Current Films

A DECENT FACTORY

Thomas Balmès
England, Finland, France 2004 | 79 Min. | BetaSP, OmeU
In an increas­ing­ly glob­al­ized econ­o­my, more cor­po­ra­tions are ‘out­sourc­ing’ their pro­duc­tion to coun­tries with cheap­er labour costs and less legal pro­tec­tion of work­ers’ rights. Some cor­po­rate man­agers, whether out of … read more

ALIENATIONS

Malek Bensmail
Algeria, France 2003 | 105 Min. | BetaSP, OmeU
Alge­ria is a young state with a long his­to­ry. The 20th cen­tu­ry has been marked by colo­nial­ism, colo­nial war and unprece­dent­ed social and cul­tur­al upheavals that have called into ques­tion … read more

ALPHABET OF HOPE
(Azbuka Na Nadejdata)

Stephan Komandarev
Romania 2004 | 100 Min. | BetaSP, OmeU
A stretch of seclud­ed, moun­tain­ous coun­try­side near the Bul­gar­i­an-Greek-Turk­ish border, a few kilo­me­tres long and a few hun­dred metres wide. In the 1980s, when the Bul­gar­i­an state tried to con­vert … read more

AMBASSADORS

Jouko Aaltonen
Finland 2003 | 57 Min. | BetaSP, OmeU
What does it mean to be a nomad? To move from one place to anoth­er to get your liveli­hood. To live in cir­cum­stances beyond your con­trol. To be a member … read more

ARLIT, DEUXIEME PARIS
(ARLIT, A SECOND PARIS)

Benin, France 2005 | 78 Min. | 35 mm, OmeU
ARLIT is a slow film, quiet, with­out any hectic and with an affec­tion for small details. We are shown pic­tures of a dusty, dead town in Nige­ria, a for­eign world … read more

BRIDE KIDNAPPING IN KYRGYZSTAN

Petr Lom
Kyrgyzstan 2004 | 51 Min. | OmeU, Video

In Kyr­gyzs­tan, it is not unusu­al for a girl to go to school care­free in the morn­ing, but to end up a bride in a family of strangers by night­fall. It is no use to put up a strug­gle. Young Kair­gul is calmly wait­ing for the school bus. She does not sus­pect that the man hang­ing out on the curb has evil inten­tions, but the next moment, he pushes her into a pass­ing car and kid­naps her to become his bride. ”I don’t want to be late for school,” she shouts. ”Your class­es are over,” he responds. In Kyr­gyzs­tan, Cen­tral Asia, men abduct a bride if they are not rich enough to pay a dowry. The kid­nap­ping is often dis­cussed before­hand in the poten­tial groom’s family. After the abduc­tion, the new in-laws inform the girl’s par­ents, who often accept the ”pro­pos­al.” Kid­nap­ping a bride is the usual state of affairs. ”We have all been abduct­ed,” women tell a fresh­ly kid­napped girl who reluc­tant­ly stands in a corner. Direc­tor Petr Lom fol­lows the dra­mat­ic sto­ries of non-con­sen­su­al kid­nap­pings. This doc­u­men­tary is the first to ever doc­u­ment the custom. 

JOURNEYS

Vinayan Kodoth
India 2003 | 39 Min. | 35 mm, OF
A hell­ish trip. Every day in Mumbai seven mil­lion com­muters use the sub­ur­ban rail net­work. Every year almost 4,000 people die in acci­dents. They fall off the trains, are dragged … read more

ESPRIT ET LE CŒUR
(Al Ruh Wal Qalb)

Molka Mahdaoui
Tunisia 2003 | 52 Min. | BetaSP, OmfU
Ahmed Jelman is the found­ing member of a pop­u­lar group that has attained cult status in Tunisia through the quick spread of their cas­settes and CDs. His voice, the catchy … read more

THE CURSE OF THE HEDGEHOG
(Blestemul Ariciului)

Dumitru Budrala
Romania 2004 | 100 Min. | BetaSP, OmeU
THE CURSE OF THE HEDGEHOG fol­lows the life of an extend­ed Roma family for a whole year. They belong to the ”Baesi” group of Roma and live in extreme pover­ty. … read more

THE SWENKAS

Jeppe Rønde
Denmark 2004 | 72 Min. | OmeU
This doc­u­men­tary is a story about the Swenkas, a small group of work­ing Zulu men in post-apartheid South Africa. Men who every Sat­ur­day night leave their grimy over­alls behind and … read more

WHOSE IS THIS SONG?
(Cia E Tazi Pesen? )

Adela Peeva
Belgium, Bulgaria 2003 | 70 Min. | 35 mm, OmeU
“In a nice little restau­rant in Istan­bul, we were having dinner with friends from var­i­ous Balkan coun­tries - a Greek, a Mace­don­ian, a Turk, a Serb, and me, a Bul­gar­i­an. … read more