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“Man Ba Khoda Harf Mizanam” (I Speak To God) | Iran | 2004 | 30 Min | Persian

Camera: Morteza Poursamadi
Editing: Bahman Kiarostami
Sound: Mohamad Reza Del Pak
Producer: Experimental & Documentary Cinema Development Center
Directed by: Kaveh Bahrami Moghaddam

Synopsis
The film is about three patients admitted to the psychological ward at the Razi Hospital in Tehran. It shows how these patients will never be able to go back to the world outside because of the financial constraints of their families. The lack of facilities in order to rehabilitate them, such as housing, jobs, and social protection, will keep them imprisoned in the hospital forever.

About the Filmmaker
Kaveh Moghaddam was born in 1952 in Tehran. He graduated with a degree in filmmaking in 1994 from Tehran and has directed 12 short films.

“Mast Qalandar” (The Ecstatic) | Pakistan-Germany | 2005 | 30 Min | Urdu

Cinematography: Lars Lenski
Editing: Sudip Chattopadhyaya
Sound: Roman Strack, Ulrich Breimesser
Music: Arib Khan
Script: Till Passow
Producer: University for Film and Television (HFF)
Directed by: Till Passow

Synopsis
According to the belief of the mystical Sufis, ‘Mast’ is someone who walks the road of love in order to reach his beloved. During the annual urs of 13th century sufi saint, Lal Shahbaz, around one million devotees from all over Pakistan, India and Afghanistan come as pilgrims to his shrine at Sehwan Sharif in search of individual and collective ecstasy. The result is a gigantic and magical festival of faith and love. The film is an ethnographic look at this ancient mystical ritual, far removed from the black and white Western characterizations of ‘fundamentalist Islam.’

About the Filmmaker
Till Passow was born in Munich in 1968 where he received his early education. He was an assistant and trainee interviewer on the Steven Spielberg project “Survivors of the Shoah.” In 2001 he directed the documentary film “Howrah Howrah” in Calcutta, which screened at the 4th KaraFilm Festival. He has also served as assistant director on Florian Gallenberger’s “Shadows of Time.” Currently he is the project coordinator of “HFF goes Calcutta”, being co-produced by Arte channel and the Goethe Insitut.

“Monotone, Mon Automne?” (Ageing, Not Greying) | Switzerland | 2004 | 55 Min | French

Camera: Marie-Jeanne Urech
Editing: Rudi Zieglmeier
Sound: Stéphanie Isoz, Annick Isoz, David Lipka, Anne Urech
Producer: Francoise Rapin
Directed by: Marie-Jeanne Urech

Synopsis
Their names are, Rose, Jacqueline and Nadine. They are a manicurist, a writer and a concert organizer, and their combined ages are 240. But still they all work. Slippers, crosswords, and herbal teas before bed, Sunday walks, sleepy afternoons and monotonous winters: they’re things of the past. Rose, Jacqueline and Nadine have a completely different programme. Life goes on as if they were still twenty. Or almost! An ageing Europe still perceives old people as a burden. This film tries to offer a new perspective on the pensioner’s world.

About the Filmmaker
Marie-Jeanne Urech was born in 1976 in Lausanne, Switzerland. She completed her bachelor’s in Social Sciences (Sociology and Anthropology) from the University de Lausanne and finally graduated from the London Film School. She has won a number of awards at various international festivals and is also an accomplished poet and novelist, having had her poems, short stories and plays published the world over. Her first novel “La Salle d’Attente” was published in Switzerland, 2004. “Monotone, Mon Automne” made its world premiere at the “Visions du Reels” in Nyon, Switzerland and at the Ecofilms Festival in Rhodes, Greece.

My Brother My Enemy | UK | 2005 | 42 Min | English-Hindi-Urdu

Camera: Kamaljeet Negi, Masood Khan
Editing: Benjamin Binderup
Sound: Mark Underwood
Music: Nicholas Singer
Directed & Produced by: Masood Khan, Kamaljeet Negi

Synopsis
Pakistan was partitioned from India in 1947. Since then these two nuclear states have been in a virtual state of conflict. Now, for the first time in 15 years, the Indian cricket team tours Pakistan, and two filmmakers from opposite sides of the border go along to capture a taste of how it feels to be the enemy.

