Previous Edition 2020

Bergarde’s Mystery Guest

Bergarde’s Mystery Guest tells the story of Pablo, a young fellow living in a beautiful art gallery in The Netherlands. Every night after the visitors and curators are gone he comes out to ponder the meaning of each work of art. However, when one night an unexpected guest shows up, everything changes…

Andersen and the Jinn (The Netherlands)

Experience the First of One Thousand and One Nights

Young, adventurous writer Hans Christian Andersen is out of ideas and in a hurry to catch the train home when he meets the beautiful yet dangerous Princess Scheherazade of the tales of One Thousand and One Nights. He is inspired to save her from being killed by the angry sultan, and thus begins the affair between Andersen and the Princess… Can stories heal souls and perhaps change the world?

I want to see some I.D. !

What can one do without a valid ID?
Based on true events, the journey of our hero begins when he tries to get back a parcel at the post office, without any valid ID, facing the strict rules of the post office department and ends within the walls of the police precinct, dealing with dirty cops.

DER BESUCH – THE VISIT

Klaus (60) works voluntary as a Santa Claus in a shopping mall. After an exhausting day, he considers to hang up his job. But then, he gets a call from the children’s intensive care unit.

ANGEL’S MIRROR (dir. C. Chao)

In China, in the early 1990’s, a little boy and his family have just come to live in a large factory complex. As he explores his new surroundings, he comes across other boys his age playing ping-pong — and discovers that they are fascinated by a cute little girl who spends her days looking out from the window of an upstairs apartment. Wanting to know more about the girl, he comes up with his own unique way of starting a friendship with her.

MILK (CANADA)

In this family drama, a Russian immigrant couple do all they can to provide help to their daughter while facing their differences.

The Metamorphosis of a Bottle Cap (THE NETHERLANDS)

A seemingly complacent crab is suddenly called to action by mysterious intentions and a chance encounter with an elusive bottle cap.

This traditionally-made stop motion film is about the ‘Reuse’ of an object beyond its intended purpose and is a celebration of the creativity and ingenuity of local people in developing nations. This animated short highlights the concept that perceptions of what is ‘useful’ and what is ‘garbage’ depend on cultural values. The film emphasizes the important role that cross-cultural exposure plays in broadening perspectives and positively affecting lives. Created by a Canadian who lived and worked in East Africa from 2011-17, this narrative is based on real experiences.

A unique blend of approaches are employed including hand-made puppets and illustrations. Local African materials such as seeds, bark cloth, and other traditional fabrics are incorporated alongside re-purposed items such as discarded plastic bottles and other found objects. The choice of these materials and approaches reinforce the environmental and cultural themes of the film and further demonstrate the positive influence one culture can have on another.

Young & Naive (USA)

Preferring the company of none, Robin searches to find out why all her beautiful and successful friends are single. She uncovered one of the biggest secrets in the world…Child Sexual Abuse.

The eloquent words of Robin’s journey to face her past begin a tidal wave of healing hearts at Poet’s Jazz House….just somewhere to go in the midst of searching your soul. A poetry lounge where spilling your heart is art and searching your soul is mandatory to get in the door. Young & Naive delves deep into the mind a of the poet; creating a masterful work of art in this remarkable and profoundly affecting story; as seen through the eyes of a spoken word artist spitting the powerful intensity of truth.

We can save our children, we can change the world! Young & Naive is the First in a series of Poetry-Films designed to Heal the Soul and Educate Minds.

Sex, Drugs & Bicycles (THE NETHERLANDS)

‘Sex, Drugs & Bicycles’ takes a look at Dutch social democracy and answers the question: is having month-long double paid vacations, no fear of homelessness, and universal healthcare the nightmare we’ve been warned about?

Anacronte (Argentina)

Anacronte and the Sorcerers of Evil, without any emotion and fulfilling their destiny, they put to test humanity’s happiness in a struggle that, in short, has each of us as winners and losers.

