Schedule

Mao's Last Dancer
By Bruce Beresford / Australia / 2009 / PG / 117
Lido 1
15th Apr, 9:15pm

From internationally acclaimed Australian film director Bruce Beresford comes the inspirational true story of a small boy’s extraordinary journey from poverty to international stardom. From a grueling apprenticeship as a classical dancer in communist China, to the glory of creative freedom in America. But, there is a painful price to be paid for his quest for self expression. 'Mao’s Last Dancer' captures the intoxicating effects of first love and celebrity, the pain of exile, and ultimately the triumph of individual endeavour over ideology.
Director Bruce Beresford and Actor Chi Cao will be attending.
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Liebe Mauer (Beloved Berlin Wall)
By Peter Timm / Germany / 2009 / PG / 109
Lido 3
16th Apr, 7:00pm

Berlin, 1989. Sascha is a young East German border guard; Franzi a lively young West German woman who’s just moved into a flat next to Sascha’s watchtower at the Berlin Wall. It takes only a slight mishap and a selfless act of chivalry - and the two fall in love. But soon the Stasi believe they are witnessing the start of a revolt and Franzi and Sascha have to find a way to stand up for their love and strive for the impossible - to bring down the wall …
Director Peter Timm will be attending.
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Ruma Maida (Maida's House)
By Teddy Soeriaatmadja / Indonesia / 2009 / NC16 / 95
Lido 5
16th Apr, 7:00pm

Maida Lilian Manurung is an idealistic girl who has made a school for street children at an abandoned house. When an arrogant businessman wants to demolish the building and turn it into a major shopping mall, he sends engineer, Sakera Motaba. However, Sakera slowly sides with Maida and they struggle to save the house from demolishment together
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Kenjak (Donkey)
By Antonio Nuić / Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina / 2009 / PG / 90
Screening Room, The Arts House
16th Apr, 7:00pm

It is 1995, the summer when the war operation Storm will take place in Croatia. Boro, his wife Jasna and son Luka goes to his home village Drinovci, Herzegovina, after seven years. He constantly fights with Jasna and doesn't speak at all to his father Paško, whom he blames for his mother's death. In two weeks in August 1995, Boro will resolve the long-standing dispute with his father, learn to be a better husband and a father, and in all this a considerable role will be played by a donkey.
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Singapore Panorama Shorts
By / Singapore / 2009 / NC16 / 77
Sinema Old School
16th Apr, 7:00pm

KITCHEN QUARTET
Singapore / 2009 / 21 min
Director & Screenplay: Nicole Midori Woodford
Producers: Nicole Midori Woodford, Tan Jit Quan

Food inexplicably intertwines two families in which a son and a daughter struggle to gain acceptance from their respective parents; all four characters are forced to confront their inner selves.

TIE XIN (RESPIRATOR)
Singapore / 2009 / 19 min
Director & Screenplay: Michael Tay Producer: Fu Shiqi

To save her seven-year-old son from dying of a rare disease, a single mother undergoes a bizarre operation but recovers only to realise the terrifying consequences which accompany it.

MASALA MAMA
Singapore / 2009 / 9 min
Director, & Screenplay: Michael Kam
Producer: Fran Borgia

The young son of struggling ‘rag-and-bone’ man, much to his father’s chagrin, is constantly distracted by daydreams of drawing comic book superheroes. Driven by his aspirations, he steals a comic from the gentle owner of a small Indian grocery store (‘mama-shop’), setting in motion a series of confrontations between his father and the storeowner.

HENNIE
Singapore / 2009 / 4 min
Director, Producer & Screenplay: Ethan Page

‘Hennie’ is the story of Samantha, a waitress, who perpetrates a wild game of cat and mouse on Ben, an American Naval Commander—all in the service of teaching him a lesson about ‘treating a lady right’.

RICE
Singapore / 2009 / 6 min
Director, Producer & Screenplay: Taj Jenkins Musco

A man struggles to cook the perfect bowl of rise under the tutelage of a stern rice master. When his repeated attempts fail, his will is put to the ultimate test and he must face the question of what it truly takes to be a master.

SCOT FREE
Singapore / 2009 / 18 min
Director: Chia Pei Zhen
Producer: Jonathan Choo
Screenplay: Jonathan Choo, Chia Pei Zhen

Two French tourists in Singapore find themselves under attack in their hotel room. In the midst of a scuffle, the intruder dies. Can the two find a way to dispose of the body and escape the country?

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Män som hatar kvinnor (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
By Niels Arden Oplev / Sweden, Denmark, Germany / 2009 / R21 / 152
Lido 3
16th Apr, 9:15pm

Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her uncle is convinced that she was murdered. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the tattooed, ruthless computer hacker Lisbeth Salander to investigate. When the pair link Harriet’s disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from almost forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history.
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(Vaghti Limooha Zard Shdand) When the Lemons Turned Yellow
By Mohammadreza Vatandoust / Iran / 2009 / PG / 77
Lido 5
16th Apr, 9:15pm

Shahrbanoo and Sharam’s engagement coincides with the Iraq-Iran war. They volunteer to serve at the front line as physicians and there, Shahrbanoo goes missing-in-action. Shahram, saddened and disappointed by the loss, marries Shahrbanoo’s closest friend and has two children with her. However, when the POWs are eventually repatriated, Shahrbanoo unexpectedly returns…
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International Shorts
By / / 2010 / NC16 / 89
Screening Room, The Arts House
16th Apr, 9:15pm

BABCIA WYJEZDZA (GRANDMA HAS GONE)
Poland / 2009 / 19 min
Director & Screenplay: Tomasz Jurkiewicz
Producers: Marta Pielasz, Piotr Chodura, Renata Borodyn

Jurek, a 16-year-old cottage boy, has problems at vocational school—he is a permanent liar. Jurek will have to deal with his alcoholic father, and with his granny, taken to hospital.

VELA AO CRUCIFICADO (CANDLE TO THE CRUCIFIED)
Brazil / 2009 / 13 min
Director, Producer & Screenplay: Frederico Machado

A poor child’s wake reveals the pain and fury of their desperate parents.

LEGENDE DE JEAN L’INVERSE (LEGEND OF JOHN THE INVERTED
Belgium / 2008– 2009 / 18 min
Director & Screenplay: Philippe Lamensch
Producers: Catherine Burniaux, Marie-Aude Godard

John is born with his feet back to front. His parents want him to undergo 20 years of ferocious operations. His mother asks only that they not interfere with the jam-making season.

FOGO (FIRE)
Brazil / 2009 / 21 min
Director & Screenplay: Hique Montanari
Producer: Manga Rosa Filmes

‘Fogo’ is about the mysteries surrounding the inexplicable death of a man.

ANA'S PLAYGROUND USA / 2009 / 18 min
Director & Screenplay: Eric D. Howell
Producer: Jillian Nodland, Marsha Trainer

‘Ana’s Playground’ is an allegory about the moment when a child is forced to choose between ideology and humanity while playing in a dangerous war environment.

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Roulette City
By Thomas Lim / Singapore, Macau / 2010 / PG / 74
Sinema Old School
16th Apr, 9:15pm

Tak goes to Macau with his uncle Wai to win money at gambling to afford his ill mother’s operation. They win big at initial tries, but lose it all when Wai runs into Tak’s former lover, Winnie. Believing he killed Wai in a furied brawl over Wynnie, Tak is lured into a gamble he cannot refuse: Winnie’s freedom in exchange for information known to a local policeman, Kin. To gain Kin’s trust, Tak befriends his sister Amanda and unexpectedly falls for her. As Tak grows closer to the siblings—and Kin inches closer to discovering Tak’s true intentions—Tak must decide where his true loyalties lie.
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Singapore Short Film Competition: Finalists
By / Singapore / 2010 / M18 / 82
Sinema Old School
17th Apr, 11:30am

SIFF received over 70 submissions this year, and seven finalists were selected. The finalists will compete in the following awards categories: Best Film Best Director Best Performance Best Cinematography Special Mention The prize winners will be announced at the Silver Screen Awards and Gala on 22 April 2010.
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The Fading Light
By Ivan Kavanagh / Ireland / 2009 / PG / 71
Lido 3
17th Apr, 2:00pm

To the outside world, Yvonne is a strong, happy and successful woman. But when she returns home to be with her sick mother, she is forced to make life-changing decisions and the facade that she has carefully constructed begins to collapse.
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My Flesh My Blood
By Marcin Wrona / Poland / 2009 / R21 / 91
Lido 5
17th Apr, 2:00pm

