Perspective: Documentary in Humanity

""If we start by changing our image of the world, we'll end up changing the world" - wim wenders

The documentaries below are trying to change the image of the world, and we believe that someday, documentary could change the world it self.

This year, FFD in perspective section celebrates the festival with special focus in humanity. Compiling documentary from around the world, in order to guide you to take a look back to the past, seeing what happen in present and hopefully we can imagine what can we do in the future. through documentary, with the perspective of humanity.

In this section, FFD with a guest programmer, Ohsie Acosta (Cinemanila), bring you to take a look back in the last five years humanity history in South east Asia in Take a look Back to The SEA. Also some short Documentary in Short Perspective program.

Prepare your eye drop, encourage your heart and lets travels around the world of Humanity.

Perspective: Humanity

Paper Can Not Wrap Up Embers

Rithy Panh, 2006, France/ Cambodia, 90 min.

Film ini menyimak dengan sangat dekat pengalaman-pengalaman sekelompok wanita pekerja seks komersil di Kamboja dengan kehidupan mereka yang penuh dengan keputus-asaan. Saat siang hari, mereka tinggal di sebuah gedung tua, dan ketika malam tiba, mereka menjajakan diri di jalanan, mengumpulkan uang sedikit demi sedikit. Nasib mereka sangat tergantung pada mood, pelanggan, dan polisi. Kesewenang-wenangan, kekerasan fisik, narkoba, dan AIDS juga begitu akrab dengan keseharian mereka.

They are doomed to the inevitable process of their social and physical decay, and to the slow death of their spirits: by day, the young Cambodian girls live in a derelict building, by night they walk the streets, earning a pitifully low amount of money as prostitutes. Their fate depends on the mood and the random acts of their clients, their pimps, and the police. Humiliation, physical violence, drugs and AIDS are the constants around which their lives revolve. "The film is situated as close as one can get to the life - and thus to the spiritual death - of a prostitute. The ultimate social decay ends with the irreparable injustice of a process that cannot be reversed: the destruction of a body.“

Cinéma du Réel 2007, Doclisboa, Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, Anûû rû âboro International Film Festival, festival d’Alba,

Senin, Dec 10 | 20.30 | Vredeburg 1 (opening film)

Kamis, Dec 13 | 13.00 | LIP

Neo Lounge

Joanna Vasquez Arong CHINA, 86 minutes, 2007

Beijing 2003. Menderu menjadi sebuah kota kosmopolitan kelas dunia, banyak orang asing datang ke Beijing. Di kota yang penuh dengan pertentangan dan kejutan, banyak orang yang mencari kehangatan dan perlindungan di bar-bar, salah satunya Bar Neo-Lounge yang dijalankan oleh pasangan Shanghai yang trendy. Film ini menyajikan kisah hidup seorang penyanyi Jazz Bulgaria, yang mulai berpentas ketika China terkena wabah SARS, dan seorang pengusaha Italia yang gila pesta. Keduanya, bersama dengan teman-temannya, mengejar mimpi di tengah kota Beijing yang sama sekali tak bisa diduga. Nyatanya, lari dari masa lalu tak selamanya mudah.

Beijing 2003. As the capital strives to transform itself into a world-class cosmopolitan city, many foreigners are drawn to Beijing. In a city full of surprises and contradictions, many are finding refuge in the trendy bar, Neo-Lounge, run by a hip Shanghainese couple. The film follows a year in the lives of a Bulgarian jazz singer after she lands her first gig during the SARS epidemic period and a larger-than-life Italian businessman whose parties never seem to cease at his lavish home. As they both strive to chase their dreams and find their own space in unpredictable Beijing, they, together with their colorful friends, soon find out that escaping their past isn’t always easy.

Kamis, Dec 13 | 14.15 | Vredeburg 1

Sabtu, Dec 15 | 14.15 | Vredeburg 2

La fille du Juge

William Karel, 90’/Roche Production/2005

Kenangan yang pahit, menyakitkan. Perjalanan seorang anak perempuan dari seorang ayah pelaku terorisme dan pengeboman kota Paris pada pertengahan tahun 80. Tidak ada lagi yang ingat ayahnya, namun tentu saja mimpi buruk itu tidak akan pernah pergi dari kepalanya. Dia hidup dengan membawa memori itu, ke mana pun ia pergi.

