WASTE NO.2 WRECK

9 minutes, 2016
Director and Producer: Jan IJÄS (Finland)

“Waste no. 2 Wreck” was filmed in 2014 and 2015 on the island of Lampedusa, in the graveyard of the refugees’ boats. Here the discarded flotsam and jetsam, the smashed boats, become symbols of our society – and thus desirable icons, their value increasing daily.

Born in 1975 in Finland, the multimedia artist and film-maker Jan IJÄS lives and works in Helsinki. He makes documentary films, drama films and experimental films which look at difficult issues in our society, such as migration into foreign, hostile societies. His films have been widely shown abroad in festivals, museums and art galleries.

UN JOUR À ALEP

24 minutes, 2017
Director: Ali AL-IBRAHIM (Syria)
Production: Feras FAYYAD, Aleppo Media Centre (Syria)

Suffocated by the inhuman and endless siege imposed by the Syrian regime, and after five uninterrupted months of senseless bombardment, a group of children living in Aleppo begin to paint the walls of the city.
A gesture of protest and minimal resistance, to dare to dream about the return of life in a city humiliated by shooting and bombs, in the sight of and with the full knowledge of the international powers who made no attempt to save lives.
All over the city, colour appears. Small glimmers of hope germinate in the heads of the thousands of people who have remained prisoners, choking in the dust between ruins and rubble.
As Russian forces cut food and medical supplies, more than 280,000 civilians wander the streets homeless, without shelter, looking for reasons to continue, for new sources of hope. What happened in Aleppo will never be forgotten.


Ali AL-IBRAHIM is a Syrian journalist.
He holds a degree in Media and Communications from Damascus University. He has worked as a correspondent for several Syrian newspapers, and as a reporter for pan-Arab newspapers, including, Al-Mouden, Aaraby Aljadeed and Elaph. He has made investigative reports for Al-Araby TV and ARIJ (Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism Network). He has also worked as a reporter for Sky News Arabia making TV reports inside Syria on the current war.

MY MOTHER, THE TOBACCO GROWER

21 minutes, 2016
Réalisation et Production : Stathis GalazoulaS (Grèce)

Depuis son enfance, ma grand-mère Chrisoula a travaillé dans les champs de tabac.
En décembre 2014, avec mon frère, elle assiste à un spectacle sur l’histoire du tabac dans la ville de Agrinio. Un événement important qui permet aux habitants de se souvenir du passé de leur ville.

Stathis Galazoulas a obtenu un diplôme en photographie artistique et en réalisation cinématographique. Il a réalisé des documentaires diffusés sur la télévision publique grecque ERT (“The Other Man”, 2014 ; “Niala, a Forgotten History Page”, 2013). Il travaille comme assistant caméraman, directeur de la photographie et réalisateur.

KACHACH, AU-DESSUS DE ZAATARI

14 minutes, 2016
Director : Bruno PIERETTI (France)
Production : Xavier THESNON-HILY and Bruno PIERETTI (France)

In the Zaatari refugee camp (Jordan), Syrians await the end of a never-ending war. Among the exiles, a community was formed: the Kachach. In this camp which no one is supposed to leave, these bird breeders have revived a tradition: waiting for the end of their exile, their birds keep alive their dream.

Bruno PIERETTI: through his documentaries and his drama-films Pieretti looks for unorthodox ways of showing war, violence and its consequences.
His first documentary, “Kachach, au-dessus de Zaatari“, tackles the pain of exile in an unfamiliar way.

BOLINGO LA FORET DE L’AMOUR

29 minutes, 2016
Director: Alejandro G. SALGADO (Spain)
Production: La Maleta (Spain)

“Bolingo. La forêt de l’amour” is about the journey travelled by many women from the heart of Africa to the North of Morocco, following their “European dream”.
Some of them give birth in the Bolingo camp, or in other camps built next to the border between Morocco and Spain.
Bolingo means “love” in Lingala, the language spoken by the Congolese migrants who decided to give a touch of humanity to the hard drama their fellow migrants suffer as they cross North Africa. They created this camp so migrant women can live with their children while waiting to cross the border into Europe.
“Bolingo: The Forest of Love” shows these mothers who struggle for survival, raising their children in difficult conditions.

Alejandro G. SALGADO was born in 1982. He studied Media and Communications, then Art History at Seville University. He completed his training in Barcelona, specialising in script-writing for feature-length drama films. Since 2011 he has worked as producer and director of several films.
His credits as a director include the documentary “Final de Trayecto” (2009), the short documentary “Among Tissues and Dreams” (2010) and the documentary “The Disorder of the Senses” (2013) – this last film winning several awards. Since 2014 he has been part of the production company La Maleta.