Igor is a professional boxer who learns that his brain has been severely damaged from his many years of fighting. Refusing to undergo surgery, he knows that his days are numbered and his last desire is to leave a child behind as his legacy. A young Vietnamese immigrant, Yen Ha, agrees to have his baby in exchange for Polish citizenship. Despite the nature of their agreement, they fall in love, but soon Igor’s health deteriorates…
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Wu (Fog)
By Kit Wah-Hui / Hong Kong / 2009 / NC16 / 89
Screening Room, The Arts House
17th Apr, 2:00pm

Hong Kong. The 10th Anniversary of its reunification with China. Wai, a young man suffering from a rare form of amnesia, discovers vital clues to his past that are deliberately hidden from him. ‘Fog’ follows Wai as he embarks on a journey of self-discovery and redemption.
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40-ci qapi (The 40th Door)
By Elcin Musaoglu / Azerbaijan / 2008 / PG / 82
Sinema Old School
17th Apr, 2:00pm

After his father is killed by the Russian Mafia, 14 year old Rustam becomes the head of the family and heads to the city to search for a job. There he earns money for the family and discovers his dream of becoming a musician. However, a gang who demand a portion of his earnings soon appear and cause trouble for Rustam.. The film’s title refers to an Azerbaijani fairytale about saving a princess from a house with 40 doors, of which no one has succeeded in opening the last. Its secret, thus, remains forever hidden.
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Güneşi Gördüm (I Saw the Sun)
By Mahsun Kırmızıgül / Turkey / 2009 / NC16 / 101
Lido 5
17th Apr, 4:15pm

In the southeast region of Turkey, a 25-year war has made everyday life hell for the Altun family. One of the sons, a soldier, meets his guerilla brother head-on in battle. Their youngest brother has been legless since stepping on a landmine. Another Altun son, the young Kadri, has had to suppress his gender orientation. When they are forced from the land, Kadri finally finds the freedom to express his sexuality. However, moving to the city does not mean they have escaped all their troubles…
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Second Moon
By Masahiro Sugano / USA, Japan, South Korea / 2009 / M18 / 90
Sinema Old School
17th Apr, 4:15pm

Q is a star agent of “Art of Love’, an underground organisation that helps rich housewives cheat on their husbands. Don Jim, the guru, demands his agents pursue multiple sexual relationships at all times. One day Q runs into M, a transient young woman from Korea. M falls ill and Q provides care, which awakens Q’s long surpressed feelings. Now he must take a stand. Free love or one love?
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In the House of Straw
By Yeo Siew Hua / Singapore / 2009 / R21 / 130
Screening Room, The Arts House
17th Apr, 4:15pm

Over the summer break, Zhi Wen decides to move out of his parents’ house to live with two friends. After discovering that Ah Pin and Mark are professional bicycle thieves, Zhi Wen slowly finds himself entrapped in a strange world of vice and deception. A magical personality game they play will finally cause them to switch identities with one another. The film is the tale of the three little pigs set in the modern landscape of urbanised Singapore. Will the three little pigs live happily ever after?
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En Plein Coeur (Straight to the Heart)
By Stéphane Géhami / Canada / 2008 / R21 / 109
Lido 3
17th Apr, 4:15pm

Benoit, a confused 30 year-old young man, makes a living stealing cars, and Jimmy, a teenager, tries to live it up with his depressive mother. Benoit finds comfort in the arms of a different woman every night while Jimmy craves for his attention and starts considering him as his father.
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We Don't Care About Music Anyway…
By Cédric Dupire, Gaspard Kuentz / France / 2009 / PG / 80
Screening Room, The Arts House
17th Apr, 7:00pm

From radical turntablism (Otomo Yoshihide) to laptop music innovation (Numb), via classic instrument hijacking (Sakamoto Hiromichi), Tokyo’s avant-garde music scene is internationally known for its boldness. While introducing some of the greatest musicians of this scene, ‘We Don't Care About Music Anyway…’ offers a kaleidoscopic view of Tokyo, confronting music and noise, sound and image, reality and representation, documentary and fiction.
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This Is Love
By Matthias Glasner / Germany / 2009 / M18 / 107
Lido 5
17th Apr, 7:00pm

After Chris rescues 9 year old Jenjira from human traffickers, they go on the run from the Mafia. When Chris is accused of murder, he meets Maggie a withdrawn police inspector with an alcohol problem. In countless interrogations, the two get to know each other better and confess their hidden fears and dangerous desires to each other.
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Santina
By Gioberto Pignatelli / Italy / 2009 / R21 / 77
Sinema Old School
17th Apr, 7:00pm

Adapted from a few chapters Else Morante’s novel, ‘History’, ‘Santina’ tells the story of Nello D’Angeli, a pimp, and Santina, his middle-aged prostitute in Rome, post-World War II. Although Nello is young, he avoids women his age and finds refuge in his difficult relationship with Santina. One day, in a rage he kills her and when the young, middle-class Jew, David Serge arrives in Rome, he finds himself living in the miserable room of the poor dead prostitute, an old acquaintance of his.
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To kako: Stin epohi ton iroon (Evil: In the Time of Heroes)
By Yorgos Noussias / Greece / 2009 / R21 / 88
Screening Room, The Arts House
17th Apr, 9:15pm

Ancient Greek Zombies! A low budget genre film with zombies, ancient Greek warriors and Billy Zane.
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Dooman River
By Zhang Lu / South Korea, France / 2009 / M18 / 89
Lido 5
17th Apr, 9:15pm

Twelve-year-old Chang-ho befriends a North Korean refugee of the same age who has just crossed the river border between North Korea and China. Chang-ho's mute sister, Soon-hee, and his wise grandfather in turns get to know the boy and they become embroiled in a series of misfortunes.
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Magma
By Pierre Vinour / France / 2009 / M18 / 99
Lido 3
17th Apr, 9:15pm

During a conference at a remote hotel in the region of Auvergne, Paul Neville, who is married, gets involved in an affair with the woman staying in the next room. The same day that the two lovers decide to leave everything behind to be together, the young woman disappears and Paul immediately falls under suspicion.
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Lessons of the Blood
By James T. Hong, Yin-Ju Chen / Taiwan, USA, Germany, China / 2009 / PG / 52
Sinema Old School
17th Apr, 9:15pm

‘Lessons of the Blood’ focuses on the history and victims of Japanese biological warfare. It tells the story of how and why the Japanese military deployed biological weapons in Zhejiang Province, China, and of how the surviving victims have been coping with the attacks since 1942.
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Ling Hun De Lu Cheng (Everlasting Moments)
By Chen Wen-Pin / Taiwan / 2009 / PG / 71
Sinema Old School
18th Apr, 12:00pm

Taqun, Minister of the Council of Indigenous Peoples faces a dilemma on the government’s decision to demolish the indigenous tribes in the cities. He goes to one of the demolished tribes but an accident leaves him in a coma. In his coma, he starts a series of conversations with the lost spirit, Buda, an ancient Atayal chief and as a result, the modern and ancient overlap in the same space.
Mr. Chen is a leading actor and screenwriter of the very successful and popular Taiwanese film 'No puedo vivir sin ti' (I Can't Live Without You; Bu Neng Mei You Ni), which won awards in many film festivals last year.
The director has changed the Mandarin title of his latest film, 'Everlasting Moments'. This film was previously listed as 'Qian Nian'.
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Menteur (Liar)
By Tom Geens / Belgium / 2008 / R21 / 78
Lido 3
18th Apr, 2:00pm

Antoine is treated like an idiot by his own family. He quits his job but pretends to be still employed and applies for managerial jobs far beyond his reach. In order to keep his family in the dark, he starts lying, and lying, and lying…
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9:06
By Igor Sterk / Slovenia / 2009 / M18 / 71
Lido 5
18th Apr, 2:00pm

In Ljubljana, a police inspector investigates an unusual case. His investigation turns into an obsession as he secretly moves into the apartment of the deceased, delving deeper into the man’s life and gradually assuming his identity.
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Driving Miss Daisy
By Bruce Beresford / USA / 1989 / PG / 99
Screening Room, The Arts House
18th Apr, 2:00pm