A memory was hurts. Its a journey from a terrorism perpetrator daughter. Her father has bombed Paris town in the middle of 80s. No one remember her father, but of course the nightmare will never go from her head. She life by bringing the memory wherever she go.

Nominee for Best Documentary, Meilleur film documentaire

Selasa, Dec 11 | 15.00 | LIP

Jum’at, Dec 14 | 13.00 | Vredeburg 2

The River Where We Live

Sylvain L’Espérance Canada, 92 min, 2006, Vidéo, couleur.

Film ini berkisah tentang sebuah delta sungai di Mali, Afrika. Di sana kanal, sungai, danau, tanah lapang, daerah banjir bertemu dengan mozaik-mozaik kebudayaan masyarakat etnis lokal. Film ini secara sistematis merefleksi keterpurukan para penduduk di tanah yang sepi itu. Salah seorang penjual ikan berkisah tentang kekhawatirannya, kesibukan di tepi sungai sudah menghilang, bersamaan dengan mulai hilangnya ikan-ikan yang biasa berenang di sana.

In Mali, the River Niger’s inner delta is a tangle of canals, rivers, lakes, islands, ponds, meadows, flood zones and a mosaic of ethnic peoples. The film methodically sets about undermining appearances and clichés attached to this sea of tranquility. A fish-seller is worried: the riverside rushes are disappearing, as are the fish that shelter among them. The Peul herder talks of the big cats that are becoming rarer, of his cattle’s sickness now the ponds are drying up. The Niger is a living being, not just a surface of water, a complexorganism that is slowly dying under our eyes, without our realising it.

Brooklyn International Film Festival, Cinéma d’Attac Festival, Champs et Contrechamp festival, Festival de l’Oh!, Visions du Réel Film Festival, Hot Docs Film Festival, Dok.Fest

Selasa, Dec 11 | 16.30 | LIP

Sabtu, Dec 15 | 13.00 | Vredeburg 2

MORRISTOWN: In the Air and Sun

Anne Lewis, 60 min, USA, 2007

Anne Lewis, sutradara dari film ini menceritakan sejarah selama hampir satu dekade perubahan di Morristown, Tennessee. Melalui wawancara denngan para pekerja dari Selatan yang berupah rendah, imigran dari Meksiko, dan para pekerja beserta keluarganya yang terkena efek globalisasi. Video ini menunjukkan bagaimana kaum buruh di Meksiko dan AS itu ditangkap di tengah perubahan ekonomi besar-besaran, menantang asumsi mereka mengenai pekerjaan, keluarga, masyarakat, dan bangsa.

In this hour-long documentary, director Anne Lewis chronicles nearly a decade of change in Morristown, Tennessee, through interviews with displaced or low-wage Southern workers, Mexican immigrants, and workers and families impacted by globalization. The video shows how working-class people in Mexico and the US are caught in the throes of massive economic change, challenging their assumptions about work, family, community, and nation

Rabu, 12 Des, 16.30, Vredeburg 1

Invisible City

Tan Pin Pin, Singapore, 59 min, 2007

Dokumenter ini menyampaikan seberapa personalkah pencarian mereka dan bagaimana begitu rentannya sejarah, hanya bergantung pada artefak dan memori mereka. dirangkai dengan wawancara yang tidak pernah diperlihatkan sebelumnya, footage dan foto-foto yang diambil dari arsip-srsip pribadi para narasumbernya. Dalam film ini, anda adalah saksi dari kegagalan memori.

The documentary conveys how deeply personal their search is and how fragile histories are, hanging on only through their memories and artefacts. Interwoven with the interviews is never seen before footage and photos of the City culled from their private archives. In Invisible City, you witness the atrophy of memory, you see a City that could have been.

Rabu, Dec 12 | 13.00 | Vredeburg 1

Kamis, Dec 13 | 16.00 | LIP

Up The Ridge

Nick Szuberla and Amelia Kirby, USA, 60 min, 2006

Film ini membawa kita memasuki industri penjara Amerika Serikat dan efek sosial yang diakibatkan oleh pemindahan ratusan ribu narapidana dari penjara di kota ke sebuah penjara di lokasi yang terpencil. Film ini memaparkan benturan kepentingan antara agenda politik kebijakan pemerintah dan pelanggaran hak asasi manusia, membuka tabir adanya kepentingan politik sepihak yang menjerumuskan komunitas masyarakat ke dalam konflik rasial dan budaya yang pada akhirnya membawa konsekuensi yang tragis. Secara ideologis dan praktis, kejadian ini mengingatkan pada pelanggaran hak asasi manusia di Abu Ghraib dan juga catatan penyiksaan fisik dan seksual yang terjadi di penjara-penjara Amerika.

