With only a few days away from the 3rd Cebu International Documentary Film Festival we take a look at the films presented for this edition.
Opening Film
From being raped, sodomized, and shot at, Transsexuals go through physical and emotional abuse in society. A no holds barred look into the lives of different transsexuals (male to female), in the Philippines. A documentary of their struggles, battles with society, their love life, and transition to what it takes to be a woman.
Redemption Program
Disorder of the Senses takes us on a discovery journey, crossing our five senses to show us the reality of the world of Antonio and Gerardo, two young boys with disabilities that face the French route of the St. James’ Way on bicycle. With the help of their family and friends, the main characters show us that the real road goes much farther than Santiago de Compostela.
Julia Mosen has been blind since birth, but independently and safely does ordinary tasks with the help of Kerry, her seeing eye dog. The documentary captures the special relationship between the two, following them as they travel and negotiate the public spaces of the city.
The documentary reviews the concerts t of the chamber music group Garnati Ensemble, in the pediatric oncology floor of the Virgen de las Nieves Hospital (Granada, Spain) or the ARED Foundation of Barcelona, that works for the reintegration of women deprived of liberty.
Garnati Ensemble, formed by brothers Pablo and Alberto Marto from Granada, has also travelled to Barcelona to play in the Xamfrá School of Dance, Music and Theatre for young people at risk of social exclusion, in the Raval area in Barcelona.
Women & Nature Program
Maram Al Masri, born in Syria, is a poetess and a contemporary writer. After studies in English literature in Damascus she settled down in Paris in 1982. Her poems were published and translated into several languages. Today she is considered as the most known and the most fascinating feminine voice of its generation. This film, born from a meeting between a poet and a filmmaker, is a mix of words and images, sounds and sensual atmospheres which reflect the poetic language and its breath of freedom.
Rania and Laila are on a journey to find what they once lost. They are both daughters of Arab migrants and both soon in their thirties, and they are starting to reflect on their time on earth. Their fragmented memories of childhood, swimming pools, war and migration are gradually woven into their journey through the deserted landscapes.
The whale shark feeding in Oslob is a controversial issue; some people are against it because it changes their natural behavior and mistreatment and injuries of the whale sharks are documented. Others welcome implemented stricter regulations and enforcement methods to protect the sharks and highlight positive aspects like the absence of whale shark hunting, survival of the species and livelihood of the local population.
A documentary that, through Cosmovision of the indigenous community of Bribri-Cabecar in the natural reserve of Alta Talamanca in Costa Rica, reflects on the difficult relationship between man and the earth. An analysis, from the local to the universal, of the ‘Cultural’ root which is the basis of the environmental problems in this era the planet faces.
Politics and History
Using an artistic combination of documentary footage, archive images, animation scenes, animated characters representing the family members of the filmmaker, and his own voice-over, the director tells the story of himself and of his generation, born with the birth of Mubarak's rule in the early 80s of last century, and of his forgotten home city, Suez, the famous city of the Suez canal that triggered the revolution to the extent of becoming known as “The flame of the Egyptian revolution”.
Racing with Legends by Steven For – Philippines | 54 minutes
For the first time ever, documentary attempts to show the great racing events that transpired during the Golden Age of Philippine motorsports, and strives to tell the pioneering story of the Filipino race car drivers and organizers.
This documentary captures the life and struggle of the people who have suffered the aftermath extending from the 1947 India-Pakistan Partition to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and the 2011 Mumbai serial blasts.
Art & Advocacy Program
A documentary on the creation of the world’s tallest tv tower by architects Mark Hemel and Barbara Kuit. After winning a competition they are assigned to build the highest television tower of China. The world seems at their feet now their dream of building an icon becomes reality...
Dreamers by Noelle Deschamps – France | 78 minutes
A “poetic journey” through the imaginations of some of the world’s most exciting, articulate and insightful cinematic talents, including the late, great Frank Pierson (Cool Hand Luke; Dog Day Afternoon), Jacques Audiard (Rust and Bone; A Prophet), James Gray (Two Lovers), Guillermo Arriaga (Amores Perros; 21 Grams), Maiwenn (The Artist), Michel Gondry (Be Kind Rewind), Emir Kusturica (Time of the Gypsies), and Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind). The emphasis here is first and foremost on script development, from conception through to the finished article, and the translation of words and ideas into images.
Hope & Activism Program
Baratometrajes is an insight into Spanish films made with small (and, at times, non-existent) budgets, the challenges filmmakers face, and the alternatives they find (or simply invent!). This is a portrayal of the current situation in Spain, as well as a consideration of what could be in the future.
Dreams & Sacrifice Program
Sea Gypsies by Matthew Everett – United Kingdom, Philippines | 26 minutes
A documentary the Badjao who inhabit the seas and coastlines of Southeast Asia. The film visits a community on the island of Leyte, Philippines to give insight into their culture and witness their rituals and life on the open and deep seas.