‘Driving Miss Daisy’ tells the story of Daisy Werthan, a 72-year-old widow, and Hoke Colbum, her African-American driver in a time where racism and prejudice permeated the American Deep South. Over the course of 20 years, the two slowly develop an incredible friendship that transcends their differences.
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Memories of a Burning Tree
By Sherman Ong / Tanzania, Netherlands, Singapore, Malaysia / 2010 / PG / 113
Sinema Old School
18th Apr, 2:00pm

MEMORIES OF A BURNING TREE (86 min)
Smith comes to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to tie up some loose ends. He meets Link, a tour guide, who agrees to help him. Along the way, they are offered help by Abdul, a gravedigger, and Toatoa, a metal scavenger, who themselves are searching for answers to their own journeys. Their search eventually leads them to realise that this is a never-ending journey of dreams and disappointments. This film is also part of the SINGAPORE PANORAMA section.
This film is paired with 'Conversations on Sago Lane' (Chen-Hsi Wong, 2010)
CONVERSATIONS ON SAGO LANE (27 min)
Singapore / 2010
Director: Chen-Hsi Wong
Producer: Lillian Wang
An HDB estate on Sago Lane houses one of Singapore’s highest concentrations of elders, who have survived successive waves of relocation and redevelopment since migrating from China during their childhood.
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Snow and Ashes
By Charles-Olivier Michaud / Canada / 2009 / M18 / 106
Lido 3
18th Apr, 4:15pm

Blaise Dumas, war correspondent for Frontline Reporters, covers an armed conflict in Eastern Europe. When he wakes from a temporary coma in his home town of Quebec City, Blaise discovers that his long time collaborator and photographer has not come back with him. He then sets out to recapture the events that led to his friend’s disappearance and his own narrow escape from the war zone.
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Kara Köpekler Havlarken (Black Dogs Barking)
By Mehmet Bahadir Er, Maryna Gorbach / Turkey, Ukraine / 2009 / NC16 / 90
Lido 5
18th Apr, 4:15pm

A dynamic shooting style, pitch-perfect written street lingo and a transfixing dog-eat-dog story form the essence of this exciting first feature about two friends who get into deep trouble in Istanbul's chaotic underground scene. At times funny, at time tragic, this film is, fore mostly, jolting in its authenticity and does for Istanbul what Scorsese did for Little Italy.
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Asian Shorts
By / / 2010 / TBA / 68
Screening Room, The Arts House
18th Apr, 4:15pm

This series of short films include three works by Edmund Yeo as director, writer and/or producer. Born in Singapore in 1984, trained in Australia, and now based in Japan, Malaysian filmmaker Edmund Yeo has made numerous award-winning short films that have been shown in major film festivals around the world. He became the youngest Malaysian to ever compete at the Venice Film Festival with ‘Kingyo’ in 2009.

LOVE SUICIDES
Malaysia / 2009 / 13 min
Director & Screenplay: Edmund Yeo
Producer: Woo Ming Jin

In an isolated fishing village of Malaysia, a woman’s relationship with her young daughter descends into a path of self-destruction and abuse when she begins to receive a series of strange and mysterious letters from her long-absent husband.

LADYBIRD’S TEARS
Japan, Thailand, Malaysia / 2010 / 11 min
Director: Kong Pahurak
Producer & Screenplay: Edmund Yeo

A filmmaker’s production notes recall a low-budget sci-fi film he was trying to make. Through his ruminations, the narrative turns into something unexpected.

HUJAN TAK JADI DATANG (IT’S NOT RAINING OUTSIDE)
Indonesia / 2009 / 16 min
Director, Producer & Screenplay: Yosep Anggi Noen

Two furniture store employees have to deliver a sofa to a customer. However, they find themselves trapped in an immature love affair.

GAARUD (THE SPELL)
India / 2009 / 12 min
Director: Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni
Producer: Film and Television Institute of India
Screenplay: Shati Bhave

A room of a shady lodge near the railway station in a small town. Glimpses of the lives of people who are caught in the frame of the room, unable to escape.

KINGYO
Japan, Malaysia / 2009 / 25 min
Director: Edmund Yeo
Producer: Maiko Itagaki
Screenplay: Edmund Yeo
Cast: Luchino Fujisaki, Takao Kawaguchi, Amane Kudo

A university professor decides to go for a tour in Akihabara, Tokyo, guided by a young woman. They speak of a past they both share and, ultimately, a painful love triangle that continues to haunt them.

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Sex Volunteer
By Cho Kyeong-Duk / Korea / 2009 / R21 / 123
Sinema Old School
18th Apr, 4:15pm

Chun-Guil is a born handicap who cannot use his arms or legs. Knowing his death is imminent, Chun-Guil confesses to a priest that he wants to feel a sexual pleasure in his lifetime. Despite the moral and social ambiguity, the priest introduces him to Ye-Ri, a girl who volunteers her sexual services. Should sex volunteering, sex without profit or love, be chastised by the religion, society and law?
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New York Avant Cinema Series | 2010: Programme 1
By / / 2010 / NC16 / 101
Screening Room, The Arts House
18th Apr, 6:00pm

BRETHREN ARISE
2009 / 24 min / Brent Chesanek

Brethren Arise is an abstract narrative tone poem where environments engulf characters at various low points in their lives.

DEATHCRY (SIREN SONG)
2009 / 2 min / Chris Rice

An homage to the work of composer and filmmaker Tony Conrad with appropriated video of hair-metal hero/has-been Jim Gilette (of Nitro)’s scream in place of Conrad’s minimal (though strikingly more Traditional) instrumentation and slow-burn film work.

BELL PIECE # FOUR / PIANO ROLL # 22
2009 / 3 min / 1 min/ Pat Spadine / AshCan Orchestra

Aural patterns highlighted with visual accents. Investigating stasis. Several ways to initiate the suspension of disbelief.

CODA
2009 / 3 min / Vincent Grenier

Bird loops with unmasked mirror apprehended by camera in flight, to confront the ideas of spatiality and temporality as a continuum and unsettle the notion of a universal human experience.

IF THERE BE THORNS
2009 / 13 min / Michael Robinson

A dark wave of exile, incest and magic burns across the tropics, forging a knotted trail into the black hole. Three star-crossed siblings wander in search of one another as a storm of purple prose and easy listening slowly engulfs them. Weaving together texts from Shirley Jackson, William S. Burroughs and Stevie Nicks, the patchwork narration and aggressive sound design both inform and complicate the symbol-laden imagery, portraying three characters’ struggles across the unstable landscapes of their respective exiles.

WE ARE ALL HERE
2009 / 2 min / Yonghwa Choi

‘We Are All Here’ is a story about the planet we live on and how all life on earth is temporary and will die someday. Nevertheless, we use up the earth’s storehouse and force the earth to complete its journey and cease to exist.

RESCUED
2009 / 8 min / Peter R. Parlegreco

A hand drawn journey to another planet. A stripped-down visual animation and spare use of colours portrays a child-like sense of storytelling while conveying adult-aimed issues.

BREATHING TWICE
2009 / 7 min / Katy Martin

Calligraphic images of paint on skin, which the filmmaker traces on her own body, are intercut with details of New York’s Chinatown. Meanwhile, a classic Chinese story, about a clever messenger and a treasure piece of jade, emerges in passing from the ambient sounds heard on Chinatown’s streets. ‘Breathing Twice’ is a portrait of a specific place and also a study of line, line as drawing, painting and writing, in relation to language.

THE LAST HAPPY DAY
2009 / 38 min / Lynne Sachs

‘The Last Happy Day’ is an experimental documentary portrait of Sandor (Alexander) Lenard, a Hungarian medical doctor and a distant cousin of filmmaker Lynne Sachs. In 1938, Lenard, a writer with a Jewish background, fled the Nazis to a safe haven in Rome. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Army Graves Registration Service hired Lenard to reconstruct the bones—small and large—of dead American soldiers. Eventually he found himself in remotest Brazil where he embarked on the translation of ‘Winnie the Pooh’ into Latin, an eccentric task that catapulted him to brief worldwide fame. Sachs’ essay film uses personal letters, abstracted war imagery, home movies, interviews and a children’s performance to create an intimate meditation on the destructive power of war.

