Laos: the most bombed country, per capita, on the planet. Australian bomb disposal specialist Laith Stevens has to train a new young big bomb team to deal with bombs left from the US Secret War, but meanwhile, the local children are out hunting for bomb scrap metal. This timely story is terrifying and yet filled with eccentric characters and moments of humour, vividly depicting the consequences of war and the incredible bravery of those trying to clear up the mess.
The Caravan of Manuscripts
Country: Spain Language: Spanish (with English subtitles) Year: 2007 Length: 50 min Director: Lidia Peralta Garcia
From the 8th to the 15th centuries, during the period of al-Andalus, the Islamic Spain, a huge amount of scientific books was produced. When the Muslims left Spain, many of them took their manuscripts with them. Today we can find them in family libraries all along the Route of the Caravans, in Morrocco, Mauritania and Mali. From Toledo to Timbuktu this documentary film follows the tracks of the manuscripts from al-Andalus. The main characther, Ismael Diadié Haidara, the owner of the Andalusian Library of Timbuktu (Mali) has spent many years to recover the manuscripts of his ancestors, who lived in al-Andalus.
Memorias de un Soador /
Memories of a Dreamer
Country: Canada Language: English (with Spanish subtitles) Year: 2008 Length: 50 min Director: Alisson Larrea
Enfoque Productions Inc.
Cast: Felix Mora
"Memories of a dreamer" is a first hand account of the hardship suffered by a political prisoner of Chile's cruel 1973 and inhumane dictatorship. More than 30 years after, Felix Mora relives the shocking details of the human rights abuses he suffered, his escape from the dictatorship, and the challenges he faced as an exile in Italy and Canada. Exile was meant to silence those who fought the regime. For Felix, exile became a catalyst to fight for freedom and democracy. Escaping to Italy first, he then settled in Canada and resumed the struggle for freedom in his country. Through this journey, Felix looks for the answer to the struggle that has been his life: Can he ever repatriate to his birthplace and belong to Chile again, or has this experience changed him to a point of no return? Archival footage, dramatization and personal narratives bring to light an emotionally jolting and inspirational film where terror and injustice are overcome by courage and determination. The film also challenges the assumption that refugees cannot participate in their homeland's struggles from abroad and still build successful lives in their adopted countries. It is also a testament to the lives of many Chilean exiles.
The Calling
Country: UK Language: English Year: 2006-7 Length: 50 min Director: Stuart Kershaw
The mark of an immature man is that he wishes to die for an unworthy cause while the mark of the mature man is that he wishes to live humbly for a worthy one. Wilhelm Stekel The Calling is an exploration of man's lust for adventure and the extraordinary places it can lead him.From the monotony of western living to the magnetic attraction of the warfront, filmmaker Sam Fazackerley follows the young men willing to risk all in order to realise their heroic desires and examines how youthful notions of sacrifice can be exploited by mass movements. Fazackerley explores why the jarhead marine is indoctrinated like the Islamist suicide-bomber. How the wandering hermit shapes himself a new vision of the world from his isolation in the wild; and the parallels between these opposing quests for understanding. As he moves closer to understanding his private motivations, Fazackerley must suspend balanced rationale like the radicals around him, if he is to understand the priceless gift of belonging.
The Elephant In The Room
Country: UK Language: English Year: 2008 Length: 95 min Director: Dean Puckett
The Elephant in the Room is a documentary following British filmmaker Dean Puckett through his journey into the 9/11 Truth Movement: a global movement of conspiracy theorists who believe that the official explanation about what happened on 9/11 is totally or partially inaccurate. The filmmakers travel from middle England, across Europe and to New York for the six year anniversary of the attacks, where the film takes one final twist as we are introduced to the 9/11 first responders who are suffering from various grave health difficulties due to the toxic dust that they breathed in, whilst trying to help their country during the weeks after this tragic event. Told with a personal hands on approach that avoids advancing any one position, the film asks the question: are these crazy conspiracy theorists? Or is 9/11 Truth a credible political movement?
El laberinto marroque / The Moroccan Labyrinth
Country: Spain Language: Spanish, Arab, Berber, French (English Subtitles) Year: 2008 Length: 53 min Director:Julio Sánchez Veiga
Cast: Omar Omar Benis; Amar Nboukhar Haj Selam, Mouth Benaissa ... Maria Rosa de Madariaga, Gustau Nerin, Sebastian Balfour, Gabriel Jackson, Andree Bachoud etc.
Fascism plunges its roots into colonialism. For Spain, the domination of Northern Africa implied a long and absurd war that profoundly contributed to the polarization of society. For the inhabitants of the colonial territory, the military occupation provided them with a motivation to unite and fight a common enemy. This documentary explores the reasons and consequences of a colonial conflict whose epilogue was the Spanish Civil War. A war that swept up thousands of indigenous Moroccans. Those who historically had been the traditional enemies of Spain, became the firm allies of the Francoist fraction, and they went to kill and to die in a conflict that was never their own.
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