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Filmes do Homem

mdoc festival

ATOPIA
ATOPYH

atopia

Luís Azevedo / Alexandre Marinho, Portugal / 2015 / 11'27''

A journey to meet someone who belongs nowhere. An impossible return. After living in the city for eleven years, José António Baptista returned to his home village to focus on literature.

  • Photography: Tiago Carvalho / Igor Martins
  • Sound: Ana Pedro
  • Editing: Luís Azevedo, Tiago Carvalho, Alexandre Marinho, Igor Martins, Ana Pedro
  • Production: Luís Azevedo, Alexandre Marinho / Kino Gang Filmes

Luís Azevedo

(Vila do Conde, 1980) has a degree in Portuguese Studies. Film critic for some online media and has worked for more than ten years at film festivals.

Luís Azevedo

Alexandre Marinho

(Meaux, 1983) is a cinephile and amateur director. He's a PhD student in Literary Studies (theory).

Alexandre Marinho

A TOCA DO LOBO
THE WOLF’S LAIR

a toca do lobo

Catarina Mourão, Portugal / 2015 / 102'

All families keep secrets and mine is no exception. First I discover an old 9.5mm film and then rediscover the old albums of my mother’s childhood where all photographs resemble optical illusions. Later the grandfather who I’ve never met reveals himself by talking to me in a strange television program. Between past and present, I try to give meaning to what I’m discovering and to the silences and closed doors appearing before me.

  • Photography: João Ribeiro / Catarina Mourão
  • Sound: Armanda Carvalho
  • Editing: Pedro Duarte, Catarina Mourão
  • Production: Maria Ribeiro Soares / Laranja Azul

Catarina Mourão

Studied music, law and cinema (MA Brisol University), was a founding member in 1998 of Apordoc, association for documentary film-making, and started teaching cinema and documentary in 2000. In the same year, alongside director Catarina Alves Costa, we founded ‘A Laranja Azul’ in Lisbon, an independent production company of documentaries and visual arts.

Catarina Mourão

UMA RAPARIGA DA SUA IDADE
A GIRL OF HER AGE

uma rapariga da sua idade

Márcio Laranjeira, Portugal / 2015 / 88'

Mariana is a girl looking for a context in which to commit to since leaving her parents’ house to move in with Alex in Lisbon. When he departs to New York City she can’t stand what is left behind. Even though going back seemed unthinkable, she returns to the north. The abandonment of Lisbon with the added weight of self-failure and the river crossing on the return home carry her towards the legend of forgetfulness: whoever crossed that river would forget about their past. Alex returns while Mariana tries to conquer a setting that might suit her. She no longer believes in this country. She feels a lot closer to the place where her life started. He leaves. She doesn't return.

  • Photography: Sérgio Brás d'Almeida
  • Sound: Tiago Rocinha
  • Editing: Márcio Laranjeira
  • Production: Márcio Laranjeira / Terratreme Filmes

Márcio Laranjeira

Márcio Laranjeira studied cinema in Portugal and documentary film in Argentina. Since then he’s been exploring a personal approach to the documentary novel subgenre in the short-films he has directed. His films reveal generational and inter-relational conflicts, offering the point of view of those approached, by becoming actors in their own emotional frames.

Márcio Laranjeira

A MOVIE FOR YOU
FILMI BARAYE TO

a movie for you

Iman Behrouzi, Germany / 2015 / 25'

An Iranian filmmaker wants to move to Germany. There is a problem, though. He has to leave his girlfriend behind. Forced to choose between love and ambitions, he plans to make a film of their first date. He asks some of his friends to stand in while he chooses one of them for playing the role of his girlfriend. A documentary teen comedy about love and longing set in contemporary Iran.

  • Photography: Hosein Ahmadian
  • Sound: Ehsan Afsharian
  • Editing: Fereshteh Parnian
  • Production: Iman Behrouzi

Iman Behrouzi

Iman Behrouzi was born in Shiraz, Iran, in 1984. He studied filmmaking at Tehran University in Iran. Now he's currently studying Media Culture (PhD) at the University of Cologne in Germany. He directed and edited some documentaries and short fiction films. His films were shown throughout the world.

Iman Behrouzi

NO COW ON THE ICE
INGEN KO PÅ ISEN

no cow on the ice

Eloy Domínguez Serén, Switzerland / Spain / 2015 / 63'

Language and landscape as a gate into a new life. A young Galician Filmmaker immigrates to Sweden, where he performs different part-time jobs. His learning of a new language and fascination for the Swedish landscape become a driving force against the difficult life conditions. As he learns about the culture, society and lifestyle, he develops a new identity.
Evoking Jonas Mekas might not be inappropriate to introduce this personal filmed diary, especially in regard to the richness of the situations and the delicate and visually graceful approach. Having in mind the historical perspective of his grandparent's emigration, Domínguez Serén's core focus - and the one underlying today's human migration - is undoubtedly the acquisition of a new language, which allows for the developing of a deep relationship with both a new landscape and a different human culture. Filmed over several years, the filmmaker manages, with a very accurate editing, to capture this long process, which starts with silent solitary thoughts and evolves into communication.

  • Photography: Eloy Domínguez Serén
  • Sound: Ricardo Atienza, Niklas Billström, Johanna Byström, Sara Campanella
  • Editing: Eloy Domínguez Serén
  • Production: Eloy Domínguez Serén

Eloy Domínguez Serén

Eloy Domínguez Serén was born in 1985 in Simes (Galicia). He studied in Salamanca, Milano and Barcelona, where he graduated in 2010. Before debuting as a filmmaker he worked as a film critic for both radio and press, becoming a member of the Youth Jury at 67th Biennale di Venezia in 2010. In 2012 he immigrated to Sweden, where he made his short film Pettring. In 2014 he released two new projects, the short film I Den Nya Himlen (premiered at the Stockholm Film festival) and the medium-feature film Jet Lag (programmed at Fid Marseille, Seville European film festival, Doc's Kingdom and Lussas, among others). His film Ingen ko På Isen was premiered on April 2015 at Visions du Réel and programmed at Mar del Plata, Lussas, Seville or L'alternativa, among others, while his most recent work, the short film Yellow Brick Road, has been premiered at Jihlava international documentary film festival in October this year. He is currently working in the postproduction of Midvinter, a Norwegian production shot in the Arctic Circle.