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Die Entbehrlichen (The Dispensables)
By Andreas Arnstedt / Germany / 2009 / NC16 / 104
Lido 3
18th Apr, 7:00pm

After his mother checks into a psychiatric ward for her alcohol problem and his father commits suicide, an eleven year old child, not wanting to go to an orphanage, covers up the suicide and spends two weeks alone with the corpse of his father…
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Au Voleur (A Real Life)
By Sarah Leonor / France / 2009 / M18 / 96
Lido 5
18th Apr, 7:00pm

Isabelle is a teacher. Bruno is a thief. Together, they start believing they can find happiness. The day the police tightens the noose around him, Bruno runs away, taking Isabelle along with him. In the forest, they hide and love each other, timelessly, in an ultimate attempt to keep the violence of the world away.
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Stolen
By Violeta Ayala, Daniel Fallshaw / Australia / 2009 / PG / 77
Sinema Old School
18th Apr, 7:00pm

Filmmakers Violet Ayala and Dan Fallshaw travel to North Africa intending to make one film only to discover a hidden truth that takes them on a journey they could never have imagined. ‘Stolen’ follows the story of a Sahawari refugee separated from her mother since she was toddler and reunited through a UN family reunion program. The reunion reveals a secret and the film quickly spirals into another world. This story is all the more frightening because it is true.
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New York Avant Cinema Series | 2010: A Look Through David Gatten's Lens
By David Gatten / / 2010 / TBA / 24
Screening Room, The Arts House
18th Apr, 8:15pm

In his films, over the last 15 years, David Gatten has explored the intersection of the printed word and the moving image, while investigating the shifting vocabularies of experience and representation within intimate spaces and historical documents.

His work has shown in museums, festivals (New York Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Toronto International Film Festival, London Film Festival), biennials (NY Whitney Biennial), galleries, archives, access centers, elementary schools, storefronts, on sides of buildings and once on a barge that was floating down river.

This spring, he is shooting a film along the 1728 North Carolina–Virginia border and teaching at Duke University where he is growing out his graying beard and buying vintage corduroy in order to live up to his title of ‘Distinguished Visiting Filmmaker’ in Duke’s Arts of the Moving Image program.

JOURNAL & REMARKS
2009 / 15 min (silent)

‘Journal and Remarks’ is composed of 700 shots, 29 frames each, shuttling between the 1839 version of what later became Charles Darwin’s ‘A Voyage of the Beagle’ (1845) and images gathered on a recent trip to the Galapagos Islands. Space and time, word and image, animal and landscape are divided and drawn together in accordance with Leonardo’s ‘Notebook Instructions Nos. 916–918’.

SO SURE OF NOWHERE BUYING THINGS TO COME
2010 / 9 min (silent)

Excerpts from Sir Thomas Browne’s 1658 text ‘HYDRIOTAPHIA Urne-Burial Or, A Brief Discourse of the Sepulchrall Urnes Lately Found in Nor-Folk’ are superimposed with the stone faces of grave markers and burial urns. This image-text bookends a series of objects framed in the ancient glass window panes of a tiny shop, in a tiny snow covered town, on a mountain top in Colorado: a pocket watch, a postal scale, a small mirror, a stop watch, some stamps, a knife, some bandages, an hourglass. Time is short. Time is running out. The time left is all the time we have.

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L'enfance d'Icare (The Way Beyond)
By Alexandre Iordăchescu / Switzerland, Romania, France / 2009 / M18 / 96
Lido 5
18th Apr, 9:15pm

Jonathan Vogel would like to turn back the clock and undo the accident that led to his disability and destroyed his life. When he learns that Stivlas Karr, a well-known professor and geneticist has developed a gene therapy for regenerating the human body, he makes an appointment with him. However, the therapy does not go according to plan and leads to unexpected results.
'The Way Beyond' is Actor Guillaume Depardieu's final film and the second of two films starring Depardieu to be featured on 18 April.
Director Alexandre Iordăchescu will be attending.
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Yan Lei (Tears)
By Cheng Wen-Tang / Taiwan / 2009 / M18 / 111
Lido 3
18th Apr, 9:15pm

Veteran detective Kuo is in charge of case of drug overdose and death of a young girl. Superiors see it as a textbook crime and urge him to conclude the case, but experience and sense tell Juo otherwise. His investigations lead him to a lively college girl whose innocent appearance is shadowed by an indispensable grudge. And just when Kuo is on the verge of a breakthrough, his own dark past is brought to light…
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Breaker Morant
By Bruce Beresford / Australia / 1980 / PG / 107
Sinema Old School
18th Apr, 9:15pm

‘Breaker Morant’ is a 1980 Australian feature film which chronicles the murder trial and court martial of three Australian Army Liuetenants who are accused of the murder of Boer prisoners during the Second Boer War. Although they acted under orders, the General Staff of the army are determined to make them scapegoats and obtain a guilty verdict in a biased trial.
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New York Avant Cinema Series | 2010: Programme 2
By / / 2010 / TBA / 92
Screening Room, The Arts House
18th Apr, 9:15pm

LUMPHINI 2552
2009 / 3 min / Tomonari Nishikawa

Images are shot by a still camera entirely at Lumphini Park in Bangkok. The hand-processed visual shows organic patterns found in the monumental park, constructing systematic yet emotional rhythms. The sound is from visual information on the optical soundtrack that also was captured while taking pictures. Lumphini is named after ‘Lumbini’, a Sanskrit word of the birthplace of the Buddha in Nepal, and 2552 is the Buddhist year of 2009.

INTERIOR VARIATIONS
2009 / 4 min / Sarah Lipstate

‘Interior Variations’ is a look inward through a collage of fluoroscopic X-ray body imagery and hand-painted 16 mm film.

FACTS TOLD AT RETAIL(AFTER HENRY JAMES)
2010 / 9 min / Erin Espelie

In his introduction to the 1909 edition of ‘The Golden Bowl’, Henry James wrote, ‘My instinct appears repeatedly to have been that to arrive at the facts retailed….by the given help of some other conscious and confessed agent is essentially to find the whole business.’ In this film, James acts as the confessed agent, and the glass through which every image is reflected or filtered takes on a kind of consciousness.

WHAT PART OF THE WORLD IS INHABITED (AFTER PLINY THE ELDER)
2009 / 7 min / Erin Espelie

Since the Earth formed some 4.5 billion years, it has been continually in flux. Different life forms have populated and depopulated the oceans and the continents. Here is a condensed glimpse of that evolution, punctuated by the arrival of people. Boletus, amaryllis, anolis, listeria, wisteria, nematoceara: nothing is linear in evolution, nor in life, nor in light. Species in a constant state of exchange, all those acids, elements, ideas, sugars, viruses and bangs. Who inhabits who, and who is who? We recombine on this ‘speck’—as Pliny the Elder called the livable part of our planet—which has been taken as a breathing entity before and likely will be again, in another round of emitting.

ATTACKAZOIDS, DEPLOY!
2009 / 4 min / Brian Lonano

WAR is declared on the off-world settlement! Everyone from suburban homemakers to super-scientists unite to deploy an army of the GIANT ROBOT ATTACKAZOIDS!

BOCA
2009 / 4 min / Matt Wolf

A Portrait of Estelle in the surreal landscape of Boca Raton, Florida in an active adult retirement community. An experiment with the artistic possibilities of cell-phone cameras.

WANT V2
2009 / 15 min / Tim Whidden, Mike Sarff(/p>

This two-channel digital video depicts the artists repeating Internet search queries conducted in the Dogpile search engine on 27 June 2009.

1993 TOYOTA TERCEL
2010 / 6 min / Hunter Jack

A 1993 Toyota Tercel sees its final days in a curious fashion. As both the setting and the protagonist, the Tercel creates a mysterious and unnerving scene for an otherwise typical summer day.

HALYCON DAYS
2009 / 3 min / Josephine Shokrian

The halcyon days are the 14 days preceding the winter solstice, when the kingfisher builds its nest by the sea. The bird charms the winds and waves so that the seas remain unusually calm during the nesting season.

YELLOW MINERAL BELT
2010 / 7 min / Josephine Shokrian

‘Yellow Mineral Belt’ is one in a series of films about New Mexico’s land and its relationship to power struggles, cultural identity and tourism. These pieces focus on how various groups lay claim to the land.

THE BATHER
2009 / 3 min / George Griffin

A woman is observed showering behind a translucent curtain. Gradually the view is obscured by a superimposed flipbook: a sequence of drawings of a dancing woman. As a harpsichord prelude interrupts the environment of natural sounds, the dancer is freed from the pages and cavorts in a multiplicity of erotic gestures as if propelled by the throbbing contrapuntal tempo. Moving through the overlapping images a string of words suggests sources, motives and memories.

