Berlinale 2008 - 8 - Forum - Exiles
A thread of anguish, strength, and survival runs through this year’s Forum. Exile - removal from one’s country, one’s body, one’s home, enforced or self-imposed. Thirteen films, at least. More to come…
- Balikbayan Box by Mes De Guzman, Philippines/Netherlands/Switzerland (Drama - International Premiere). A “deceptive rural idyll” that focuses on these “care packages” to tell a story of the children of immigrant Filipino workers in search of a living wage. [read more at Berlinale site]
- Be Like Others by Tanaz Eshaghian, USA/Canada/Iran (Documentary - International Premiere). Iranian men undergoing sex-change operations. [read an interview with Tanaz Eshaghian]
- El Camino (The Path) by Ishtar Yasin Gutiérrez, Costa Rica/France (World Premiere). Children’s exodus from Nicaragua to Costa Rica in search of their parents.
- Corridor #8 by Boris Despodov, Bulgaria (Documentary - World Premiere). “A geographic tale” of “life along the Corridor #8 infrastructure project connecting the Adriatic and Black seas, and linking Bulgaria, FYROM, and Albania.” [read more at Thessaloniki Documentary Festival site]
- Corroboree by Ben Hackworth, Australia (Drama). Megan Spencer of the Perth Film Festival describes this film as “a must for anyone who loves cinema.” “A haunting experience of intense beauty and restraint” about “a beautiful young man [who] has been summoned to an eerie meditation retreat by a dying theatre director.” [read more at IMDb]
- The Exiles by Kent Mackenzie, USA (Documentary). A 1961 documentary chronicling a day in the life of a group of twenty-something Native Americans who left reservation life in the 1950s to live in LA. [read more at Wikipedia]
- Flipping out by Yoav Shamir, Israel/Canada (Documentary - International Premiere). “The little-known story of the after-shock of war: released Israeli soldiers experimenting with drugs to devastating affects.” [read more at itvs]
- La frontera infinita (The Infinite Border) by Juan Manuel Sepúlveda, Mexico (Documentary - International Premiere). “Tells of the uninterrupted stream of migrants from Central America to the United States.” [read more at Forum site]
- Higurashi by Hirosue Hiromasa, Japan (Drama). “Two single parents living in an anonymous suburban town with their children” do what they can to get by. [read more at Vancouver UrbanMixer]
- Seaview by Paul Rowley, Nicky Gogan, Ireland (Documentary - International Premiere). “Over three years, the filmmakers lived in Mosney, gaining the trust of the residents who share their stories. The film presents an intimate look into their lives…waiting to be either accepted into Ireland, or sent back to the horror from which they fled.” [read more at stillfilms]
- Shahida – Brides of Allah (Brides of Allah) by Natalie Assouline, Israel (Documentary - World Premiere). Assouline’s document of two years talking to five female Palestinian would-be suicide bombers currently residing in Israeli jails. [read more at emanuellevy.com]
- South Main by Kelly Parker, USA (Documentary - World Premiere). The resettlement, on short notice, of residents of a soon-to-demolished apartment block in Los Angeles.
- United Red Army by Wakamatsu Koji, Japan (Drama - International Premiere). “The international premiere of his impressive three-hour feature film on the Japanese terrorist group.” [read more at Berlinale site]
Read an interview with Christoph Terhechte, director of Forum.
Visit the websites of the Berlinale and International Forum.
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