Dir. Jon Muir and Ian Darling. Australia. 2003. 52 min. In English.
In 2001, one of the words most accomplished climbers and adventurers, Jon Muir, began a 2,500-kilometer odyssey to cross Australia from the south to the north coast on foot. For 128 days, Jon and his dog Seraphine, survived entirely off the land—hunting and gathering along the way. Jon was taxed to the limit physically and emotionally. Often close to despair, he drew on his instinct for survival, his deep understanding of the land and his remarkable inner strength.
Dir. Alec Wohlgroth. Switzerland. 2005. 30 min. In German and English.
The two mountain bikers, Hans “No Way” Rey and Thomas Frischknecht, completed the first mountain bike tour through the entire Alta Rezia area. Hans Rey is probably the most famous show mountain biker of all times, and trial-specialist. Thomas Frischknecht is the world’s most successful mountain bike racer of all times and has won many world championships and Olympic medals; most recently being the 2005 marathon world championship. The free ride discipline brought these two persons together for this adventure.
Dir. Lluis Jené and Oriol Gispert. Spain. 2003. 57 min. In Spanish and French.
Hamado Pafadnam, Burkina Faso's top cyclist, dreams of training in Europe. By pure chance, he gets to train and race for six months with the top Spanish amateur team. Adapting to this new environment is a challenging adventure for him and his hosts. In the end, personal achievement becomes as important as sporting improvement.
Dir. Ju An Qi. China. 2003. 92 min. In Chinese.
In Spring 1999, Director Ju An Qi with two crew members rushed in to capture Beijing in its rawness with an old Arriflex 16mm camera and a microphone mounted on a TV antenna. Using both expired and new film stock, capturing a changing and unchanged reality, with only one question, "Do you think there's a strong wind in Beijing?"…In the end, they come across an unfortunate couple from out of town whose child has leukemia. The camera then follows the couple to the hospital. The effect is quite as intended, i.e. very real and critics have said that this film, that has transfixed international audiences, has taken Cinema Verite to its limits.
Beton (Cement)
Dir. Nechama Goldstein. Israel. 2006. 26 min. In Arabic.
"I have 12 mouths to feed and no options: The oldest was thrown into jail, and I depend on a boy in sixth grade to provide for me" This is how the mother of 12-year-old Ziad describes their life in East Jerusalem, a village surrounded by the Israeli separation wall. This is a family living in the margins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, leading their daily life which is affected in every way by the occupation. This is a reality of families torn apart, a reality in which children are forced to
grow up too fast.
Beyond the Call
Dir. Adrian Belic. USA. 2006. 82 min. In English.
In a Mother Teresa meets Indiana Jones adventure three middle-aged men, former soldiers and modern-day knights travel the world delivering life saving humanitarian aid directly into the hands of civilians and doctors in some of the most dangerous yet beautiful places on Earth, the front lines of war.
Call It Karma
Dir. Geoff Browne. Canada. 2004. 47 min. In English.
Tibetan monk, Gyalten Rinpoche, was sent by his Master to walk 1,000 miles across the rooftop of the world into the sacred lands of India. Six years later, he establishes a Buddhist center in Vancouver and befriends filmmaker Geoff Browne. Together, they embark on an emotional return to the Rinpoche's village, inspiring Geoff to retell his friend's remarkable life story.
China Blue
Dir. Micha Peled. USA. 2005. 87 min. In Mandarin, Cantonese and English.
Shot clandestinely in China, under difficult conditions, this is a deep-access account of what both China and the international retail companies don't want us to see – how the clothes we buy are actually made. China Blue takes us inside a blue-jeans factory, where Jasmine and her friends Orchid and Li Ping, are trying to survive the harsh working environment. Their lives intersect that of the film's other protagonist and factory owner, Mr. Lam. Providing perspectives from both the top and bottom levels of the factory's hierarchy, this film brings complex issues of globalization to the human level. Chulo, Choli ra Banduk (A Stove, a Blouse and a Gun)
Dir. Subina Shrestha. Nepal. 2006. 26 min. In Nepali.
