Harvest
» L’enfant endormi / The Sleeping Child , Yasmine Kassari, MOROCCO/BELGIUM, 2004 95′
People in a remote mountainous village of Southern Morocco celebrate the wedding of Zeinab and Ahmed. The next morning, the bride and all the women of the village are alone: husbands and sons have left the village, hoping to reach Spain and find work there. Three months later, Zeinab becomes aware of her pregnancy. Together with her mother, she leaves for the nearby town where a ‘medicine man’ gives her a talisman, with which she can temporarily ‘put the child to sleep’ and thus delay its birth. Days, weeks and months pass without any word from the departed men. Zeinab finds her only solace in her friend Halima, left alone as well, but unwilling to resign to her gloomy fate.
» Sakenine sarzamine sokut / From the Land of Silence , Saman Salur, IRAN, 2004 70′
Two young brothers drift along in a remote region in Iran. One herds the flock of sheep his severe father has left with him while he is away; the other steals petrol from trucks parked in forecourts and from depots and sells it to passing truck drivers. However, the young shepherd has a passion he keeps from his father: a bicycle he has hidden, buried under sand. The young thief meets a truck driver who gives him a lift and makes friends with him. When the father comes back, he punishes his shepherd son for not looking after his flock, and breaks his bicycle. The boy fixes it and joins his brother, who is tired of stealing, and together they go to find the truck driver and finally leave behind their ungrateful “land of silence”.
» DÃas de Santiago / Days of Santiago , Josue Mendez, PERU, 2004 83′
Santiago Roman, a rugged, 23-year-old soldier of the Peruvian Navy, returns home to Lima after years of fighting in the jungle. Combat-weary and searching for hope, Santiago is a member of a lost Peruvian generation – his spirit scarred by futile wars with Ecuador and constant fighting against terrorists and drug traffickers. He quickly finds his native Lima an unwelcoming place – his army buddies have taken to bankrobbing; the decadent club scene offers only noise and lights; prospective employers won’t hire him; his applications for credit are refused. But worst of all, Santiago learns that his friends, family, and young, professional wife have become decadent or distant—and that they are, each in unique ways, unable to understand him.
» Familia rodante / Rolling Family , Pablo Trapero, ARGENTINA, 2004 103′
Near the end of Rolling Family, matriarch Emilia says to a despondent daughter: “Life always gives you a chance. Your chance will come.” Earlier, while celebrating her 84th birthday, life gives Emilia a chance. Her sister calls to invite her to return to their hometown on the Brazilian border and be matron of honor at a grandniece’s wedding. Emilia decides to go, though it’s a trip of several days. She also decides she’ll go in son-in-law Oscar’s dilapidated camper. And the entire family will go with her. Her whole ragtag clan crams into the clunker and hits the road. Director Pablo Trapero tells his story with a relaxed style, giving us time to watch the ebb and flow of squabbles and jealousies that have Emilia shaking her head.
» Zaman, l’homme des roseaux / Zaman, the Man from the Reeds , Amer Alwan, IRAQ/FRANCE, 2003 77′
Zaman lives the simple life of those who live in Iraq’s swamp area with his beloved wife Najma and the adolescent boy they took in whose parents were killed. Zaman awakens each day, washes in the river, prays and makes breakfast with his wife before working at weaving the reeds indigenous to his home. When Najma falls ill, a visiting doctor tells him he’ll need to travel to obtain the proper medicine for her. Zaman begins a trek up the Tigris that will end in an exhaustive scouring of every pharmacy in Baghdad. After spending the night curled up against a mosque, Zaman, lacking necessary papers, is aided by Iman, a clear-eyed young woman fed up with the political manueverings of the director of the Catholic medical center. Zaman returns home to Najma, who has waited for his return before taking her final rest.
» Kod amidže Idriza / Days and Hours, Pjer Žalica, BiH, 2004 96′
Peace has come to Sarajevo and in the Bystrik district there is no sign of a house shot to smithereens or a foreign soldier. Everything looks peaceful in the home of the elderly couple Idriz and Sabira. One day, their nephew Fuke comes to repair their boiler and have a chat. No one talks openly about the past, but the atmosphere is sorrowful. When Fuke’s car won’t start, he has to spend the night with his uncle and aunt. We find out that Idriz and Sabira have lost their son. Fuke’s presence softens their silent anguish. Nothing exciting happens: they drink coffee and chat with the neighbours. The sorrow of the couple is only the tip of the iceberg.