The film lead us to see in-depth look at the United States prison industry and the social impact of moving hundreds of thousands of inner-city minority offenders to distant rural outposts. The film explores competing political agendas that align government policy with human rights violations, and political expediencies that bring communities into racial and cultural conflict with tragic consequences. Connections exist, in both practice and ideology, between human rights violations in Abu Ghraib and physical and sexual abuse recorded in American prisons.

Rabu, Dec 12 | 15.30 | Vredeburg 1

Turbulent Waters

Malcolm Guy and Michelle Smith, 53 min, Prod: National Film Board of Canada

Film ini mengajak kita ke bawah geladak untuk menemui para pekerja yang berada di jantung perekonomian dunia, mengingat 90% perdagangan internasional bergerak melalui laut. Namun, pekerja yang menjadi tulang punggung perdagangan dunia ini ternyata hidup menderita dan 2.500 di antaranya tewas dalam pekerjaannya setiap tahun. Dokumenter yang sangat menggigit ini mengekspos kenyataan pelayaran internasional dan memberikan suara dan martabat kepada para pekerja yang membahayakan nyawa mereka dalam mengantarkan barang-barang kebutuhan hidup kita sehari-hari.

"Mr. Myles, pick up the phone. Please. This is a very urgent matter."

This film takes us below deck to meet the men who toil at the grimy heart of the global economy as over 90% of international trade moves by sea. Yet the men whose labour is the lifeblood of world trade reap few benefits with over 2500 seafarers die on the job every year. This hard-hitting documentary exposes the reality of international shipping, while giving voice and dignity to the men who risk their lives to bring us the goods we need.

Rabu, Dec 12 | 15.00 | Vredeburg 2

And Thereafter II

Hosup Lee, 56 min, South Korea, prod. DocuEye Production,2006

Ajuma adalah seorang pengantin dari seorang prajurit Amerika di Korea Selatan. Dia lalu ikut suaminya ke Amerika, dan sekarang menjadi seorang janda. Dia berbicara bahasa inggris setegah-setengah, dan suka berjudi di kasino lokal. Saat diwawancara, dia berbicara blak-blakan kepada filmmaker. Walaupun agak terlihat menyembunyikan kesedihan di balik kalimat-kalimatnya, karakternya terlihat selalu menang … Cerita tentang wanita tangguh ini pada akhirnya bukan sekadar sebuah memori yang terpendam, tapi menjelma menjadi sebuah bagian sejarah yang terlupakan.

Ajuma was a war bride of an American GI in South Korea. She followed her husband to the USA. She is now a widow. She speaks English reluctantly, likes gambling to the local casino. When interviewed, she responds bluntly to the filmmaker. Although he shelters behind the ironic tone of his captions, his “character” always wins. In many ways, And Thereafter II is reminiscent of Shohei Imamura’s History of Post-War Japan as Told by a Bar Hostess. The fundamental likeness lies in the affection linking the filmmaker to his character, with the result that he is no longer the witness of a story he recreates for us, but a central character of his narrative. His heroine is not a deep-buried memory, but rather part of a forgotten history.

Selasa, Dec 11 | 17.00 | Vredeburg 2

Kamis, Dec 13 | 19.00 | Kinoki

Acidente

Cao Guimarães and Pablo Lobato, Brazil, 72 min, 2006

Guimarães dan Lobato mengunjungi 20 kota di Minas Gerais, Brazil, merekam dengan film secara kontinyu apa yang ditemui mereka, mulai dari prosesi religious di Virgin of The Rock hingga aktivitas malam di pom bensin di Watery Yeyes. Film ini menunjukkkan keberagaman budaya di masing-masing kota.