Eloy Domínguez Serén

IRMÃOS
BROTHERS

irmãos

Pedro Magano, Portugal / 2015 / 71'41''

Hundreds of men and children walk aligned, through the roads and trails of São Miguel Island, in the Azores, a sacred place where nature and faith come together. Wearing shawls, scarves, a stick and a rosary, they pray for them, for their families and for anyone they meet on the road while collecting their prayers. Over one week and 300 km, it’s a journey of tears, joy and hope, a unique ritual of faith and sharing, honouring a tradition that started 500 years ago.

  • Photography: Pedro Magano
  • Sound: Pedro Adamastor
  • Editing: Ricardo Teixeira
  • Production: Liliana S. Lasprilla / Pixbee

Pedro Magano

Pedro Magano (1981, PT) is a director and DOP. He studied Audiovisual Communication in Porto, at Esmae, finishing his degree in 2007 and started his specialization as a DOP some years later. As a director of photography, he participated in the documentary "O Vício da Liberdade" (2011) and the film "Manuel António Pina – Um Sítio Onde Pousar a Cabeça", in 2012, both produced by Terra Liquida films and exhibited at RTP, in Portugal. In the field of Advertising, Pedro Magano was the cinematographer on the campaign "happiness is having friends around” by Coca-Cola, shot in 2011, in Japan. In 2014 he worked as a cinematographer on a RTP film about the centennial of the genocide in Armenia, “Artmenia”, sponsored by the Gulbenkian Foundation. As a director, he started with the short film "Today” (2007), winning the prize for Best Film at Avanca film festival, PT and from his portfolio also stands out the Web-documentary "Era Uma Vez no Iraq" about the bombing of Nasiriya, Iraq, in 2003, with the collaboration of Alfredo Cunha, one of the most prestigious Portuguese photographers. “Brothers”, his first feature documentary, is currently starting its run through the cinema festival circuit, and has won, so far, the Grand Prix and Best Editing prize at the 23rd Caminhos film festival in Portugal, 2015. Currently, Pedro is completing the filming of a new documentary, "Special – A Um Mar de Distância", supported by RTP, on location between Portugal and Canada, a project already selected at the Forum Lisbon Docs 2014 and in Eurodoc 2015.

Pedro Magano

THE IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE
LE CHOIX IMPOSSIBLE

the impossible choice

Patrick Séraudie, Portugal / France / 2015 / 52'

Portrait of the Portuguese community in the region of Limousin, The Impossible Choice strives to capture the variety and complexity of the situations, from the first generation arriving in France in the ‘1950s to their descendants, themselves also divided between two countries. Today, a new wave of emigrants, propelled by crisis, arrives in Limousin. Will it be facing the same difficulties as their predecessors? Will it resolve their problems the same way? A collection of testimonies, exchange of words between generations, The Impossible Choice questions the notions of identity and belonging to a territory. And shows how and why, even today, some leave their country, sometimes their families, to seek for a new history and new roots.

  • Photography: Frédéric Perlaux / Pedro Neves / Edmond Carrère
  • Sound: Philippe Ferrasse / Ricardo Leite / Richard Escola
  • Editing: Fabrice Audouin
  • Production: Patrick Séraudie / Pyramide Prodution, Pedro Neves / Red Desert

Patrick Séraudie

Patrick Séraudie was born in Brive-la-Gaillarde in 1960. He lives and works in the Limousin region. He made more than twenty documentaries within the Pyramide production company, which he founded in 1988 and ran until 2008. He also produced about sixty documentary films, including several first films. Participated at workshops Produire en Région from 1995 and Eurodoc in 1999. Was an alternate member of the CNC selective committee from 2005 to 2008, Member of the Documentaire commission in the Limousin region from 1998 to 2002 and member of Documentaire commission of the Midi - Pyrenees region from 2007. Since2008 his main focus has been on directing.

Patrick Séraudie

WOMEN IN SINK
WOMEN IN SINK

women in sink

Iris Zaki, UK / Israel / 2015 / 36'

In a hair-salon in Israel, owned by a Christian Arab, the director installs a camera over the washing-basin. As she washes their hair, she converses candidly with the Salon’s clients – who are Arabs and Jews - on topics ranging from politics to love. What emerges from these conversations is an honest and nuanced portrayal of contemporary Israel.

  • Photography: Iris Zaki / Ofir Peretz
  • Sound: L & F Studios London
  • Editing: Tal Cicurel, Iris Zaki
  • Production: Iris Zaki

Iris Zaki

After several years in the Israeli media industry, Iris moved to London in 2009 to study documentary filmmaking, and made her debut short film My Kosher Shifts. In 2013 she commenced a practice-based PhD in documentary practice which explores her innovative filmmaking technique, focusing on closed-communities. She is now working on her next film while teaching documentary at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Iris Zaki

A FESTA E OS CÃES
THE PARTY AND THE BARKING

a festa e os cães

Leonardo Mouramateus, Brazil / 2015 / 25'

At night time they join in a gang, as if they were a platoon deserting from the one same place, to this corner of neighbourhood in the suburbs of Fortaleza.