A PICTURE IN THE 21st CENTURY (dir. Pecher)

A painter is standing in front of a blank canvas.
People trapped in a system, blind and tied up with their view on small screens. The actors of the 21st century are screaming.
The screams won’t leave the painter alone.
His creativity surrenders.
It suddenly becomes quiet and he starts to paint.

Bedhab (INDIA)

A jingle composer is visited by God of Death who offers him a unique proposition to die and is left alone by his girl friend will he survive or succumb to god of death’s plan.

ALS JE LATER GROOT BENT – WHEN YOU GROW UP (dir. Baggermann)

What is work? Everyone works and has to work. The 40-hour workweek is a standard in our capitalistic society. Our work consumes the most of our available time for almost our whole lives. Office jobs and assembly-line work have become a symbol for wasting our time to useless labor. The film shows us a day in the life of the working man and the routine and grind that comes with it. With patience, the film shows commuters in traffic lines and public transport, all heading to work. Huge office buildings where hundreds of people are working, all identical behind a computer screen, typing. Endless repetition behind the assembly line. The documentary takes a look at people during a workday and makes you reflect on the meaning of labor.

IL GRANDE PRESIDENTE – THE GREAT PRESIDENT (dir. G. Basso)

After the last political elections, during a family reunion two twin brothers face the secret that binds their destiny to the future of the Country.

PIGUA – TERROR (dir. Shehoah)

Dan, 45, is a Jerusalem supermarket employee who suffers from PTSD after being caught up in a terrorist attack. On a day in which multiple attacks hit Jerusalem once again, Dan is asked to serve at the meat counter alongside an Arab co-worker. As more and more fatalities are reported on the news, Dan tries desperately to reach his wife who was shopping in the area of one of the attacks, but without success. Dan’s fear and panic result in severe consequences for himself and for others.

For sleepless nights

For sleepless nights tells the story of four friends who moved the body of a man. A group of elderly women pray around the body in the middle of a room, after midnight it’s left alone with the four friends and inexplicably the body rises.

Any Wednesday

Any Wednesday is a sensitive, delicate drama of disparate souls reaching for connection. An octogenarian with dementia, Agnes (Mary Black) meets PTSD-afflicted homeless vet C’Mo (Shane Dean) after choir practice and gives him a ride instead of going home. While her family frets, these two people—separated by age, race, class, and even diagnoses—bond in their frail humanity.

SWAP – 30 min (CANADA)

John and Boris, two computer scientists lock horns as they speed track their revolutionary mind swapping app.

Where it goes

Floating is, the root. In the middle of conversations between the director and her grandmother in the physical distance, Where it goes arises as an open question about the subtleties that they build us day by day in the midst of uprooting, distance and home.

Pragaash Band (song of silence) (INDIA)

Three young Indian Kashmiri Muslim girls,full of hopes and ambitions,embark on a journey of music and discover the harsh reality of the world they live in.

Temptation Of Saint Francis (USA)

Two ill matched garden statues fall in love in this animated exploration of the battle between spiritual enlightenment and physical desires that we all go through. An imaginative take on what happens in your garden when you’re not looking.

SONATA-dir.-C.-Jezior

Like shells on the beach“ John Cage has found his sounds. For his work „Sonatas and Interludes“ he fixed bolts, screws and rubber between the strings of his grand piano. This is how he created the tender, gamelan-like sounds he used to compose this piece of music. Everywhere are things waiting to be found, if you only dare to go unfamiliar paths and visit unfamiliar places. Old houses with overgrown entrances, fragile stairs, dusty attics. Whoever dares to search here will find unexpected treasures with which a futuric soundexperience can be produced on a traditional concert grand.