About the Filmmaker
An engineer by training, Masood Khan studied audio visual art at Middlesex University, UK, which served as his introduction to the world of filmmaking. He later graduated from the National Film and Television School. Of Pakistani origin, he resides in the UK. “My Brother My Enemy” is his directing debut. Kamaljeet Negi was born and brought up in India, and graduated with degrees in political science and law from the University of Delhi. Before graduating in cinematography from the National Film School in UK and training at the Polish Film School in Lodz, he had worked in television for over eight years, starting his career as a researcher and reporter. He got his first camera job in 1995 and has shot a variety of programmes for television as a freelance cameraman. “My Brother My Enemy” is his first documentary as a director.

“No Tan Nuestras” (Not Really Ours) | Argentina | 2005 | 73 Min | Spanish

Camera: Pablo Faro, Pablo Gonzalez, Martin Indihar
Editing: Martin Indihar, Ramiro Longo
Music: Braulio D’Aguirre
Script: Ramiro Longo
Produced by: Martin Indihar
Directed by: Ramiro Longo

Synopsis
“No Tan Nuestras” describes the human odyssey of the Falklands war. The story is told from the difficult perspective of an Argentinian war veteran, Sergio Delgado, who narrates the story from the time of his call to arms, the tense wait for the English troops, the fierce armed confrontation, to his experiences as a prisoner of war. In a stirring way, Sergio narrates his dramatic experiences on the front lines of Monte Longdon, the last Argentinian position to fall before surrender. The film emphasizes the personal history behind the official one, exposing myths and legends that accompanied the Falklands conflict during the last two decades.

About the Filmmaker
Ramiro Longo graduated in 1999 in direction and production. After graduation he directed several short films, including “We Are Winning”, a fictional film which won awards in more than 10 international film festivals. He is also the founder of ECI magazine/Independent Film Space (www.cineindependiente.com.ar), an electronic magazine that focuses on the diffusion of the Iberoamerican film market. “No Tan Nuestras” is his first documentary.

Occam’s Razor: Ishrat Jehan’s Easy Death | India | 2005 | 22 Min | Hindi

Camera: SatyaPrakash Rath
Editing: Bhaskar Sharma, Manoj Mishra
Sound: Priti Chandriani
Music: Miko
Directed & Produced by: Priti Chandriani

Synopsis
On June 15, 2004 a 19 year old college girl from suburban Mubra (60km from Mumbai) was shot dead by the Gujarat police. The charge leveled at her (till date, unsubstantiated), was that she was part of a terrorist group on a mission to assassinate the Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi. Based on the principle of “Occam’s Razor” (if you have two theories which both explain the observed facts, then you should use the simpler one until more evidence comes along), the film examines the possible versions and raises questions about the manner in which “encounter killings” are carried out.

About the Filmmaker
Priti Chandriani studied Mass Communication at Temple University, Philadelphia, USA. Her student films, “Glasshouse” (about mime artists), “Kendo” (about a form of martial arts combined with meditation) and “What is Art?” (a satire on art), set her in the direction of making off-beat, thought-provoking films. After a brief stint directing a weekly show at a CBS affiliate in the US, she returned to India to direct and produce commercials, serials and documentaries independently.

“Panta Rei” (Everything Flows) | Bosnia-Herzegovina | 2005 | 20 Min | Bosnian

Camera: Nisvet Hrustic
Editing: Nisvet Hrustic
Sound: Nisvet Hrustic
Script: Nisvet Hrustic
Directed & Produced by: Nisvet Hrustic

Synopsis
“Panta Rei” is about the ‘birth and death’ of seasons in the eyes of children. Ibrahim and Amra Hrustic play in their settlement through different seasons. They observe and admire the changing seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter, initially without a care in the world. But as each season passes they begin to realize the disconnection between their imaginations and reality. Suddenly they become aware of small tragedies such as their favorite tree being cut and their snowman melting. Without any dialogue, the film is a lyrical portrait of the loss of innocence.