  • Photography: Juliane Peixoto / Leonardo Mouramateus
  • Sound: Pedro Diogenes, Erico Paiva
  • Editing: Luciana Vieira, Leonardo Mouramateus
  • Production: Leonardo Mouramateus, Ticiana Augusto Lima, Clara Bastos

Leonardo Mouramateus

Leonardo Mouramateus (b. 1991, Brazil) is a filmmaker. Directed about 10 shorts, presented and awarded in many Brazilian and international festivals. Mauro em Caiena (2012) won best short film at the 35th edition of Cinéma du Reél, Paris, and at the 11th doclisboa. Lição de Esqui (2013), co-directed with Samuel Brasileiro, won the awards for best screenplay and best short fiction at the 46th festival de Brasilia, and was presented at the indielisboa 14. In 2013 he was invited to install three of his short films at the 1st Fotobienal Masp in the museum of art of São Paulo - masp. In 2015, he won for the second time the short film award at Cinéma du Reél, with A Festa e os Cães (2015). História de Uma Pena (2015) had his world premiere at Festival del Film Locarno, in the session Leopards of Tomorrow. His films contribute as an object of research for many Brazilian theorists like Sylvia Beatriz Furtado and Denilson Lopes. Whilst studying for a Masters in Multimedia Art at Belas Artes University in Lisbon, he’s currently filming the project António Um, Dois, Três. He is a partner of the production company Praia à Noite.

Leonardo Moura Mateus

DISTRICT ZERO
DISTRICT ZERO

distric zero

Pablo Iraburu, Jorge Fernández Mayoral, Pablo Tosco, Spain / 2015 / 67'

What’s hidden inside the Smartphone of a refugee? It contains clues to a refugee’s memories, past, identity and some contacts from the world he had to flee from. This film narrates the daily life of a tiny mobile phone shop in one of the largest refugee camps in the world.

  • Photography: Pablo Iraburu / Jorge Fernández Mayoral
  • Sound: Miguel García
  • Editing: Jorge Fernández Mayoral, Miguel García
  • Production: Itziar García Zubiri, Oxfam & Echo / Arena Comunicación & txalap.art

Pablo Iraburu

Pablo Iraburu (Spain 02/22/69) founder and CEO of Arena Comunicación Audiovisual. He has devoted over 20 years to the production of documentaries. He has directed successful documentaries such as: “Nomadaktx”, “Pura Vida” and the latest, “Walls”.

Jorge Fernández Mayoral

Jorge Fernández Mayoral (Spain) director and editor, has worked on: "Nömadaktx", "To Shoot an Elephant", "What about Columbus," "Piztera" and "Se Llevaroon Todo”. Recently was subdirector in "Yasuni, Genocidio en la Selva" and "Amazonas Clandestino" for Discovery Max.

Pablo Tosco

Pablo Tosco (Spain), photojournalist and filmmaker, has been working since 2004 with Intermón Oxfam making the documentation for cooperation projects, development and humanitarian action in Africa, Latin America and Asia. He has published photographic and audiovisual stories in El País, El Mundo, La Vanguardia, BBC, TVE, Al Jazeera, The Guardian and Washington Post, among others.

FAR FROM THE SHORE
LEJOS DE LA ORILLA

far from the shore

Javier Sanz, Spain / 2015 / 60'

Mariama, Amadou, Abdoulaye and Rahisy have an objective in life and they look for the way to get it. “Lejos de la Orilla” is a documentary that shows the heroic and anonymous travel of people who struggle to achieve their dreams. They are able to stand up every time life hits them. It is a story of overcoming, love and dignity.

  • Photography: Gema Briones
  • Sound: Albert Ribas
  • Editing: Pau Luzón
  • Production: Javier Sanz
Javier Sanz

Javier Sanz

Javier Sanz (Zaragoza, Spain, 03/07/1983) moved to Barcelona to study film direction at the Escac. Along with his fellow classmates he co-directed a feature film, “Puzzle Love”, which participated in the San Sebastian international film festival and has been premiered in Russia an Brazil, as well as broadcast by Canal + Spain. He is a teacher in script writing and an advertising director for fashion brands mainly.

MY ENEMY, MY BROTHER
MY ENEMY, MY BROTHER

my enemy, my brother

Ann Shin, Canada / 2015 / 17'

Zahed and Najah are two former enemies from the Iran-Iraq war who become blood brothers for life. 25 years after one saves the other’s life on the battlefield, they meet again by sheer chance in Canada. Considering the recent coverage of the Middle East this emotional documentary story of Najah and Zahed is a surprising affirmation of humanity that cuts across political borders.

  • Photography: Brendan Uegama
  • Sound: Alex Bullick
  • Editing: Steve Guise
  • Production: Melanie Horkan / Nyt Opdocs, Fathom Film Group
Ann Shin

Ann Shin

Ann Shin (Vancouver, Canada 09/01/1975) is a multiple award-winning director, producer and principal of Fathom film group. With 19 years of experience, she has produced independent feature films, feature documentaries and delivered hundreds of hours of programming that have aired on CBC, TVO, CBC Newsworld, Discovery Channel, HGTV, History Channel, Slice. Her latest cross-platform project The Defector film and interactive was selected into 20 international film festivals, and was nominated for 6 awards, winning best documentary and best documentary director at the 2014 Canadian Screen Awards. The Defector interactive won the FITC award, the Canadian Digi award, and programmed at the SXSW interactive festival. She is currently working on several feature documentaries and cross-platform projects: 4 Fridges, Smart Drugs, and My Enemy, My Brother which was selected for the Arte France prize pitch at the 2014 Power to the Pixel Forum in London, England and was selected into the Tribeca film festival and Hotdocs film festival and will be given an Oscar campaign by the New York Times Opdocs.

AS CASAS NÃO MORREM
HOUSES DO NOT DIE

as casas não morrem

Pedro Macedo / Inês Fonseca Santos, Portugal / 2015 / 18'

Houses Do Not Die proposes a visit to a non-existent place in a non-existent time: the house where the poet Manuel António Pina lived during several decades of his life. After his death, that apartment, a 2nd floor in the center of Porto, locus solus of a man who, through literature, tried to get closer to silence, remained exactly like when the poet left it: with its books, its papers, its paintings... Pina could - and can - still be there. But he isn't. All that persist are remnants of his presence, of the being that once was.