Play (POLLAND)

A man consumed by guilt because he did not dare to defend his mother, plays the role of a murderer and forces his ten-year-old self to face his original trauma…

BAGHEERA (INDIA)

Set on the unruly outskirts of Mumbai, Bagheera is the determined leader of an Indian Girl Scout troop, teaching her girls everything from first aid to snake handling. After a troop meeting one evening, Bagheera is abducted by a brutal assailant, Kaka (Uncle). He drives her to a run-down dairy, dumps her in an electrified cage and a twisted psychological battle ensues. However, Bagheera is named after the Black Panther of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book and when the Empress of the Jungle is forced to take out her claws, things don’t go well for her opponents. Using her scouting skills, Bagheera outwits Kaka and exacts a scorching retribution. Highlighting the vulnerability of women in societies across the world, Bagheera reminds us that bravery and resourcefulness are powerful tools.

MARISOL (dir. Junco)

Marisol is a young mother striving to make a life for herself and her young daughter, María. She poses as her friend, Luisa, and borrows her car to take fares on a ride-sharing app. But her last passenger of the day, a young white man named Frederick, acts increasingly suspicious. When he accuses Marisol of being undocumented, her worst nightmare comes to life.

BROKEN SOULS (ZIMBABWE)

Priscilla Smith’s sanity is tested when she is separated from her beloved husband Adolph who is called for military service in Afghanistan. Left to raise their only child Sophia alone, Priscilla struggles with self-esteem issues and hopelessly uses prescription drugs to help her cope with the emptiness she feels in a community that has lost its men to war and prisons.

Boxman (IRAN)

In search of success, a reporter is making a film about a teenager who lives in a wooden box. At end, the reporter changes his mind about making the film and is drawn to the teenager’s world.

Adura Sapna

This is the story of a girl whose life changes on her wedding night.
And this story is also show the another face of our society also how it does not want to believe a woman, whether a woman or a man in this society.

Vadoba (INDIA)

Vadoba is a story about a school going kid (Kshitiya). Kshitiya in a precarious situation reaches a land which is not been visited by any of the villager……
What was that precarious situation which led him to that land?
Why any of the villagers have not visited that land so far?
What’s in store for Kshitiya’s future in that land?

TREASURE (VENEZUELA)

After finding a mysterious map, a man sets out on a journey
In search of what is most desirable, discovering unique situations and places… But will it really be
that treasure that he wants so much?

The Child (VENEZUELA)

One day in the Universe of the Child and Celia, his mother. How the decision to undertake a trip would transform their lives. Leaving their home, abandoning the person that they used to be or they could become. They are just 2 human beings in the immensity of creation. The future’s uncertain and the complicity and sadness will transform into hope and melancholy.

ALL THE WORLD IS A STAGE-(H.-Rall)

An animated adaptation of the famous Shakespeare poem “All The World’s A Stage” narrated by the renowned Shakespeare actor and director Samuel West (Royal Shakespeare Company). Directed by Hannes Rall.

A Thousand Years of Love (MYNAMAR)

Wai Hnin and Ingyinn, two young girls in Burma, have a chance encounter and immediately are pulled together by a mutual attraction. Wai is of a volatile, emotional personality and Ingyinn and young and confused. Moreover, Ingyinn is already engaged to a man. But when the attraction between the two girls becomes very apparent, Ingyinn must make a decision while Wai must rein in her own highly volatile emotion.

Bagli Talkies (INDIA)

It’s a love story of an old man with his cinema hall which was built with blood, sweat and all his heart. It is his undying passion which makes him not to compromise with time, a time which is all against him and he has to fight this battle all alone. Can he defeat the time?

Desibands (INDIA)

Desibands deals with the vanishing tribe of musicians and singers who were known to perform at marriages in Punjab and Rajasthan. The film shows how titillating performances by dancing girls have sounded the death knell for such performers, pushing them to the margins of society.

