Films
Feature movies
Exodus
by Ho-Cheung Pang
Hong Kong 2007, 94 min., feature film, 35 mm, colour,
OV, English Subtitles
All the evil in the world is caused by men. Therefore, a secret network
of women plans to eliminate all the men on the planet. Police sergeant
Tsim considers this assertion from a Peeping Tom to be an absurd excuse.
Gathering evidence at a women’s bathroom seems absolutely ridiculous.
But Tsim becomes doubtful and starts an investigation...
The whimsical
satiric comedy of Ho-Cheung Pang won the Jury Award at San Sebastian
Film Festival.
Fighter
by Natasha Arthy
Danmark 2007, 97 min., feature film, 35 mm, colour, OV,
German Subtitles
17-year-old Aicha is more interested in martial arts than in studying.
Against her parents’ will she applies to the Kung Fu club of master
Sifu and starts to practice with Emil. They work hard – and fall
in love, but Aicha’s Turkish background stands between them. When
Omar, another turkish youngster, joins the training group, the problems
really start, leading to a fight with far-reaching consequences...
Awarded
at Catalan Film Festival.
Green Days
by Hana Makhmalbaf
Iran 2009, 73 min., documentary fiction, video, colour, OV,
English Subtitles
Iran, June 2009: Young theater director Ava suffers from depression,
and blames recent political events in Iran for it. Her psychologist
can barely help her. In the streets of Tehran, however, she finds a
new source of hope with the masses of people campaigning to vote for
a new president. With her secretly filmed footage - documentary and
fiction - Hana Makhmalbaf provides a unique historic testimony. She
had to go into exile afterwards. Bravery Prize in Venice 2009.
Hana Makhmalbaf present
La Nana – The Maid
by Sebastián Silva
Chile/Mexico 2009, 115 min., feature film, 35mm,
colour, OV, English Subtitles
Worn-out maid Raquel spends her life cooking, cleaning, and looking
after the children of the Valdes family. She is neither truly a member
of the family nor simply a servant. When the family decides to hire a
second maid, Raquel feels her position in the family is endangered. With
ever more extreme measures she scares away her „rivals“,
until she meets Lucy...
Awarded at Sundance.
Laskar Pelangi – The Rainbow Troops
by Riri Riza
Indonesia 2008, 124 min., feature film, 35mm, colour, OV, English
Subtitles
Young teacher Muslimah waits anxiously for her students the first day
of school. If the decrepit little Islamic primary school doesn’t
meet the ten student minimum, it will be closed. Fortunately, the tenth
student shows up at the last minute, and an eventfull time starts for
Muslimah and her students, full of creative playing, exploring and learning.
An imaginative film with captivating lay actors.
Awarded at Film Festival
Hong Kong 2009.
Mammoth
by Lukas Moodysson
Sweden/Denmark/Germany 2009, 125 min., feature film,
35 mm, colour, OV, English Subtitles
Filipino maid Gloria works in New York in order to earn money for a
better life for her family at home. While she becomes a kind of surrogate
mother for 8 year old Jackie, on the other side of the world her sons
are missing their mother desperately. Jackie herself is the daughter
of a well-off couple, whose life is dominated by work. A sensitive study
of the gap between the poor and the rich in our globalized world.
Berlinale
Golden Bear Nominee 2009.
Mar Nero – Black Sea
by Federico Bondi
Ital./Rumania/F 2008, 95 min., feature film, 35 mm, colour,
OV, English Subtitles
Italy. Angela, a sensitive young woman from Romania, works as a housemaid
for Gemma, an uncommunicative, if not brusque, old widow. Relations are
tenuous, but when Angela’s husband disappears in Romania, it is
clear to Gemma: she will accompany the young woman... Their involuntary
companionship becomes a journey of adventure, solidarity, and friendship.
Silver Leopard at Locarno Film Festival.
Pandora’s Box
by Yesim Ustaoglu
Turkey/F/Germ./Belg. 2008, 112 min., feature film, 35
mm, colour, OV, German Subtitles
Three Turkish siblings are confronted with old conflicts and driven
to seek new solutions by their elderly mother’s Alzheimer’s
disease when she is brought from the countryside to Istanbul. But astonishingly,
it will be the tender relationship that develops between the unstable
grandson and his grandmother that will allow her to fulfill her last
wish...
Two awards at San Sebastián.