A documentary on African people living in Europe, working on unwanted, odd jobs to seek improvement of their families’ and their own living conditions, who live their everyday life missing their countries and their beloved ones.
Mitzvah by Maciej J. Grabysa – Poland | 66 minutes
An award-winning film examining the illegal business of organ trafficking between Israel and other countries due to Halachic prohibitions preventing organ donations.
Compañeros de Viaje by Alvaro Orus – Spain | 56 minutes
A documentary for people who accompany their loved ones at the end of their lives. It has information and testimonies from both palliative care professionals as well as terminal patients and companions.
In Italy, more than 130 young people from all over the world take part in a week-long, nerve-wracking competition to be crowned best conductor. The camera follows the preparations of five finalists, their disappointments and triumphs, and above all their love of music and the complex art of conducting a symphony orchestra.
Esperando A Mañana by Jeanne Nouchi - France | 33 minutes
A documentary on the daily life of a number of peple in 2011’s Cuba. In Cuba’s capital all cultural, social and economical complexity of the island converges, and it is through its inhabitants that this richness speaks out. They share with us their wealths, their difficulties, their dreams, their rebellions, all of which exchanges surpass stereotypes and ghosts usually witnessed by daily news.
Ya Wooto by Jenny Cartwright – Burkina Faso, Canada | 100 minutes
Sylvain did not complete grade school. That is why he dreams of getting his driver’s license. With a driver’s license in hand, Sylvain could drive merchandise trucks, a job which would allow him to find a wife and start a family. In a year’s time and with God’s help he will have saved up enough cash to start his driving lessons.
Prisoner of Kanun by Roser Corella – Albania, España | 30 minutes
The centuries-old custom of blood feuds has started blighting lives in Albania since the collapse of communism, particulary in the mountains of north, where many families are living locked down in their houses in fear of blood vengeance. The ancestral code of “Kanun”, which has governed rural life in Albania for five centuries of foreign occupation, include the right to murder to avenge an earlier killing: “blood must be paid with blood”.
Pascal, 53, and Carole, 28, are shepherds. In the month of November 2010, they embark on their long winter transhumance: four months during which they will have to cover 600 km in the Swiss-French region, accompanied by three donkeys, four dogs and a eight hundred sheep. An eventful journey with surprise encounters, moving reunions with farmer friends, nostalgic figures of country life that is shrinking away fast.
Man on the Cross by Matthew Everett – United Kingdom, Philippines | 36 minutes
A documentary on the annual ritual of cruxifixion in the Philippines. Every Good Friday, some devotees have themselves actually nailed to crosses to remember Jesus Christ’s suffering and death, an annual rite rejected by Filipino church leaders in the predominantly Roman Catholic country.
The Dialogue by Arnd Wachter – China, Germany | 66 minutes
The Dialogue follows four American and four Chinese college students as they travel together through Southwest China and Hong Kong. Together the film characters explore each others personal backgrounds and discover cross-cultural skills. Their shared travel adventures, emotions of culture shock and honest confrontations become doorways to deepen their understanding of the world, of themselves and of each other.
Out of Competition
Errol Morris: A Lighting Sketch by Charles Musser – USA | 60 minutes
A “back-door” documentary on American documentary director Errol Morris, on his life and current work marred by the senseless and unexpected death of Karen Schmeer, his longtime editor. Errol is also depressed over the harsh critical reception of his documentary Standard Operating Procedure (2008).
Soldier/Citizen by Silvina Landsmann – Israel | 68 minutes
Towards the end of their military service, young Israelis are given another chance to obtain a schoolleaving certificate if they don’t have it already. For three consecutive weeks, civic education is the order of the day. In uniform and with their guns always within reach, the students discuss pluralism, discrimination, human rights, the complex definition of the Jewish State and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Life in Espui, Spain is tranquil and simple until bulldozers and cranes arrive to build a luxury residential area, complete with a ski slope and golf course. Espui’s inhabitants live first-hand the explosion of Spain’s housing bubble.
Philippine Focus
Typhoon Haiyan by Silke De Vos – Philippines, Germany | 60 minutes
On November 8, 2013 super typhoon Haiyan hits the Indigenous People of Palawan fully unprepared and leaves behind widespread devastation in the remote communities. Local government and media sadly neglect the Tagbanua tribe. Private donors step forward and help the Indigenous People get back on track and become stronger in the future, respecting their culture and traditions.
Closing Film
A documentary composed of footage shot by that small group of journalists as they travelled through some of the least known parts of Central Asia seeking national newspaper editors is willing to publish the Wikileaks material. Their compelling story unfolds in a series of meetings and taxing journeys over impressively rugged terrain.
To see the complete schedule please follow the next link: CIDFF Schedule 2014
Sebastián Nadilo
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