Black Snow

On December 12, 1866, 361 men and boys were killed in an explosion at the Oaks Colliery in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK. Despite being the world’s worst industrial loss of life in the 19th century, it remained relatively unremembered until 2015, when a group of ex-miners, trade unionists, and local historians attempted to raise money to erect a memorial for its 150th anniversary. But first, they had to find out what happened, and to whom, and whether anybody cared. The film tells three interlocking stories: the story of a historical community devastated by the disaster, struggling to survive; the story of a contemporary community, decimated by the loss of industry, rediscovering itself in the struggle to remember; and the story of a sculptor, struggling to make one last masterpiece.

The Beach Boy

A story of two star-crossed lovers in ancient Vietnam. Baeed on a traditional folk tale and adapted for animation in a style inspired by local Asian art styles.

NO JILE (VENEZUELA)

An elderly man anchored to his homeland, has to struggle searching for water to survive. But today that is a losing battle. The old man is forced to leave his country, assuming all that this means, and become a climatic refugee.

Parallel Parking

Dechen, an undocumented worker, and Oscar, a reckless truck driver plagued by addiction, are immigrants to the United States who arrived under traumatic circumstances. Oscar teaches Dechen to drive, and Dechen provides companionship and support to Oscar through his failing health. Their relationship develops and deepens across identity differences due to reciprocity and their shared love of food.

SHUNYA

A take on a mans monotonous life and how he gets stuck in the cycle of work while overlooking things and relationships that should have mattered more. the film tells the story of a man and his mother to bring out the routine of our lives.

JEWELRY JUNKY (dir. F. Meinhardt)

A squad of small-time criminals take advantage of the beautiful blonde’s Judy’s (Alena Bacher) drug addiction to come by a valuable diamond necklace. With the help of her alleged bodyguard, Judy classily causes confusion in a jewelry store. The diamond necklace – not for the last time – changes hands and so the scenario takes off.
First everything seems to be working out fine but with the doctor’s (Aleksandra Simic) help Judy manages to oust the criminals. They do so in a very charming, feminine, but nonetheless very ruthless and irrevocable manner.
As soon as the audience feels a sense of security the two villains take back the action and arrange a brutally romantic finale. As you may imagine it is not your typical happy ending but more a twisted resolving of events that brings the jeweler Mrs. Windermere (Barbara von Münchhausen) and her employee Mr. Philips (Thomas Goersch) out to be victorious at last.

ITALY & (THIS IS) WATER (Dir. I. Gavriel & A. F. Plaschg )

A single day: from the tender break of dawn to the darkest night. One out of many days to come? Quite possibly the very last. A long farewell, an ultimate goodbye to a life we have grown to hold dear. Leading to a head-on dive into a new reality, into a new state of being.

INGLITROMPET – ANGEL’S TRUMPET-(dir.-Klemet)

Inspiration for the film came to me from the plant Angel’s Trumpet (Brugmansia). One of its many breeds can be pollinated solely by a very long billed hummingbird. Only this bird is able to reach the core of the blossom and drink the flower’s nectar. It took millions of years of evolution to develop such cooperation between the bird and the plant. I was amazed by this interesting synergy and I played with the idea of imagining what could be the next step in the evolution of hummingbirds.

IDOL (dir.-L.-Taraz)

The artist Loudo should have submitted a commissioned work some time ago, but he is in a blockade. When he finally – inspired by his muse – creates a masterpiece, his manager and his muse get into a violent argument over the sale of the work. Only too late Loudo realizes what role he was playing in all this.

RELICIOUS-(dir.-E.-Villani,-R.-Palazzo)

An intellectual dress style man is shopping at the supermarket. After he bought the essential goods, he moves toward the refrigerated section to choose the yogurt to buy. The man realizes with amazement that each one of the yogurt cups has stamped on it the name of a religion instead of the yogurt brand…

MARQUET-PLACE (BELGIUM)

Three little stories about the evolution of our sensual behavior influenced by technological advances. A young woman passes a short time, feeding playfully the male attention she gets in a boarding room.
The plot development of each story changes with the zeitgeist of each generation.

