BREAKTHROUGH PRESENTS
TRI CONTINENTAL FILM FESTIVAL 2006: HUMAN RIGHTS IN FRAMES
Moving images speak to us as nothing else does. Films can enthrall and educate: the TRI Continental Film Festival demonstrates this. Successfully bringing to India the finest human rights cinema from the global south, for a second time, the festival has been organized by Breakthrough, a human rights organization that uses media, education and popular culture to promote values of dignity, equality and justice.
National Award winning actress Tara will open the festival in Bangalore on January 29, where it will travel from Delhi and Mumbai. The 15-day long festival will then tour Chennai and Kolkata in the days following.
The 16 documentaries selected this year have won accolades all over the world. A jury of five :
Amar Kanwar, Arjun Chandramohan Bali, Ira Bhaskar, Rituparno Ghosh and Shohini Ghosh will award one of these with the Jury Prize. Additionally, the non-competitive section showcases 4 outstanding features.
Filmmakers will be present to discuss their films following certain screenings.
Initiated in Latin America in 2002, South Africa in 2003 and India in 2004, the TRI Continental Film Festival (3CFF) has become an annual platform for narrative, documentary, feature and short length films in the 3 continents. In the last year, the first 3CFF in India has travelled to Bangalore, Chandigarh, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Pune, reaching students and practitioners of human rights and film, IITs as well as cultural institutions, focused groups as well as general audiences. These films spark discussions, debates and conversations everywhere around human rights and social justice issues.
In this year's festival, find out what it means to be young, talented and a 'born criminal' ("Acting like a Thief"). Meet musicians and activists from the 'other' Americas ("Rebel Music Americas"). Watch the global media fight the war in Iraq ("Weapons of Mass Deception"). Join the global resistance to water privatization ("Thirst").
For details, visit www.breakthrough.tv or contact:
Alika Khosla
91 11 2617 6181/ 85
tri-cff@breakthrough.tv
In collaboration with:
Federation of Film Societies of India (FFSI)
Habitat Film Club, New Delhi
Alliance Francaise Delhi
JACIC, Mumbai
Suchitra Film Society, Bangalore
Alliance Francaise Bangalore
Indo-Cine Appreciation Forum, Chennai
Cine Central, Kolkata
Swayam, Kolkata
***SCREENING PROGRAMME BANGALORE***
In association with Uhuru Productions, FFSI, Suchitra Film Society & Alliance Francaise Bangalore
JANUARY 29 TO 31, 2006
Alliance Francaise, Bangalore
JANUARY 29
10.30 am
HOME AND BELONGING
The Concrete Revolution Dir. Xialou Guo (China & UK/ 2004/ 61 min)
A meditation on the price which is being paid for the building of the new China, the film starts with the unemployed peasants rushing into Beijing to work on the demolition and the construction of the city. New China uses these people's desperation to realize its huge ambitions. But the construction workers don't belong in Beijing, and Beijing has no place for them either. They long to return to their hometowns. The director is implicated too - does she also need to return home? As China sends rockets into space and prepares to host the 2008 Olympics, this film essay shows a crucial turning point in China's history and captures a rapidly disappearing past and erosion of every individual's roots. (Grand Prix, International Human Rights Film Festival, Paris, 2005)
Traje: Women and Weaving in Guatemala Dir. Phoebe Hart (Guatemala/ 2004/ 10 min)
The Maya people of Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, in particular the women, wear their traditional indigenous dress with pride. Handmade with a simple backstrap loom and embroidered with designs, symbols and stories that date back to antiquity, traje poses a colourful challenge to the pressures of changing values, global economies, and discrimination threatening the Mayan weaving practice. The film tells the story of three women who are resisting the homogenising effects of "western" culture.
The House on Gulmohar Avenue Dir. Samina Mishra (India/ 2005/ 30 min)
Sometimes the story of a life is the story of a search to be at home. "The House on Gulmohar Avenue" traces the personal journey of the filmmaker through the ideas of identity and belonging. The film is set in a part of New Delhi called Okhla, where four generations of the filmmaker's family have lived. An area that is predominantly inhabited by Muslims. An area that is sometimes also called Mini Pakistan. The filmmaker's personal history is a hybrid one but she grew up as a Muslim. Set against a quiet presence of the political context in India, the film seeks an honest and deeply personal understanding of what this means - when she is aware of being Muslim, when does it matter to her and when is it easier to forget it. In the journey to answer these difficult questions, the film seeks out encounters with other residents of Okhla to arrive at a complex understanding of what it can mean to be a Muslim in India today.
