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Welcome to the 9th Edition of AsiaticaFilmMediale
WINNING FILMS The jury decided to award first price, ex aequo, to the films As simple as that (Reza Mir Karimi) because of the intensity with which it depicts the discomfort of a common woman within her own family. Letters from death row (Kevin Feng Ke) for the gaze with which it shares the last few days with several men and women condemned to death. In addition to these, the jury decided to award Two legged horse (Samira Makhmalbaf) with a special mention for its originality. NETPAC JURY
The jury decided to award first prize, ex aequo, to the films
WINNING DOCUMENTARIES The jury decided to award first prize to the documentary: Supermen of Malegaon (Faiza Ahmad Khan) for the originality of the subject, where the characters know, study and refashion models of western cinema as well as thos of Bollywood. It is not by chance that it takes place in Marhastra, whose capital city, Mumbai, is the heart of the indian film industry, widespread in all the world. An ironic and astute refashioning of a commercial western icon: Superman. The result, obtained despite reduced means, in only 15 days of shooting, with the collaboration of the entire community moving around its creators, is a sort of antidote to the cultural standardization, nourished by fantasy and irony.
The rhythm is excellent, the narrative set-up only seemingly simple, but in reality solid and refined. An extraordinarily efficient and fresh backstage, which manages to turn into an authentic docu-drama in which one recognizes the author's glance. What's more, the jury wished to assign a special mention to the documentary Recycle (Mahmoud Al Massad), a complex documentary which contributes to the understanding of greatly relevant problems both political, human and social.
Before and after the tsunami If we must find a common denominator for the works being presented in this year’s festival, we could say that it is the sense of disorientation, even when everything seems to be normal: the wave continues to transform the scenario in and all around us. The ninth edition of AsiaticaFilmMediale opens with “The Light of Asia” a 1925 film dedicated to the life of Buddha which was directed by Franz Osten and Himanshu Rai, marking the first big co-production between India and Europe. The actor and co-director of the film, Himanshu Rai, founded the “Bombay Talkies” in 1934, the first large scale cinema production company in India. With this film the festival launches “Focus on Bombay”, a section which includes two historic milestones of popular Hindu cinema from 1955, “Shree 420”, by Raj Kapoor, director, producer and very popular actor, and “Mr. & Mrs. 55”, by the legendary Guru Dutt, a social comedy orientated in Bombay of that time. Also in this section highlighting Bombay is the film “Mumbai Cutting”, a collective work of eleven stories by eleven contemporary Indian directors. Still another two films address the theme of urban terrorism, “Mumbai Meri Jaan”, by Nishikant Kamat, which follows the life of victims of a train attack, and “A Wednesday”, by Neeraj Pandey, about the choice of a man to use terrorist tactics to punish terrorists. The highlights continue with “Little Zizou” a social comedy by Sooni Taraporevala, the script writer of Mira Nair’s most successful films. Among the eleven films in competition there are films from China, Iran, Japan, Kazakistan, The Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand. From the Philippines come two metropolitan stories, “Tambolista”, by Adolfo Alix Jr. and “Blink” by Ronaldo Bertubin, filmed in digital, bordering that fine line between fiction and reality. From Iran, the latest work of Samira Makhmalbaf, “Two Legged Horse”, filmed in Afghanistan, about the rapport between two young boys, and “As Simple as That”, by Seyed Reza Mirkarimi, a realistic depiction of a critical day in the life of a middle class Iranian housewife. The closing film is also form Iran “Song of Sparrows”, by Majid Majidi, winner of the Silver Bear for best actor at the Berlinale and nominated for an Oscar. From Japan “Tokyo Sonata” by the cult director Akira Kurosawa, reveals all the family tensions hidden behind the appearance of normality. From China, “Letters from Death Row”, Kevin Feng Ke’s potent portrait filmed clandestinely in a real prison about a man on a death sentence awaiting execution. From Thailand the film “Wonderful