, Elvis Garcia, Brett Emanuel, Lauren 

Mayer 

Synopsis 

God is D_ad is a playful road trip caper that follows a group of 

awkward misfits as they try to navigate the road to adulthood. Set 

in Kansas in 1987, the film begins with Tim, an aspiring role-playing 

game “master” who hopes to win a tournament being held in 

Chicago. He enlists four acquaintances to accompany him and 

his R.V. on the trip; unbeknownst to Tim, each person has his or her 

own reasons for coming along—and all of their reasons conflict. 

Alluding heavily to ‘80s-era role-playing games such as Dungeons 

& Dragons, GOD IS D_AD ponders what it really means to “choose 

your character:” the person you are, the person others think you 

are, or the person you aspire to be. Shot in both the U.S. and South 

Korea, God is D_ad features an elaborately produced Korean 

fantasy world (rendered both in live-action and animation), which 

contrasts and comments on the more “earthly” R.V.- bound lives 

of the film’s protagonists. 

Abraham Lim 

Abraham Lim describes himself as “a DIY tech savvy filmmaker 

who was lucky to edit a Robert Altman film right out of school and 

have him executive produce my first film”. He made the short film, 

Toy, for Fox Searchlight Searchlab that went to Sundance in 2003. 

God is De_d was made possible by a grant that Lim received from 

the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) at the Pusan Film Festival in 2006. 

---------------------------------------- 

brilliantlove 

UK, 2010, 97 minutes 

Director: Ashley Horner 

Writer: Sean Conway

Camera: Simon Tindall 

Editor: Ben Wilson 

Sound: Nigel Crooks 

Music: Sol Seppy 

Set Designer: Julie Ann Horan and Emma Crossley 

Cast: Liam Browne, Nancy Trotter Landry, Michael Hodgson 

Synopsis 

Over a long, hot summer, Manchester, a novice photographer, 

documents his love affair with his taxidermist girlfriend, Noon. Franny, 

a wealthy pornographer, discovers the wonderfully charged images 

and launches Manchester on an unsuspecting art world. Sudden 

success threatens to poison their once idyllic life together… 

Ashley Horner 

Ashley Horner (May 1, 1969) misspent the early 90’s as a 

minor pop star with indie art rockers PALE SAINTS. Coming 

late to a love of cinema meant film school beckoned in 

Newcastle upon Tyne and Toronto, where he made his first 

shorts and spent years cutting celluloid. ROB OF THE 

ROVERS, his first grown up film, screened at Rotterdam, 

Bermuda, Bilbao and Bradford in 2002. 

In 2007 Ashley completed his first feature The Other 

Possibility, a rock and roll cancer film, shot in Newcastle and 

Berlin, starring Nora von Waldstätten and the spirit of Lester 

Bangs. It received its premiere in July 2007 at the Galway 

Film Festival. 

Ashley Horner has just completed his second feature 

‘brilliantlove’, an erotic drama, that caused a stir at the 

recent Tribeca Film Festival in New York. Described by 

festival programmer Roya Rastegar as “a gorgeous and 

dangerous marinade of passion, art, and ambition that 

languorously intoxicates the senses”. 

Ashley is also an ACE producer (Ateliers du Cinema 

European).

Kill the Habit 

Belgium/Greece/Italy/USA, 2010, 80 minutes 

Director: Laura Neri 

Screenplay: Laura Neri 

Camera: Gavin Kelly 

Editor: Corey Ziemniak 

Sound: Ramsey Mellette, Francois Dompierre 

Art Director: Ray Luckey 

Production & Sales: Circus Road Films, Glen Reynolds 

glen@circusroadfilms.com, Sebastian Twardosz 

seb@circusroadfilms.com 

Cast: Lili Miroinick, Katerina Moutsatsos, Mari-Elena Laas, Joe 

Lia, Carce Clayton 

Synopsis 

21-year-old Galia (Lili Mirojnick from loverfield) finds herself in a 

bind after killing her unscrupulous drug dealer Lyle (Joe Lia from 

FAQs and Shamelove). She calls on her long-suffering best friend 

Soti (Katerina Moutsatsos, seen in Todd Philips’s The Hangover) to 

help her out. The two find themselves stuck in Lyle’s apartment 

with his fiery Latina wife, Cardamosa (Maria Elena Laas from The 

Hot Chick), who as it turns out hated his guts and is more than 

happy to help them get rid of the body – as long as they share his 

cash. However, getting rid of the corpse is of very little interest to 

Galia, whose first priority is to get her brother Frank (Cayce 

Clayton) out of police custody following a botched burglary 

attempt, and to get them both home in time for their baby 

brother’s bris. Soti’s priority, on the other hand, is to get Galia to 

quit using drugs RIGHT NOW. The three girls must find a way to 

cooperate long enough to avoid arrest and dump the body 

somewhere safe… 

Laura Neri 

Laura Neri was born in Belgium of a Greek mother and an Italian 

father, which meant she had to learn three languages by the time 

she was four. She got her BA with Honors in Film Analysis and 

Screenwriting at the UniversitÈ Libre de Bruxelles, where 2-times 

Palme d’Or winner Luc Dardenne was her teacher and thesis

mentor. She then got an MFA in Film Production at the University of 

Southern California, where she was the recipient of a grant by the 

Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. She was also 

selected by USC to receive a full scholarship for two years. 

She has written and directed several short films which have 

screened at festivals worldwide, including A Kiss on the Nose 

which was screened at more than 50 festivals and won over 15 

awards. 

Laura Neri premiered at Cinequest with her first feature film, Kill 

the Habit, a dark comedy. 

---------------------- 

Relatos (Stories) 


Director: Mario Iglesias 

Screenplay: Mario Iglesias 

Camera: Mario Iglesias 

Art Director: Isabel rey 

Sound: Xabier Souto 

Costumes: Maria Hernanz 

Producers: Daniel Froiz, Mario Iglesias 

Cast: Concepcion Gonzalez, Luis Callejo, Yago Presa, Mariana 

Carballal, Isabel Rey 

Synopsis 

Rosario Francesc is a writing housewife, living a completely 

conventional life, who visits the psychotherapist because of her 

panic episodes at night. In a few sessions, the psychotherapist 

confronts her with her own acceptance as a writer. She should risk 

the opinion of others, show her work to the people of her 

environment and have a go at publishing companies. Rosario 

does so, but on the way there come up questions like fears, 

feelings of guilt, and the discovery of sexual expressions in her 

relationship with persons outside the marriage. Her stories reflect, in 

some way, all this; they explore the world around her beyond her 

little problems and come along with Rosario's own history.

Mario Iglesias 

Mario Iglesias was born in Pontevedra, Spain, in 1962. He 

graduated in Art at the University of Vigo and did his first steps in 

the audio-visual world at the beginning of the 90’s. Since 2002 he 

concentrates completely on his career as an auteur, writing and 

directing his own short and feature films. 

FILMS 

2008: Relatos (Stories) 

2007: El desayuno del poeta. (The poet’s breakfast). HD 

documentary film. 

2007: Cartas Italianas (Italian letters), Digital feature film 

2006: Catalina. HD feature film. 

2006: De Bares (Bars). Digital feature film 

2006: Madres (Mothers). Digital short film. 

2003: Intensidad (Intensity). Digital short film. 

2003: El Sueño Matriusko (The Matriuska Dream). Digital short film. 

2003: La Chica Maravillosa (The Wonderful Girl). Digital short film. 

2002: La Calidez” (The Warmth). Digital short film. 

2002: Mensaje (Message). Digital short film for Internet. 

2002: Corten! (Cut!). Digital short film. 

2001: Salmo 23 (Psalm 23). Digital video. 

2000: El monstruo de la playa (The monster of the beach).

Student Cinema & the New Risk Takers 

A selection of creatively compelling recent films 

from India’s Film Schools 

INAUGURAL ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE by INDIAN OCEAN 

----------------------------------------------------------------------- 

MEET THE FILMMAKERS & THEIR MENTORS 

AT OPEN FORUM, November 25 th 

SESSION THEME: “CINEMATIC COURAGE & CONVICTION” 

---------------------------------------------------------------- 

Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata 

Launched in the late 20 th century, this dynamic film school has quickly emerged as a 

21 st century institution fully equipped for the future of the medium. 

SRFTI is an autonomous academic institute under the Government of India’s Ministry 

of Information and Broadcasting. Named after one of India’s, indeed the world’s, 

supreme filmmakers, the institute is situated on the eastern fringe of Kolkata in a 

sprawling green campus dotted with two gorgeous lakes. 