1.00 pm BODY/CONTROL
Bride Kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan Dir. Petr Lom (Kyrgyzstan, Canada & Czech Republic/ 2004/ 52 min)
Bride kidnapping is a common way of marrying in Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet repubilc in Central Asia. This ancient custom has become more widespread since Kyrgyzstan's independence: because of increasing poverty, many choose to kidnap because they cannot afford the typically steep bride price asked by a Kyrgyz girl's family. Typically, the groom takes several friends, hires a car, stakes out his bride-to-be's movements, and snatches her off the street. The woman is taken to the groom's family home. A delegation is then sent to her family to inform them of the kidnapping. The abducted woman is kept until someone from her family arrives to determine whether she will marry her abductor. The level of consent and the familiarity of the bride with the groom vary. Sometimes the kidnappings are consensual - the bride is engaged to the groom and agrees to her "abduction", a playful ritual, prior to marriage. But in many other cases, the bride has never met the groom before her abduction, and does not want to marry. Recent studies estimate that about half of all rural marriages in Kyrgyzstan today are conducted through kidnapping, and that in half of these marriages the bride is forced to marry against her will. This documentary - the first to ever document the custom - follows the dramatic stories of four of non-consensual kidnappings.
Sancharram (The Journey) Dir. Ligy Pullapally (India/ 2004/ 107 min)
Set in the lush, rural Kerala, The Journey begins with the childhood friendship between beautiful, outgoing Delilah, a Christian girl, and the sober, idealistic, and inwardly focused Kiran, whose Nair family settles next door. They quickly become inseparable, and in time Kiran feels attracted to Delilah, but suppresses it. She finds a Bergerac-like outlet by writing love letters to Delilah for Rajan, a local boy pursuing her. When Delilah learns the truth about the letters, she responds ? to Kiran. As neighbors begin to talk, Delilah's family flies into panic mode with arranged marriage plans; meanwhile Kiran fights back, leaving Delilah in the middle of a tug of war. The director achieves in this film a piquancy that deepens a sensitively drawn story. (The Chicago Award for Best Film, 40th Chicago International Film Festival, Chicago, 2004; India's Best Debut Director, The Lankesh Award, Bangalore India, 2005; Special Jury Prize, John Abraham Award, Kerala, 2004; Jury Prize, Kerala State Film Awards, 2005; Frameline Film Completion Award, San Francisco, 2004)
4:30 pm EMERGING SONGS
Angola saudades from the one who loves you Dir. Richard Pakleppa (Angola/ 2005/ 65 min)
The civil war in Angola tore the country in two for twenty-seven years. Three years ago peace was negotiated. For the first time since the country's independence it is united, but it has also been totally destroyed. Nevertheless, Pakleppa opens his film with an optimistic
promise: "Angola longs for a new future," sings a woman in Portuguese. A politician, an ambitious rapper, and a street urchin amidst the worst possible misery all tell how beautiful and rich Angola actually is.
6:00 pm INAUGURATION by Tara
6:30 pm SNAPSHOTS OF COURAGE
No More Tears Sister: An Anatomy of Hope and Betrayal Dir. Helene Klodawsky (Canada/2004/ 80 min)
A story of love, revolution and betrayal, "No More Tears Sister" explores the price of truth in times of war. Set during the violent ethnic conflict that has enveloped Sri Lanka over decades, the documentary recreates the courageous and vibrant life of renowed human rights activist Dr. Rajani Thiranagama. Mother, anatomy professor, author and symbol of hope, Rajani was assassinated at the age of thirty-five. 15 years after Rajani's death, her charismatic older sister Nirmala, a former Tamil militant and political prisoner, journeys back to Sri Lanka. She has decided to break her long silence about Rajani's passionate life and her brutal slaying. Joining her are Rajani's husband, sisters and grown daughters, as well as fellow activists forced underground. Stunningly photographed, using rare archival footage, intimate correspondence and poetic recreations, the film recounts Rajani's dramatic story and delves into rarely explored themes - revolutionary women and their dangerous pursuit of justice. (Columbus International Film and Video Festival, Worthington, USA, 2005)
JANUARY 30
10:30 am EMERGING SONGS
Kitte Mil Ve Mahi (Where the Twain Shall Meet) Dir. Ajay Bhardwaj (India/ 2005/ 72 min)
Travel to the heart of Punjab. Enter a world of Sufi shrines worshipped and looked after by Dalits. Listen to B.S. Balli Qawwal Paslewale, the first generation Dalit Qawwals born out of this tradition. Join a fascinating dialogue with Lal Singh Dil - a radical poet, a Dalit, converted to Islam. Meet the last living legend of the Gadar movement, Baba Bhagat Singh Bilga, who contests the subversion of a common past, while affirming a new consciousness among Dalits, within and beyond Punjab. "Kitte Mil Ve Mahi" is people's narrative of the little-known cultural/spiritual universe of Punjab.