Through a brief window of 24 hours Chulo, Choli ra Banduk looks into the current conflict in Nepal and the women behind the frontline. It explores some of the losses and sacrifices that women experienced as a Maoist party cadre and the reasons why many women join the Maoist party.
Ciao Martina
Dir. Dariusz Zaluski. Poland. 2004. 21 min. In Italian.
Simone Moro, a well-known Italian ‘Himalayist’ joined a Polish expedition to Shisha Pangha in December 2003. At home, he left his 5 years old daughter, Martina. During this expedition and the course of this film, he reflects over his life, climbing, marriage and father daughter relations.
Climate’s First Orphans
Dir. Nila Madhab Panda. India. 2006. 22 min. In Oriya and English.
Climate’s First Orphans is about the little reported phenomena of the sea level rising and its impact in the villages of Orissa, India. In Orissa’s Kendrapara District, 25 villages exist, but only in the books. The rising sea, due to global warming induced climate changes, has wiped these villages out from India’s map. These 20,000, now homeless villagers, can aptly be called the Climate’s First Orphans. The film is focused on Satabhaya village in the Kendrapara District, which was once a cluster of seven villages of which only two remain partially.
Dancing Kathmandu
Dir. Sangita Shresthova. USA/Nepal. 2006. 41 min. In Czech, Nepali and English.
Sangita, a dancer of mixed Nepali origin, journeys to Nepal to reconnect with dancers in Kathmandu. As she finds herself connecting with several generations of dancers in the valley, she is also forced to confront the challenges of her own diasporic nostalgia. Dancing Kathmandu explores the fate of Nepal’s dance traditions as they enter the age of globalization.
Den Sidste Aere (The Last Honours)
Dir. Birgitte Glavind Sperber. Denmark. 2006. 29 min. In Kalasha.
The 3-4000 Kalash are a Non-Muslim minority in the Hindukush Mountains in NW-Pakistan. Among the Kalash a funeral is a most important – to celebrate the late person and for the relatives to gain honour. The Kalash themselves consider their funerals beautiful expressions of their culture. Last summer 2005 the oldest man in Rumbour passed away. The previous year the told about his life to the camera. This film combines to two – a life remembered by a happy old man and his funeral and all the rites around it. The filmmaker Birgitte Sperber has spent long times among the Kalash every year since 1983. Due to that her camera could go so closely. For the last years Birgitte Sperber has trained Yasir, a young Kalash as a photographer. He could shoot the ceremonies at the graveyard that women could not attend. Birgitte Sperber is from Denmark, where death is partly taboo and where grief can't shown too much. That was the motivation for making this film.
Der Propellervogel (The Propellerbird)
Dir. Jan Locher and Thomas Hinke. Germany. 2005. 5 min.
Three little sparrows are trying to chant their song, but are constantly interrupted by a strange fellow, a big grey bird with a backpack propeller….
De un Hils (By a Thread)
Dir. Juan Carlos Romera. Spain. 2005. 9 min. In Spanish.
‘The only way to feel your life is by risking it. But when your life hangs by a thread, be careful! You will never know if what you are living is simply an illusion.’
Devta Activists
Dir. Sanjay Barnela. India. 2005. 28 min. In English and Hindi.
Devta Activists is an exploration of the role of traditional deities (devtas) belonging to the Kullu valley, in the conservation and fight for access to forest resources. It is a study of how local traditions negotiate with contemporary discourses of scientific conservation and national development. By acceding control over natural resources to Devtas, several informal conservation practices of local communities in the Kullu Valley have constituted themselves over time. These practices find their authority threatened today because of the presence of two looming symbols of modernity in the area- the Great Himalayan National Park and the Parvati Hydro-Electric Project; the former representing the scientific prnciples of exclusionary conservation and the latter that completely demolishes any principles of environmental conservation.
Die Gorillas Meines Grossvaters (The Gorillas of My Grandfather)
Dir. 
Adrian Warren and Harald Pokieser. Austria. 2004. 53 min. In English.