At present, SRFTI runs three-year fulltime Post Graduate Diploma in Cinema 

programs offering specialization in Direction & Screenplay Writing, Cinematography, 

Editing and Sound Design. In the offing are courses on Animation and Production 

Management. 

Germ 

Hindi, 2009, 24 minutes, B&W, 35 mm 

Director: Snehal Nair

Cast: Aniruddha, Siddhartha, Aryan 

Screenplay: Snehal Nair 

Cinematography: Sayak Bhattacharya 

Editor: Tinni Mitra 

Sound: Ayan Bhattacharya 

Festival Participation: 29 th Munich International Festival of 

Film Schools November 15 – 21, 2009 

13 th International Student Film Festival, Tel Aviv June 5 – 12, 

2010 

41 st Indian International Film Festival, Indian Panorama. 

Awards: Best Cinematography at Munich International Festival 

of Film Schools. 

Best Experimental Film at The 13th International Student Film 

Festival, Tel Aviv. 

Synopsis 

A filmmaker, inspired by black and white passport photographs, 

sets off on a journey shooting footage of a rising metropolis 

where the people of the pictures once lived. 

Snehal Nair 

Snehal Nair is from Ahmedabad, Gujrat. He completed his Post 

Graduate Diploma in Cinema, specializing in Direction & 

Screenplay Writing from SRFTI, Kolkata. Germ is his final year 

diploma film. 

Charithram 

Malayalam, 2010, 10:42 minutes, Colour, 35 mm 

Director: M S Praveen 

Cast: M R Gopakumar, Gopalakrishnan, Saritha Sunil 

Screenplay: M S Praveen 

Cinematography: Nikhil Arolkar 

Editor: Sounak Chakraborty 

Sound: Amit Kumar Dutta 

Art Direction: Sunil 

Synopsis 

Sixty-year-old widower Parameswaran lives with his 30-year-old 

son Kanan in a traditional Brahmin house. One night Kanan

ings home a Muslim girl, Shahina. To give her shelter he 

conceals her Muslim identity and introduces her as 

Krishnapriya to his orthodox father. 

M S Praveen 

Born in 1978 in Trissur, Kerala. He completed his BA in 

Malayalam Literature in 2000 and PG course at FTII on 

Screenplay Writing. Currently he is in his final year at SRFTI 

specializing in Direction & Screenplay Writing. Charithram is 

his second year short film project. 

My Armenian Neighbourhood 

English, 2010, 27 minutes, Colour, DigiBeta 

Director: Samimitra Das 

Screenplay: Samimitra Das 

Cinematography: K Appalaswamy 

Editor: Reshmima Dutta 

Sound: Avik Chatterjee 

Festival Participation: 3 rd 

Film Festival, Kerala. 

International Documentary and Short 

Awards: Best Cinematography at 3 rd 

and Short Film Festival, Kerala. 

International Documentary 

Synopsis 

The documentary takes a look at the Armenian community of 

Kolkata, who originally had arrived much before the city had 

its name. They are credited with having built the oldest 

building of the city. 

Samimitra Das 

Samimitra is currently in his final year at SRFTI specializing 

in Direction & Screenplay Writing. My Armenian Neighbourhood 

is his second year documentary project. 

Chhayapath 

Bengali, 2010, 8:30 minutes, Colour, 35 mm 

Director: Ashim Paul

Cast:Deepak Haldar, Krishna Dutta, Raja Baidya, Baby 

Shadhukha, Robin Mukherjee, Subhodro Chowdhury, Lalit Das 

Screenplay: Ashim Paul 

Cinematography: Sakyadeb Chowdhury 

Editor: Yagyapriya Gautam 

Sound: Sulogno Banerjee 

Art Direction: Gautam Das Buro 

Synopsis 

Some people always live in the self created world of 

isolation. Somu, a citizen of this world, neither takes 

initiative nor lives a normal life. The film recollects the 

memoirs of those individual who have lost everything, along 

with their identity. They turn out to be a speechless entity 

in the real sphere. 

Ashim Paul 

After graduating in Mass Communication and Journalism, Ashim 

completed his post graduation in Film Studies from Jadavpur 

University, Kolkata. He is currently a student of SRFTI 

specializing in Direction and Screenplay Writing. He is deeply 

passionate about photography and cinema.”Chayapath” is his 2 nd 

year short film project. 

Pocha Apel (The Rotten Apple) 

Bengali, 2009, 27 minutes, Colour, 35 mm 

Director: Srinath Ravulapalli 

Cast: Rohan, Malini Sengupta 

Screenplay: Srinath Ravulapalli 

Cinematography: Arindam Bhattacharya 

Editor: Apratim Chakrabouty 

Sound: Nairit Dey 

Festival Participation: Bonjour India Festival 

Award: Best Film, Bonjour India Festival 

Synopsis 

A mentally challenged city street dweller woman meets a man of 

similar status. Despite the initial refusal from the woman, 

their relationship grows and ends fatefully in the deserted 

outskirts of the city.

Srinath Ravulapalli 

Srinath is from Visakhapatnam. After completing a master’s 

degree in Theatre Arts, he joined SRFTI to receive Post 

Graduate Diploma in Cinema with specialization in Direction & 

Screenplay Writing in 2009. Pocha Apel is his final year 

Diploma project. 

Doctor, Nurse & the Patient 

Hindi, 2010, 10:42 minutes, Colour, 35 mm 

Director: Angshuman Barkakoty 

Screenplay: Angshuman Barkakoty 

Cinematography: Siddhart Diwan 

Editor: Amyth Lamzel Sarki 

Sound: Binil C. 

Festival Participation: Official selection at 13’th Tel Aviv 

International Student Film Festival, 2010. 

Official Selection in the Wide Angle section of Pusan 

International Film Festival (PIFF), 2010. 

Synopsis 

A terminally ill patient finds himself abandoned in a hospital 

bed. As cancer spreads through his system, he is gripped by a 

sense of claustrophobia. The doctor and the nurse attending on 

him live, lust and laugh. The patient’s frustration peaks when 

he sees the doctor and the nurse play a game of seduction with 

each other as he lies powerless. He is overcome by a desire 

for vengeance. 

Angshuman Barkakoty 

Angshuman is a final year student of SRFTI, specializing in 

Direction & Screenplay Writing. Doctor, Nurse and The Patient 

is his second year short film project. 

Doyam 

2009, 23 minutes, Colour, 35 mm 

Director: Shakeel Mohammed 

Cast: Ritwan Acharya, Gaurav Bose, Abantika Chakraborty 

Screenplay: Shakeel Mohammed 

Cinematograph: Rukma Reddy Petlolla 

Editor: Atanu Mukherjee 

Sound: Sudipto Mukhopadhyay

Art Direction: Shayantan Mondal, Shantanu Bose 

Festival Participation: 39 th Kyiv International Film Festival 

2009 (UKRAINE) [in competition] 

Potenza International Film Festival (Italy) [in competition] 

Synopsis 

A boxer, like his failed father, is on the verge of losing it 

all. He is in debt, he is losing his bouts and he has stopped 

communicating with his wife. But as he is not yet defeated, he 

struggles. He struggles with the guilt and the agony of having 

lost his father who was a poster painter and an alcoholic. The 

film is about his coming to terms with his grief and accepting 

the perpetual battle with life. Doyam means second. But is it 

second failure or second chance? 

Shakeel Mohammed 

Shakeel is from Chhattisgarh. After completing his BA in 

English Literature, he did a three-year PG Diploma in Cinema, 

specializing in Film Direction and Screenplay Writing at SRFTI 

in 2009. He currently works in Bangalore. Doyam is his final 

year diploma film. 

Production & Sales contact for all the SRFTI films: 

Director, SRFTI, E.M. Bypass Road,P.O. Panchasayar Kolkata 

700094. FAX +91 33 2432 0723. Tel. +91 33 24329300 E-Mail: 

srfti@cal.vsnl.net.in 

Website: www.srfti.gov.in 

Film & Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune 

Ever since its inception 50 years ago, Film & Television Institute of India has 

followed the path of excellence and artistic vision with which it was started. It 

aims to teach the art and craft of filmmaking to students from all over the 

country (occasionally students from abroad, as well) and impart to them the 

relevance of cinema as artistic expression as well as the means of making 

social, political, cultural and philosophical statement through this medium. 

FTII is an academic institute and offers a curriculum that is holistic in terms of 

intellectual as well as technical skill. The syllabus is regularly upgraded in

tandem with constant technical innovations in the industry as well as the 

evolving nature of film form, style and content all over the world. All 

equipments and teaching tools are regularly upgraded in order to keep to the 

current international standard. At the same time, the original vision is 

maintained and the aim is not to make films that only serve market forces. 