  • Photography: Pedro Macedo
  • Sound: Tiago Inuit
  • Editing: Micael Espinha
  • Production: Framed Films
Pedro Macedo

Pedro Macedo

Pedro Macedo was born in Lisbon in 1977. He began his academic career at Escola Profissional de Imagem. Graduated in Cinematography at Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema. He was responsible for capturing the images in such shows as "No Sofá Vermelho" (SIC), "Sociedade de Belas Artes" (SIC Notícias) and "Pop Up" (RTP2). Directed the following television projects: "Laboratório" (SIC Notícias), "Tradições" (SIC Notícias), "Câmara Clara" (RTP 2) and "Entre Imagens" (RTP 2). Director of the documentary "Enxoval”, awarded at Festival Temp d’Images in 2013 with the prize for best Portuguese film about art. Founder of Framed Films in 2008. Pedro is currently active as a freelance director and director of photography.

Inês Fonseca Santos

Inês Fonseca Santos

Inês Fonseca Santos graduated in Cinematography at Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema. Directed the following television projects: Laboratório (SIC Notícias), Tradições (SIC Notícias), Câmara Clara (RTP 2) and Entre Imagens (RTP 2). She directed the documentary “Enxoval”, awarded at Festival Temp d’Images in 2013 with the prize for best Portuguese film about art. Founder of Framed Films in 2008.

#MY ESCAPE
MEINE FLUCH

my escape

Elke Sasse, Germany / 2016 / 90'

The documentary film #myescape assesses the journey that refugees from Afghanistan, Syria and Eritrea chose to undergo, as the circumstances in their home-countries became increasingly unlivable. Hundreds of thousands are leaving their countries, families and old lives behind, in search of some basic safety and freedom. In most cases, the mobile phone became a quintessential tool to facilitate the organization of one’s escape and the constant companion. This has led many to document their experiences.

  • Editing: Janine Dauterich
  • Production: Berlin Producers
Elke Sasse

Elke Sasse

Elke Sasse studied Literature at the Free University of Berlin before taking up work as a freelance author and journalist for the features, culture and political editing departments of the ORB and DLF radio broadcasting companies, followed by the ARD and ORB political television magazines. Since 1994 she has focused on longer documentaries and reports.

BEHEMOTH
BEI XI MO SHOU

behemoth

Zhao Liang, China / France / 2015 / 90'

In Mongolia’s grasslands, filmmaker Zhao Liang witnesses the signs of controversial upheaval due to an aggressive modern economy. Behemoth travels between documentary and narrative, stark truth and allegory, dream and reality. Filmed in breathtaking 4k by Zhao Liang himself, Behemoth is a feast of images, sounds and music, inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy. From the acclaimed director of Crime and Punishment (Festival des 3 Continents 2007 - best film) and Petition (Cannes Spécial screenings 2009).

  • Photography: Zhao Lang
  • Sound: Chen Yao, Hu Mengchu, Cao Rui, Li Guocheng
  • Editing: Fabrice Rouaud
  • Production: INA, Arte France
Zhao Liang

Zhao Liang

Born in northeastern China (Dandong, Liaoning province), Zhao Liang graduated from Luxun academy of fine arts in 1992. Based in Beijing since 1993, Zhao has been working as an independent documentary filmmaker as well as a multimedia artist in photography and video art. His works have been exhibited in the International Center of Photography (New York), Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), Haus der Kulturen der Welt (Berlin), Museo Reina Sofia (Madrid) and numerous other art galleries and museums around the world.

WRITING ON THE CITY
WRITING ON THE CITY

written on the city

Keywan Karimi, Iran / 2015 / 60'

Walls are critical sites. They rise with cities and call on faces, names, and the written word; those strong and those weak, slogans, poems, and anthems. We read the walls to discover the dwellers' dreams, who they believe its sovereign is, as well as those who believe in changing the status quo. We realize how dissatisfied people come out of their hiding places to write something on the wall in darkness, looking to the future, turning their back on the past. Walls remind us of constitutional and Islamic revolutions, reflecting the passion of freedom, or the suppressed anger of prisons, from Qasr to Evin. No wall, even if totally white, could be found without a trace of markers and sprays. Walls and writing never separate; this eternal promise is called writing on the city…

  • Photography: Arasto Madahi Givi
  • Editing: Farahnaz Sharifi
  • Production: Keywan Karimi
Keywan Karimi

Keywan Karimi

Keywan Karimi is an Iranian Kurdish filmmaker, born in 1985 in Baneh (Kurdistan, Iran). Bachelor of Arts in Communication Science from Tehran University, Faculty of Social Sciences, between 2003 and 2007.His profession is making documentary and fiction films, performing executive work for cinema and researching in the field of sociology. He made 13 short and long films that were awarded in 21 film festivals: Nonnative Labors in Tehran (2006), Conex Anti-earthquake (2006), City of Earthquake (2007), Man and Bucket (2009), White Dog of Security (2009), Broken Border (2012), The Adventure of a Married Couple (2013), Act (2013), Written on the City (2015).He was sentenced to 6 years in prison and 223 lashes. His latest documentary film Written on the City talks about wall painting and graffiti after the revolution.

ESPAÇO PUBLICO
PUBLIC SPACE

espaço público

Lucas Manarte, Portugal / 2015 / 28'36''

In the last few months, more than thirty electronic devices appeared unexpectedly in Lisbon’s central squares. According to recent media reports, these objects are meant to ‘promote the city and its inhabitants’. How so? And at what price?

  • Photography: André Fragoso
  • Sound: Upbeat Estúdios
  • Editing: Lucas Manarte, Bernardo Enes Dias
  • Production: Bernardo Enes Dias, Abel Ribeiro Chaves / Optec
Lucas Manarte

Lucas Manarte

Lucas Manarte was born in Lisbon in 1980. He studied harp at the National Music Conservatory. Completed a three-year Moving Image course at ar.co (Art and Visual Communication Centre, Lisbon).