About the Filmmaker
Nisvet Hrustic was born, and currently lives and works in Vitez, Bosnia- Herzegovina. He took up photography in 1973. In 1975, he started working on the “Super 8” format in film and to date has worked on all formats in film and video production. Among other things, he has worked as a cameraman and editor for television, and has also produced, edited and synchronized cartoons.

Peace One Day | UK | 2004 | 80 Min | English

Camera: Various
Editing: Adrian Begon
Producer: Jeremy Gilley
Directed by: Jeremy Gilley

Synopsis
In September 1999 filmmaker Jeremy Gilley assembled a small group of volunteers and began to document an experiment to find out if an ordinary individual could have any impact on the destiny of the global community. He decided to try and establish the first ever Global Cease-Fire Day. His task was to persuade one of the world’s governments to put his idea forward to the UN General Assembly. On 7th September 2001, General Assembly resolution 55/282 was unanimously adopted, establishing a day of global ceasefire and non-violence on the UN International Day of Peace, fixed in the calendar on 21st September annually. Four days later, on September 11th, Jeremy found himself at the UN in New York waiting for Secretary-General Kofi Annan to announce the creation of this Day to world media. Mission accomplished...finally. And then the planes hit.

About the Filmmaker
An actor for many years, Jeremy Gilley decided to start making his own films. Jeremy launched the film project “Peace One Day” to document his journey to establish a World Peace Day. Jeremy lives in London, England.

Pretty Dyana | Serbia | 2004 | 45 Min | Serbian

Camera: Boris Mitic
Editing: Boris Mitic
Sound: Dragutin Cirkovic
Music: Adem Smajli
Directed by: Boris Mitic

Synopsis
An intimate look at the gypsy refugees in a Belgrade suburb who make a living by transforming Citroen’s classic 2cv and Dyana cars into Mad-Max-like recycling vehicles, which they use to collect cardboard, bottles and scrap metal. These modern horses are much more efficient than the cart-pushing competition, but even more importantly, they also mean freedom, hope and style for their crafty owners. Even the car batteries are used as power generators in order to get some light, watch TV and recharge mobiles. Almost an alchemist’s dream come true! But the police doesn’t always find these strange vehicles funny…

About the Filmmaker
Boris Mitic’s whole life comes down to this: home, work, home and work. And to make things worse, he has no home and no work.

Ragpickers: Scavengers of a Different Graveyard | USA-India | 2005 | 55 Min | Hindi

Camera: SatyaPrakash Rath, Bimal Biswas
Editing: Altaf Shaikh
Sound: Subhashis Roy, Bhaskar Pal, Subhash Sahu
Music: Miko
Directed by: Tina Schmidt, Priti Chandriani, Brahmanand Singh

Synopsis
It is estimated there are 85,000 ragpickers (as garbage collectors are popularly known in India) in Bombay. This highly independent and industrious lot ekes out a living by sorting and selling a large part of the city’s increasing waste (nearly 8,000 tons per day). What is their world like? What draws them to an unromantic workplace like dumping centres and garbage bins in the city? What is the gap between their dreams and reality? What do they feel about the world, which offers them only rubbish?

About the Filmmaker
Tina Schmidt, of Swedish origin, spent her formative years in Bangkok where she studied hotel management and later took up modeling. She is an avid film enthusiast, attending many international film festivals over the years. Recently turned producer, “Ragpickers” is her debut film. Priti Chandriani studied Mass Communication at Temple University, USA. Her documentaries have been greatly appreciated and widely screened at international film festivals and various television channels. Brahmanand Singh is a writer and filmmaker from Bombay. He has published stories, poems, essays, written screenplays and made documentaries and short films. Prominent among his documentaries are “Ashgari Bai” (on a legendary Dhrupad singer) and “ A Burden of Love” (on Alzheimer’s disease).

She Write | India | 2005 | 54 Min | Tamil

Poetry Translation, Narration & Interviews by: Pritham Chakravarthy
Camera & Graphics: K.P. Jayasankar
Script & Editing: K.P. Jayasankar, Anjali Monteiro
Music: S.L.Vaidyanathan
Sound: Elangovan R.
Directed by: K.P. Jayasankar, Anjali Monteiro

Synopsis
“She Write” weaves together the narratives and work of four Tamil women poets. Salma negotiates subversive expression within the tightly circumscribed space allotted to women in the small town of Thuvarankurichi; for Chennai-based Kuttirevathi, solitude is a crucial creative space from where her work resonates; Malathy Maitri, who lives in Pondicherry and has been a Dalit and Marxist activist, attempts to explore and express feminine power; and Sukirtharani, a schoolteacher in Lalapet, writes of desire and longing, celebrating the body in a way that affirms feminine empowerment and a rejection of male centered discourse.