IMMOKALEE, MY HOME
2009 / 28 min / Kevin T. Allen, Jennifer Heuson

Immokalee, Florida, is home to America’s largest population of migrant farm workers. The surface story is of on community’s struggle for farm worker rights. Florida farm workers live in slave-like conditions. Some are beaten, not given food or water, or not paid. Yet, they continue to come. This is the deeper tale revealed. Ultimately, it is a tale of migration, of immigration and of the persistent hope for a better life. The Super-8 mm format and hand-processing techniques, with all their imperfections and filmic interventions, liberate the film from the didactically objective tone typical to activist documentaries. Rather, the film takes audiences on a personal, subjective, experimental journey.

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Jao Nok Krajok (Mundane History)
By Anocha Suwichakornpong / Thailand / 2009 / R21 / 82
Lido 3
19th Apr, 7:00pm

‘Mundane History’ records the life of Ake, a young man confined to his bed after an accident leaves him paralyzed from the waist down. Ake is being cared for by Pun, a male nurse who is hired by Thanin, the stoic patriarch of the family. Utilising a non-linear structure, the film focuses on the mundane, almost insignificant details of everyday life. But little by little, we begin to understand what secrets lie beneath the peaceful façade of Ake’s house…
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Neukölln Unlimited
By Agostino Imondi, Dietmar Ratsch / Germany / 2010 / PG / 96
Sinema Old School
19th Apr, 7:00pm

Neukölln Unlimited tells the fast-paced story of three Lebanese siblings Hassan, Lial and Maradona, successful dancers and musicians who live in Berlin’s notorious district Neukölln. But the three have a problem: Their family is in danger of being deported out of Germany. Determined to keep the family united, they plan to use their artistic talents to earn enough money to secure the family’s future and their right to remain in the country they were born in. This film is also part of the GERMAN FILM FOCUS section.
Neukölln Unlimited is a selection of the Berlinale 2010 Generation 14plus programme.
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99¢ Dreams
By Jason Rodi / Canada / 2007 / M18 / 80
Screening Room, The Arts House
19th Apr, 7:00pm

‘99 ¢ Dreams’ takes place on an island where everything is possible. There, 8 dreamers journey to the edges of reality. On a stream of consciousness to the far reaches of the imagination, dreams of fame, power, freedom, and time travel collide. Everything in this movie is entirely real. There is no fiction, there is only now.
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Sang Pemimpi (The Dreamer)
By Riri Riza / Indonesia / 2009 / PG / 122
Lido 3
19th Apr, 9:15pm

‘The Dreamer’ tells the story of Ikal, Arai and Jimbron who leave their village and families in order to continue their education. They are inspired by their teacher to pursue big dreams, but the humiliation of being poor leads Ikal to anger and not only strains his friendship with Arai and Jimbron, but it also breaks his father’s heart. Full of tales of marginalization and the heartbreaking struggle to reach dreams, the film shows the beauty of friendship and the genuine love between a father and child
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Paradise Road
By Bruce Beresford / Australia, USA / 1997 / NC16 / 122
Screening Room, The Arts House
19th Apr, 9:15pm

After the fall of Singapore in 1942, a group of women are held as prisoners by the Japanese on the island of Sumatra. Based on actual events, ‘Paradise Road’ tells the story of how these women band together in the face of guard brutality and the most adverse of conditions to form a vocal orchestra.
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Spring Forward
By Tom Gilroy / USA / 2000 / NC16 / 110
Sinema Old School
19th Apr, 9:15pm

‘Spring Forward’ tells the story of two men of different ages and backgrounds who strike up an unlikely friendship while working together for the local park system. Paul is a short-tempered ex-con, and Murph is an older veteran who faces the impending death of his grown son. Over time, they open up to each other and learn to share their feelings, regrets and ambitions.

This feature will be paired with ‘Mr. Sycamore’ (Tom Gilroy, 2006).

MR SYCAMORE (11min)
USA/2006
A middle-aged man suburban real estate functionary wrestles with himself during rush hour in a netherworld of memory, regret, film scenes and personal history.

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Sanglaan (The Pawnshop)
By Milo Sogueco / Philippines / 2009 / PG / 95
Sinema Old School
20th Apr, 7:00pm

The pawnshop is a vital part of Filipino life, so important that there are over 16,000 pawnshops in the Philippines. An owner and her appraiser, the security guard, a seaman and a loan shark are among the characters we meet at Olivia’s Pawnshop, a small fledgling pawnshop in the heart of Tondo in Manila. This pawnshop is not only their place of refuge, but also a metaphor for their cherished hopes and dreams.
The producer, Gay Ace Domingo, will be on hand to conduct a Q and A session after the screening.

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Being in Heaven
By Michael Rowland / Australia / 2009 / PG / 93
Screening Room, The Arts House
20th Apr, 7:00pm

Being In Heaven is a journey of revelation and awakening that reveals the truth about meaning, freedom and personal happiness. The film exposes the influence our beliefs and experiences have on our lives, and demonstrates that only when we awake the true self can we experience a life of fulfillment.
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Die Päpstin (Pope Joan)
By Sönke Wortmann / Germany, UK, Italy, Spain / 2009 / NC16 / 149
Lido 3
20th Apr, 8:45pm

In 814 A.D. Johanna is condemned to life as a woman. Her life seems to be predetermined: work, have children and die young. But Johanna decides to resist – her strict father, the rules of the Church – for the sake of her conviction and her faith. Because she senses that her destiny is a different one, that God is showing her a different path. But the price she will have to pay is a high one.
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Australian Shorts
By / Australia / 2010 / R21 / 61
Screening Room, The Arts House
20th Apr, 9:15pm

CELESTIAL AVENUE
Australia / 2009 / 20 min
Directors & Screenplay: Colin Cairnes, Cameron Cairnes
Producer:nScott Alexander

Kath has been looking for love in all the wrong places…then, she finds herself in Chinatown.

RED WATER RED Australia/ 2009 / 9 min
Director & Screenplay: Qing Xie Producer: Adam Driver

A young Chinese girl draws her father into a sexual relationship and a forbidden feast. ‘Red Water Red’ is an uneasy story about the bonds of family, the bounds of intimacy and the returns of love.

ICI ET LA (HERE AND THERE)
Australia / 2009 / 8 min
Director & Screenplay: Lucy Hayes Producer: Charles Billeh

Vincent Stone stars as the owner of a French antique store who is obsessed by past images.

NEON SKIN
Australia / 2009 / 6 min
Director & Screenplay: Grant Scicluna
Producer: Jannine Barnes

A young man finds a connection with his blind friend that is unexpectedly sensual.

MIRACLE FISH Australia / 2009 / 18 min
Director & Screenplay: Luke Doolan Producer: Drew Bailey

Eight-year-old Joe has a birthday he will never forget. When friends tease him, he sneaks off to hide in the school, wishing everyone in the world would go away. He wakes to find his dream has become reality.

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Mukhaputa (The Cover Page)
By Roopa Iyer / India / 2009 / PG / 112
Lido 5
20th Apr, 9:15pm

Set in a small town in South India, a traditional woman adopts a young baby girl and realizes after several years that the child was born with HIV. The story centres on the child and her underprivileged friends of the same age, depicting the challenges faced by the girl, her family and society. The film reinforces the notion of ‘growing against all odds’ and is identifiable to all who struggle to grow in a biased society through no fault of their own.
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Jesen u mojoj ulici (Autumn in My Street)
By Miloš Pušić / Serbia / 2009 / R21 / 77
Sinema Old School
20th Apr, 9:15pm

Two twenty-year-olds spend their day aimlessly wandering through their neighbourhood. Looking to find money for their first holiday since childhood, they take a journey into the shady underbelly of a Serbian society lost in economic transition. Despite what promises to be just an ordinary day in autumn, as it passes it brings them closer to the moment that will forever change their lives.
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Akasa Kusum (Flowers of the Sky)
By Prasanna Vithanage / Sri Lanka / 2008 / PG / 90
Lido 3
21st Apr, 7:00pm

Sandhya Rani is an ageing film star who has lost fame and fortune in a changing world. She now ekes out a living by renting out a room to film and television stars to satisfy their illicit sexual desires. When a popular young film star’s affair in the room is exposed, the scandal and its publicity thrusts Rani into the spotlight again, forcing her to come to terms with a dark secret from her past.
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Phobidilia
By Yoav and Doron Paz / Israel / 2009 / M18 / 87
Screening Room, The Arts House
21st Apr, 7:00pm