High standard of professional training is imparted in every department of 

filmmaking: Direction, Cinematography, Editing and Sound. During the three 

years of training, students get to do several project exercises, which take them 

step by step through the basics of filmmaking to complex execution of idea and 

technique. At the end they produce a Diploma film of 20 minutes duration and 

a feature film script. 

Additionally, trainings in other disciplines like Art Direction, Script Writing, 

Animation, Acting and Television production are provided through shorter 

courses, with high degree of academic and technical input. 

It is well known that FTII students of all generations and from each discipline 

leave the institute with a love for cinema, a deep understanding of the full 

potential of the medium and a high command of expertise in their respective 

areas of training. FTII students have made their mark in every sphere of 

filmmaking in all the industries (in Mumbai, Chennai etc) as well as in the 

regional centres they belong to. They have also made their presence felt in the 

world of film festivals and art film circuit. Graduates from FTII have worked in 

government departments (Doordarshan, Films Division, etc) and private 

organizations. They also make films in individual capacities and provide work 

opportunities to younger generation of film and television artists. 

------------------------- 

Dhin Tak Dha 

Hindi, 2008, 22 minutes 

Direction & Screenplay: Shraddha Pasi 

Camera: Hitesh Korat 

Editing: Saikat Ray 

Sound: Saurabh Kumar 

Art Direction: Sumon Roy Mahapatra 

Cast: Amit Jairath, Bachan Pachera, Uday Chandra, Paru Gambhir, Vijay Verma, 

Prabhat Raghunandan 

Synopsis

Gopal, a garage mechanic, accidentally meets a group of artists who perform in 

different villages. He is fascinated by this new life, but he soon realizes that life isn’t 

easy for these artists. In his own way he tries to help them through their crisis. But 

this turns out to be a mistake. Chief, the head of the group, doesn’t forgive him for 

this. Feeling guilty, he leaves the group and returns to his garage only to meet them 

again ‘accidentally’. 

Shraddha Pasi 

Born in Ahmednagar, a small town near Pune, Shraddha PasiI completed her 

graduation in Mass Communication from Delhi University. She joined FTII in 2004. 

The Chase, a short film made by her as part of an exchange program, Polar Meets 

Solar, won the Best Student Film award in the Kenya International Film Festival in 

2007. 

------------------------------------- 

Eka Gaawaat (In a Village) 

Marathi, 2009, 12 minutes 

Direction & Screenplay: Nisha Ramakrishnan 

Camera: Rangoli Agarwal 

Editing: Amrita Mahadik 

Sound: Dilip Kumar Ahirwar 

Synopsis 

The effort here is to capture, from a different perspective, the essence of elections in 

distant and cut off villages. Keeping children as the central element, the film seeks to 

cover the various issues at stake, and all the activities and excitement surrounding 

the elections. The problems faced by the villagers are doubtless serious and the 

candidates mean business, but they assume a different hue when seen through the 

eyes of a child. 

Nisha Ramakrishnan 

Nisha is a film direction student pursuing a three-year postgraduate diploma course 

at FTII. 

----------------------------------------------- 

Ghadyalancha Dawakhana (The Watch Clinic) 

Marathi, 2009, 10.30 minutes 

Direction & Screenplay: Vikrant Pawar 

Camera: Deepak Menon 

Editing: Monisha Baldawa 

Sound: Manoj Kathe 

Art Direction: Ashutosh Kavishwar, Laxmi Keluskar 

Synopsis 

The Watch Clinic is a depiction of a slice of life of a young boy on the brink of 

manhood; it’s a look on value systems of two different generations, his Father’s and

his own, and how the evolution of the boy begins when he spends some time in his 

Father’s work space.The Watch Clinic begins with the boy trying to cheat his Father 

out of some money for a frivolous activity and ends with the boy not taking the 

money at all but instead leaving him in deep contemplation. 

Vikrant Pawar 

Vikrant Pawar graduated with a Government Diploma in Fine Arts, from Kalavishwa 

Mahavidyalaya, Sangli, majoring in Drawing and Painting. He directed this film as a 

2 nd year student of the Post Graduate Diploma course in Film Direction at FTII. 

-------------------------------------- 

The Light and her Shadows 


Direction: Andrea Lannetta 

Camera: Avinash Arun 

Editing: Charu Shree Ray 

Art Direction: Ameya Gandhe 

Music: Lipika Singh 

Sound: Bigyna Dahal 

Cast: Carly May Borgstrom, Tanushree Biswas, Gayatri Chatterjee 

Awards 

Best Cinematography - Short Fiction - Gold - Avinash Arun, Indian Documentary 

Producers' Association (IDPA) 2009, Mumbai 

Synopsis 

Julia, an American painter, and Avantika, a young Indian girl, develop an intimate 

friendship based on shared difficulties of being a woman. Both are attracted to each 

other, which brings them to a state of incomprehension. The film is about the 

complexity of human relations shown through the imaginary states of mind of the two 

characters. 

Andrea Lannetta 

Born in Rome in 1982, Andrea Lannetta did a course in Philosophy at University La 

Sapienza. In 2004-05, she lived in Madrid (Spain) and attended the University of 

Philosophy at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid through a scholarship of the 

European Erasmus Project. In December 2005, back in Rome, she completed the 

BA in Philosophy with full marks. Her exposition was on “Hegel: Early theology and 

the spirit of Christianity”. She is currently a student of the three-year Film Direction 

course in FTII. 

------------------------------------------------ 

Malini Hari Sable 

Hindi/Marathi/English, 2009, 18 minutes

Director: Priya Jhavar 

Screenplay: Priya Jhavar 

Camera: Deopriy Agarwal 

Editor: Priya Jhavar 

Sound: Akhil Sindhu 

Music: OST–Yann Tiersen 

Synopsis 

What were to happen if no photograph of yours was ever taken, if no 

document noting your birth or death exists, if you have no address to 

quote, no family to return to? Would it mean that you cease o exist? 

Would it prove that you are a ghost? This film is an attempt at 

unravelling the mysteries of human identity in an urban set-up. It is an 

attempt at searching for a woman lost in a crowd of more than a million. 

And most of all, it is film about a woman called Malini Hari Sable, who 

exists, despite all odds, and who stands to represent the lives of several 

such people across the country, and probably, across the globe. 

Priya Jhavar 

A graduate in English Literature from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, 

Priya Jhavar joined the three-year Post Graduate Diploma Course in 

Film Direction in 2005. She has been an assistant director on Hindi 

feature film, ‘Home Delivery’, directed by Sujoy Ghosh. She was a 

French language teacher for four years before starting her course at 

F.T.I.I. 

Monsoon Moods 


Direction: Andrea Lannetta 

Camera: Avinash Arun 

Editing: Charu Shree Roy 

Sound: Gautam Singh 

Sound Re-recordist: Prince George 

Synopsis 

The film explores landscapes and tiny details of the Maharashtra countryside during 

the season of Monsoon and alternates views of the Macro and Micro world. Big and 

small loose their actual dimension in front of the camera, which capture the infinite 

beauty of nature in the way it manifests in front of our eyes. The film begins with the

world of animals and nature, and moves to those of human being, maintaining an 

observant eye to the essence of things. 

Andrea Lannetta 

Born in Rome in 1982, Andrea Lannetta did a course in Philosophy at University La 

Sapienza. In 2004-05, she lived in Madrid (Spain) and attended the University of 

Philosophy at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid through a scholarship of the 

European Erasmus Project. In December 2005, back in Rome, she completed the 

BA in Philosophy with full marks. Her exposition was on “Hegel: Early theology and 

the spirit of Christianity”. She is currently a student of the three-year Film Direction 

course in FTII. 

--------------------------- 

Narmeen 

Hindi/Punjabi, 2008, 18 minutes 

Direction & Screenplay: Dipti Gogna 

Camera: G Ranganath Babu 

Editing: Antara Lahiri 

Sound: Manik Batra 

Art Direction: Siddharth Tatooskar 

Cast: Rasika Dugal, Jaideep Ahlavat 

Awards 

HBO Short Film Competition Jury Award and cash prize of $2,500, 5th South Asian 

International Film Festival 2008, New York. 

Best Director Award of a cash prize - $1,000, Whistling Woods International 

Students Film Competition Live Action (Short Film) During 7 th Pune International Film 

Festival, Pune. 