About the Filmmaker
Anjali Monteiro heads the Unit for Media and Communications at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences while K.P.Jayasankar is Reader (Production) at the same academy. Both of them are involved in media productions, teaching and research. Jointly they have won 10 national and international awards for their films. Recurring themes are notions of self and the other, of normalcy and deviance, and of the local and the global, through the examination of diverse narratives and rituals, such as the stories and paintings of indigenous peoples to the poetry of prison inmates.

Social Circus | Pakistan | 2005 | 58 Min | Urdu-English

Camera: Adnan Malik
Editing: Adnan Malik, Imran Niazi
Script: Adnan Malik
Producer: Page 33 Productions
Directed by: Adnan Malik

Synopsis
An improbable cast of A-list personalities and culturally marginalized performers are brought together to shoot a surreal music video for one of Pakistan’s biggest rock stars. Set in the heart of the diminishing red light district in Lahore, the shooting of this video provides a rare opportunity for interaction and artistic exchange. This noir comic book-inspired documentary follows its characters in and out of their neuroses, and highlights the social, logistical and ethical challenges that face the creative medium in Pakistan today.

About the Filmmaker
Adnan Malik graduated from Vassar College, New York, with a degree in film theory and production in 2002. He has worked with Miramax, Ridley Scott America, Dreamworks and various independent documentary production houses in the US. His first film, "Bijli", has won many awards including Best Short at the 3rd KaraFilm Festival and at the Delhi Digital Film Festival, 2003. His documentary on the demise of cinema culture in Pakistan, "The Forgotten Song", has played at numerous festivals around the world.

Soprano | Iran | 2004 | 32 Min | Persian-Turkish

Camera: Ali Akhbar Ghafooriyan
Editing: Farhuod Bahri Karami
Sound: Hadi Amini
Script: Ali Kheirkhah
Producer: Ali Kheirkhah, Artfilm
Directed by: Ali Kheirkhah

Synopsis
A female university student craves to be a singer.

About the Filmmaker
Ali Kheirkhah is a 24-year-old member of the Young Cinema Society of Iran. He has previously directed five short films and two documentaries.

“Spielgefahrten” (Eye-Catchers) | Germany | 2004 | 7 Min |

Camera: Ines Thomsen, Lars Lenski
Editing: Lars Spath
Music: Jean Pacalet
Directed by: Ines Thomsen

Synopsis
A short film about hope.

About the Filmmaker
Ines Thomsen was born in 1975, Pinneberg, Germany. He has worked as first and second camera assistant in New Zealand and Germany. From 1997-2004 he studied at the film school at Potsdam in Babelsburg, Germany, where he graduated with a diploma. He currently works as a cinematographer and director.

Treacling Down | Sri Lanka | 2005 | 14 Min | English

Camera: Upali Gamlath
Editing: Upali Gamlath
Sound: Upali Gamlath
Music: Gayan Ganakadara
Script: Upali Gamlath
Directed & Produced by: Upali Gamlath

Synopsis
The remote village of Meemure, surrounded by mountains and retaining its old cultural habits, is a place famous for the production of jaggery (unrefined sugar made from palm sap). Meemure is self sufficient in many respects, but its excess production is sold in urban centres for a mere pittance and sold at exorbitant prices in supermarkets. Marketed in the luxury supermarkets is not only the natural jaggery but also the culture closely tied with it and, of course, the beauty of the village. Ultimately the villager who labours most of his time to produce jaggery earns a meagre income while the urban businessman bags huge profits.

About the Filmmaker
Upali Gamlath has worked as a programme director since 1986 for NYSCO, the Video Academy of the National Youth Council in Sri Lanka. During this period, he directed several telefilms, songs, commercial advertisements, shorts and documentaries as a freelance director. He is also the main programme director for the alternative channel Rashmi TV. In addition, Gamlath is involved in scriptwriting for television programmes and films and is currently preparing to direct one of his feature scripts.