In 1902, German army captain Robert von Beringe shot a mysterious black creature while climbing an unexplored volcano in Central Africa. From this chance encounter, a dramatic story began to unfold. The creature was a new species, a mountain gorilla. Decades of conflict and tragedy followed before the terrifying icon of King Kong was shown to be a myth by researchers such as George Schaller and Dian Fossey. A hundred years after the discovery, Robert's Grandson, Andreas von Beringe, sets out on a journey to retrace his Grandfather's adventures and to reveal the whole story of the mountain gorilla.
Flying over Everest
Dir. Fabio Toncelli. Italy. 2004. 60 min. In Italian and English.
For the first time ever, a man has flown over Everest on a hang-glider. The story, the myth and the legend of this ancient Himalayan land will form the backdrop to a story that grows in tension as Angelo D’Arrigo approaches the moment of truth. He will encounter winds of over 200 kilometers/hr, unpredictable changes of climate, and suddenly find that he cannot turn back. Angelo will take two splendid raptors with him, Steppe Eagles, now extinct in this region, as part of an attempt to reintroduce them into this area. A film on the preparation, the tension and extreme risk of this exploit, with exclusive footage of Everest shot from above!
Footprints
Dir. Ben Hopkins. UK. 2002. 60 min. In Farsi and Vietnamese.
The effects of Landmines and unexploded ordinance are manifold – they only maim and kill, but also have more insidious effects; preventing farmers returning to their land and shepherds from pasturing their livestock, making roads impassable and whole areas uninhabitable. Footprints sets out to document how clusterbombs (de facto landmines once embedded in the earth) turn people’s homelands into hostile environments, and how the NGOs, the UN and local people are dealing with this.
Greina
Dir. Villi Hermann. Switzerland. 2006. 28 min. In Italian.
For the brief summer period, Giovanni Boggini, native of the village of Aquila (Blenio Valley in the Southern part of Switzerland), leads his cattle onto the mountain pasture. This will be the dairyman's last year of producing his cheese and butter in a wood-fired cauldron, in the traditional way. These mountain heartlands have been forced to "modernize to European standards". We accompany Giovanni Boggini into the white interior of the new laboratory. Resplendent with shiny titles and glittering instruments, it resembles a high-tech pharmaceutical plant. The incredulous dairyman reluctantly accepts the sterilized cap and other similar constrictions. It is my belief that only a deep-seated passion for the trade could account for those individuals who, despite the difficulties, continue to keep it alive.
Hami Kunako Maanche (We, Corner People)
Dir. Kesang Tseten. Nepal. 2006. 50 min. In Nepali.
A remote Tamang village in Rasuwa District is getting a trail bridge that will make life easier and will placate fear. A river straddling the village swept away a young bride when it inexplicably swelled. The event haunts the villagers who call themselves a 'corner' people. No settlement lies beyond these high hills, there is no electricity, not a single shop, and a 3-room school that goes up to class 3. The film depicts a condition of grinding poverty, though of no lesser complexity, that will astonish and move us in the centre.
Himalayan Dreams
Dir. Ahmed Shafeeu and Ali Rasheed. Maldives. 2006. 28 min. In Maldivian, with English Voiceover.
Himalayan Dreams follows a young Maldivian as he treks from sea-level to the highest mountains in the world. The film captures a wide array of landscapes from the Maldives, India, Nepal and Tibet. It has images of Mount Everest filmed from an altitude of 5,600 metres in Nepal, well above Everest Base Camp, as well as from the North side in Tibet. But the film's real coup is its depiction of the physical, psychological and spiritual experiences of the adventurer. Prior to this journey, Muha, the photographer whose journey is documented in the film, had never seen mountains, mists or snow, or been in high altitude. The film is simple and unpretentious, shot on a 5-year-old Canon XL1. Preview audiences in the Maldives, especially youth, have said they found it moving and motivating.
100% Woman
Dir. Karen Duthie. Canada. 2004. 51 min. In English.