Jury Award for Best Short Film at the 7th annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles 

Gold Award for 'Excellence in Short Fiction' (Professional category) 

Synopsis 

The Partition of the country is drawing close. Noor is a young woman grieving the 

death of her daughter. She exists in a dreamlike state, unable to come to terms with 

reality. Their servant boy, also a Muslim, has not even considering the option of 

leaving. He actually voices a lot of opinions that Noor subscribes to. A Sikh man with 

his young son shifts to the neighbourhood. The man, who has migrated from wouldbe 

Pakistan, has lost his wife in a massacre. Noor takes a liking for the young boy 

but her attempts at befriending him are blatantly thwarted by the father. 

Dipti Gogna 

A Graduate in Mass Media and Mass Communication from Delhi University, Dipti 

Gogna joined FTII’s film direction course in 2004 after interning with a renowned 

Indian publication and a television channel. In her second year at FTII, she was 

awarded a scholarship by the One World Broadcasting Trust (OWBT), UK and shot a 

documentary, A Call Too Far, in London, Pune and Gurgaon under its Bursary

Scheme 2006. Narmeen, her diploma film, is a story set in the times of the partition 

of India and deals with the loss of identity and humanity in such trying times. She 

graduated from FTII in April 2008 and currently works as a freelancer. 

------------------------------------ 

O’s on a Treadmill 

English/Hindi, 2009, 9.39 minutes 

Direction & Screenplay: Deepti Khurana 

Camera: Armin Turel 

Editing: Monisha 

Sound: Ashish Verma 

Synopsis 

Different people driven by seemingly different motives get together at a fitness club 

to increase their levels of fitness both physically and mentally. Each one has a 

different story to narrate. The documentary showcases six O’s on a treadmill 

churning out human emotions. 

Deepti Khurana 

Deepti Khurana was born in Rohtak in 1983. She completed her graduation in BA 

(H) Journalism & Mass Communication in 2003 from Delhi University. She then did 

Masters in Mass communication from GJU Hisar. Before joining FTII’s Film Direction 

course, she worked for All India Radio as a Hindi newsreader and programme 

presenter. She has also freelanced for various TV channels and production houses. 

For one year she lectured in the institute of GGSIP University, Delhi. During the 

course in FTII, she has done various fiction and non-fiction film projects. 

------------------------------------- 

Ramoshi 


Direction & Screenplay: Tathagata Singha 

Camera: Soumik Mukherjee 

Editing: Sreya Chatterjee 

Sound: Avantika Nimbalkar 

Art Direction: Malavika Sohoni 

Award 

Shared the award for the Best Debut Non-feature Film of a director - Rajat Kamal 

and Cash Prize of Rs. 37,500/- each to the Producer and Director. - 57 th National 

Awards 2009 

Synopsis 

The film is a journey of the filmmakers in search of a community in Maharashtra 

called the Ramoshi. They are a community who had been dubbed a criminal tribe by 

the British Government in the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871. Even though they were 

denotified in 1952 (post-Independence), the branding remained, forcing the 

community to choose a path of crime. However, the situation has now changed. The

film is an exploration of the Ramoshi in the present where the community faces an 

almost self-imposed amnesia. 

Tathagata Singha 

Tathagata Singha Is a third year student of FTII’s Direction course. He is a graduate 

in Physics from Kolkata. Back in Kolkata he had been a part of a number of theatre 

productions some of which he directed. He has made two films as part of his 

curriculum in FTII. One of them, Ekti Kaktaliyo Golpo, made it to the Indian 

Panorama’s non-feature section at IFFI 2009 and was also screened in the Indian 

Panorama Film Festival, Kohima 2010. Ramoshi was screened in the 

3 rd International Documentary and Short Film Festival, Kerala. 

------------------------------------------ 

Surang (The Tunnel) 

Hindi, 2009, 10.40 minutes, Colour, 35 mm 

Direction & Screenplay: Anurag Goswami 

Camera: Mahesh Madhavan 

Editing: Yasha Ramchandani 

Sound: Prince George 

Art Direction: Debashish Debnath 

Cast: Shubham, Alok Chaturvedi, Megh Varn Pant, Shashi Bhushan, Ashok 

Chaudhary, Yogesh Mathur, Nitin Goel 

Synopsis 

Two convicts have escaped from jail through a tunnel. As their foolproof plan hits an 

unexpected roadblock, the jailor and his men deal with the mishap in true 

bureaucratic fashion. 

Anurag Goswami 

Anurag Goswami graduated from the National University of Singapore with a degree 

in Software Engineering (in 2004). He worked as a Research Analyst in a 

management consultancy firm for two years. At present he is a 2 nd year Film 

Direction student at the Film & Television Institute of India. Surang is his final project 

of the 2 nd year curriculum. 

--------------------------------------------- 

Thread 


Direction: Lillium Leonard 

Camera: Rrivu Laha 

Editing: Puloma Pal 

Sound: Anthony B.J. Ruban 

Cast: Arunima Shankar, Mary Ann De Souza, Gaurav Bose, Rupshi Mondal 

Award 

Best Short Film with Rs. 25,000/-, 8th Third Eye Asian Film Festival, Mumbai

Synopsis 

Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please, the Surya Circus is in town to stage 

your hidden fantasies! Bizarre suspension, dolls in unison, mile long hair, from death 

no fear, the snake and the charmer, Adam the body builder, the sharp shooter 

Sikander, edge of a knife, piercing eye, you or the wife, give us your salary and your 

pension, we have lots for your attention! But this time, the circus routine will be 

broken by the coming of a foreigner who will disturb the fusion-like relationship of 

Nisha and Sandhya, the two contortionists and seamstresses of the show. 

Lillium Leonard 

Lilium Léonard is an ‘overseas citizen’ of India and a French national. After studying 

contemporary dance, she graduated in Film Studies from La Sorbonne University in 

Paris before joining the FTII’s Film Direction course in 2004. 

--------------------------------------------- 

Turbulence 


Direction & Screenplay: Gulam Shaffi Khan 

Camera: Rangoli Agarwal 

Editing: Kashish Arora 

Sound: Dilip Kumar Ahirwar 

Art Direction: Saugata Mandal 

Award 

Best Film / TV Feature – Ibda Awards, Dubai, 2009 

Synopsis 

The film in about a Uttar Pradesh village who will be flying to America for the first 

time to meet his brother. His village friends, Salim and Hussein, try to help him 

overcome his fear of flying by giving him special training, but it is Tariq, the village 

milk boy, who gives him courage at the end to overcome his fear. 

Gulam Shaffi Khan 

Gulam Shaffi Khan was born in Malaysia. He has a Bachelor in Arts degree from the 

University Of Alabama, in Birmingham, USA, 1988. He is currently in the final year of 

the three-year Film Direction course at FTII. He was selected on an ICCR 

Scholarship. 

-------------------------------------- 

Production & Sales contact for all the above FTII films: Chandrashekhar A. Joshi 

(Film Research Officer), Film and Television Institute of India. Law College Road, 

Pune 410004 

Tel: +91 020 25431817 

Fax: +91 020 25430416 

Mobile: 09890389715 

Email: ftiifro@gmail.com

Chennai Film Industrial School (CFIS) 

Chennai Film Industrial School began its journey fairly recently – in 

2003, to be precise. But it has already begun to make a salutary impact 

on the nature and scope of the cinema of Tamil Nadu and India. 

The school believes that cinema is too powerful a medium to be wasted 

on entertainment alone. It believes that is a potent language that, when 

handled with skill, passion and sensitivity, can yield huge artistic 

dividends in a land that possesses a long and eventful history, a rich and 

diverse cultural heritage and a vibrant civilization that goes back several 

millennia. 

The school works on the simple principle that by learning cinema as a 

technique one becomes a craftsman, but by mastering the medium as a 

language one emerges as a creator. CFIS focuses on converting aspiring 

filmmakers from mere dream merchants to creative powerhouses. The 

effort is yielding encouraging results: our students have bagged a clutch 

of awards at short film festivals. 

------------------------------------ 

Cage 

Tamil, 14.38 minutes 

Director: K.S.Suryakant 

Cinematographer: B.Sangeeth Kumar 

Editor: B.Gandhi Mathi 

Music: Ruben 

Synopsis

The story revolves around a deaf‐mute girl who is sold to man for a small 

amount of money by her father. She is tortured by her owner, sexually and 

physically. Every day she goes to a shop to buy vegetables. On the way she 

watches a cage with a pigeon in it. A boy working in a motorbike showroom as 

a cleaner just opposite the pet shop develops sympathy for the hapless girl. He 

falls in love. He thinks of presenting the pigeon to her, but he doesn’t have any 

money. So he asks his manager for help. His plea is turned down. So, at the 

behest of a friend, he decides to steal money from the showroom office. But 

he fails to pull it off. So his friend comes to his aid with a small loan. The boy 

buys the pigeon and presents it to the girl. But she rejects the gift and sets the 

pigeon free. The boy promptly recaptures the bird puts it back in the cage. 

