© International Diaspora Film Festival 09
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© International Diaspora Film Festival 09 Director: Andrew Suri Banethi All in One Country: Canada Year: 2009 Runtime: 4 min The roots and present day practice of an ancient form of Martial Art that originated in ancient India and is undergoing a revival in the Indian diasporic Saturday 7 November 2009, community in Toronto. 3:00 PM © International Diaspora Film Festival 09 Director: Merleen Jonkman Country: The Netherlands Year: 2009 Runtime: 10 min Sunday, 8 November 2009, 4:00 p.m. Dao Dao, a young Thai woman comes to the Netherlands following internet dating. © International Diaspora Film Festival 09 Director: Heddy Honigmann Country: The Netherlands Year: 2008 Runtime: 93 min Award: Silver Dove, FIPRSCI, Ecumenical Jury, Leipzig FF 2008; Special Jury Award, Lima FF 2009, Crystal Film Award, The Netherland 2009 Saturday November 7 2009, 5:00pm El Olvido (Oblivion) El Olvido is an intimate portrait of the forgotten city of Lima and its people. Its stunning imagery juxtaposes shots of rich and poor life in the city, focusing on the way those with limited resources deal with social injustice. Through irony, creativity, determination and the power of memory, the film gives voice to a panoply of Lima’s invisible citizens who share their dreams and hardships and thus, defy oblivion. © International Diaspora Film Festival 09 Director: Hilda Hashempour Country: Canada Year: 2009 Runtime: 13 min Friday, 6 November 2009, 9:00 p.m. Far Rima, a young woman, remembering her last meeting with her boyfriend in a park, wonders about his child she is pregnant with. © International Diaspora Film Festival 09 Director: Souad El-Bouhati Country: France, Morocco Year: 2008 Runtime: 74 min Award: Best Actress, Dubai FF 2008, Lions Award, Rotterdam FF 2009, Shooting Stars; Hafsia Herzi, Berlin FF 2009 Saturday, November 7 2009, 3:00pm Francaise Francaise tells the coming of age story of Sophia (César Award-winner Hafsia Herzi), the daughter of a Moroccan family living in a French suburb. When her father suddenly finds himself out of work, the family must return to their homeland. The film fast-forwards to a precocious and headstrong university student who rebels against Moroccan tradition and becomes consumed by an overwhelming desire to return to her beloved France. © International Diaspora Film Festival 09 Director: T. C. McLuhan Country: Canada, USA Year: 2008 Runtime: 85 min Canadian Premiere Wednesday, November 4 2009, 7:00pm Saturday, November 7 2009, 1:00pm The Frontier Gandhi Twenty-one years in the making, this dramatic feature length documentary tells the extraordinary story of Muslim peacemaker, Badshah Khan. Born into Pashtun warrior society, Khan managed to raise a non-violent army of more than 100,000 men, women, and youngsters of various religions as he fought alongside Mahatma Gandhi for India’s independence. Shot in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, the U.S. and Canada, this eye-opening film includes remarkably candid interviews with world leaders, rare historical footage, and interviews with 72 of Khan’s non-violent warriors, all over the age of 100 years, a haunting score by world music pioneer David Amram, and a voice over by India’s megastar, Om Puri. © International Diaspora Film Festival 09 Director: Luigi Falorni Country: Germany, Italy, Austria, France, Kenya Year: 2008 Runtime: 94 min Award: Nominated, Golden Bear, Berlin FF 2008 Canadian Premiere Saturday, November 7 2009, 9:00pm Heart of Fire Inspired by the controversial memoir by Senait Mehari, Heart of Fire tells the tale of 10-year old Awet who was reclaimed from an orphanage by her father and forced to fight for the Eritrean Liberation Front in the war for independence against Ethiopia. When the young soldier first sees the enemy dead and realizes that they are just as human as she, Awet makes a solemn oath never to kill. © International Diaspora Film Festival 09 Director: Dan Deutsch Country: Israel Year: 2008 Runtime: 18 min Award: Golden Palm Award, Mexico FF 2009 Canadian Premiere Co-presented with Voices Forward and Planet in Focus Sunday, 8 November 2009, 2:00 p.m. Jaffawiye Jaffawiye tells the story of system Ali, a young fresh hip hop band from Jaffa, who through their music find peace and togetherness, in a part of Israel where racial prejudice and political assimilation are on the daily agenda. Singing in Arabic, Hebrew and Russian, System Ali deal with the problems of the young generation living in Jaffa and through their music manage to overcome their cultural and political difference. On the verge of embarking upon a journey beyond the borders of Jaffa, System Ali take their first steps out of their usual surroundings and into, what they define as the music capital of Israel, Tel Aviv © International Diaspora Film Festival 09 Director: Keren Yedaya Country: France, Israel Year: 2009 Runtime: 105 min Award: Nominated, Best