harvest| friends| masters| new shores| retrospective- the south of cinema
far east special | special occassion| short films and animation
» L’enfant endormi / The Sleeping Child , Yasmine Kassari, MOROCCO/BELGIUM, 2004 95′
People in a remote mountainous village of Southern Morocco celebrate the wedding of Zeinab and Ahmed. The next morning, the bride and all the women of the village are alone: husbands and sons have left the village, hoping to reach Spain and find work there. Three months later, Zeinab becomes aware of her pregnancy. Together with her mother, she leaves for the nearby town where a ‘medicine man’ gives her a talisman, with which she can temporarily ‘put the child to sleep’ and thus delay its birth. Days, weeks and months pass without any word from the departed men. Zeinab finds her only solace in her friend Halima, left alone as well, but unwilling to resign to her gloomy fate.
» Sakenine sarzamine sokut / From the Land of Silence , Saman Salur, IRAN, 2004 70′
Two young brothers drift along in a remote region in Iran. One herds the flock of sheep his severe father has left with him while he is away; the other steals petrol from trucks parked in forecourts and from depots and sells it to passing truck drivers. However, the young shepherd has a passion he keeps from his father: a bicycle he has hidden, buried under sand. The young thief meets a truck driver who gives him a lift and makes friends with him. When the father comes back, he punishes his shepherd son for not looking after his flock, and breaks his bicycle. The boy fixes it and joins his brother, who is tired of stealing, and together they go to find the truck driver and finally leave behind their ungrateful “land of silence”.
» DÃas de Santiago / Days of Santiago , Josue Mendez, PERU, 2004 83′
Santiago Roman, a rugged, 23-year-old soldier of the Peruvian Navy, returns home to Lima after years of fighting in the jungle. Combat-weary and searching for hope, Santiago is a member of a lost Peruvian generation – his spirit scarred by futile wars with Ecuador and constant fighting against terrorists and drug traffickers. He quickly finds his native Lima an unwelcoming place – his army buddies have taken to bankrobbing; the decadent club scene offers only noise and lights; prospective employers won’t hire him; his applications for credit are refused. But worst of all, Santiago learns that his friends, family, and young, professional wife have become decadent or distant—and that they are, each in unique ways, unable to understand him.
» Familia rodante / Rolling Family , Pablo Trapero, ARGENTINA, 2004 103′
Near the end of Rolling Family, matriarch Emilia says to a despondent daughter: “Life always gives you a chance. Your chance will come.” Earlier, while celebrating her 84th birthday, life gives Emilia a chance. Her sister calls to invite her to return to their hometown on the Brazilian border and be matron of honor at a grandniece’s wedding. Emilia decides to go, though it’s a trip of several days. She also decides she’ll go in son-in-law Oscar’s dilapidated camper. And the entire family will go with her. Her whole ragtag clan crams into the clunker and hits the road. Director Pablo Trapero tells his story with a relaxed style, giving us time to watch the ebb and flow of squabbles and jealousies that have Emilia shaking her head.
» Zaman, l’homme des roseaux / Zaman, the Man from the Reeds , Amer Alwan, IRAQ/FRANCE, 2003 77′
Zaman lives the simple life of those who live in Iraq’s swamp area with his beloved wife Najma and the adolescent boy they took in whose parents were killed. Zaman awakens each day, washes in the river, prays and makes breakfast with his wife before working at weaving the reeds indigenous to his home. When Najma falls ill, a visiting doctor tells him he’ll need to travel to obtain the proper medicine for her. Zaman begins a trek up the Tigris that will end in an exhaustive scouring of every pharmacy in Baghdad. After spending the night curled up against a mosque, Zaman, lacking necessary papers, is aided by Iman, a clear-eyed young woman fed up with the political manueverings of the director of the Catholic medical center. Zaman returns home to Najma, who has waited for his return before taking her final rest.
» Kod amidže Idriza / Days and Hours, Pjer Žalica, BiH, 2004 96′
Peace has come to Sarajevo and in the Bystrik district there is no sign of a house shot to smithereens or a foreign soldier. Everything looks peaceful in the home of the elderly couple Idriz and Sabira. One day, their nephew Fuke comes to repair their boiler and have a chat. No one talks openly about the past, but the atmosphere is sorrowful. When Fuke’s car won’t start, he has to spend the night with his uncle and aunt. We find out that Idriz and Sabira have lost their son. Fuke’s presence softens their silent anguish. Nothing exciting happens: they drink coffee and chat with the neighbours. The sorrow of the couple is only the tip of the iceberg.