Town”, by Aditya Assarat about the impact the Tsunami on the lives of village inhabitants along the coast. From Central Asia, an area of the world that the has always received particular attention from AsiaticaFilmMediale, comes “Songs from the Southern Seas”, directed by Kirgikistan director Marat Sarulu, about the rapport over the years between a Russian boy and a boy from Kazakhstan, and about their relationship with the same woman. “Strizh”, by Abai Kulbai, is a portrait of a young girl in Kazakhstan and her inner conflict, which reflects those of the country, between tradition and westernization. A second film from Kazakhstan is “Together with my Father”, directed by Daniyar Salamat on the effect a parents’ separation has on their eight year old son. From Sri Lanka, “Flowers of the sky”, by Prasanna Vithanage, reveals the rapport between two actresses, mother and daughter, the film industry today, with all its contradictions, and the memories of how it was in the past. The authors of the works listed above will be guests of the festival, as will those of the documentaries in competition. These include “In Search of Michelangelo”, by Liu Haiping, about the Chinese experiences of Michelangelo Antonioni, and “the Red Race”, by Gan Chao, depicting some children in Beijing during last year’s preparations for the Olympics. Still on the theme of the Olympics, “Inshallah Beijing”, by Luca Cubani and Francesco Cannito, describes the days between Jericho and Beijing, of four Palestinian athletes that participate in the competitions. From Iran, “Final Fitting”, by Reza Haeri, a portrait of a tailor who dresses the religious leaders of Iran and “Cyanosis”, by the director Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami, about a street painter in Tehran. From Jordan, “Recycle”, by Mahmoud al-Massad, tells the story of an ex ex-mujahedeen who fought against Russian occupation and who is perhaps suspected of being part of the movement lead by Al Qaeda, and who now collects paper and cardboard boxes in the street. Also from Jordan, “Take me Home” by Mais Darwazah, a look at the Palestinian Diaspora as observed by way of a Palestinian woman’s visit to see her grandmother and aunt in Damascus. “Brides of Allah”, by Natalie Assoulile, describes the conditions in Israeli prisons for Palestinian woman accused of terrorist activities. Joshua Dugdale’s documentary “Unwinking Gaze”, on the Dalai Lama’s rapport with China, and “Listener’s Tale” by Arghya Basu, on Sikkim Buddhism, accompany the inauguration of the exhibit of photographs by Raghu Rai, the most famous photographer in India. The photographs capture the essence of the Dalai Lama’s personality and that of his people and take us on a voyage from spirituality to revolt in Tibet. “Iran before the revolution”, is the title of a cycle of historic documentaries filmed before the Islamic revolution of 1979, and these will be screened in the new festival location, Hadrian’s Temple. Among these, “La Via del Petrolio”, the first and only documentary of Bernardo Bertolucci, and from the author of the celebrated documentary “Le Ballon Rouge”, “Lovers’ Wind” by Albert Lamorisse, who died filming the last sequence of the film. These two works will be accompanied by a retrospective on Kamran Shirdel, pioneer of Iranian documentaries, architect and urban planner, who will be a guest of the festival. A round table discussion on urban planning entitled “Contemporary Architecture in Asia” will host illustrious architects, with brief screenings showing the transformation of metropolis such as Shanghai, Mumbai and Tokyo. For the “Asiatica Encounters” Xu Xing, the author of the novel “And that which remains is for you” will present his documentary “Chronicles of My Cultural Revolution”, from “Faces of a Changing Asia”, filmed in Asiatic countries in 1971/2 by Carlo Lizzani and adapted for television by Furio Colombo, will be discussed by the two authors. One of the novelties of this year is the initiative to make, during the course of the festival, a short film by five directors - coming from China, Japan, Iran, and Sri Lanka - on the importance of food in the dialogue between cultures. The shorts on the theme “Bread, wine and beyond” will be presented during the final evening of the festival, thanks to the collaboration of the Regional Agency for Agricultural Development and Innovation of Lazio (ARSIAL). The Director
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