That night the girl decides she has had enough… 

Piraiyanmai 

No language, 9.46 minutes 

Director: C. Meenakshi Sundaram 

Cinematographer: A.Velmurugan 

Editor: Maruthi 

Sound: Silambarasan 

Synopsis 

Abnormal people do live, but abnormally. A normal witness to their actions 

tends to get carried away. No normal reactions fit here: lunacy has a colour of 

its own…. 

The Object 


Director: Vinodh Chella Priya 

Cinematographer: Ashwin Ambatkar 

Editor: Karthick 

Sound: Saravana Kumar 

Synopsis 

This short film deals about the life of a teenage girl, who is always forced by 

her parents to say “Yes” irrespective of the fact whether she means “Yes”.

Vinodh Chella Priya 

Vinodh joined CFIS after completing leaving high school. He made this short 

film as his project work for the Visual Media course. 

The “I” 


Director: N.S. Vaigundaraja 

Cinematographer: R. Arun 

Editor: R.S. Ganesh 

Sound: Balaji 

Synopsis 

Life has a Beginning, Continuity and an End, defined as Birth, Existence and 

Death but in a true sense “Death” doesn’t mean “End”. 

Frozen Fire 


Director: R. Prabhu Soundaryan 

Cinematographer: K.S. Ravikumar 

Editor: S.P. Vinoth Kumar 

Sound: Saravana Kumar 

Synopsis 

This short film tries to reveal the plight of a woman caught between her 

physical needs and religious restrictions. She indulges in an act considered a sin 

by her society and religion. But she pleads only to those who have not sinned 

to pardon her. She believes “God” will not regard her act as a sin at all. 

Saptha Jwalai (Flame of Sound) 


Director: S. Manikandan 

Cinematographer: R. Sathish Kumar 

Editor: R. Satish

Sound: Winston.B. Thambi 

Synopsis 

To him, sound ceased to exist as long as his grandmother was around to take 

care of him. When the grandmother ceased to exist, he starts hearing. Yet it is 

not the whole sound, but just its flame... 

Idhu Veru Kagidam (Wasted Paper) 


Director: T. Thayaparan 

Cinematographer: M. Thirunavukkarasu 

Editor: N. Anandaraj 

Sound: Ruben 

Synopsis 

The film travels along with an orphan boy who picks up wasted paper on the 

street for a living. What he couldn’t realize till the end is that he himself is a 

piece of wasted paper. 

Innoru Kadhavu 


Director: D. Kumaran 

Cinematographer: E. Veeramani 

Editor: Ravikumar 

Sound: Raja 

Synopsis 

A young man is desperately in love with his co‐worker. But she refuses him on 

the ground that the door of love, as far as she is concerned, is shut. In the end 

he convinces her that there is “yet another door”.

He Couldn’t Do It, But… 

No language, 12 minutes 

Director: M.Prabunath 

Cinematographer: S.J. Rahman 

Editor: R.S. Ganesh 

Sound: Balaji 

Synopsis 

A young, frustrated man decides to put an end to his life. The “end” comes, 

but, not quite in the way he had planned… 

Palazm Udir Solai (Fruits Are Falling) 


Director: K. Venkat Ram kumar 

Cinematographer: K.S. Ravikumar 

Editor: S.P. Vinoth Kumar 

SOUND: M. Saravana Kumar

Synopsis 

The film is about an Old Man enjoying himself in a park in the company of 

friends from his younger days. He accepts the changes caused by the process 

of ageing in a completely positive light. 

Colour Bar 

Tamil, 7 minutes 

Director: D.Jebaraj 

Cinematographer: R.P.Dhas 

Editor: B.GandhiMathi 

Music: Ruben 

Synopsis 

A balloon vendor, unable to find any customer, stands forlorn on a beach. 

Exhausted and dizzy, he collapses. A man pricks his unsold balloons. As he is 

about to burst the last balloon, a kite vendor spots him and shouts at him. The 

miscreant runs away. The kite vendor wakes the balloon vendor and scolds him 

for being so careless. 

The balloon vendor shares his woes with the kite man. The latter is 

sympathetic but says he does not have any money to buy him even a cup of 

tea. The balloon vendor, out of frustration, throws away, the remaining 

balloon. 

The balloon lands at the feet of a third person, sitting alone on the beach. He 

calls the balloon vendor and tells him that he will buy that balloon and also pay 

for the destroyed balloons. When the balloon vendor hesitates the kite seller 

requests the kind man to help the balloon vendor by giving him fifty rupees. 

The third person says that he has a hundred rupees note and asks whether the 

balloon vendor has money to pay the balance. 

The balloon vendor curses his own fate. The kite vendor is in a dilemma. He 

has told the balloon vendor that he has no money. But at the same time he 

wants the balloon vendor to get the fifty rupees. So, not to get caught in 

embarrassment, he tells the third person that he will go and get change for 

hundred rupees.

Then the kite vendor collects the hundred rupees from the third person and 

goes away. He takes change for hundred rupees from his own pocket and 

returns. He gives fifty rupees to the balloon vendor and the balance to the 

third person. Thanking the third person, the balloon vendor leaves with relief. 

As the kite vendor also leaves, praising the third person for his kindness, the 

third person stops him and asks: “What is the colour of this balloon?” 

Certificate (Chandridazh) 


Director: Jeya Murthi 

Cinematographer: Raja sekar 

Editor: Ilavarasan 

Synopsis 

A poor auto driver is trying to deal with life with an unaffordable principle: 

“never indulge in bribing”. He has to conduct his sister’s marriage, and he has 

to set up a small business for his brother. He needs money. He decides to sell 

his house, which is in his recently deceased father’s name. 

Now he has to get an heir certificate from the municipal office where he is 

expected to pay a bribe. He resolves not to… 

Her Majesty (Menmai Thangiya) 


Director: Jeya Murthi 

Cinematographer: Raja sekar 

Editor: Ilavarasan 

Synopsis 

This film portrays the morning activities of a scavenger woman and those of a 

schoolgirl. When the path of these two characters cross, it is established that 

even a lowly worker can be called "Her Majesty" if she has a clear vision of the 

future of the next generation........

Production & Sales Contact for all CFIS films: Chennai Film Industrial School, 

4/16, First Cross Street, 9 th Main Road, Swaminathan Nagar, Kottivakkam, 

Chennai 600 041 

Phone: 044 65181182, 98414 37101 

Website: www.chennaifilmschool.org 

E‐mail: mail@chennaifilmschool.org

AUSTRALIAN INDIGENOUS REPRESENTATIONS IN 

FICTION FILMS 

INTRODUCTION 

The year 2009 was a watershed for the history of Australian indigenous 

filmmaking. It saw the screening of two very important films by 

indigenous filmmakers. Warwick Thornton’s debut feature as a director, 

Samson and Delilah won the Camera d’Or at Cannes in May 2009. 

Perhaps more importantly, it was also a box office success in Australia, 

released in a large number of international territories and one of the 

most widely discussed films of the year, both in Australian film circles 

and with the general public. Hot on its heels was Rachel Perkins’ third 

feature, Bran Nue Dae, which closed the 2009 Melbourne International 

Film Festival, released in 2010 to phenomenal success, and with Samson 

and Delilah is still travelling widely on the festival circuit. 

But it has been a long journey since the first indigenous representation 

in Australian film – the ‘blackface’ tracker in the 1907 Robbery under 

Arms. This selection of films traces the journey from Jedda, the first film 

to star indigenous actors, to Bran Nue Dae, noting the various 

perspectives and voices along the way. The selection is diverse in 

theme. All of the films are award winners which have screened at 

various international festivals and are recognised as important works in 

the history of Australian cinema. 