Michelle Dumaresq is Canada's reigning National Champion in the adrenaline-charged sport of downhill mountain biking. But for her first 20 years Michelle was Michael. As the first transgendered athlete ever named to a national team, Michelle is testing all the limits. Whether it's friendships with her team mates, gender definitions, or the political climate of international sports Michelle forces us all to ask: can a transsexual be 100% Woman?
I Sona Su la Torns (They Are Playing over the Towers)
Dir. Detomas Margherita. Italy. 2004. 9 min. In Ladino.
25 musicians of the band of Pozza Fassa (Italy) with their instruments on their back climbed one of the mountains that is considered a symbol of the Dolomites: the Vajolet Towers. After they arrived on top of the three towers, they started playing and music began….The movie tells the story of this exhausting but extremely satisfying day of happiness. The cheerful notes surrounded the whole valley and near mountains with their sound. The goal wasn't that to establish a new record but to recognize and underline through music the beauty of the Dolomites: a hymn of joy simple and impressing at the same time.
Invisible Children: Rough Cut
Dir. Jason Russell. USA. 2006. 55 min. In English.
What started out as a filmmaking adventure in Africa in the spring of 2003, transformed into much more when three young Americans’ (Jason, Laren and Bobby) original travels took a divine turn, and they found themselves stranded in Northern Uganda. They discovered children being kidnapped nightly from their homes and subsequently forced to fight as child soldiers. This film is dedicated to exposing this tragic and amazingly untold story.
Kekexili: Mountain Patrol
Dir. Lu Chuan. China. 2004. 85 min. In Tibetan.
Kekexili is the last unspoiled and uninhabited wide-open space within China's borders as well as the last refuge for Tibetan antelope. After 1985, poachers began to hunt Tibetan antelope in large numbers. In order to prevent the extinction of this species, volunteers formed a mountain patrol and engaged in tough battles with poachers, reports of which were covered widely by the media inside and outside China. A journalist visits and stays with the patrol, witnessing the lives of the patrolmen: their struggle with merciless poachers, the demanding natural environment, poverty and their own feelings…giving all they had, even sometimes their lives.
Kilimanjaro – Going for Broke
Dir. Richard Heap and Ben Pritchard. UK. 2006. 52 min. In English.
This is a mountain adventure film with huge human and emotional dimensions. It's about four great climbers who have all suffered major tragedies that have left them seriously disabled. Climbing gods made mortal, they decide to get together to climb Mount Killimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa. Jamie has no arms and no legs, half of Paul's body is as dead as a corpse, David has never fully recovered from total paralysis whilst Pete has a broken back, one kidney & calves the thickness of a small pencil.
Kvinders Pris (The Value of Women)
Dir. Birgitte Glavind Sperber. Denmark. 2006. 40 min. In kalasha.
The 3-4000 Kalash are a Non-Muslim minority in the Hindukush Mountains in NW-Pakistan. Among the Kalash a father gives his daughter animal husbandry in dowry as her personal property when she gets married. However, of biggest importance is the bride wealth given by the husband to his in-laws. This film explores love, marriage and bride wealth. Men and women of varying age and success in marriage and love tell their stories in words and poetry. Bride wealth is frequently mentioned – as something a "heavy" (costly) women can be proud of, as something to settle conflicts after a woman has eloped from an arranged marriage into a love marriage. The producer has spent totally 2-3 years among the Kalash during the last 21 years. The interviewees were informed about the project making a film to tell people abroad about their traditions for marriage and love. The stories are general knowledge and frequently talked about. In a way the film enters the discussion about the dowry system means to the attitudes to women in the Indian Subcontinent.
The Last Race
Dir. Alex Gabbay and Subina Shrestha. Nepal. 2005. 23 min. In Nepali.
“Sometimes I think I miss him sorely and yet, at times I can’t even remember his face”. Thirteen-years-old Lakpa was left in the village by his parents when they left for America. Stranded alone with his drunken uncle, in the beautiful village of Manang, Lakpa’s only obsession is to leave for America. But he wants his friend Karma, the only other person he cares for, to come with him. Set in the foothills of the Himalayas, the film explores the friendship of the two boys. Karma wants to win the annual Yarthung, the horse race for men. He loves horses and wants to stay in the village to participate in the Yarthung. Lakpa is ready to do anything to hasten their departure to America. But the risks are high and he is not ready for the consequences.