Rusalka – The Mermaid
by Melikyan
Russia 2007, 115 min., feature film, video, colour, OV, German
Subtitles
Once upon a time there was a little girl who lived by the seaside with
her mother, her grandmother, and her missing father's diving suit. Alisa
has a special gift: she can make wishes come true. When she moves to
Moscow, she finds not only a job, but also her prince charming – jumping
off a bridge right in front of her. Now Alisa has a mission. A whimsical
modern version of „The Little Mermaid“...
Awarded at Berlinale
and Sundance.
Defenseless
by René Heisig
Germany 2009, 90 min., video, colour, German Version
Maria left her two children in Honduras to work illegally in Germany
as a cleaning lady. When she must send for her children to join her,
her already tenuous existence is smashed into pieces – Maria is
on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Then Peter, one of her employers,
comes up with an offer to help her... A true story.
Lead actress Carolina
Vera present.
Storm
by Hans-Christian Schmid
Germany/Denmark/NL 2009, 110 min., feature film,
35 mm, colour, OV, German Subtitles
At the Criminal Tribunal in The Hague, war criminal Goran Duric is prosecuted
by Hannah Maynard. When an important witness commits suicide, Hannah
tries to persuade his sister Mira who was a victim of war crimes to testify
at the court. But will she dare to testify? International politics and
Bosnian-Serbian nationalists threaten to jeopardize this decisive evidence....
Three awards at Berlinale Film Festival.
Tandoori Love
by Oliver Paulus
Switzerland 2008, 92 min., 35mm, colour, OV, English Subtitles
Sonja's life seems to be „in order“. She plans to marry
Markus, owner of the traditional Swiss restaurant „Hirschen“,
and buy a dream home. Then she meets Rajah from India, a cook for a Bollywood
filmcrew who becomes enchanted by her. With his extraordinary Indian
cooking, Rajah romances Sonja. A „delicious“ satire with
a banquet of Bollywood dancing and singing.
Award recipient in Cairo.
Worlds Apart
by Niels Arden Oplev
Denmark 2008, 108 min., feature film, video, colour,
OV, English Subtitles
17-years-old Sara, a Jehovah’s Witness in a small town in Denmark,
spends her freetime with missionary work. When she falls in love with
Teis, a nice guy she met at the disco, her philosophy of life starts
to change. Teis is not a Jehovah’s Witness and therefore is not
accepted by either Sara’s community or her family. At the end Sara
has to decide... Touching, based on a true story.
Five awards.
Documentaries
Adalil – Mistress of the tents
by Sylvie Banuls
Germany 1990, 45 min., documentary film, video, colour,
German Version
Where does one find happiness? An old Tuareg woman discusses the traditional
Tuareg way of life with her daughter. Is this a matriarchy? The impressive
proud men on their camels are not the rulers of this desert society – the
tents belong to the women. Documentation of the hard but free life of
the self-confident daughters of the sands.
Director present.
At Stake
by Ucu Agustin, Ani Ema Susanti, Iwan Setiawan, Muhammad Ichsan, Lucky Kuswandi
Indonesia
2008, 107 min., documentary film, video, colour, OV, English Subtitles
Four short documentaries about crucial issues in the lives of women in Indonesia: the problems of two migrant workers in Hong Kong, who are both supporting their families in Java; the still widespread practice of female circumcision; the difficulty for unmarried young women to receive gynecological checkups; and hard working women, for whom prostitution is the only way to supplement their income and send their children to school.
Women of Juchitán
by Monika von Behr and Mechthild Moser
Germany 1993, 43 min., documentary
film, video, colour, German Version
In Juchitán, Mexico, the economic and social rule of women is
unchallenged. As merchants they dominate the local market and own the
family property, which is inherited from mother to daughter. Through
more than 600 lavish festivities per year they also guarantee the redistribution
of wealth, and astonishingly good health for all „Juchitecos“.
A dazzling look into an unknown world – but: Can it survive long-term
in an increasingly globalized economy?
Director present.
From Mother to Daughter - De Madre in Figlia
by Andrea Zambelli
Italy 2008, 80 min., documentary film, video, colour,
OV, English Subtitles
When they lost their jobs in the rice paddies in postwar Italy, singing
kept them connected: twenty women, today many in their eighties, formed
a choir. With esprit and amazing vitality these strong women inspire
their audience across different generations, singing about the times,
when they worked hard, supported the partisans in their fight, and had
a lot of fun. A powerful film with a unique soundtrack.
Awarded in Turin.