--------------------------------------------- 

ACKNOWLDGEMENTS 

Walkabout, beDevil, Ten Canoes and Rabbit-Proof Fence: Prints courtesy of the 

National Film and Sound Archive of Australia’ 

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith and Jedda: Prints courtesy of the National Film and 

Sound Archive of Australia’s Kodak/Atlab Collection 

Thanks to: David Atfield, Rick Carlson, Rolf de Heer, Phillip Noyce, Rachel 

Perkins, Andrew Pike, Fred Schepisi, Warwick Thornton, Hollywood Classics 

-----------------------------------------------

eDevil 


Director: Tracey Moffatt 

Screenplay: Tracey Moffatt 

Camera: Geoff Burton 

Editor: Wayne Le Clos 

Music: Carl Vine 

Sound: Peter Fenton 

Art Direction: Glen W. Johnson 

Producer: Anthony Buckley 

Cast: Lex Marinos, Tracey Moffatt, Riccardo Natoli, Dina Panozzo 

Synopsis 

The first feature made by an Australian indigenous woman, beDevil is 

comprised of three self-contained ghost stories, apparently based on 

stories told to director Tracey Moffat as a child. Unrelated but forming a 

cohesive whole, they concern an American GI, a cinema built over a 

swamp which was forbidden territory for indigenous people, a ghost 

train and the soul of a young blind girl killed by the train, and an old 

woman who still lights a candle for the memory of her son and his lover 

killed many years ago. 

Moffat is well known internationally as a visual artist and photographer. 

In this semi-experimental film, (regrettably) her only feature film to 

date, she has used famous Australian artists to create a visual and aural 

feast, with stunning production design, choreography and music. One of 

Moffat’s major themes as an artist is de-constructing Aboriginality (and 

indeed ‘the other’ in general), which she does with aplomb in this 

satirical piece. 

Tracey Moffatt 

Born on November 12, 1960, in Brisbane, Australia, Tracey Moffatt studied visual 

communications at the Queensland College of Art, from which she graduated in 

1982. She then moved to Sydney, where she continues to live and work. Moffatt first 

gained critical acclaim for her short film Night Cries: A Rural Tragedy, which was 

selected for official competition at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. Her first feature 

film, Bedevil, was shown in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival in 1993. 

She has also made documentary film and music videos. Since her first exhibition in 

1989, Moffatt has shown her photographically based art in numerous exhibitions in 

Australia and abroad. This is her first large-scale exhibition to date.

---------------------------------------- 

Bran Nue Dae 


Director: Rachael Perkins 

Screenplay: Reg Cribb, Rachel Perkins, Jimmy Chi 

Camera: Andrew Lesnie 

Editing: Rochelle Oshlack 

Sound: Steve Burgess 

Production Design: Felicity Abbott 

Cast: Rocky McKenzie, Jessica Mauboy, Ernie Dingo, Missy Higgins, Geoffrey Rush 

Synopsis 

It’s the summer of 1967 and young Willie is filled with the life of the idyllic old 

pearling port Broome, in the North of Western Australia - fishing, hanging out with 

his mates, and when he can, his girl Rosie. However his mother Theresa has great 

hopes for him and she returns him to the religious mission in Perth for further 

schooling. After being punished by Father Benedictus for an act of youthful rebellion, 

Willie runs away from the mission. But to where….he’s too ashamed to go home, it 

will break his mother’s heart. Down on his luck he meets Uncle Tadpole, and 

together they con a couple of hippies, Annie and Slippery into taking them on the 

3,000 km journey through spectacular landscape back to Broome. Willie learns the 

hard and funny lessons he needs to get home, all the while pursued by Father 

Benedictus. Arriving back in Broome, Willie wins the girl, convinces his mother that 

Broome is the place he should be, and discovers that the father he never knew he 

had is his journeyman companion all along - Uncle Tadpole. 

Rachael Perkins 

Rachael Perkins is from the Arrernte and Kalkadoon nations of Australia. She trained 

at the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) in Alice Springs and 

is also a graduate of the Australian Film Television and Radio School. Perkins was 

employed for a combined six years as an executive producer of the Indigenous 

Television Units at SBS and the ABC. She has independently produced and directed 

a number of documentary series including Blood Brothers and From Spirit to Spirit - 

the first international Indigenous co-production of Aboriginal, Maori, Sami and Native 

Canadian filmmakers. She financed the first Indigenous drama initiative for the 

Australian Film Commission and produced three short films under these successful 

initiatives. 

Perkins has directed two multi-award winning feature films, Radiance and One Night 

The Moon (which she also co-wrote). These films have screened at the Berlin, 

London, Toronto, Moscow and Sundance film festivals. Radiance (winner of an AFI 

and Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress and Australian Screen Sound Guild 

Award) is unique in being voted most popular film at the Sydney, Melbourne and

Canberra film festivals. One Night The Moon is the winner of two AFI Open Craft 

Awards - Sound and Cinematography, two Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Score 

and The Special Achievement Award recognising Perkins’s unique combination of 

sound, image and music, an Australian Cinematographers Society Award and two 

AWGIE (Australian Writers’ Guild) Awards including the Golden AWGIE. One Night 

The Moon has screened at 70 film festivals worldwide and received the New York 

International Independent Film and Video Festival Award for Best Feature Film – 

Musical. 

----------------------------------- 

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith 

1978, 124 minutes 

Director: Fred Schepisi 

Screenplay: Fred Schepisi, adapted from a novel by Thomas Keneally 

Camera: Ian Baker 

Editor: Brian Kavanagh 

Set Designer: Wendy Dickson 

Sound: Bob Allen 

Music: Bruce Smeaton 

Cast: Tom E. Lewis, Freddy Reynolds, Ray Barrett, Jack Thompson, Angela Punch- 

McGregor 

Synopsis 

Set in 1890s rural Australia, this is the story of a young Aboriginal man 

initiated by his tribe but educated by a Methodist missionary and 

married to a white woman. Caught in a racist struggle between two 

cultures and accepted by neither, he cracks and goes on a murderous 

revenge spree. 

Based on the novel by Thomas Keneally and the real-life story of Jimmy 

Governor, who was hanged for multiple murders in 1901, The Chant of 

Jimmie Blacksmith was one of the most significant films of Australia’s 

1970s New Wave. In terms of voice, the film is told from the perspective 

of Jimmie, which is what makes the film so powerful and confronting. In 

2001, some 30 years after writing the novel, Keneally (who is not 

Aboriginal) noted that while he would no longer feel comfortable writing 

from that perspective, in 1972 it felt appropriate for him to tell an 

Aboriginal story. 

Fred Schepisi 

Fred Schepisi (1939-) part of the Australian New Wave has made two 

iconic Australian films, The Devil's Playground, (1976) and 

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, 1978. He also made Evil Angels (1988)

about the notorious dingo baby case. Hollywood credits include The 

Russia House (1990), a thriller starring Sean Connery and Michelle 

Pfeiffer, and Six Degrees of Separation, (1993) starring Stockard 

channing and Donald Sutherland. 

------------------------------------ 

Jedda 


Director: Charles Chauvel 

Screenplay: Charles Chauvel, Elsa Chauvel 

Camera: Carl Kayser 

Editor: Alex Ezard 

Music: Isadore Goodman 

Set Design: Ronal McDonald 

Sound: Arthur Browne 

Cast: Ngarla Kunoth, Robert Tudawali, Betty Suttor, Paul Reynall, George Simpson- 

Lyttle 

Synopsis 

Jedda is the story of an Aboriginal baby raised on a cattle station by a 

white woman mourning the loss of her own child. The young girl is 

brought up in a white society, knowing nothing of her own culture but 

yearning to be a part of it. Her life changes dramatically when a young 

tribal Aboriginal abducts her. 

This was iconic Australian director Charles Chauvel’s second feature 

about indigenous Australians, some twenty years after the exoticised 

Uncivilised. It was a major step forward in indigenous representation, 

not only for Chauvel, but for Australian film. As the first film to star 

indigenous actors, it is still remembered fondly by many older Aboriginal 

people although the next generation has shown less affection for it. 

Tracey Moffatt’s (beDevil) short film Night Cries, is viewed as a critical 

response and sequel to the film. 

Also Australia’s first colour fiction feature, Jedda was filmed on location 

in the Northern Territory with the landscape being an important part of 

the film. 

------------------------- 

Charles Chauvel

Charles Chauvel (189 –1959) was one of Australia’s most important 

pioneer filmmakers. Born in country Queensland, he made his first film 

in 1926. He headed for Hollywood with his second (silent) feature, but 

came up against the introduction of sound. Although his output over the 

next three decades was not large (a total of nine features), they were 

extremely important inconstructing the Australian identity in film. The 

pioneering spirit (Heritage, Sons of Matthew) and war as a 

nationbuilding exercise (Forty Thousand Horsemen and The Rats of 

Tobruk) were major themes. Along with Jedda, Chauvel made two other 

works with Aboriginal themes, the earlier ‘jungle story’, Uncivilised 

(1936) and his final work, Australian Walkabout, a television series for 

the BBC. 