Lebenslauf (Course of Life)
Dir. Thilo Ewers, Waldemar Fast. Germany. 2005. 3 min.
A character is running away from a fearful mouth of steel. There is no escape. But in the monotony of escaping there are changes in the environment, which will light up our character's mind. Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.
Light of the Himalaya
Dir. Michael Brown. USA. 2006. 69 min. In English.
A moving story of giving back where it counts. At the heart the most formidable mountain range on earth lives a gracious people who suffer from the highest rates of cataract blindness on the planet. The North Face athlete team joins eye surgeons from Nepal and America in hopes of making a difference. This spectacular film follows the doctors' work on the Himalayan Cataract Project all the way to the summit of a 21,000-foot Himalayan giant.
Lord of Darjeeling
Dir. Xavier de Lauzanne. France. 2006. 52 min. In English.
At the borders of India and Nepal, in Darjeeling, Rajah Banerjee, last owner of a familial and traditional tea estate considers both his inheritance on the background of English occupation and the necessity to renew. His management is based on organic and biodynamic farming, sustainable development and fair trade while producing one of the most popular teas in the world. Charismatic, he rides around his charming gardens, neatly leading us to think about a possible harmony between humans and nature.
Malenkaya Katerina (Tiny Katerina)
Dir. Ivan Golovnev. Russia. 2004. 24 min. In Russian.
North Western Siberia, Russia. Small Khanty girl Katerina observes and understands the outer world. She learns the voices of people, animals and other beings. Gradually she approaches the unknown and the unknown comes closer not far from Katerina's nomad camp an oilrig appears.
New Samaritans
Dir. Alexander Shabataev, Sergey Grankin and Efim Kuchuk. Israel. 2006. 52 min. In Russian and Aramaic.
The Samaritans believe that they have existed for over 3,600 years. Presently the number of the descendants of this ancient nation is less than 900. They refer to themselves as 'the Shomrei ha-Emet', which means in Aramaic 'KEEPERS OF THE TRUTH'. In the early XXI century, Shalom their spiritual leader, aiming to refresh the blood of the nation on the brink of extinction, broke one of their fundamental commandments, which strictly prohibited the intermarriage with aliens. The first two lucky men set off to faraway lands in quest of brides.
No Limits
Dir. Heidi Wittlinger, Anja Perl and Max Stolzenberg. Germany. 2004. 1 min.
The driver of a red sports car shows no mercy…
Nomads: Wandering Women of the Whitewater Tribe
Dir. Polly Green. USA. 2006. 21 min. In English.
Nomads follows the travels of three whitewater kayaking nomads: Whitney Lonsdale, Jessie Stone, and Emily Jackson, as they attempt the Zambezi and White Nile Rivers of Africa. They are connected by their love of the river and compassion for others. Along the way they are unexpectedly touched by a small village in Uganda struggling with the realities of malaria. They are in Africa pursuing their passion for kayaking and have decided to give back to the village they are staying in by building a sustainable youth art education center, medical clinic, and refurbish a school.
The Other Final
Dir. Johan Kramer. Netherlands. 2002. 54 min. In English.
This film is an inspirational meeting of two totally different cultures, and how sport can act as a common language to bring them together. On June 30th, the day of the Soccer World Cup Final, the two bottom-ranked teams in the world, Bhutan and Montserrat will play their own match, to decide who really is the bottom team in the world. Our film follows the preparations of the two teams for this international friendly-match, which takes place against all the odds (no sponsors, lack of training grounds, etc). However, the film is more about a meeting of two countries, it is about the beauty, the differences, and the similarities of the two countries. Football is used as a theme to bring them together. It is a film about humanity, hope, and fate. It is also an antidote to the commercial nature of the World Cup, and its high-stakes, high sponsorship environment – it strips the game of football down to its basic elements.
Passe Moi les Jumelles (Pass Me over the Binoculars)
Dir. Pierre-Antoine Hiroz and Benoît Aymon. Switzerland. 2005. 27 min. In French.