NO STINGRAY PIE FOR DINNER TONIGHT (VENEZUELA)

Felix the fisherman goes after Chucho the stingray in an intense underwater persecution that only comes to an end when they are both buried by garbage that is dumped by a passing ship. This experience forces Felix to reflect on the polluted ocean that sustain his living

LIVING ON THE EDGE – DEGLAMOURIZING BOLLYWOOD

My documentary is startling revelation about the abysmal working conditions in Bollywood which is now laying claim to be global giant and churning out thousands of hours of content. The technicians and workers are deprived of social security and long punishing working hours take their toll on their health. The basic and fundamental safety measures are absent leading to accidents with unfailing regularity. Basic facilities such as clean toilets and hygienically prepared food are not accessible. In nutshell human rights are violated on sets and locations with impunity.

REONGHEE – ALIEN (dir. Yeon)

Reonghee and I are illegal aliens. Yesterday, Reonghee died while running away from the Immigrant Office Agents. The company we worked for is only concerned about covering up the mess. I’m going to find Reonghee, who’s body the company has hidden somewhere and give her funeral that she deserves.

OFFBEAT (dir. Ouwerkerk)

In an air polluted future the 20 year old drummer Olly wants only one thing: to get inside the dome, where the air is clean and the best musicians live. In order to get in, he must take a series of absurd tests that pass false judgements on him. Will Olly cave and behave the way the system wants or will he remain true to himself?

SOPHIE (dir. A. Cangellaris )

Sophie longs to be reborn while seeking to know her double. A party in the hills of Los Angeles offers a corporeal shift to her existence.

The Man Behind The White Guitar (Brazil)

A spectrum of people, voices, and textures, “The Man Behind the White Guitar” is a film about the musical life of Brazilian guitarist José Pires de Almeida Neto. His music and energy have been behind major world musicians, including Harry Belafonte and Steve Winwood, as well as Brazilian greats, Flora Purim and Airto Moreira. His diverse musical journey from Brazil to the United States and England and deep life challenges have taught him the values of loyalty, devotion, and positive vision that speak through his sounds and performing spirit. He’s touched the lives of the most unsuspecting fans worldwide.

The Messenger * Hermes Remembers (Canada)

Note: Paul William Roberts who plays Hermes Sr. and my partner Byron Ayanoglu a Greek from Istanbul, of the past 38 yrs, who plays Zeus, have recently passed away this past summer. May Lord Byron Ayanoglu and Paul William Roberts RIP!
“””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””

Hermes, the most human-like of all the Olympian gods, is now old. On this day he remembers himself as a younger transgendered man, irrepressible but needy of his father Zeus and his aunt Aphrodite. He roams the world, on a quest for love and self-validation. He misbehaves it’s true, but this is not a cautionary tale, he is after all a god and can do as he pleases.

TOMORROW ISLAND (Dir. Joyaux)

In the dawn of the Cold War, a young Soviet telegraphist makes a desperate attempt to save her American lover from being stranded in the Russian side of the Bering Strait after receiving a border closure message.

What to Do about Climate Disruption? (USA)

In spite of much discussion of the problem for over a quarter of the century, observed temperatures and levels of carbon dioxide have only continued to increase. In this documentary, a wide variety of voices speak on the topic of what needs to be done about climate change, including those of congressmen and women speaking at town halls, of speakers at public events, of environmentalists being interviewed, and of experts appearing in other videos. The film explores avenues available for making progress, while capturing the passion of protesters and activists who understand the perils of maintaining business as usual.

Shunyata (the void) (INDIA)

Madhur works as a hitman for a gang in Mumbai. He leads a bleak existence and a life full of regrets. He is friendly with a kid who lives on the street. Madhur sees this kid getting into crime and decides to intervene to give the kid a chance he never had.