TOUCH OF FREEDOM
DOTYK WOLNOSCI

touch of freedom

Sardar Arshad Khan, Poland / 2015 / 11'39''

Poland has a tradition of coal mining that has existed for more than 200 years. After the excruciating hard work inside the deep, dark, hot and claustrophobic environment of the coal mines, some of the miners return home every day to nurture a special hobby that makes us wonder about the journey they make every day to earn their living and also to nurture a special passion - they raise postal pigeons.
The film poetically observes and presents the dark contrast that exists in the two spaces that the miners traverse every day - the pitch black darkness of the mines and the open skies above the mines that the pigeons fly every day to keep fit. What does it say about the miners? What does it say about us as human beings?

  • Photography: Sardar Arshad Khan
  • Sound: Artur Walaszczyk
  • Editing: Sardar Arshad Khan, Cecylia Pacura
  • Production: Marcin Malatynski, Mateusz Kozak / Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Filmowa i Teatralna w Łodz
Sardar Arshad Khan

Sardar Arshad Khan

Born in India, Sardar Arshad is an architecture student dropout who has worked as a construction site supervisor, freelance assistant on documentaries and feature films. He was an advertising copywriter for almost a decade before deciding to get a film education from Lodz, Poland. Recently graduated from the Polish National Film School with a Masters’ in Cinematography.

SHEERIN OF AL-WALAJA
SHEERIN OF AL-WALAJA

sheerin of al-walaja

Daz Chandler, Australia / Palestine / 2015 / 27'

An intimate portrait of the day-to-day life of a dynamic popular resistance leader from Palestine who left her full-time job with the UN to return to her home village of al-Walaja and fight for its survival. Shot on location over a four-year-period, "Sheerin of al-Walaja" provides a refreshingly candid insight into just what it is that motivates someone to put their life on hold in favour of becoming a full-time activist.

  • Photography: Daz Chandler / David Rib
  • Sound: Adrian Bilinsky
  • Editing: Daz Chandler
  • Production: Daz Chandler / Origami Flight
Daz Chandler

Daz Chandler

Daz Chandler is an Australian-born filmmaker and video artist with a background in broadcast journalism and presenting for television and radio. Her work has been screened at international film festivals throughout Europe, the United States and Australia and shown in galleries in Australia, United States, Palestinian territories and Turkey. Daz’s main interest lies in material that challenges preconceived sociocultural and political notions and ideas and creates instances of social engagement, or points of connection between unlikely parties. She also enjoys developing projects that indulge her dark sense of humor and flirt with the surreal and unexpected. She currently lives in Sydney with a cheese-loving hound called "Ellroy".

SYMBOLIC THREATS
SYMBOLIC THREATS

symbolic threats

Mischa Leinkauf, Lutz Henke, Matthias Wermke, Germany / 2015 / 28'36''

Poetry or threat? An act of surrender or perhaps art? These were the theories that New York puzzled over last summer. How can one incident be interpreted in so many ways? By means of press reports, Symbolic Threats allow the public at large to express their extreme disparity of interpretation. Inspired by the heated debate over the two "white American flags“ that suddenly appeared on the towers of New York city’s iconic Brooklyn bridge, the film asks what kind of societal scope art has in the present day. What happens when threatened freedom reinstates art with the element of danger? Who or what makes it into a threat? Are we safe in the city? What is next?

  • Sound: Alexander Heinze
  • Editing: Mischa Leinkauf
  • Production: Mischa Leinkauf, Lutz Henke, Matthias Wermke / Wermke /Leinkauf
Mischa Leinkauf

Mischa Leinkauf, Lutz Henke, Matthias Wermke

Mischa Leinkauf, Lutz Henke and Matthias Wermke grew up in Berlin in the 1990swhen they learnt to value and utilize the city’s possibilities. A shared enthusiasm for repurposing urban spaces brought the three together early on. Nowadays, they still focus on the same questions and locations in their work, whether it be as ‘filmmaker‘, ‘curator‘, ‘cultural scientist’ or ‘fine artist‘. They create images and mindscapes, tell stories and dissect events – always in the hope of making the unseen visible and of exploring a place’s fixed meaning and potential use.

AMATEUR
AMATEUR

amateur

Olga Ramos, Portugal / 2015 / 124'

A film on Carlos Relvas (1838-1894) allowing us to place photography in its time and reflect on its role in the artistic and modernization processes of the XIX century. A pioneer of nineteenth century photography, Carlos Relvas was a man of culture and innovation, who left an impressive legacy of approximately 12,000 photographs. The majority of these have been carefully restored over the past few years and aren’t yet public knowledge. His “house-studio” in Golegã (also magnificently recovered) is a unique structure and recognized as a key element in the history of photography worldwide. This film will dwell in the photographers work, his relationship with the photographic image and will increase the importance of his work in the history of photography worldwide. The film will follow a plurality of ideas. Between past and present, not necessarily following a strict chronology, we will discover Relvas’ work. The negatives will guide us through time, showing us distant landscapes from all over Europe, pictures of animals, and human portraits. We will get closer and closer to a distant and enigmatic era, where photography was bringing new and mysterious possibilities.

  • Photography: Ricardo Rezende
  • Sound: Cyril Santos
  • Editing: Olga Ramos, Ricardo Rezende
  • Production: Pedro Canavilhas / B'lizzard
Olga Ramos

Olga Ramos

Olga Ramos (1967) graduated in Cinema at Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema (ESTC) in Lisbon. In 1994 Olga was granted a scholarship from Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation included on the European Program “Visions: directing documentary” tutored by Michael Rabiger, in Berlin, Prague and Amsterdam. From 1992 till 2011, Olga directed and edited several film documentary projects, video art installations and modern dance videos. One of her latest documentaries entitled “Hardly one who lives close to the origin abandons its place” features the artist and sculptor Alberto Carneiro and was selected for Doclisboa film festival.