Guimarães and Lobato visit 20 city in Minas Gerais, Brazil and unobtrusively film slices of life, from a religious procession in Virgem da Lapa (Virgin of the Rock), to the nighttime activity at a lone gas station in Olhos d'Agua (Watery Eyes), to women sweeping the road in Entre Folhas (Between Leaves). These individual picture postcards form a larger tapestry revealing the diversity of the people, locations, and cultures of the region, while the place names gradually unite to become a literal and expressive poem on the screen

Selasa, Dec 11 | 19.00 | Vredeburg 2

Sabtu, Dec 15 | 13.00 | Vredeburg 1

Take a Look Back to The SEA

(South East Asia on Perspective of Humanity) Special program on perspective, The last five year Humanity story in South East Asia. Guest programmer: Ohsie Acosta.

Aki Ra’s Boys

Directors: Lynn Lee, James Leong, Prod: Lianain Films, 56 min, Singapore/ Vietnam, 2007

Boreak kehilangan lengan kanannya karena terkena ranjau darat saat masih berumur 6 tahun. Tak mampu memberi makan dan stress harus mengurusi Boreak dan delapan anak yang lain, Orang tua Boreak memutuskan untuk mengirimkan mereka ke sebuah rumah untuk anak-anak korban ranjau di Siem Reap. Aki Ra, mantan tentara anak-anak yang dilatih oleh Khmer untuk memasang ranjau darat, yang kini berusia 30 tahun, dihantui oleh kekerasan masa lalunya dan berharap untuk membayarnya dengan memberikan rumah bagi anak-anak seperti Boreak dan membantu membersihkan jutaan ranjau yang masih tertanam di negeri itu. Perjalanan menuju ladang ranjau menunjukkan kepada kita betapa mengerikannya pekerjaan Aki Ra. Dalam perjalanan ini, dia menemukan dua ranjau. Tapi masih sangat banyak lagi ranjau yang mesti ditemukan. Menunggu untuk disingkirkan.

Boreak was six when he lost his right arm in a landmine accident. Family members rushed the young Cambodian to a nearby hospital where so-called "doctors" performed a crude amputation. Burdened with eight other children to feed and unable to cope with the stress of handling a crippled son. Aki Ra, a former child soldier, trained by the Khmer Rogue army to lay landmines. Now in his 30s, Aki Ra is haunted by his violent past and hopes to make amends by giving children like Boreak a home, and by helping remove the millions of landmines still buried in his country. A journey into the minefields shows us just how treacherous Aki Ra’s job is. On this trip, he removes two mines. But there are many more waiting to be found. Waiting to wreak havoc.

Selasa, Dec 11 | 13.00 | Vredeburg 1

Rabu, Dec 12 | 19.00 | Vredeburg 2

Playing between Elephants

Aryo Danusiri, Indonesia, 2007, prod: UN – HABITAT Indonesia, 90 min

Setahun setelah tsunami di desa Geunting Timur, Aceh, UN-Habitat merencanakan untuk membangun kembali rumah-rumah warga. Ini adalah pangkal mula dari masalah yang dihadapi Geuchik atau kepala desa, ia mencoba untuk mengurusi semua bantuan yang masuk. Lalu masalah datang silih-berganti: kecelakaan, kebakaran, kualitas bahan baku, dan lain-lain. Ketika dia mencoba untuk bertahan menjalankan proyek itu, para tetua, penduduk desa, buruh bangunan, staf UN bertindak dan berbicara semaunya. Suatu hari dia akhirnya melampiaskan kekesalannya di sebuah rapat warga.

A year has passed since the tsunami in the village of Geunting Timur in Aceh, the UN-Habitat plan to rebuild homes is finally underway. However, this also signals the beginning of the village head’s days of strife as he attempts to take control of the situation as well as aid money and supplies, he scrambles to deal with various village dramas such as accidents and massive fires. While he strives to keep the project moving the local elders, villagers, construction workers and UN staff act and speak as they will. One day, he finally vents his frustration at village gathering. As he looks up the sky, holding a bolt that fell from the bridge, making it sway every time a truck full of resources passes through, we wonder what will become of the village head and his village.

Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival

Selasa, Dec 11 | 14.00| Vredeburg 1

Sabtu, Dec 15 | 14.30 | Vredeburg 2

Village People Radio Show (Apa Khabar Orang Kampung)

Amir Muhammad, Malaysia 2007 ,

Production: Da Huang Pictures, Kuala Lumpur Running time: 72 minutes

Mantan anggota partai komunis Malaysia yang dilarang menceritakan kisahnya. Mereka tinggal di pengasingan di Thailand. Ingatan-ingatan mereka tentang perjuangan bawah tanah selama berpuluh-puluh tahun yang terganggu. Mengesampingkan peran mereka dalam perang kemerdekaan, partai ini selalu dikaitkan erat dengan Cina dan paham atheis mereka, di negara yang didominasi oleh warga muslim.

Former members of the outlawed Communist Party of Malaysia tell their story. They live as farmers in exile in Thailand. Their memories of the decades-long guerilla war are interrupted by signs of disturbance and interwoven with a popular Thai radio play. Despite their participation in the battle for the country’s independence, the party was constantly accused of being tied to China and their atheistic philosophy in a Muslim dominated country.

Selasa, Dec 11 | 15.30 | Vredeburg 1

Kamis, Dec 13 | 17.00 | LIP

Match Made

Mirabelle Ang, 48 min, Singapore/ Vietnam, prod. Mirabelle Ang, 2006

Di satu sisi kemiskinan petani Vietnam dan di sisi lainnya adalah dinamisme kapitalisme bangsa Asia. Dua hal inilah yang menjadi penyubur sebuah perdagangan baru di Ho Chi Minh: agen jodoh. Di sana, orang-orang kaya keturunan Cina dari Singapura atau Taiwan bisa membeli istri yang sesuai dengan keinginannya. Agen ini akan mengurusi semuanya, mulai dari merekrut gadis-gadis desa sampai audisi di ruang hotel, dari kelengkapan administrasi pernikahan sampai upacara pernikahan, dari kompensasi untuk orang tua pengantin wanita sampai surat kesehatan, pasport dan juga dokumentasi

On the one hand, the poverty of the Vietnamese peasants and, on the other, the dynamism of Asian capitalism. These two ingredients are at the root of a flourishing trade in Ho Chi Minh Ville: the marriage agencies. There, the rich Chinese from Singapore or Taiwan can buy a wife to match their needs. The agency takes everything in hand, from recruiting village girls through to the “auditions” in a hotel room, from the administrative formalities to the wedding ceremony, from compensation for the parents to the fresh young bride’s passport, from the medical certificate to the souvenir photos

Sabtu, Dec 15 |14.15 | Vredeburg 1

Bangkok Girl

Jordan Clark 50 min, Canada/ Thailand, prod: High Bank Entertainment ltd and CBC News World, 2005

Film ini mengajak kita mengintip dunia kelam industri pariwisata seksual yang sedang booming, melalui perspektif Pla, seorang gadis penjaga bar berusia 19 tahun. Pla bekerja di bar semenjak umur 13 tahun, sejauh ini berhasil menghindar untuk tidak melacurkan dirinya kendati hal itu jamak terjadi di sekelilingnya. Sebuah profesi yang dianggap umum bagi gadis-gadis muda di Thailand. Kehadiran orang-orang asing ke Thailand telah mengubah kota ini, tidak hanya pada aspek ekonomi, tapi juga peri kehidupan dengan segala hasrat mereka. Film ini merangkum perspektif seorang gadis muda dalam melihat pola kehidupan Barat, menantang praktek industri pariwisata seksual yang diterima mapan di masyarakat.

This documentary provides a glimpse into Thailand's notorious and booming sex tourism industry through the experiences of a 19-year-old bar girl named Pla. Working in the bars from the age of thirteen, Pla has managed to avoid selling her body a remarkable revelation given her surroundings but her refusal to take part in this all-too-common profession for young Thai women cannot last. The introduction of falangs, or foreigners, to Thailand has forever changed the city, the economy, the Thai people's lives and desires. A daring and unabashed look at a popular Western predilection through the eyes of one girl, this film challenges the accepted worldwide practice of sex tourism.

Selasa, Dec 11 | 20.00 | Kinoki

Ah Kew The Digger

Khoo Eng Yow , malaysia, Duration : 72 mins, 2004

Mengikuti kisah kerja keras seorang pria bernama Lee Eng Kew alias Ah Kew, seorang penulis lepas dan ahli sejarah, yang menelusuri kuil-kuil dan makam-makam di Taiping untuk mengarsipkan epitaph, menelusuri rentang masa lalu, dan mencatat kisah sejarah wilayah itu. Ah Kew adalah seorang pencerita yang baik, kisah-kisahnya tentang pahlawan-pahlawan Malaysia sungguh inspiratif.