VANDREREN – THE WANDERER (dir. Annlie)

Marie spends her day drying sheets. Suddenly, she’s in the middle of the great unknown alongside a young man, to confront her greatest fear: herself.

TURNING (Sweden)

Voices in a crowd stir violent emotions, microaggressions bring up past traumas. Then a turning shifts the emotional landscape…
A short animated film about the emotional impact of homo- bi- and transphobia on young people, and how support and community can help us grow.

THE RED ROSE

THE RED ROSE is a musical fantasy about a modern-day Alice in Wonderland. But whereas Alice experiences the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter, the Girl encounters toy soldiers, marching bluebells, a dancing swan…and a Young Man who becomes her Prince Charming. With music by Tchaikovsky and a cast of aspiring young dancers choreographed by Jacqueline Harman, THE RED ROSE features brilliant rising stars Jessie Talulah and Nicholas Anscombe in a magical tale of youthful whimsy and innocence.

IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3571876/?ref_=fn_al_tt_10

THEM (dir. Lochmann)

In a forgotten village, where everyone is cut from the same cloth, a new, self-proclaimed leader arrives changing the local way of life. Dividing lines are carved out as the once unified society is torn and segregated. THEM is a cautionary tale of misguided ideologies, destructive leadership and of being an outsider. But most importantly, it is a film about celebrating what we have in common rather than what separates us.

The Eternity of Paula (VENEZUELA)

The Bottom Turn

In rural Java, fourteen year old Eka’s only passion is catching waves which her brutal father believes is shameful for a young woman and beats her for it, until her mother helps her leave home to undertake a journey of thousands of kilometres to Bali where she spends four years training for a trial that could win her a pro team place. To give her best, she needs to break through the psychological barrier instilled by her father and take motivation from the belief and sacrifice of her mother whom he beat to death after Eka left. She succeeds, impressing the international manager of a major surf brand but her joy is short lived as she must immediately face more and even greater tragedy in her short life…

The Day Dreams (INDIA)

Day dreams never turn to reality. But sometimes it helps people to accept the harsh reality of life.
Bikram Hazarika is an eight years old boy residing with his mother on a breached embankment of Dhansiri river. His father died of a boat accident while saving a small boy. People liked him for his bravery and honesty. Bikram aspires to study in a good school. It’s his dream.
On the other hand, in spite of being a poor fish seller, Bikram’s mother Anima is a dignified lady. But Bikram wants his mother to quit this trade and start a grocery instead. Anima can’t realize her son’s dream as she is not rich enough to do so.
After a couple of assaults form the elderly persons, little Bikram realizes that he can’t fulfill his dream and decides to take up his father’s trade.

NEVER GIVE UP (dir. Schörnig)

In 2014 Mekon had to flee Nigeria after his parents were murdered.

Million Loves in Me (HONG KONG)

Inspired by a true story and a headline case in Hong Kong, MILLION LOVES IN ME follows the story of a wealthy mother and daughter who suffer from the psychological issues of obsessive- compulsive disorders, and their controversial private lives are exposed to the public through a charge of their animal hoarding behavior by the police. The topic of animal hoarding, to our knowledge, has not been shot into a movie in cinematic history.

The story begins when Katy, the 45-year old daughter, is charged with animal cruelty after the police discovers more than a hundred dogs and cats being hoarded at her apartment. Following her trial at the court, the abnormal lives of Katy and her mother are unveiled. Behind their weird appearances, the mother and daughter live an extremely well-off life, with an uncontrollable urge to shop excessively for clothes, handbags and pets. They are despised and disliked by people wherever they go. Their unusual behavior arouses the attention of their neighborhood reporter who starts to investigate into their lives. After he finds out about the animal hoarding situation at their apartment, he discloses the matter to the public for the sake of justice. However, after seeing Katy being caught by the police and devastated by the intense public criticism, he begins to doubt the morality of his own actions…

Memory Man

In a future where psychic abilities are outlawed, the Memory Man makes a living dealing with uncomfortable memories for other people. Until the arrival of a hostile new client, finally forces him to confront unfinished business of his own.