THE GUARDIANS
THE GUARDIANS

the guardians

Benjamin Rost, Germany / 2015 / 26'

Three people with different backgrounds and anxieties are on their way to becoming a bodyguard. 53-year-old Konstantin, Robbe, 29, and the young mother Ana (18) are struggling with anxieties triggered by their past and they all have a good reason to become bodyguards. The documentary "the Guardians" accompanies them during their training toward that objective. A portrait on the quest for security.

  • Photography: Dominik Moos
  • Sound: Markus Rebholz
  • Editing: Robin Weiland
  • Production: Estella Suplit / Julia Deumling
Benjamin Rost

Benjamin Rost

Benjamin Rost studied film directing at Filmakademie Baden-Wurttemberg since 2013. After he graduated the Bavarian academy for television (BAF) in 2009 he worked as a director of documentary films. He directed a number of different documentaries for Bavarian Television. Additionally he worked as a freelancer and directed documentaries, shorts and Image films. Before Filmakademie Baden-Wurttemberg he studied philosophy in Munich. His films were screened at various festivals like Filmschau Baden-Württemberg, NeisseFilm festival, Beginning in St. Petersburg, Great Lakes International film Festival u.a.

RECOGNITION
HAKARA

recognition

Sharon Ryba-Kahn, Germany / 2015 / 86'

After an absence of 12 years, a filmmaker is returning to Israel in search for answers. Noga is a high school teenager who is eager to be accepted into the best unit of the Israeli army. Moran is a religious social worker who has chosen as a home town Sderot, which is under the threat of rockets. In this israeli-jewish town also lives Hanadi, a young Arab woman from the northern part of the country, fighting for her identity. Through an attempt to understand the choices of these women, the personal story of the filmmaker is revealed. From north to south, from past to present, the quest for answers creates an intimate portrait of women in a country at war.

  • Photography: Mark Dölling / Sharon Ryba-Kahn
  • Sound: Evyatar Aluk
  • Editing: Ofir Raul Graizer
  • Production: Mathias Schwerbrock / Film Base Berlin GmbH
Sharon Ryba-Kahn

Sharon Ryba-Kahn

The French-Israeli director was born in Munich in 1983. Sharon spent her first 14 years in Munich, before moving to Jerusalem in 1997. She moved to Israel after her mother was appointed the Middle East correspondent of Focus magazine. In 2001 she graduated from the French lycée in Jerusalem then went to Paris to study acting. She continued her theatre studies in New York City at the New Actor’s workshop under the direction of Mike Nichols (The Graduate) and George Morrison—whose students over the years included Gene Hackman and Stanley Tucci. While living in New York, Sharon started directing plays. After working as an actress and as a director in various theatre productions, she decided to continue her education at the New York Film Academy, where she studied Film Production. In 2007 Sharon moved to Berlin and began freelancing in the film industry as an a.d., casting director and actress. In 2009 while continuing to work, she started her academic studies and graduated with a master’s degree in Visual Anthropology in 2013. Nothing has impacted her as much as her time in Jerusalem. For this reason “Hakara,” her directorial debut, could not speak of anything else but the lives of the people there.

HOJE NÃO É ONTEM
TODAY IS NOT YESTERDAY

hoje não é ontem

José Costa Barbosa, Portugal / 2015 / 26'10''

The living memories of a dead village.
Iria returns to the deserted village to remember her lonely childhood.

José Costa Barbosa

José Costa Barbosa

José Carlos Barbosa graduated in Photography, Cinema, Video and Multimedia Communication and a master’s degree in Cinematography Studies. Coordinator of the online video section at Lisbon City Hall. He currently teaches Photography at Lusófona University. José has been a photographer for over 30 years with numerous works in documentary photography.

A MAN RETURNED
A MAN RETURNED

a man returned

Mahdi Fleifel , UK / 2016 / 30'

Reda is 26 years old. His dreams of escaping the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Helweh ended in failure after three years trapped in Greece. He returned with a heroin addiction to life in a camp being torn apart by internal strife and the encroachment of war from Syria. Against all odds he decides to marry his childhood sweetheart; a love story, bittersweet as the camp itself.

  • Photography: Mahdi Fleifel
  • Sound: Dario Swade
  • Editing: Michael Aaglund
  • Production: Patrick Campbell / Nakba FilmWorks
mahdi fleifel

Mahdi Fleifel

Mahdi Fleifel is a Danish/Palestinian filmmaker based in Amsterdam. He graduated from the UK National Film and Television School in 2009. His debut feature, ‘a World not Ours’ was widely acclaimed, earning over thirty awards including prizes at the Berlinale, the Edinburgh film festival and Doc NYC. His upcoming feature, ‘Men in the Sun’ is based on the themes and characters encountered while making his recent works, and is currently being developed with New Danish Screen.

THE BOERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
THE BOERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD

the boers at the end of the world

Richard Finn Gregory, South Africa / 2016 / 85'

In the remote Patagonian region of Argentina, the last remaining members of a 100-year-old community of Afrikaans Boers struggle to keep their language and culture alive, while longing to be reunited with their distant families across the ocean in South America. In a remote stretch of Patagonia, Argentina, there is a 100-year-old community that speaks Afrikaans - a language only spoken in South Africa. After the destruction of their farms caused by a war with the British, these Boers - descendants of Dutch settlers - sailed across the ocean to start a new life in 1902. The Boers headed into the arid heart of Patagonia where they found a land that reminded them of their distant home. Today, their children and grandchildren still endure in this harsh place. They speak archaic Afrikaans, cook traditional foods and sing the old folk songs. But despite their fierce pride in their roots, their culture has been eroded over time and only a few dozen of the oldest individuals still speak their mother tongue. They struggle to keep their culture alive but are resigned to the knowledge that they are the last generation to speak the language in the region, and they will be gone in a decade or two. It is a parallel world of contemporary Afrikaans society, separate from the apartheid policies that intervened in South Africa. The film focuses on a family, the Dickasons, who long to reconnect with their relatives. They travel back to Africa for the first time, exploring their sense of identity and connection with their roots.