Follow the efforts of one man - Lee Eng Kew, a.k.a, Ah Kew, a freelance writer and field historian, as he explores temples and graveyards in Taiping to archive epitaphs, trace lineage and record the history of the land. Ah Kew is a candid and engaging storyteller, and his recalling of early Malaysian heroes and outlaws is inspiring.

Rabu, Dec 12 | 16.00 | Vredeburg 2

The Water Bearer

Pascal Gélinas, 52, Canada/Indonesia, 2006

Sementara masyarakat Barat menyatakan perang terhadap teroris, seperti teror bom dan pembunuhan yang mengguncang kedamaian, hal yang sangat lain terjadi di sini. Film ini mengikuti kerja keras para lelaki dan perempuan di Pulau Flores, Indonesia, untuk menelusuri kembali kehidupan mereka sehari-hari setelah 32 tahun di bawah rezim orba. Dengan kesamaan yang berpangkal pada masalah air bersih, warga Katolik dan Muslim bekerja bersama-sama, sebuah terapan demokrasi langsung antara mereka demi otonomi yang berkesinambungan.

While the West is battling it out with teroris as bombs and killings break a fragile peace, this film follows the efforts made by the men and women of Florès Island in Indonesia, to re-invent their daily lives after 32 years of dictatorship. Amongst them, we find a Canadian, Gilles Raymond, in search of a code of ethics where action coincides with words. Through the simple quest for clean running water, Catholics and Muslims work together to instil a direct democracy and sustainable autonomy. This is a road movie of sorts, the ancient Ngada warrior culture serving as a backdrop, where solidarity rubs shoulders with defeatism and generosity overcomes corruption. Beyond money, beyond religion and politics, this film reminds us that all men are born brothers.

Jum’at, Dec 14| 19.00 | Kinoki

Innocence (Dek Toh)

Areeya Chumsai, Nisa Kongsri, Thailand, 100 min, prod: Pig-O’-Nine Co., Ltd, 2005

Di pegunungan utara Chiang Mai ada satu sekolah dengan para guru dan siswa dari suku bangsa berbeda, berbicara dengan bahasa yang berbeda. Mereka semua hidup bersama-sama, menanam tanaman mereka sendiri, memasak makanan mereka sendiri, dan meneruskan pendidikan jauh dari kampung mereka. Tiap-Tiap anak gunung, yang lahir dan dibesarkan di utara, ingin mengetahui di manakah sungai berakhir. Tetapi tanpa uang dan kendaraan, samudra adalah tempat yang jauh sekali, sejauh bulan. Sebagai hadiah untuk para siswa yang lulus, para guru akan mengadakan pesta kelulusan di tempat di mana sungai berujung. Perjalanan mereka bukan hanya sebuah perjalanan ke samudra, dunia entah di luar kampung mereka, tetapi juga suatu perjalanan untuk tumbuh dari masa kanak-kanak ke kedewasaan dan juga pilihan-pilihan yang akan mereka hadapi di kehidupan kemudian.

In the mountains north of Chiang Mai is a school. And in that school is a community of teachers and students from different tribes, speaking different tribal languages, all living together, raising their own crops, cooking their meals and continuing their education far from their villages. Every mountain child, born and raised in the north with the mountain stream running down the side of their village wants to know where the river ends. But without money, without transportation down the mountain, the ocean is as far away as the moon. As a reward for the students who complete their education, the teachers will take the graduating class to the water’s end. Their journey isn’t just about going to the ocean, a world beyond their village, but also an internal journey to grow from childhood to adulthood and the choices they will have to make toward that transition.