------------------------------------ 

Rabbit Proof Fence 


Director: Phil Noyce 

Screenplay: Christine Olsen 

Camera: Christopher Doyle 

Editor: Veronika Jenet, John Scott 

Music: Peter Gabriel 

Cast: David Gulpilil, Everlyn Sampi, Kenneth Branagh, Deborah Mailman 

Synopsis 

The true story of three young indigenous girls snatched from their 

mothers' arms and placed in a settlement 1,500 miles away, to be 

trained as domestic servants. They escape and use the infamous rabbitproof 

fence to guide their way home, as they are chased by white 

authorities and a black tracker. Writer, Christine Olsen, was the driving 

force behind this important and very moving film, based on a true 

account about the 'stolen generation', persuading Phil Noyce (Sliver, 

Patriot Games, The Quiet American) to return from the US to make it. 

Phil Noyce 

Phillip Noyce (1950 - ),also part of the Australian New Wave, made his 

first feature, the road movie Backroads in 1977, starring Australian 

Aboriginal activist, Gary Foley. In 1978, he directed and co-wrote 

Newsfront, a big critical and commercial success in Australia. IIn 1982, 

Heatwave co-written and directed by Noyce screened at the Director's 

Fortnight in Cannes.  Noyce's other film credits include Dead Calm

(1989) starring Nicole Kidman, the political thriller, Patriot Games (1992) 

and The Bone Collector (1999).  Returning to Australia after 12 years in 

Hollywood, he made both The Quiet American, set in 50s Saigon, and 

Rabbit Proof Fence (2002) Both garnered Noyce numerous awards. 

Noyce has multiple television credits. 

----------------------------- 

Samson & Delilah 

Australia, 2010, 101 minutes 

Director: Warwick Thornton 

Screenplay: Warwick Thornton 

Camera: Warwick Thornton 

Editor: Roland Gallois 

Music: Various tracks & some composing by Warwick Thornton 

Sound: Liam Egan 

Production Design: Daran Fulham 

Production: Scarlett Pictures & CAAMA Productions 

Cast: Rowan McNamara, Marissa Gibson, Mitjili Gibson, Scott Thornton 

Synopsis 

Samson and Delilah live in an isolated world – a remote Aboriginal community in the 

Australian desert. In amongst a tiny collection of houses, everything here happens in 

a cycle. Day in and day out – nothing changes, everything stays the same and no 

one seems to care. Except for Samson, a cheeky 15-year-old who yearns for the 

horizon. Even though boredom set in long ago, Samson attempts to occupy himself 

with his offbeat humour. Unable to express his desire for something more, Samson’s 

private escape comes in a tin – he’s a petrol sniffer. When a violent eruption takes 

place at home Samson breaks the cycle and his journey begins. Sixteen year-old 

Delilah is the sole carer of her artist grandmother, who fancies the hopeless Samson 

for her son-in-law. When Nana passes away Delilah is held responsible and the 

traditional punishment is harsh. Battered and bruised, an unlikely young man comes 

to Delilah’s rescue. Samson. In a stolen car with no food, money or idea where they 

are headed they turn their backs on the community and head towards the desert 

horizon. The next day, out of petrol, they walk into the closest town. The two 

teenagers soon discover that life outside the community can be cruel. Though 

hungry and rejected Samson and Delilah fall in love. It is all they have. It is real. 

Delilah searches for a way to improve their situation and begins to paint. She tries 

desperately to sell her work, but no one is buying. In frustration she pushes her 

work at potential buyers aware of their discomfort, aware of them not wanting her. 

Samson tags along, the tin a constant companion. Exhausted and belittled Delilah 

also falls prey to Samson’s demon. By accident the two young lovers are forcibly 

separated and Delilah starts a journey of her own – a journey to a better place. As 

Samson slowly self-destructs alone and under the bridge, Delilah’s love guides him 

home.

Warwick Thornton 

Warwick has written and directed several short dramas, the last being Nana, which 

won the Crystal Bear award for Best Short Film in the Generation Kplus at the 2008 

Berlin International Film Festival.Nana screened on opening night of the 2007 

Sydney Film Festival and Warwick was awarded the Emerging Filmmaker Award at 

the Melbourne International Film Festival, the Inside Film (IF) Award for Best Short 

Film (by public vote) and Best Australian Film at Flickerfest Short Film Festival in 

Sydney. 

His previous short drama, half-hour Green Bush, won Best Short in the Panorama 

section at the Berlin International Film Festival 2005. Green Bush also won a Dendy 

Award in its section and the Rouben Mamoulian Award (best overall) at the Sydney 

Film Festival and an Inside Film (IF) Award. It premiered at Sundance Film Festival. 

Warwick’s previous shorts, Mimi in 2002 and Payback in 1996, have screened 

extensively at festivals in Australia and overseas, including Telluride, and on SBS 

Television. Warwick has also directed a number of documentaries. 

Warwick’s career started as a cameraman in 1990 and he graduated from the 

Australian Film, Television and Radio School in 1997 with a BA in Cinematography. 

He has an extensive body of work as a cinematographer including the feature film 

Radiance. 

--------------------------------- 

Ten Canoes 


Director: Rolf de Heer 

Camera: Ian Jones 

Editor: Tania Nehme 

Art Director: Beverley Freeman 

Sound: Jamie Currie, Tom Heuzenroeder 

Cast: Crusoe Kurodal, Jamie Gulpilil, Richard Birrinbirrin, Peter Minygululu, 

Frances Djulbing, with David Gulpilil as narrator 

Synopsis 

It is the distant past, tribal times. Dayindi covets one of the wives of his 

older brother. To teach him ‘the proper way’, he is told a story from 

even further back in time, the mythical past - a story of wrong love, 

kidnapping, sorcery, bungling mayhem and revenge gone wrong. 

Ten Canoes was made together by de Heer and the people of David 

Gulpilil’s (Walkabout) tribe. The collaboration began in 2000 when 

Gulpilil was working with de Heer on The Tracker. Gulpilil took de Heer

ack to his remote community and also showed him a photograph of ten 

canoes, one of a collection of two thousand photographs taken by a 

white anthropologist in the 1930s, that the Yolngu people have 

reappropriated for their own use. de Heer worked closely with the 

indigenous Ramingining community to develop a Yolngu story told in a 

Yolngu way ; and in ‘language’ (indigenous language). 

This gentle and humorous landmark film portrays the ‘old times’ while 

featuring spectacular scenery. 

Rolf de Heer 

Rolf de Heer (1951- ) is perhaps Australia’s most courageous and ego-less 

director. His thirteen features to date cover a lot of ground in terms of formal 

and technical experimentation and content; with some he has taken 

enormous risks. Dingo (Venice, 1991) included one of Miles Davis’ last 

performances on film. Bad Boy Bubby which has become a cult film was 

followed by Dance Me to My Song, co-written with Heather Rose who 

suffered from debilitating cerebral palsy and who played the lead. The 

challenging Alexandra’s Project (2003) was in competition in Berlin. The 

Tracker, a kind of revisionist western which made singular use of song and 

painting saw David Gulpilil in the titular lead role and lead to the making of 

Ten Canoes, which de Heer claims as the most difficult film he has made to 

date, but not before the silent Dr Plonk. 

------------------------------------ 

Walkabout 

Australia/UK, 1971, 100 minutes 

Director: Nicholas Roeg 

Screenplay: Edward Bond based on novel by James Vance 

Camera: Nicolas Roeg 

Editor: Anthony Gibbs, Alan Patillo 

Production Design: Brian Earwell 

Sound: Barry Brown 

Music: John Barry 

Cast: Jenny Agutter, David Gulpilil, Lucien John, John Meillon 

Synopsis

A teenage girl and her younger brother find themselves stranded in the 

Australian outback, with little water or food and no survival skills. A 

young Aboriginal boy (David Gulpilil in his first role) on walkabout takes 

care of them, ultimately leading them back to white civilisation. But just 

before they reach the all-but-deserted mining town, the young boy 

attempts to woo the girl with a courtship dance. All through the night he 

dances, but she fails to understand, with tragic results. 

Nicholas Roeg 

Nicolas Roeg (1928 - ), a British director, started as a cinematographer 

working with David Lean (second unit on Lawrence of Arabia), Roger 

Corman and Francois Truffaut among others. His directorial debut was 

as co-director with Donald Cammell on Performance followed by his solo 

debut, Walkabout, which he also photographed. He has a highly original 

vision, witnessed by future films such as The Man who fell to Earth 

(1976) and Bad Timing (1980).