After suffering an emotional breakdown in a public place, a young man vows to quit the chaotic city life and never leave his apartment. He quickly discovers that in today’s world all his needs can be easily met: sex via the internet, food by telephone delivery and entertainment by television. Four years later, his idyllic existence comes under attack when Daniella, a free spirited girl comes into his life and Grumps, the building’s real estate agent, informs him that the apartment is about to be sold.
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Unreal Forest
By Jakrawal Nilthamrong / Thailand, Zambia / 2010 / PG / 70
Sinema Old School
21st Apr, 7:00pm

A documentary-style film which shows Zambian independent filmmakers working hard to finish a film under severe limitations in terms of filmmaking resources as well as their own cinematic expertise. They have to make this film from the story written by Thai filmmakers—a process set up by Dutch project initiators looking to discover new cinematic gems from Africa. Through the process of the film-making, viewers are taken on a journey through the ancient folklores and Zambian filmmakers’ struggles, tracing back to the historical roots connecting Africa and Asia in a way never-before-imagined.
The director, Jakrawal Nilthamrong, will be on hand to conduct a Q and A session after the screening.

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His and Hers
By Ken Wardrop / Ireland / 2009 / PG / 80
UniSIM HQ LT4.02
21st Apr, 7:15pm

‘His and Hers’ is a creative documentary that combines observation and imagination to illustrate a universal love story. The film explores woman’s relationship with man by visiting moments from the lives of 70 female characters. Shot in the hallways, living rooms and kitchens across the Irish Midlands, the story moves sequentially from young to old to deliver a uniquely charming perspective into sharing life’s journey.
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Ira Handa Yata (Under the Sun and Moon)
By Bennett Rathnayake / Sri Lanka / 2009 / PG / 124
Lido 3
21st Apr, 9:15pm

A coincidental meeting between a soldier and a critically wounded Army Officer in a dark forest burning with war between the Sri Lankan state and the Tamil Tigers sparks off a chain of events. At the officer’s death, the soldier somehow feels responsible, and begins to probe into his life and engages in boundless sacrifices to bring justice to the dead man and in the process he is redeemed as well.
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Básicamente un pozo (The Hole Thing)
By Grupo Humus / Argentina / 2009 / PG / 65
Screening Room, The Arts House
21st Apr, 9:15pm

A primary school teacher tries to solve a problem related to physics: Demonstrating the existence of the constant movement. He attempts to dig a hole to cross to the other side of the worlds, inviting his students to be part of this dream. His wife, friends and everybody else will be involved in this strange and seemingly absurd project…
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Cameroon Love Letter (For Solo Piano)
By Khavn De La Cruz / Philippines, Cameroon / 2010 / M18 / 70
Sinema Old School
21st Apr, 9:15pm

Musical and experimental filmmaker Khavn noticed that Filipino filmmakers are highly regarded in Cameroon—thanks to a popular Filipino soap series. He was grateful to exploit this as he made his portrait of this country. And he also wrote some real ‘soap’ into his story.
The director, Khavn De La Cruz, will be at the screening to play the piano as a musical accompinent to the film.

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Last Train Home
By Lixin Fan / China, Canada, UK / 2009 / PG / 85
UniSIM HQ LT4.02
21st Apr, 9:15pm

Sixteen years ago, the Zhangs abandoned their young children to find work in the city, consoled by the hope that their wages would lift their children into a better life. The Zhangs’ daughter is now 17, and feels lost and neglected since her parents are away all these years. She quits school and comes down to Guangzhou to be a young migrant worker, exactly what her parents were trying to avoid. Living in the same city but not talking to each other, the family is shattered by years of misunderstanding. The old tradition of parents making self-sacrifice to better the life of children is brutally challenged by the new social reality. This Spring Festival, the mother decides to bring the family once again to embark this migrant odyssey to go back, to reunite the family and to get her daughter back to school. Love and sacrifice didn’t triumph for the past 16 years. Will it succeed this time?
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Rudo y Cursi (Rude and Vulgar)
By Carlos Cuarón / Mexico / 2008 / M18 / 103
Lido 3
22nd Apr, 7:00pm

After being discovered by a soccer talent scout, Brothers Beto and Tato Verdusco move to the city and end up playing for rival teams. A deep animosity develops between the two and things go further downhill when Beto develops a gambling addiction and Tato loses focus pursuing a celebrity lifestyle. It is at their lowest moments that the brothers find forgiveness trying to help each other while casting headlong towards their individual destinies.
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Mi Nayir Hayelu Mej (Don't Look into the Mirror)
By Suren Babayan / Armenia / 2009 / M18 / 101
Screening Room, The Arts House
22nd Apr, 7:00pm

A former artist keeps himself going by selling his possessions. He finds himself exposed to a metamorphosis; he does not see his own reflection in the mirror but rather the faces of complete strangers. When it turns out that all the people he views are different embodiments of his “Ego”, he confesses his sins at his parents’ grave asking for help...
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German Shorts
By / Germany / 2010 / R21 / 102
Sinema Old School
22nd Apr, 7:00pm

This series features an eclectic mix of four films that are at once whimsical, gripping and inspiring.
BABYLON 2084
Germany / 2009 / 30 min
Director: Christian Schleisiek
Producers: Björn Frieling, Christian Schleisiek, Yvonne Albert
Screenplay: Björn Frieling, Christian Schleisiek The year is 2084. The world has sunk into the sea. Some of mankind live in two towers which underlie a self-destructing constraint to grow higher and higher.
SCISSU
Germany / 2009 / 27 min
Director & Screenplay: Tom Bewilogua
Producer: Alex Beier Scissu tells a chronologically split story about a lonely cop and an addicted couple.

LIGHTS
Germany / 2009 / 15 min
Director: Giulio Ricciarelli
Producer: Sabine Lamby
Screenplay: Soern Menning

‘Lights’ is a tragicomedy about a small-town police officer who dreams of being a hero. As his peaceful village offers no opportunity for heroism, he decides to take matters into his own hands. He puts up a traffic light on a rarely used bridge in the middle of nowhere, and the fight begins.

SPIELZEUGLAND ENDSTATION (LAST STOP TOYLAND)
Germany /2009 / 30 min
Director, Producer & Screenplay: Daniel Stieglitz

A silent, old and lonesome assassin is caught off guard by a little girl, who thinks he is Santa Claus and wants to be put to bed. Yet his job is to kill her father. The more he wants to get rid of the girl, the deeper he gets implicated in her world.

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Barbe Bleue (Bluebeard)
By Catherine Breillat / France / 2009 / PG / 80
UniSIM HQ LT1.10
22nd Apr, 9:00pm

An eerie retelling of the classic horror story, the film tells two parallel stories both involving two sisters. In the first story, Catherine torments her older sister, Marie-Anne with the scary story of Bluebeard. The parallel story involves Marie-Catherine, Bluebeard’s latest wife and her attempt to escape the dreadful fate of her predecessors. Ticket price: $14.50 (excluding SISTIC charges). The ticket price includes an international buffet dinner (halal, also includes vegetarian dishes) to be held outside the screening hall, at 8 pm. Screening starts at 9 pm. Disclaimer: The screening venue is a lecture theatre. Stereo audio output is from left-right speakers only. The projection is on two screens.
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Mammoth
By Lukas Moodysson / Sweden / 2009 / M18 / 125
Lido 3
22nd Apr, 9:15pm

Leo and Ellen are a successful New York couple, totally immersed in their work. Leo is the creator of a booming website, and has stumbled into a world of money and big decisions. Ellen is a dedicated emergency surgeon who devotes her long shifts to saving lives. Their 8-year-old daughter Jackie spends most of her time with her Filipino nanny, Gloria, a situation that is making Ellen start to question her priorities. When Leo travels to Thailand on business, he unwittingly sets off a chain of events that will have dramatic consequences for everyone.
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Animation: Shorts
By / / 2010 / PG / 68
Sinema Old School
22nd Apr, 9:15pm

INVISIBLE LONELINESS
Taiwan / 2009 / 13 min
Director: Jung-Hsien Lin
Producer: Chen-Hui Liu
Screenplay: Jung-Hsien Lin, Chen-Hui Liu

As her parents are busy working, a girl is home alone and has to open the house door herself using the key hung round her neck. She is cold and sorrowful, missing the comfort of her family.