Rebel Music Americas Dir. Malcolm Guy & Marie Botie (Canada/ 2004/ 79 min)
>From Tierra del Fuego to the Rio Grande, the "other" Americas are in
turmoil, and in the midst of the social and political movements rocking the region are four groups of passionate musicians. Theirs is the music of the America of the South - popular, dynamic, rebellious and more often than not "anti-American". It's the rhythms and voices of Afro-Colombian musicians from communities forcibly displaced by the military; of Lila Downs and the struggle of women and indigenous peoples in Mexico; of Santa Reveulta and unemployed workers blocking access to a refinery in Buenos Aires, and Chico Cesar joining a land occupation of the Landless Worker's Movement (MST) in Brazil. (Best Documentary, Roma Independent Film Festival, Rome, 2005)
1:30 pm EVERY WAR HAS ITS IMAGE
14 Episodes Dir. Murad Muzaev (Ukraine, Netherlands & Chechen Republic of Ichkerya/ 2004/ 9 min)
This documentary short consists direct and fragmentary narratives of dead, wounded and fleeing civilians and soldiers from the first and second Russian-Chechen wars. Torn metal, the bare face of death, helplessness - nothing is side-stepped, bearing testimony to the scale and severity of this extraordinarily savage war. The material was given by the Ukranian TV reporter Taras Protsuk, killed in Iraq on 8 April 2003, and also Adam Tepsurkaev (killed in Chechnya) and Islam Saydaev. (Award for Short Film Promoting Human Rights (special citation), Melbourne Film International Festival, Melbourne, Australia, 2005; Amnesty International Prize, International Documentary Film Festival, Amsterdam, 2004)
Weapons of Mass Deception Dir. Danny Schechter (USA/ 2004/ 98 min)
There were two wars going on in Iraq. One was fought with armies of soldiers, bombs and a fearsome military force. The other was fought alongside it with cameras, satellites, armies of journalists and propanganda techniques. The TV networks in America considered their non-stop coverage their finest hour, but different countries saw different wars. Why? WMD explores this story with the findings of a gutsy, media insider-turned-outsider, former network journalist, Danny Schechter, who is also one of America's most prolific media critics.
(Best Documentary, Denver International Film Festival, Denver, USA, 2004)
3:30 pm SNAPSHOTS OF COURAGE
Beauty Will Save the World Dir. Pietra Brettkelly (UK & New Zealand/ 2004/ 62 min)
Before Saddam and Osama, Colonel Muammar Gadaffi was one of the most reviled leaders in the West. Then in 2002 he hosted the first Miss Net World beauty pageant, a first for Libya. "Beauty Will Save the World" follows the exploits of 19 year-old Teca Zendik, the American contender for the crown. She sets out with her political loyalties in check, even refusing to wear the competition uniform - a tshirt emblazoned with Gadaffi's likeness. How then does she assume the position of honorary consul to the US for Libya in a mere matter of months? Marvel at how diplomatic ties are re-established between two nations while enjoying the behind-the-scenes antics of a beauty pageant.
5:00 pm CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
Justiça Dir. Maria Ramos (Netherlands/ 2004/ 102 min)
In Justiça, Maria Ramos puts a camera where many Brazilians have never been - a criminal courtroom in Rio de Janeiro, following the daily routine of several characters. There are those that work there every day (public attorneys, judges, and prosecutors) and those that are merely passing through (the accused). The camera is used as an instrument that sees the social theater, the structures of power - that is to say, what is, in general, invisible to us. With her options clear, and unobscured by her choice for sobriety and simplicity, Maria Ramos makes it evident that, like documentary making, justice is a long way from being impartial. How and for whom the judicial system works for in Brazil is the fundamental question dealt with in this film, without providing any definite answers or making preconceived judgements.