O Maria 

Konkani, 2010, 106 minutes 

Director: Rajendra N. Talak 

Screenplay: Rajendra N. Talak & Pratima Kulkarni 

Camera: Sunny Joseph 

Editor: Vidyadhar Pathare 

Sound: Sandeep Rawool 

Producer: Bhalchandra S. Bakhle 

Cast: Sherna Patel, Meenakshi Martins, Colry 

Goldberg, Sulbha Arya, Kevin D'mello, Arayan 

Khedekar, Rose Ferns, John D'silva, Tikku Talasania 

Synopsis 

Maria lives on a piece of land that she inherited and 

the land adjacent to hers is her late brother Johns’ 

who sold his property to a hotel company before he 

died. However the contract stated that they will pay 

him half the money only when his sister Maria also 

sells her property to them. John left behind two sons 

and a wife who are also eyeing her property. But 

Maria refuses to sell her property as a protest again 

the rising encroachment of tourist resorts, vanishing 

goan lifestyle and culture and livelihood. In her 

fight, she also has the support of one of her 

nephews, Kevin and a tourist Mike. The resistance 

becomes a family feud and after much dramatic twists 

and turns, the family is able to restore peace and 

wisdom. 

Rajendra N. Talak 

Having been involved with theatre from his college 

days, Rajendra Narayan Talak has worked on several 

award winning plays. In various capacities he has 

served cultural institutions like Kalangan, Gomant 

Vidhya Niketan, Kala Vibhag, Konkani Bhavan amongst 

others. He has produced a Konkani music cassette 

Daryacha Deger and Lhara and helps organize music 

concerts like Konkani Sangeet Samhelan and Kala Rang. 

He produced the Konkani telefilm Shitu, produced and

directed Aleesha, which won National Awards for Best 

Film and Best Direction and Antarnad which also won 

five National Awards. Presently he is the President 

of the Goan Organisation of Filmmakers (GOF). 

-------------------------- 

Naukadubi (Boatwreck) 

Bengali, 2010, 146 minutes 

Director: Rituparno Ghosh 

Screenplay: Rituparno Ghosh 

Camera: Soumik Halder 

Editor: Arghyakamal Mitra 

Sound: Dipankar Chaki, Anirban Sengupta 

Art Director: Indraneel Ghosh 

Producer: Mukta Arts 

Cast: Riya Sen , Raima Sen, Prosenjit Chatterjee, 

Dhritiman Chatterjee, Apratim Dhar, Sumanta 

Mukherjee, Sagar Mukherjee Ammu Chatterjee, Maria 

Chatterjee 

Synopsis 

This is a period film set in the 1920s, based on a 

short story by Rabindranath Tagore…A tender romance 

blossoming in Kolkata between law student Ramesh and 

his friend’s sister Hemnalini, is nipped suddenly 

when his father sends an urgent and mysterious 

summons from his village home. There, the dutiful son 

is peremptorily ordered to marry Susheela, daughter 

of a hapless widow. Initially Ramesh refuses but soon 

succumbs to the widow’s pleas. This leads to a train 

of events that throws all involved in different 

directions. While returning to Kolkata, there is a 

storm in which the boat capsizes however Ramesh 

survives and finds a bride who he assumes is his 

bride but soon discovers the mistaken identity as 

well as the name of the person she, Kamala, was 

actually married to. He puts her in a boarding school 

but the news that he is married reaches Hemnalini who 

is heartbroken. She soon leaves for Kashi to heal 

herself along with her father while Ramesh leaves for 

Gorukhpur to avoid the scandal. In Kashi, Hemnalini

meets Nalinaksha, who, unknown to anyone, was the 

person Kamala was married to. Kamala discovers that 

Ramesh is not her real husband through an old 

advertisement and tries to down herself in the river. 

She is saved and brought to Kashi where she lands up 

at the house of Nalinaksha. The whole sorry mess 

raises many questions of head and heart and the 

validity or otherwise of social conventions. We are 

left wondering whether true love will finally 

triumph. 

Rituparno Ghosh 

Rituparno Ghosh is a Bengali film director. He has 

won 8 National Film Award in India and several awards 

at international film festivals abroad. He began 

directing in advertising. In 1992, he made a low-key 

film debut with a children's feature titled Hirer 

Angti (The Diamond Ring). His second movie Unishe 

April (19 April), won the 1995 National Film Award 

Since then, Ghosh has directed Dahan, Utsab, Chokher 

Bali, Asukh, Bariwali, Antarmahal and Raincoat (in 

Hindi).He won the best director award for the bengali 

film "Abohoman" starring Jishu Sengupta, Ananya 

Chatterjee, Dipankar Dey and Mamata Shankar in India 

in 2010. Another film directed by him Sunglass is 

also slated for this year (2010). 

----------------------------- 

Dhoosar (Blur) 


Director: Amol Palekar 

Screenplay: Sandhya Gokhale 

Camera: Savita Singh 

Editor: Neeraj Voralia 

Sound: Amal Popuri 

Art Direction: Sandhya Gokhale 

Synopsis 

The film is based on an original story by Sandhya 

Gokhale. Suhasini and Suniti have been staying away 

from each other for many years. They’ve been bound

together by innumerable memories reflected through 

hundreds of photographs taken by the mother-daughter 

duo. After two years, when Suniti returns home, she 

finds Suhasini has lost traces of her past or 

present. She reads notes in Suhasini’s diary and is 

devastated to learn that her mother is suffering from 

Alzheimer’s disease. She is shocked to know that a 

stranger called Arjun has parked himself in their 

house. Arjun was her mother’s present during the 

last two years and this fact pains Suniti deeply. 

Suhasini’s notes eloquently describe her state of 

mind. Suniti strives to cope with Suhasini’s 

articulation on one hand and rapid deterioration on 

the other. While Suhasini is growingly disconnected 

with her past, she is unaware of her present as well. 

She recognizes neither Suniti nor Arjun. What is the 

future of all three….? Many layers of human mind and 

emotions are peeled off through a collage of past and 

present. The sensitive portrayal of characters 

challenges our understanding of human behavior. While 

exploring different shades of human bonds, the story 

unfolds the starkness of dementia. 

Amol Palekar 

Amol Palekar, a postgraduate in Fine Arts from the 

Sir JJ School of Arts, Mumbai, commenced his artistic 

career as a painter He has been a leading persona of 

avant garde theatre in India and has been active in 

Marathi and Hindi theatre as an actor, director and 

producer since 1967. As an actor, he ruled the silver 

screen in 1970 for over a decade, acted in Marathi, 

Bengali, Malyalam and Kannada cinema as well and has 

received three Film Fare and six State awards as Best 

Actor. He has directed television serials like 

Kachchi Dhoop, Mrignayani, Naquab, Paool Khuna and 

Krishna Kali. Films directed by him include Akriet 

(1981), Thodasa Roomani Ho Jaayen (1990), Bangarwadi 

(1995), Anaahat (2003), Paheli (2005), Samaantar 

(2009), And Once Again (2009) among others.

Feature Films 

1. 3 Idiots (Hindi) 

2. Abohomaan (Bengali) 

3. Achin Paakhi (Bengali) 

4. Aidu Ondola Aidu (Kannada) 

5. Ami Aadu (Bengali) 

6. Angadi Theru (Tamil) 

7. Athma Kadha (Malayalam) 

8. Elektra (Malayalam) 

9. I Am Kalam (Hindi) 

10. Jhing Chik Jhing (Marathi) 

11. Just Another Love Story (English) 

12. Kaal Chilambu (Malayalam) 

13. Kanasemba Kudureyaneri (Kannada) 

14. Makaramanju (Malayalam) 

15. Mee Sindhutai Sapkal (Marathi) 

16. Moner Manush (Bengali) 

17. Mummy & Me (Malayalam) 

18. Paa (Hindi) 

19. Pail Te Sumbaran (Marathi) 

20. Prasthanam (Telugu) 

21. Raavanan (Tamil) 

22. Shabari (Kannada) 

23. Swayamsiddha (Oriya) 

24. Tere Bin Laden (Hindi) 

25. Vihir (Marathi) 

26. Wake up Sid (Hindi)

Non-Feature Films 

1. Achtung Baby 

2. Aval 

3. Courtroom Nautanki 

4. Dhruva Natchathiram 

5. Germ 

6. Going the Distance 

7. Incurable India 

8. Journey To Nagaland 

9. Kal 

10. Leaving Home 

11. Motorbike 

12. Mr. India 

13. My Daddy Strongest 

14. Numit Tadri 

15. Rupban 

16. Seshasha 

17. Shyam Raat Seher 

18. Surang 

19. The Victims

CONTENTS International Competition Jury Films Cinema of the ...

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