LET’S SHARE THE MOON (INDIA)

Two children teach us the true meaning of friendship and togetherness in todays divided world in a colourful and musical film and musical film beautifully shot in Varanasi,India

TARA-The Journey of Love & Passion (INDIA)

Merely a few hundred kilometers away from the hustle and bustle of the fanatically fast paced Mumbai city lies the deceptively sleepy village of Tanda. A village girl Tara seems to be content with her confined life, very much in love with her liquor maker husband. But, when the beautiful protagonist’s seemingly mundane existence parts ways to reveal the unspoken realities of exploitation and darkness enveloping the village, she leads the villagers in their quest for survival, only to realise that she is up against something she may not be prepared to fight against prejudice. The young woman who bravely stood up for the whole community finds herself cruelly alienated in her most vulnerable moment.

Ultimately, after a series of gut wrenching experiences, she has to make a choice… Based on disturbingly common realities of Indian villages, this powerful story of self-discovery transcends the original theme of tribal strife to raise a universal question—can you always choose freedom & self-respect over social acceptance? The journey of the extraordinary woman Tara in very difficult situations reveals the story of love and passion and how she deals with same.

UNWANTED

This story is inspired by true events, set in a village of India. Mangal Azad is a special child and lone heir of Azad family who has been the ardent follower of Non-Violence taught by Mahatma Gandhi. He loves his childhood friend Basanti but becomes a Living Dead and ‘Unwanted’ among his own people and world because the Village Council announces him dead.
He embarks on a journey to tell the ‘Truth’ following the principles of Non-Violence, witnessing the true nature of friends and foes. He is ignored, ridiculed, attacked until he meets his own assassin.

<table class=”table”>

<tbody>

<tr>
<td>DILIP DEO</td>
<td>Director</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>RANA ABHINAV GAUR</td>
<td>Writer</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>DILIP DEO</td>
<td>Writer</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>MADHUMITA ROY</td>
<td>Producer</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>DILIP DEO</td>
<td>Producer</td>
</tr>

</tbody>
</table>

Cafe Irani Chai (INDIA)

This award winning documentary is about the Irani Chaiwala of Hindustan (Tea Vendors of Iran in India) who migrated from Iran and made India especially Mumbai their base.
Bun maska (Bread & Butter) and Irani chai (Irani Tea) – the combination makes most of us Mumbaikars (Mumbai, India inhabitants) nostalgic. Whether over a college project or serious political discussion at an Irani cafe, all have dunked butter slathered buns in sweet chai and eaten pocket-friendly meals. The city, once replete with hundreds of Irani cafes, now has only a handful remaining. Cafe Irani Chaii that has opened a new home in Mahim and is pumping life back into the Irani cafe culture, Cafe Irani Chaii manages to transport you to a different era. If not for the people using mobile phones, it’s quite easy to believe you’ve used a time-machine.
The documentary by filmmaker Dr Mansoor Showghi Yezdi showcases how the Iranis have kept the Irani cafe culture alive to maintain the friendly ties between Iran and India. The double ‘I’s in the title of Cafe Irani Chaii stand for India and Iran and the brotherhood and love shared with ‘India Iran as Bhai Bhai’ or brothers.

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SkyPaths (KENYA)

Skypaths – a 4 part documentary series – ( Presented here as 4 parts in a Doc Feature Format – each part is 30 minutes for single entries in short film contests) directed & filmed by American Kire Godal, follows Swedish / Danish conservationist & writer Natasha Illum Berg as she retraces her pioneering conservationist and natural history filmmaker Swedish grandfather Bengt Berg’s 4 most important wildlife film expeditions 100 years after him. From Sweden, to Ethiopia, Tanzania, India & Nepal – a lens into the past is opened and a parallel adventure story begins.