Waiting for Sunrise | Pakistan | 2005 | 6 Min | Urdu-Punjabi

Camera: Ashiq Mirza
Editing: Jemshaid Ashraf
Sound: Nouman Younas, M. Nadeem, Rashid Ishaq
Music: Keith Holden, Sohail Salamat
Executive Producer: Shahzad Irshad
Directed & Produced by: Aneel Ahmad

Synopsis
This film is about the children of courtesans and prostitutes who live within the old city of Lahore. Children without parents, they are unloved, live in slums and must beg to stay alive. Suffering verbal and physical abuse, they struggle to bring home enough money to live each day as it comes. The film looks at how extreme poverty and social class controls their environment.

About the Filmmaker
As a writer, Aneel Ahmad has had a number of short screenplays selected for production by various organizations such as the First Film Foundation, Granada Television and BBC Films. As a producer and director, he has completed six films which include the critically-acclaimed low-budget short “A Mans World”, an experimental, surreal film about a female boxer. He is currently working on another short film, “Boot Polish.” He hopes to take the next step into feature films.

Work In Progress: At The World Social Forum, 2004 | India | 2004 | 59 Min | English-Hindi-French-Portuguese-Spanish

Camera: Ajay Noronha, Anirudh, Arun Varma, Chandidas, Kapil Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Sameer Mahajan, Setu, Subhra Dutta
Editing: Rikhav Desai, Irene Dhar, Batul Mukhtiar, Neeraj Voralia, Kavita Pai, Shan Mohammad, Nirupama Kaul
Sound: Amla, Anita Kushwaha, Gissy Michael, Hari M, Manoj Sicca, Shubhashish Roy, Suresh Rajamani
Producer: WSF India
Directed by: Paromita Vohra

Synopsis
The World Social Forum began in Brazil in the year 2000 as a space for defining alternatives for globalization, economic imperialism, war and discrimination. In 2004, in its fourth year, it came to Bombay and widened its horizons to include issues of gender, indigenous peoples’ rights, alternative sexuality, women and war, caste and racism. For five days, people protested and analyzed existing economic, political and social injustice; celebrating alternatives and resistance through speeches, processions, music, debate, performance and conversation. The film, created from video material gathered by student crews to document this event, is an impression of a worldwide movement for economic, political and cultural justice and a travelogue of ideas for change.

About the Filmmaker
Paromita Vohra is a documentary filmmaker and screenwriter. Her films as director include “Cosmopolis: Two Tales of a City”(2004), “Un-Limited Girls”(2002), “A Short Film About Time”(2000), “A Woman’s Place”(1999), and “Annapurna”(1995). She is the scriptwriter of “Khamosh Pani” (Golden Leopard, Locarno Film Festival 2003, Best Screenplay, KaraFilm Festival 2003), “A Few Things I Know About Her” (a documentary that explores the many traditions that have sprung up around the life of mystic poet Mirabai), “Silver Conch” (a faux documentary about women, body image and self identity) and “If You Pause” (about museums and ways of seeing).

Women Of The Holy Kingdom | USA-Saudi Arabia | 2005 | 48 Min | Arabic-English

Camera: Julie Lei
Editing: Jay Keuper
Script: Philip Boag, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy
Executive Producer: Ann Derry
Producers: Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Jay Keupe, Maiken Bird
Directed by: Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy

Synopsis
In Saudi Arabia, women need permission from their male guardians to study, work and travel. They are also forbidden to drive or mix with men in public. Now, a growing number of Saudi women are challenging these traditions and are clamouring for more rights. This film documents the emerging women’s movement as well as the clerics and young working mothers who denounce change and label the women’s movement as immoral.

About the Filmmaker
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, born in Pakistan in 1978, studied economics and government at Smith College in the US, and earned a masters in international politics and communication from Stanford University. Her documentary films, “Terror’s Children”, “Re-inventing the Taliban” and “On a Razor’s Edge” have played at film festivals around the world. She is also the recipient of a number of prestigious awards including The Overseas Press Club Award and the American Women in Radio and Television Award.

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