"These reckless young people who put the lives of rescuers in danger…" One of the newspapers regularly makes this kind of comment. But what do we know of professional rescuers, what are their deep motivations, those guides and doctors who put their lives in jeopardy to come to our rescue? A series of six documentaries filmed in the heart of the Swiss Alps takes a new look at the life-saving world.
Planet Earth—Mountains
Dir. Vanessa Berlowitz. UK. 2006. 49 min. In English.
Planet Earth—Mountains portrays the wildlife and landscape of the mountain ranges of our planet.
Praszczur (Grandpa)
Dir. Miroslaw Dembinski. Poland. 2005. 26 min. In Polish.
Janusz Orlowski is a 79 year old man, still full of energy and zeal. There wouldn’t be anything special about it, but he flies. He’s a paraglider. Flying is Janusz’s passion. When he’s in the air, nothing matters. He’s just happy. Paragliding demands good health and agility. Grandpa tries to overcome all the limitations related to his age. His younger friends usually help him. A fall or a trip once in a while doesn’t discourage him. Just the opposite, Janusz says he will always fly, but with one difference. In the future he will fly "to the land without gravity", without everyday problems, without any effort.
Riding Solo to the Top of the World
Dir. Gaurav Jani. India. 2005. 94 min. In English.
Riding Solo to the Top of the World is the unique experience of a lonesome traveller, who rides his motorcycle all the way from Mumbai to one of the remotest places in the World, the Changthang Plateau, in Ladakh, bordering China. As a one-man film unit, he astonishes you, filming the landscape he passes by and the people he interacts with, capturing moments of beauty, pain, love, hardship, self doubt and spiritual triumphs. As a city slicker, his interaction with the nomads of the region, the Chang pas, who live at the highest altitude used by mankind in the world, teaches him a new perspective on life, as does the religious fervor he encounters.
Schneeweisse Schwarznasen (Snow-White Blacknoses)
Dir. Sylviane Neuenschwander. Switzerland. 2006. 86 min. In Swiss German.
They are no longer mountain farmers, Reinhold and his sheep-breeding colleagues who live in Eggerberg, Valais, in the Swiss Alps. They work shifts in industry, down in the valley, and breed blacknoses in their spare time. The main consideration is not wool or meat quality but the beauty of the sheep and the prestige of their owners. Blacknoses sheep are part of the identity of Upper Valais. What moves the breeders and their families to undertake this labour intensive activity on the steep slopes? This sensitive and entertaining film looks into this question. "What will the future bring? Will the cultural heritage that is our Alpine countryside remain inhabited and intact?
School among Glaciers
Dir. Dorji Wangchuck. Bhutan. 2005. 60 min. In English.
A school teacher is assigned to a remote school in the Himalayas. Instead of a warm welcome, he is greeted by a community that has seemingly more important priorities in life than going to school. Will he be able to complete his assignment or will he leave?
Solo un Cargador (Porter)
Dir. Juan Alejandro Ramirez. Peru. 2003. 20 min. In Spanish.
Solo un Cargador is not a document but rather a meditation "out loud." The narration evokes time and again, an ageless longing for justice and redemption; a voice with no trace of hatred but yet distrust and ambivalence over a man's desire for "a better life." But also and inevitably, a voice bearing the silent disillusion of the destitute with a world that will never be fair…"
Dir. Ben Hopkins. UK. 2006. 87 min. In English, Turkish and Kirghiz.
The Pamir Kirghiz are a tribe of some 2,000 people from the Pamir region of Central Asia. For the last 27 years they have lived in exile in Eastern Turkey. In 2005 an Anglo-Turkish film crew arrives in their village to work with the tribe to tell their story. We learn how the Pamir Kirghiz antipathy to Communism drove them from Soviet Union, then later from Maoist China, and finally from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to their current exile. We see how they live today in modern Turkey. The film is part historical document, part ethnographical description of a unique people, part portrait of the conflict between individuals and globalised culture, and part comedy about the process of film-making.