REAP WHAT YOU SEW
England / 2009 / 11 min
Director, Producer & Screenplay: Alex Collier, Jurate Gecaite

The strained relationship between a struggling farmer and his creative wife.

SHAN CUN QING (A LONG-DISTANCE CALL)
China, Canada / 2008 / 12 min
Director, Producer & Screenplay: Joe Chang

A young artist goes to a secluded mountainous area in southern China. The film highlights the emotions between a farmer’s parents and their children remaining in the rural areas.

MORNING SONGS
Laos P.D.R / .2009 / 3 min
Directors & Producers: C. Phonekeo, V. Phachanthavang, T. Nuong-Hane
Screenplay: Thi-Von Nuong Hane

What do you hear when the sun first appears in the sky?

MALFUNCTION
Turkey / 2009 / 8 min
Director & Screenplay: Ayce Kartal

SIMON VAGYOK (I AM SIMON)
Hungary / 2009 / 12 min
Director & Screenplay: Tünde Molnàr
Producer: Josef Fulop

Simon and his friends have their daily run together until one of them gets injured badly…. This short film is based on Dave Eggers’ short novel.

PARASITE
Switzerland, Iran / 2009 / 9 min
Director & Screenplay: Omid Khoshnazar
Producer: Jochen Ehmann

A soldier is playing a childish game on top of a watchtower. Suddenly, he shoots a bullet….

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Rabeya (The Sister)
By Tanvir Mokammel / Bangladesh / 2008 / PG / 105
Screening Room, The Arts House
22nd Apr, 9:15pm

Khaled is the brother of two young orphan sisters, Rabeya and Rokeya. He joins the secular Bengalee guerillas and is killed in a skirmish against the Pakistan Army. While the Pakistani Captain orders that his dead body should not be buried but kept as a warning to all, Rebeya, proceeds one night to attempt to bury her brother’s body…
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Factory Shorts: Looking at Cambodia's Garment Sector
By Nico Mesterharm, Mark Hammond / Cambodia / 2010 / PG / 32
Sinema Old School
23rd Apr, 7:00pm

Cambodia’s garment sector is the country’s main industry and its leading export revenue earner. Most of the 300 000 employees are young women from rural areas. Through their work and remittances they often crucially contribute to their family’s survival in one of the world’s poorest countries. The film looks at the effect of the 2009 global economic downturn through the prism of the workers, union representatives, entrepreneurs and a female manager.
The Director, Nico Mesterharm, will be on hand to conduct a Q and A session after the screening

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UK Shorts
By / UK / 2010 / M18 / 86
Screening Room, The Arts House
23rd Apr, 7:00pm

BRO
UK/ 2009 / 18 min
Director & Screenplay: Chris Dundon
Producer: Jonathan Blagrove

Simon is a frustrated teenager who looks after his brother Mark, affected with Fragile-X Syndrome. New to town, Simon likes a local girl, but he is afraid his brother will be judged by her and her friends.

MILK MAN UK / 2009 / 16 min
Director, Producer & Screenplay: James Rumsey

Brian is a neurotic voyeur, living a fearful routine. Fuelled by milk, each night he logs activities from outside his flat using a home-styled CCTV suite. One night, he runs out of milk and has to venture out.

HOTEL
UK / 2009 / 19 min
Director, Producer & Screenplay: Tim Conrad

A British operative in the war on terror discovers that he and a suspect are not so different after all.

DREAMGIRL
UK / 2009 / 17 min
Director, Producer & Screenplay: Simon Foster

Jon meets a woman via the Internet. He is ‘Dreamboy’, she is ‘Dreamgirl’. They are both able to control their dreams while asleep. Jon seeks her in this unconventional way.

STAINED
England / 2009 / 16 min
Director: Lewis Arnold
Producer: Tom Knight
Screenplay: Ronnie Thompson, Colin Butts

Inspired by Ronnie Thompson’s time served as a prison officer, ‘Stained’ follows Jamie, a screw struggling to switch off and leave his personal life at the gate, as Truman, a heinous convict, climbs inside Jamie’s troubled mind.

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The Headless Woman
By Lucrecia Martel / Argentina / 2009 / PG / 92
Lido 3
23rd Apr, 7:00pm

While driving one day, Veronica hits something and is convinced she has run over a young child. She experiences a peculiar psychological reaction and begins to have trouble remembering even the basic details of her life.
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To Whom It May Concern: Ka Shen's Journey
By Brian Jamieson / USA / 2009 / PG / 105
UniSIM HQ LT1.04
23rd Apr, 7:15pm

The true story of Nancy Kwan, who as a young Eurasian girl from Hong Kong became one of the most sought after stars in Hollywood. Unfortunately, the motion pictures that followed her first two hit films would never again mirror that initial success. This feature documentary “real life drama” explores what happened to such a promising career as it takes its audience on a personal journey, a woman’s journey, which is as equally compelling, as it is inspiring.
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Unter Bauern (Saviors in the Night)
By Ludi Boeken / France, Germany / 2009 / NC16 / 97
Lido 3
23rd Apr, 9:15pm

Unter Bauern is based on the memories of Marga Spiegel. In her narrative, published in 1965, she describes how courageous farmers in Münsterland hid her, her husband and their little daughter from 1943 until 1945, saving them from deportation to the extermination camps in the East. The film tells this story of survival with a sense for the absurd in daily life.
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L'important c'est de rester vivant (Survive: In the Heart of the Khmer Rouge Madness)
By Roshane Saidnattar / France, Cambodia / 2009 / PG / 97
Sinema Old School
23rd Apr, 9:15pm

L'important, c'est de rester vivant (Survive: In the Heart of the Khmer Rouge Madness) is a very personal film by a survivor of the ‘killing fields’ of Cambodia in the 1970s. Born in Phnom Penh and exiled in France, Roshane Saidnattar returns to Cambodia to interview Khieu Samphan, the President of Kampuchea democratic, who was Pol Pot’s theorician (and who has since been arrested and put on trial for genocide). With her mother and her daughter, the filmmaker makes an emotional journey back to the hamlet where she’d been a child slave of the revolution. Archival footage and dialogue-free re-enactments with actors give depth to the nightmare.
The director, Roshane Saidnattar, will be on hand to conduct a Q and A session after the screening.

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Women in Film: In Short
By / / 2010 / R21 / 68
UniSIM HQ LT1.04
23rd Apr, 9:15pm

This diverse series features a mix of four short films focussing on women characters with such different lives and backgrounds.

For film details, please go to WOMEN IN FILM under the SPECIAL PROGRAMMES.
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Ek Tho Chance (Last Chance Mumbai)
By Saeed Akhtar Mirza / India / 2009 / PG / 105
Lido 1
24th Apr, 11:00am

The film tells the tale of Mumbai city and the millions who get off the train at VT station every second of the day hoping to latch on to the magic of Mumbai. It is a colourful mural of the lives of individuals from the city’s diverse cultural, social and economic strata. Their distinct tracks run simultaneously along the film, touching and crossing each other ever so often, and finally converge towards a unique and exciting climax.
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Brecha
By Iván Noel / Spain / 2009 / M18 / 94
Lido 3
24th Apr, 11:30am

Set in a beautiful small village in the South of Spain, ‘Brecha’ is a particularly vivid and realistic portrayal of the emotional rupture between a father recently released from jail and his 12 year-old son, following a dark family tragedy that no one has strength enough to confront.
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A Year with Take Dance
By Damian Eckstein / USA / 2009 / PG / 90
Screening Room, The Arts House
24th Apr, 11:30am

A guerilla documentary that follows New York-based dance company Take Dance in their quest to make a name for themselves during the worst global economic crisis ever.
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Singapore Short Film Competition: Finalists
By / Singapore / 2010 / M18 / 82
Sinema Old School
24th Apr, 11:30am

SIFF received over 70 submissions this year, and seven finalists were selected. The finalists will compete in the following awards categories: Best Film Best Director Best Performance Best Cinematography Special Mention The prize winners will be announced at the Silver Screen Awards and Gala on 22 April 2010.
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Shake Hands with the Devil
By Roger Spottiswoode / Canada / 2007 / NC16 / 113
Lido 1
24th Apr, 1:30pm

‘Shake Hands with the Devil’ is based on the biography of Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire. In 1993, the United Nations dispatches Dallaire to far-off Rwanda to oversee a ceasefire. There he encounters the shabby reality of a typical UN peacekeeping operation. When the genocidal campaign against the Tutsi minority begins, Dallaire witnesses the studied indifference of the world’s great powers and learns it seems to be in nobody’s ‘interest’ to save almost a million Rwandan lives.
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Dance: In Short
By / / 2010 / R21 / 108
Screening Room, The Arts House
24th Apr, 1:30pm

This series features an eclectic mix of 14 short dance films from eight countries.