  • Photography: Richard Finn Gregory
  • Sound: Daniel Eppel
  • Editing: Ronelle Loots / Richard Finn Gregory
  • Production: Kelly Scott / Good Work
Richard Finn Gregory

Richard Finn Gregory

Richard Finn Gregory is an award-winning South African director and cinematographer. He started working in film in 2001 as a narrative scriptwriter. He lived in Tokyo for a number of years, where he started working as a director of music videos. Upon returning to South Africa, he felt compelled to refocus on documentary filmmaking, which led to working on projects in Asia, Africa, South America and Europe. Much of his work has focused on social and environmental issues in the developing world. He was the last person to film Nelson Mandela in a private setting, as part of the 21 icons project. Richard holds a degree in Literature (University of Cape Town), attended film school in Barcelona (Escuela de Cine de Barcelona), and has a master’s degree in scriptwriting and film directing (AFDA). He is the founder of Good Work, a Cape Town-based documentary studio. His master’s thesis film, Crumbs: Toppling the Bread Cartel, screened at Encounters International Documentary Film Festival, amongst others, and was the opening film of the tri-continental Human Rights Film Festival.

MATERNAL HISTORIES
HISTOIRES MATERNELLES

histoires maternelles

Anouk Dominguez-Degen, Switzerland / 2015 / 27'6''

"Maternal Histories" is an inward journey based on the author's family film archive. The film explores intimacy, words and silence, and inspects the various shades of the so-called (maternal instinct). The author questions the implicit inheritance which passes down from generation to generation and the conflicting desires that haunt her as a woman and a mother.

  • Photography: Maurice Degen / Anouk Dominguez-Degen
  • Sound: Rudy Deceliere
  • Editing: Anouk Dominguez-Degen
  • Production: Benjamin Poumey / C-Side Productions
Anouk Dominguez-Degen

Anouk Dominguez-Degen

Anouk Dominguez-Degen was born in 1980 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She holds Swiss and Brazilian nationalities. In 2002, she got a diploma in television directing and production LTV, Ecuador. From 2003 to 2007, completed her studies in Cinema at HEAD (former ESBA), School of Art and Design of Genève; in 2007 became a graduate in visual arts and cinema orientation. In 2012, Anouk got a scholarship and worked as "personal assistant" on the Brazilian feature-length film “Depois da Chuva", shot in Salvador of Bahia, Brazil. In 2013, participated at the Berlinale Talent Campus #11 as a director. Currently lives and works in Geneva in the fields of direction and audiovisual post-production and, from time to time, on the mandates in Brazil.

VOLTA À TERRA
(BE)LONGING

volta à terra

João Pedro Plácido, Portugal / 2014 / 78'

At Uz, an isolated hamlet in the northern mountains of Portugal, four generations live together in a group of around fifty people. When life is rough, solidarity is of the highest order. Everything else is left in God’s hands. They could have emigrated, like so many others, but chose to stay and keep their ancestral way of life, away from the racket of modernity.

  • Photography: João Pedro Plácido
  • Sound: Vasco Pimentel
  • Editing: Pedro Marques
  • Production: Luís Urbano, Sandro Aguilar / O Som e a Fúria, Joëlle Bertossa/ Close Up Films, Nora Philippe / Les Films de l’Air
João Pedro Plácido

João Pedro Plácido

João Pedro Plácido, Born in Lisbon in 1979. He began shooting music videos at age 19 and later studied film in the ESTC (Lisbon) and at the Hochschule für Film und Fernsehn (Babelsberg). It is fluent in five languages and since 2000 has worked all over the world, first as image assistant and later as director of photography. His work has been recognized with national and international awards. (Be)Longing is his first film.

FUI, COMO ERVAS, E NÃO ME ARRANCARAM
FUI, COMO ERVAS, E NÃO ME ARRANCARAM

fui como ervas e não me arrancaram

Rúben gonçalves, Portugal / 2014

Emigrated in France for 24 years, José Bento Garelha spent most of that time at work, driven by the prospect of returning to Portugal, his home country. Currently serving as President of the Paderne Parish Council, a daily life characterized by a strong connection to the community to which it belongs.

  • Photography: Adriana Carvalho
  • Sound: Inês Adriana
  • Editing: Rúben gonçalves

VISITA
VISITA

visita

Rui Esperança, Portugal / 2014

In an aging village, a mother is visited by her immigrant son.

  • Photography: Ana Mariz
  • Sound: Luís Ferraz
  • Editing: Rúben gonçalves

TERRAS DE QUEM SOU
TERRAS DE QUEM SOU

terras de quem sou

Flávio Ferreira, Portugal / 2014

We find José doing his everyday tasks. He tells us a story of yesteryear. And then another, and another. In the arms of the large family born from this story, through fields and roads, José guides us by memories of prison cells, land and borders.

  • Photography: Joana Oliveira
  • Sound: Cátia Oliveira
  • Editing: Flávio Ferreira

A REVOLUÇÃO NO CAMINHO
A REVOLUÇÃO NO CAMINHO

a revolução no caminho

Artur Maurício, Portugal / 2014

Rui Táboas emigrated to France to escape the colonial war. And fate determined that he would be one of the protagonists of the 25 th of April Revolution in 1974.