Selasa, Dec 13 | 13.00 | LIP

Kamis, Dec 13 | 20.30| Vredeburg 2

Bombies

Jack Silberman, Prod: Lumiere Productions Inc, 57 minutes, Canada, 2002

Antara 1964 dan 1973, Amerika Serikat melakukan operasi rahasia perang udara, menjatuhkan lebih dari 2 juta ton bom dan membuat Laos yang sempit sebagai negara korban pemboman terbesar sepanjang sejarah. Jutaan cluster bom tidak meledak saat dijatuhkan, hasilnya, negara ini terkontaminasi bom yang masih berbahaya, seperti saat dijatuhkan 30 tahun lalu. Bombies menelisik masalah cluster bomb ini melalui pengalaman sebuah kelompok masyarakat Laos dan pendatang yang memperjuangkan pelarangan senjata itu dalam peperangan. Ironisnya, cluster bomb ini masih menjadi standar operasi angkatan bersenjata Amerika, seperti halnya yang dijatuhkan di Kosovo, Afghanistan, dan Irak

Between 1964 and 1973 the United States conducted a secret air war, dropping over 2 million tons of bombs and making tiny Laos the most heavily bombed country in history. Millions of these 'cluster bombs' did not explode when dropped, leaving the country massively contaminated with 'bombies' as dangerous now as when they fell 30 years ago. Bombies examines the problem of unexploded cluster bombs through the personal experiences of a group of Laotians and foreigners and argues for their elimination as a weapon of war. Unfortunately they are still a standard part of the US arsenal and were dropped in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Selasa, Dec 11 | 19.00 | Kinoki

Short Perspective

Renita Renita

Tonny Trimarsanto, indonesia, 16 min, 2007

Terjebak di tubuh seorang laki-laki, Renita ingin menjadi seorang dokter dan sekaligus wanita semenjak kecil, namun orang tuanya memaksanya masuk ke sekolah Islam yang membuat dia merasa sangat tertekan. Renita berontak dan kemudian menjadi PSK, dengan harapan menemukan kebebasan. Namun pada kenyataannya, dia mendapatkan perlakuan kasar dan diskriminsai dari keluarganya dan juga lingkungan sekitarnya.

Trapped in a male body, Renita wanted to be a doctor and a woman since she was a child but her parents forced her to study at a Islamic school where she was bullied and ostracised. She rebelled by becoming a prostitute in the hope of finding freedom but instead, found that it came at a cost – she experienced brutality and was discriminated against by her family and the Indonesian society in which she lived.

Jumat, Dec 14 | 14.30 | Vredebur 1

Sabtu, Dec 15 | 14.00 | LIP

Don’t Fence Me In: Major Mary And The Karen Refugees From Burma

Ruth Gumnit, 30 min, Burma, 2004

Terusir dari kampung mereka oleh pemerintah, lebih dari 100.000 masyarakat Karen tinggal di kamp pengungsian di sepanjang perbatasan antara Burma dan Thailand. Ratusan ribu lainnya masih bersembunyi di hutan-hutan. Don't Fence Me In mengisahkan kehidupan seorang perempuan pejuang kemerdekaan, Mayor Mary On, dan para pengikutnya dalam memperjuangkan kebebasan. Film ini memuat gaya penceritaan Mary On yang kharismatik digabungkan dengan gambar-gambar yang langka yang diselundupkan dari kamp pengungsiaan.

Forced from their homes by the government, more than 100,000 Karen people live in refugee camps along the border between Burma and Thailand; hundreds of thousands more hide in jungles. Don't Fence Me In chronicles the life of 70-year-old freedom fighter Major Mary On and her people's struggle for self-determination. Her charismatic storytelling is accompanied by rare, clandestine footage smuggled out of the Karen refugee camps.

jumat, Dec 14 | 14.30 | Vredeburg 1

sabtu, Dec 15 | 14.30 | LIP

Kolam

Chris Chong Chan Fui, Canada/Malaysia, 2007, 13 minutes

Kolam adalah film dokumenter pendek karya Chris Chong Chan Fui yang dibuat di Aceh. Film ini mengisahkan anak-anak Aceh yang belajar berenang di kolam yang dibuat oleh USAID.

A pool bearing the name awaits completion. Meanwhile, children learn to swim in it.