 

MARE NOSTRO

55 minutes, 2016
Director: Andrea GADALETA CALDAROLA (Italy)
Production: Andrea GADALETA CALDAROLA, Rosanna RIZZI (Italy)

Molfetta, a town in southern Italy, overlooking the Adriatic Sea.
Here the sea is not just a background for the tourist postcards – over the centuries the sea has shaped the town’s social ecosystem and economy through fishing and maritime commerce.
“Mare Nostro” weaves together the voices of fishermen, fragments of memory, into an oral history of a place: the port of Molfetta.

Andrea GADALETA CALDAROLA was born in 1979. He is a documentary director and editor. He also works as a film instructor.
His credits include three documentaries: “Mare nostro” (2016), “Destination de Dieu” (2014) and “Nomos” (2012).

GAZA SURF CLUB

87 minutes, 2016
Directors: Philip GNADT and Mickey YAMINE (Germany)
Production: Little Bridge Pictures (Germany)

Trapped inside the “largest open prison in the world” and subject to the laws of war, the new generation of Palestinians is irresistibly attracted to the edge of their world, the beaches. Revolted by the occupation and the political stalemate, the surfers of Gaza recover their personal freedoms in the waves of the Mediterranean.

Philip GNADT studied at Stuttgart’s Hochschule der Medien or Media University. His graduation film, “Zwölf Seiten”, won the Audience Award at Karlsruhe’s Independent Days International Filmfest (IDIF) in 2010. He works as a director. With Mickey Yamine he has been involved in the “Gaza Surf Club” project since 2012.

Mickey YAMINE grew up in Cairo before going to live in Germany at the age of 18. He studied film production at Babelsberg University where he graduated with his final-year film “Tropic of Bear”. With Little Bridge Pictures, his production company based in Berlin, he has recently produced “Gaza Surf Club” (2016) and “The Last Compartment” (2016).

BENVENUTI

54 minutes, 2017
Directors: Laura Auriole (France) and Annalisa Lendaro (Italy)
Production : CNRS Images (France)

Lampedusa: a rock in the Mediterranean. Surface area:20 km². One of Europe’s borders.
An Italian island now infamous as the destination for thousands of migrants fleeing wars and misery, men and women risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean.
For some the crucial border into Europe, but for others heaven-on-sea: turquoise waters, paradisical landscapes, easy-going culture all make it a popular tourist destination.
Between these apparently watertight worlds, which barely touch each other, ordinary life on the island goes on.
In this film, the inhabitants and its visitors breathe confidences or show off, reveal themselves or mask their feelings. Indirectly or frankly, they show the viewer insights about Lampedusa from within, its many contrasts and ambiguities. Shipwrecks and holding camps on one side, the dolce vita and traditional fishing on the other.
Journey to the heart of a militarized and beautiful island, actor and spectator in one of our century’s tragedies.

Laura AURIOLE was born in 1981. She graduated in anthropology (African Studies) and German Letters from the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. She first worked in journalism in Europe and Africa, before specializing in making documentary films, principally at Bordeaux University. Today, her approach as a writer and director of documentaries lies somewhere between social sciences, art and culture. In 2012 she made her graduation film “Mémoires”, about Bordeaux’ past as a slave city. “Benvenuti” is her first feature-length documentary.

Annalisa LENDARO is a researcher in political sociology at the CNRS. In particular, she works on migration and borders. In the light of the current political and migratory situation, she has turned towards educating people so as to de-compartmentalize scientific research in order to allow debate within and beyond the University precincts. Her CV consists mainly of publications and papers given at conferences and workshops. “Benvenuti” is her first documentary film.

ATTENTION !

51 minutes, 2016
Director: Onur Bakır (Turkey) and Panagiotis Charamis (Greece)
Production : Damla KIRKALI, Onur BAKIR (Turkey)

Onur, a 32-year-old doctoral student, faces a dilemma: either he pays his exemption from military service, or he has to complete six months in the Turkish army.
To help him make his decision, he turns his camera towards his family and friends, who all give him conflicting advice on the ethical and political aspects of the choice he is about to make.
“Attention!” tackles a controversial subject with humour, while giving us an insight into what the Turks think about their own armed forces, one of the largest in the world.

Onur BAKIR is a doctoral student in the philosophy department of Boğaziçi University.
This first documentary, co-directed with Panagiotis Charamis, won the Best Documentary award at the 35th Istanbul International Film Festival in 2016.
Panagiotis CHARAMIS studied film at Kent University (UK) and then at Kingston University. Since then he has worked as director of photography and as director on short films, documentaries and commercials.