7:00 pm BIRTH OF A NEW SOUTH AFRICA
Homecoming Dir. Norman Maake (South Africa/ 2005/ 90 min) FEATURE
"Homecoming" is a story of loves lost, futures promised and the price of freedom, but above all it is about friendship. Set in 1996, it is a heart-wrenching thriller about three boyhood friends, ANC exiles, who come back home to post-apartheid South Africa. Charlie, Peter and Thabo are forced to deal with the realities of the apartheid era and their friendship begins to take on a new meaning. This feature's cast includes South Africa's most acclaimed actors.
JANUARY 31
10:30 am CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
Acting Like a Thief Dir. Kerim Friedman & Shashwati Talukdar (India & USA/ 2005/ 15 min) WORLD PREMIERE
"Acting Like a Thief" is a short film about the Budhan Theatre of Chharanagar. Starting with playwright Dakxin Bajrange discussing his arrest the film brings us inside the lives of a dedicated group of young actors and their families as they discuss what it means to be a "born criminal" and how theater changed their lives. The members of Budhan Theatre are Chhara tribals. They were notified as "born criminals" by the British, and imprisoned in a labor camp in Ahmedabad. After Indian independence they were de-notified, but the stigma of being a "born criminal" follows them to this day. (Playwright Dakxin Bajrange present for interaction)
Sisters in Law Dir. Kim Longinotto & Florence Ayisi (UK/ 2005/ 106 min)
Selected for Cannes this year, "Sisters in Law" is a totally fascinating - often hilarious - look at the work of one small courthouse in South West Cameroon. The two women at the heart of the doco wouldn't be out of place in an Alexander McCall Smith bestseller. As the State Counsel and Court President, they dispense wisdom, wisecracks and justice in fair measure. The victims of crime - an abused child, a woman daring to accuse a man of rape, and another trying to end a brutal marriage in a society where divorce is taboo - are handled with fierce compassion. You will feel like cheering when justice is served. (Prix Art Et Essai, Cannes, France, 2005)
1:15 pm IN A VEIN IRREVERENT
West Bank Story Dir. Ari Sandel (USA/ 2005/ 21 min)
A musical comedy set in the fast-paced, fast-food world of competing falalfel stands in the West Bank. David, an Israeli soldier, falls in love with the beautiful Palestinian cashier, Fatima, despite the animosity between their families' dueling restaurants. Can the couple's love withstand a 2000 year old conflict and their families' desire to control the future of the chickpea in the Middle East?
1:45 pm CIVIL STRUGGLES
The Take Dir. Avi Lewis (Canada/ 2004/ 87 min)
In the wake of Argentina's spectacular economic collapse in 2001, Latin America's most prosperous middle class finds itself in a ghost town of abandoned factories and mass unemployment. In suburban Buenos Aires, thirty unemployed auto-parts workers walk into their idle factory, roll out sleeping mats and refuse to leave. All they want is to re-start the silent machines. But this simple act - the take - has the power to turn the globalization debate on its head. Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein take viewers inside the lives of ordinary visionaries, as they reclaim their work, their dignity and their democracy.
Thirst Dir. Deborah Kaufman & Alan Snitow (USA/ 2004/ 62 min)
Is water part of a shared commons, a human right for all people? Or is it a commodity to be bought and sold in the global marketplace? Filmed in Bolivia, India and the USA, "Thirst" depicts communities struggling with these questions as water becomes the world's most valuable resource. This groundbreaking new film exposes how a global corporate drive to commodify the world's water inspires new movements against globalisation. (Filmmakers present) (The Chris Statuette, Columbus International Film Festival, Columbus, Ohio, 2004; 1st Prize (Environment & Social Justice), Earth Vision Film Festival, Santa Cruz, California, 2004; CINE Golden Eagle Award, Fall 2004)
4:30 pm BIRTH OF A NEW SOUTH AFRICA
Zulu Love Letter Dir. Ramadan Suleman (South Africa & France/ 2004/ 100 min) FEATURE
A keen and insightful psychological drama, Zulu Love Letter presents the emotional journey of two mothers searching for their daughters. Tormented by the haunting images and unrelenting grief of the past, single mother and journalist Thandi has difficulty communicating with her estranged daughter, Mangi. Thirteen-year old Mangi is deaf and dumb due to the beating that the pregnant Thandi received at the same time that her friends, Mike and Dineo, were murdered by an Apartheid hit squad. Mike and Dineo's fate pursues her, especially when Dineo's mother appears requesting that Thandi testify before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. (Grand Prix Du Mellieur Scenariste - Special Jury Award, organised by Sopadin, France, 2001)
6:30 pm RESCREENING: Jury Prize Winner
* THE SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