  • Photography: André Abreu
  • Sound: Bernardo Ramos
  • Editing: Miguel Arieira

OS OLHOS DE ANDRÉ
OS OLHOS DE ANDRÉ

os olhos de andré

António Borges Correia, Portugal / 2015 / 65'

Following the look developed by António Borges Correia - the molds of the documentary (“O Lar", exhibited at IndieLisboa 2008) to re-create fictional stories (“O Gesto", 2011) -, the landscape of Arcos de Valdevez in Portugal is the setting for the recreation, with the same people, of a true story. There, a father tries to rebuild his life after a separation, to welcome his son Andre and reunite a family. Through the eye of António Borges Correia and the perspective of the camera, its actors (the people who lived in the same roles, the same story), follow the suggestions that a new fiction creates from what has already been lived, introducing us, through cinema, to a real life in a real country. But are the bright eyes of young André that meet his major focus: what he has lost in his family, his desire to see his talent for professional football recognized, and what he hides, from his many family figures, in those young eyes.

  • Photography: Miguel Robalo
  • Sound: Marcos Cosmos
  • Editing: Tomás Baltazar
  • Production: João Figueiras / Blackmaria
António Borges Correia

António Borges Correia

Born in 1966. After a brief period on Radio and the Press, starts his studies on Cinema at the Theater and Cinema Superior School in 1989, choosing the filmmaking area. In 1992 he works as the second Director ́s Assistant on the film of Manoel de Oliveira “A Caixa" and concludes one of the final exercises of his course. In 1998 he gets a subsidy from ICA for his first short film “Flying Away” (Golpe de Asa) which gets to Locarno, Clermont-Ferrand and Vila do Conde. He continues on short films for a long period until he finally centers on a very personal and deep concept of doing documentaries to the point of letting himself be invaded by fiction. Then comes “Endgame” (O Lar) thought 20 years before and concluded in 2007. Its premiere is in Paris, at Pompidou Centre (Cinéma du Réel) and it goes to some international cinema festivals. After that, a project on war veterans is carried out and in 2010 he produces and directs “Delivery” (Parto) with characters performing their own roles and where he risks to the limit the fusion between documentary and fiction (Premiere at DocLisboa and it is chosen to the BAFICI in Buenos Aires and for the CineB in Chile). He continues to explore this manner during the following year with “Sign” (Gesto), a film about a young deaf, who aims to be a film director.
Awarded in IndieLisboa 2015, André’s Eyes (Os Olhos de André) closes a cycle that began in 2007. This film still travelling by festivals: Quebec, Gijón, Hong Kong

MULLERES DA RAIA
WOMEN FROM THE BORDER

mulleres da raia

Diana Gonçalves, Spain / 2009 / 42'

A journey to the northern Portuguese and Galician frontiers carries us to our recent past, the local smuggling and clandestine emigration were regular practices on these lands, thanks to the proximity of the neighbour country.
This commercial exchange between both people bordering the Minho river created a big friendship and a shared story.

  • Photography: Diana Gonçalves
  • Sound: Miguel Barbosa
  • Production: Diana Gonçalves
diana goncalves

Diana Gonçalves

Diana was born in Tui in 1986. Graduate in Audiovisual Communication from the University of Vigo (2008). Master’s degree in Communication and Creative Industries at the University of Santiago de Compostela (2013).
In 2009 she produces and performs her first documentary "Mulheres da Raia" which has received several awards in various national and international festivals. Later, she worked as a director at the production company Audiovisual Portico. In the field of production she works for the Galician Agency for Cultural Industries (AGADIC) in the organization of several meetings for the CREATIVE program, promoting multidisciplinary cultural exchange between Spain and Portugal.
Diana works at Cinemar Films, a film and sound post-production studio present in international markets. In 2010, she coordinated the documentary retrospective Carlos Velo: Olhar ao Marge, as a programmer of FILMINHO (Galician and Portuguese Film Festival). At the same time, she promoted and developed a number of itinerant workshops in several schools in Galicia and northern Portugal. Between 2009 and 2013, she was a member of documentary lab "O Retrato Filmado" directed by Marta Andreu. She’s currently working on the post-production of "Palmira", the result of five portraits developed in the years of laboratory and as a communication and marketing professional in the business world.

ÁGUAS PASSADAS
PAST WATERS

águas passadas

Ana Costa, Portugal / 2016 / 20'

Avelino and Amélia remember the early days of Contraband. They both made their living thanks to the border, but played completely opposite roles: he was a fiscal guard, she was a smuggler. In this "game of cat and mouse" we find something bigger that unites these two eternal antagonists.

  • Photography: Sara Santos
  • Sound: Jorge H. Carrilho
  • Editing: Sara Santos

FRONTEIRA(S)
BORDER(S)

fronteiras

Sérgio Miguel Silva, Portugal / 2016 / 15'

There was a time when between Portugal and Spain existed a whole underground economy of contraband, a time where good and evil were not defined by a border, a time that left the memories of border people like Mr. Amadeu Pereira, who tells us how Melgaço used to be.

  • Photography: Adriana de Melo
  • Sound: Mariana Vasconcelos
  • Editing: Sérgio Miguel Silva

NOITE LONGA
A LONG NIGHT

noite longa

Ivan Markelov, Portugal / 2016 / 10'

The film explores the memories of an old school smuggler who spent his youth crossing the river Minho that divides Portugal and Spain time and time again. One of his most vivid memories brings us to the tragic moment of the death of his friend.

  • Photography: Bibiana Nunes
  • Sound: Daniel Ferreira Lopes
  • Editing: Ivan Markelov

PARA ALÉM DA FRONTEIRA
BEYOND THE BORDER

para alem da fronteira

José Santos, Portugal / 2016 / 17'

Maria Emilia, a former smuggler, unveils the scare she escaped from thanks to a fiscal guard. For fifteen years, even while pregnant, Emilia crossed the border between Portugal and Spain, smuggling foodstuffs for subsistence, to sell in her café and door-to-door.
Over time, after the smuggling Emilia’s life adapted to the new reality. The danger was over, giving way to tranquility. Only the memories remain of smuggling that, from time to time, comes to mind while working in the fields.
Smuggling is revised on a journey as a memory exploited by its own words and unexpected reunions that result from unexpected encounters.

  • Photography: Fernando Bento / José Santos
  • Sound: Carlos Neves