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Hibos song
by Sigrid Dethloff und Renate Bernhard
Germany 2007, 55 min., documentary film,
video, colour, German Version
When Gihad Gibreil was a child, her genitals were mutilated and sewn
up – just like almost every East African girl. Today she lives
in Berlin, studies biotechnology, and sings in an African music group.
She gets the opportunity for a reconstructive operation, but Gihad hesitates...
The song of Somali singer Hibo, about the power of millenium-old, destructive
traditions, will accompany her in her decision.
Director present.
Male Supremacy – Never Heard of it
by Marie-Claude Deffarge and Gordian Troeller
Germany 1979, 43 min., documentary
film, video, colour, German Version
The apparent inversion of gender roles, when daughters inherit name and property from their mothers and women are in power, does not necessarily mean that men are subjugated. Among the Minangkabau of Sumatra we find a matriarchal culture that is accepted by both sexes. Despite Islamic and Western influence the traditional „Adat“ law still defines the rules of their society – even in a modern industrialized context.
War and Love in Kabul
by Helga Reidemeister
Germany 2009, 87 min., documentary film, video, colour,
German Version
Afghanistan, a war-torn country, where Hossein and Shaima’s love
is strong but hopeless. Hossein fought for the Taliban for financial
reasons, and is now handicapped and unable to support a family. Shaima
is married to another man and has a daughter. Their families fear the
revenge of Shaima’s husband, but Shaima and Hossein feel they are
destined for each other.
Director present.
Murder after Breakup
by Kai Christiansen
Germany 2006, 43 min., documentary film, video, colour, German
Version
Michael and Corinna are a German model family with two kids and a beautiful house in a village near Bremen. But when they separate Michael can’t deal with it. He begins to terrorise Corinna with telephone calls, persecution, attacks, threats - he becomes a stalker. Corinna tries to protect herself but neither friends nor the police can keep the situation from going to extremes...
Pray The Devil Back To Hell
by Gini Reticker
USA/Liberia 2008, 60 min., documentary film, video, colour, OV,
English Subtitles
A gripping account of a group of brave and visionary women, led by the
courageous Leymah Gwobee, who demanded peace for Liberia, a nation torn
to shreds by a decades old civil war. Interviews and archival footage
recount the experiences of ordinary women who stood up to their country's
tyrannical leader and brutal warlords, and succeeded in achieving the
impossible, while completely ignored by the world media...
In cooperation with Bonn International Center for Conversion, BICC. The
participation of Leymah Gbowee was possible thanks to the support of
the Initiative Africa of the German Ministry of the Exterior (due
to a decision by the German National Parliament)
Cinema for Peace and Tribeca Award.
Leymah Gbowee
present.
Sisters of Lilith
by Emel Çelebi
Turkey 2008, 41 min., documentary film, video, colour,
OV, English Subtitles
The stories of independent Turkish women surviving without men, as fisher-
and farmer-women. The film establishes a relationship with the goddess
Lilith, who was, in Jewish mythology, the first woman on earth. She was
Adam's first wife and refused to be subordinate to him, so God had to
create another, a compliant wife for Adam: Eva.
Awarded at Kosovo Film
Festival.
Some Real Heat
by Stefanie Jordan
Germany 2001, 54 min., documentary, video, colour, EF
Today 13 % of firefighters in the US are women. A fascinating documentary
about extraordinary women who question traditional gender roles and work
under enormous stress in this male-dominated, dangerous profession. It
often brings them to the limit of their capacities, while they strive
for psychological equilibrium...
Juliane Bartel award.
The Women’s Kingdom
by Xiaoli Zhou
China/USA 2006, 22 min., documentary film, video, colour, OV, English
Subtitles
The mosuo culture in southwest China became widely known for the practice
they call „walking marriage“. Consequently they became a
tourist attraction. But if you take a closer look at their communal living
you will find one of the most consistent matriarchal societies. A fascinating
journey into a world, where women are the leader of both, family and
society, and a sensitive portrait of their struggle to hold on to their
extraordinary society.
Oscar 2006.
Womenfolk
by Gertraud Schwarz
Austria 2009, 105 min., documentary film, video, colour,
OV, German Subtitle
It is not easy for women to manage a farm by themselves in the traditionally
family structured and male dominated agricultural business, be it with
regard to their acceptance in society or to the question of how to
manage all the physical labor, which on other farms is done by two
or more people – men. In quite different ways, the six portrayed
Austrian women farmers overcome these challenges.
Director present.