Jumat, Dec 14 | 14.00 | Vredeburg 1

Sabtu, Dec 15 | 14.00 | LIP

Shaktsing

Elayne McCabe, USA/India, 24min, 2006

Film ini mengikuti seorang anak yang ayahnya mati digigit ular di dahinya. Lalu, dia harus bekerja meminta-minta di jalanan untuk mendapatkan uang, menyimpannya di rumah dan suatu saat digunakan untuk pernikahan kakaknya. “Bagaimana kau meminta uang?” “Aku bilang ayahku mati, ibuku mati, dan aku tidak bisa membeli makanan dan susu,” jawabnya

This colorful documentary leads as to the street of India. A child who his father dead because of snake bite, has to became a beggar. He spent the money for his older brother wedding. How he ask money to stranger? He said that his father and mother was died and he doesn’t have money to buy food and milk.

Jumat, Dec 14|13.00 | Vredeburg 1

Chen

Maëva Ma-Tsi-Leong, France, 19 min, 2005,

Nyonya Chen dan suaminya bersama-sama mendirikan rumah makan Cina, di mana mereka pernah memenangkan penghargaan. Akan tetapi Tuan Chen meninggal. Isterinya berjuang keras untuk menahan marah di depan stafnya. Dia meragukan dirinya dan ketakutan, sepertinya dunia telah berubah sangat bermusuhan. Nyonya Chen sendiri dan mengesampingkan semuanya, berusaha memperjuangkan semua apa yang telah dicapai bersama suaminya, demi 30 tahun hidup bahagia.

Together, Madame Chen and her husband had setup a gastronomic Chinese restaurant, which even won a star in the famous French Guide Michelin. But then Monsieur Chen died. His wife is fighting her grief, and groans before scolding her staff. She doubts herself and feels frightened, as the world has turned hostile. Alone and despite all, she is duty bound to keep what the couple had achieved… for the sake of thirty happy years.

Cinéma du Réel, Doc en courts Festival

Selasa, Dec 11 | 16.30 | Vredeburg 2

Jumat, Dec 14 | 13.30 | Vredeburg 1

SABA

Brésil, 15 min, 2006, Dir: Thereza Menezes, Gregorio Graziosi

Di Brasil, sehari dalam kehidupan pasangan berumur 100 tahun, dari mulai mereka bangun hingga kembali lagi ke ranjang. Satu dari hari-hari dimana kehidupan dicuri oleh kematian. Satu hari yang tidak special: pagi hari dimandikan oleh perawat, memandang keluar jendela, dan sisa hari yang panjang menunggu di sofa, tangan saling meraih, dalam sebuah perenungan akan apa yang akan datang, tentnag cahaya putih yang memancar dari luar sana. Setengah dari jiwa mereka ada disana. Tak bergerak, diluar ruang dan waktu.

In Brazil, a day in the life of a couple of 100-year-olds, from their morning awakening to going to bed. One of those days that life steals from death. A day of nothing special: the morning wash by the nurse, a glimpse out of the window, and long hours of waiting on the sofa, hand in hand, in drowsy contemplation of the beyond, that white light shining in from outside. They are there and not there. Or partly there. Motionless, outside of time and space.

Signes de nuit Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Rencontres Cinémas d’Amérique Latine de Toulouse, International competition Cinéma du Réel 2007

Selasa, Dec 11 | 16.30 | Vredeburg 2

Jumat, Dec 14 | 13.30 | Vredeburg 1

Naft Sefid

Mahmoud Rahmani, Iran, 16 min, 2005

Kota Naft Sefid (Minyak Putih) di Khuzestan provinsi Iran dahulu makmur dan hidup. Di lokasi ladang minyak Iran paling besar ketujuh ini, lima sumur Naft Sefid menghasilkan 328 juta barrel minyak antara 1938 dan 1984. Tetapi ketika sumur minyak mengering, semua kemakmuran dan kegairahan menghilang. Tempat itu telah tergerus menjadi satu tempat yang membosankan di tengah-tengah padang pasir kering yang tandus dan berbatu-batu.

The Town of Naft Sefid (White Oil) in the Khuzestan province of Iran used to be brimming with life and prosperity. It was located on the seventh biggest oil field of Iran; the five wells of Naft Sefid yielded 328 million barrels of oil between 1938 and 1984. But when the oil wells ran dry, all liveliness disappeared from Naft Sefid. It has lapsed into a dreary place in an arid, barren, stony desert.

IDFA, Cinema du reel, The best Documantry Kish International film festival, The best film of Varesh film festival, The best social documentry of Yadegar film festival.

Rabu, Dec 12 | 20.45 | Kinoki