Dir. Lisa Hoffe. Canada. 2005. 24 min. In English and Nepali.
Trailblazing documents the pioneering spirit and determination of the fledgling few women trekking guides working in the adventure tourism industry in the mountain kingdom. The story centers around the three determined and visionary Chhetri sisters who operate the first and only female-owned trekking agency in Nepal. They saw a need for female guides when women travelers to Nepal consistently asked why there were no female guides available to take them trekking. The high demand for female guides prompted the sisters to train approximately 20 to 25 young women twice a year as a way to build capacity for women in the industry. This is also a first for Nepal.
Treacling Down
Dir. Upali Gamlath. Sri Lanka. 2005. 14 min. In Singhala.
The remote village "Meemure" surrounded by a range of mountains is a place famous for the production of jaggery. This village in a rural setting still retains old cultural habits mainly because of the poor facilities there. Meemure in certain respects is self sufficient, but its excess production is sold after, a tiresome journey form the village. Highly commercialized town bags their cherished products for a mere pittance and sold in luxury supermarkets at exorbitant prices. The story of Meemure is symbolic of the times Sri Lanka as a whole is going through.
View from a Grain of Sand
Dir. Meena Nanji. USA. 2006. 82 min. In Dari and Pashtu.
Thirty years ago, urban Afghan women were making unprecedented strides socially and professionally. Now, they are virtually erased from the public face of their nation. Told through the eyes of three Afghan women, a doctor, teacher and rights activist, this is the story of how war, international interference and the rise of religious fundamentalists, has stripped Afghan women of rights and freedom. Combined with rarely seen archival footage, their powerful stories provide illuminating context for Afghanistan's current situation and the ongoing battle women face to gain even basic human rights.
Waiting
Dir. Atul Gupta and Shabnam Ara. India. 2005. 39 min. In English, Kashmiri, Urdu and Hindi.
This is a story of missing people, boys and men who were picked up by security forces and then simply disappeared. The location is Kashmir. Sandwiched between India and Pakistan, Kashmir is a battleground for both. Since the men are missing and not declared dead, their wives are not widows but 'half widows.' The 'half widows' need extraordinary courage in living. Personally they live with the memories of their love. They have to suddenly switch from being the women in the veil at home to a bread-earner. They have to face society that treats them as unattached property as it treats most single women in India. And all this in a war zone where anybody could get picked up or shot by an Indian security officer or by any one of the militants roaming in the valley.
Wie Ich Mich Traf (Meeting Me)
Dir. Angela Steffen. Germany. 2004. 5 min. In German.
A short story about the discovery of the world: I am a human being and a bird and a worm. And I am………
Women of K2
Dir. Jeff Rhoads. USA. 2003. 47 min. In English.
At the beginning of the 2004 climbing season, only 196 climbers had reached the top pf K2, only five were women and each of those women was dead. Women of K2 examines the dark and dramatic history of the so called ‘Savage Mountain’ through the lives and deaths of its female pioneers. Featuring revealing interviews, dazzling footage and rare archival film and photographs, Women of K2 also asks difficult and controversial questions regarding women in the still very male world of climbing.
The Women's Kingdom
Dir. Xiaoli Zhou. USA. 2005. 21 min. In English.
"I enjoy being a girl," beams 16-year-old Lamu. It's an unusual sentiment to hear in China, a country that has a cultural preference for boys. But Lamu lives beyond the strictures of mainstream Chinese society. She is part of the Moscuo, an ethnic minority that has a matriarchal society, one of the last in the world. Since tourism was introduced in early 1990's, the Mosuo region has opened up to the outside world. Now it draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, attracted in part by tales of "free love." Although the area's villages prosper the traditional lives of the women are nonetheless affected and threatened by the influx of visitors and money.
Words of My Perfect Teacher
Dir. Lesley Ann Patten. Canada. 2005. 103 min. In English
Dzongsar Khyentse Norbu is one of the world's greatest masters, but he's not your typical teacher. This is a poignant, often hilarious tale of students who follow Khyentse Norbu. Shot in the UK, Bhutan, Germany, Canada and the US.