SEIS MIL ANTENAS PART 1 AND 2
Canada, Brazil / 2009–2010 / 13 min (Part 1), 9 min (Part 2)
Director & Screenplay: Johnny Ranger
Producer: Mindroots

‘Seis Mil Antenas’ is an exploration in improvised movements and performances with a group of black Brazilian dancers around Salvador, Bahia.

DANSE MACABRE
Canada / 2009 / 9 min
Director: Pedro Pires
Producers: Catherine Chagnon, Pedro Pires
Screenplay: Pedro Pires

For a period of time, while we believe it to be perfectly still, lifeless flesh responds, contorts and stirs in a final macabre ballet. Are these spasms merely erratic motions or do they echo the chaotic twists and turns of a past life?

BUMELANT (THE SLACKER)
Poland, UK / 2009 / 8 min
Director, Producer & Screenplay: Anna Bajjou

A dance short inspired by the childhood memory of the time when communism was buried together with the beloved hamster.

THREE MINUTES
USA / 2009 / 4 min
Director & Screenplay: Jenn Garrison
Producer: S J Main

‘Three Minutes’ is the story of a group of people who emerge from the rubble of their war-ravaged city and join together to celebrate the human spirit and the hope of a better tomorrow.

SUNSCREEN SERENADE
USA / 2009 / 6 min
Director: Kriota Willberg
Producers: Kriota Willberg, Patricia McGuire

This 5-minute ‘studio film’ pays homage to great dance-film techniques of the 1930s, with the subject, the ozone layer, presented as a Depression-era musical.

GARAGE PARTY
Australia / 2007 / 4 min
Director & Screenplay: Anton
Producer: Gavin Jarrett

‘Garage Party’ is a music video for Melbourne Electronic artists Mr Jigga. It experiments with perspective and highlights physicality and movement for its entirety.

NERVE ENDING
Australia / 2009 / 8 min
Director: Peter Humble
Producer: Dance North

‘Nerve Ending’ captures a moment in the mind of a person whose body does not function as it once did. The resilience of the human spirit is the heart of this film.

THREADS
Australia / 2010 / 5 min
Directors & Producers: James Batchelor, Emma Batchelor

Acknowledging the invisible string that guides us through our lives reminds us that life is finite, and ‘Threads’ depicts a woman that knows her string will soon be cut short.

DVAITA–DUALITY
Singapore / 2010 / 6 min
Screenplay and and Direction: Kavitha Krishnan
Producer: Imran Manaff, Apsara Asia Pte Ltd
Text: Subhashini d/o Maniam
Cinematography: R. Suppiah
Editor: N. Mohamed Yahssir, Millenia Motion Pictures

‘Dvaita–Duality’ is a film inspired by the concept of co-existence; here, the body and soul share both the feminine and masculine energy of the universe.

TOES
Australia / 2009 / 3 min
Directors: David Corbet, Adelina Larsson

‘Toes’ is a low-fi studio-based exercise in real-time composition and an investigation into editing as a choreographic medium.

BELIEVE IT
Australia / 2009 / 7 min
Director & Producer: Chris Scherer

‘Believe It’ is an experimental dance-based documentary exploring the relationship between Christianity and homosexuality, inspired by the perspectives of the South Australian gay community.

SAINT SEBASTIAN
Australia / 2009 / 3 min
Director,Producer & Screenplay: James Welsby

‘Saint Sebastian’ is a film that explores, through implied violence, the alienation that can face young gay men.

NICCOLINI
France / 2009 / 11 min
Director & Screenplay: Kaori Ito
Producer: Providences

The film is about the story of three men who live in a theatre which has been abandoned for 15 years amidst the changes occurring in the outside world.

A DREAM IN HANOI
Vietnam / 2009 / 16
Director,Producer & Screenplay: Gerald Herman

A lonely boy’s life is changed forever when he meets a ballet dancer on the streets of Hanoi.

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Lištičky (Foxes)
By Mira Fornay / Slovak, Czech Republic, Ireland / 2009 / M18 / 83
Lido 3
24th Apr, 2:00pm

When Alzebata, an au-pair from South-East Slovakia decides to stay at her own risk in Dublin, a secret from her past (Shared with her older sister Tina and Tina’s Irish fiance Steve) comes back to reveal the truth about the the two sisters and the real reason they can never escape their home.
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Window on Your Present
By Cinqué Lee / USA / 2010 / M18 / 70
Sinema Old School
24th Apr, 2:00pm

‘Window On Your Present’ takes place in a world where colour and love do not exist. The people in this dreary world have nothing to live for and often end up killing themselves.
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Nae Sa-rang Nae Geot-e (Closer to Heaven)
By Park Jin-pyo / Korea / 2009 / NC16 / 121
Lido 1
24th Apr, 3:45pm

After she has gone through two painful divorces, Ji-Soo is asked to marry Jong-Woo who suffers from Lou Gehrig’s disease. They start a dream-like marriage without anyone’s approval. The more they yearn for intimacy, the more they taste the bitterness of reality. However, the healing power of love enables them to choose the possibility of hope over fear in sickness.
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Shirley Adams
By Oliver Hermanus / South Africa, USA, UK / 2009 / PG / 92
Lido 3
24th Apr, 4:15pm

Shirley Adams is the story of one woman’s amazing strength and self sacrifice. Shirley Adams spends her days caring for her disabled son who was shot in the back of his neck. Since then the Adams family has lost all their worldly possessions to medical bills. When a young, eager occupational therapist, Tamsin Ranger, comes into their lives Shirley hopes that it might lift her son’s spirits and finally put them on the path to some form of stability.
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P-Star Rising
By Gabriel Noble / USA / 2009 / PG / 86
Sinema Old School
24th Apr, 4:15pm

When Jesse discovers that his youngest daughter, Priscilla, can rap and perform, he sees redemption for his own failed music career and financial salvation for his family and commits his life to making her a star. We follow the father-daughter duo through the grit and glamour of the music industry, capturing the daily struggles of a single parent raising his two children alone, and the sacrifices a child makes in order to make her daddy proud.
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La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet
By Frederick Wiseman / France, USA / 2009 / PG / 159
Screening Room, The Arts House
24th Apr, 4:15pm

The Paris Opera Ballet is one of the world’s greatest ballet companies. ‘La Danse’ shows how a ballet company functions from administration, technical support, and classes to the rehearsal and performance of seven ballets ranging from ‘The Nutcracker’ to ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
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The Limits of Control
By Jim Jarmusch / USA, Japan / 2009 / M18 / 116
Lido 1
24th Apr, 6:15pm

The Limits of Control is the story of a mysterious lone stranger, whose activities remain meticulously outside the law. He is in the process of completing a job, yet he trusts no one, and his objectives are not initially divulged. His journey, paradoxically both intently focused and dreamlike, takes him not only across Spain but also through his own consciousness
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The Human Centipede
By Tom Six / Netherlands, UK / 2009 / TBA / 90
Lido 3
24th Apr, 7:00pm

Two American girls end up end up in an isolated villa when their car breaks down in the middle of the woods. They awake trapped in a terrifying makeshift basement hospital along with a Japanese man. Their captor is a retired surgeon specialising in separating Siamese twins. However, his three “patients” are not about to be separated, but joined together in a horrific operation to connect people via their gastric system, bringing to life his sick fantasy, “The Human Centipede”.
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Dear Doctor
By Miwa Nishikawa / Japan / 2009 / PG / 127
Lido 1
24th Apr, 9:00pm

A young medical intern student named Keisuke Soma is assigned to work in a remote countryside village. He meets the small town's resident doctor named Dr. Ino who is universally beloved by the town.. Keisuke follows Dr. Soma around and starts to learn things he never learned in medical school. A secret then emerges about Dr. Ino and the town must come to grips with this new knowledge of the man they so admired.
Director Miwa Nishikawa will be attending.
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