Actress, Best Music, Israeli Film Academy 2009 Co-presented with Voices Forward and Planet in Focus Saturday, 8 November 2009, 8:00 p.m. Jaffa This is the modern-day Romeo and Juliet story of Mali, a young Jewish woman, and Toufik, her Arab lover who works at her father’s garage. Mali and Toufik are on the brink of elopement when tragedy strikes. The film goes on to tell the story of rebuilding their lives and the hope of two cultures living together in one city. © International Diaspora Film Festival 09 Director: Claus Strigel Country: Germany, Sweden, Iran Year: 2008 Runtime: 90 min Canadian Premiere Friday, November 6 2009, 9:15pm Moon Sun Flower Game In 1962, the influential young Iranian poet Forough Farrokhzad visited the residents of a north Iranian lepers’ colony to make her internationally acclaimed documentary The House is Black. There she met and adopted young Hossein Mansouri. Overnight, the boy was spirited away from the colony into the midst of pre-revolutionary Tehranian bohemia. Strigel revisits the leper camp, then travels to Munich to interview Mansouri and, through coincidence or fate, uncovers a story greater than any fiction. © International Diaspora Film Festival 09 Director: Aref Mohammadi Country: Canada Year: 2009 Runtime: 15 min Saturday, 7 November 2009, 5:00 p.m. New Horizon The life and challenges of the first Iranian female mechanic is explored through interviews. © International Diaspora Film Festival 09 Director: Rokaya Sabbah Country: Israel Year: 2007 Runtime: 52 min Canadian Premiere Co-presented with Voices Forward and Planet in Focus Sunday, 8 November 2009, 2:00 p.m. On Hold On Hold explores the hesitations and moral issues affecting the filmmaker and her partner’s decision to leave Israel for a better life in Spain. Enlisting the help of her Muslim family, her partner’s Christian family, and their Arab and Jewish friends, the couple sorts through difficult questions pertaining to Arab life in Israel. © International Diaspora Film Festival 09 Director: Heinrich Dahms Country: The Netherlands Year: 2009 Runtime: 92 min Award: Best European Film, Ireland FF 2009 North American Premiere Sunday, November 8 2009, 4:00 p.m. SCUM SCUM follows the paths of Ed and Hassan, two adolescents in the Netherlands destined to meet by film’s end. Ed has just been fired from his job and kicked out by his girlfriend. Hassan has just been accepted into college and has a loving girlfriend at his side. Ed spends his night partying, indulging in sex, drugs and rock & roll. Hassan spends his night agonizing over his dreams. The paths of these two collide violently. © International Diaspora Film Festival 09 Director: Marco Simon Puccioni Country: Italy, France Year: 2007 Runtime: 100 min Award: Grand Prize, Best Actress, Annecy Italian FF 2007 Co-presented with Inside Out Film Festival Saturday, September 7 2009, 7:00 p.m. Shelter Me Upon their return home from a North African vacation, Italian lesbian couple Anna and Mara discover that they’ve inadvertently smuggled home with them Anis, a Moroccan stowaway. Anna allows him to live in their home and arranges a job for him at her brother’s warehouse. Emotional, sexual and socio-economic tensions mount among the three characters, ultimately upsetting the balance in each of their lives. Delving into issues raised by immigration, adolescence, sexual orientation, and financial security, Shelter Me locates the sources of solace we all seek. © International Diaspora Film Festival 09 Director: Sam Arjomand Sirens Country: UK Year: 2007 Runtime: 8 min A young boy is deeply affected by the news of war he sees on TV, dissociating from his family. Saturday 7 November, 9:00 p.m. © International Diaspora Film Festival 09 Director: Irene von Alberti Country: Germany/Morocco Year: 2008 Runtime: 95 min North American Premiere Sunday, November 8 2009, 6:00 p.m. Tangerine Amira, a rebellious young dancer, finds refuge in the apartment of some prostitutes. Pia and Tom, a young German couple, seeking musical inspiration meet Amira in a Tangiers’ nightclub. Amira embraces the idea of an affair with Tom, hoping this might provide an opportunity to change her fate. Tangerine explores the subtle incongruities between eastern and western cultures through its strong and engaging female characters. © International Diaspora Film Festival 09 Director: Philippe Aractingi Country: France, Lebanon, UK Year: 2007 Runtime: 98 min Award: Human Rights, Alternative Vision, EIUC, Venice FF 2007, Best Film, Best Actress, Dubai FF 2007, Critics Award, Eurasia FF 2007, Prix Jury Jeune, Francophone FF 2007, Best Actress, FIPRESCI, Bratislava FF 2008 Toronto Premiere Thursday, November 5 2009, 9:00 p.m. Under the Bombs During a cease-fire in the Lebanon-Israel conflict of 2006, a woman returns to Lebanon to search for her missing son and sister in the rubble of local towns. During this dangerous road trip she and her taxi driver develop an intimate bond that transcends class, religion, and politics.