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Subject: UNHCR & ICRC Film Showcase - War and Flight. 9 - 11 Dec 2005
From: "Yante Ismail" <ISMAILY@...>
Date: Thu, December 1, 2005 4:04 pm
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UNHCR and ICRC proudly present our inaugural Film Showcase: "War and
Flight: The Need For Humanitarian Action".
Date: 9 - 11 December 2005
Venue: Asia Europe Institute, University Malaya
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ADMISSION IS FREE. ALL ARE WELCOMED.
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For further information, contact Yante Ismail, at tel: 013 352 6286
or email: ismaily@...

The Film Showcase will bring to you films of war, and the horrific
impact it has on society, but it will also highlight the humanity
behind it - the survivors who move on with courage, strength, love
and hope to rebuild their lives, under adverse circumstances and
frequently in new and foreign lands.

We will showcase a range of critically acclaimed and award-winning
feature films like Hotel Rwanda, The Killing Fields and Molly and
Mobarak, coupled with feature-length docu-dramas and various short
films on war and flight, highlighting various facets of this issue
such as the impact of war on women, children talking about living as
refugees, the humanitarian work in action and ultimately, inspiring
tales of humankind's sheer will to survive.

Noteworthy are the two afternoon screenings on 10 and 11 Dec, where
ICRC and UNHCR will moderate discussions on the issues raised in the
films. This Film Showcase is held in conjunction with Human Rights
Day 2005, and with the support of the Asia Europe Institute,
University of Malaya.

Schedule
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Friday, 9 December 2005 Opening Showcase

8. 30pm - Hotel Rwanda

10. 40pm - Refreshments and performances
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Saturday, 10 December 2005 Morning screening

11. 00am - Women Facing War - Palestine

11. 05am - To Be A Refugee

11. 10am - Children of Ibdaa

Afternoon screening

2. 00pm - The Killing Fields

5. 00pm - Moderated discussion with ICRC & Refreshments

Evening screening

8. 30pm - Women facing war - Yugoslavia

8. 35pm - Refugee Women - Don't Look Back

8. 40pm - Molly and Mobarak

10. 00pm - Refreshments
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Sunday, 11 December 2005 Morning screening

11. 00am - Women Facing War - Afghanistan

11. 05am - The Boy Who Played on the Bhuddas of Bamiyan

Afternoon screening

2. 00pm - A Safe Place

2. 10pm - Carly

2. 15pm - The Lost Boys of Sudan

3. 45pm - Moderated discussion with UNHCR and a refugee

Evening screening

8. 30pm - War and Dignity

8. 35pm - Marooned in Iraq

10. 00pm - Refreshments
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Film Synopsis
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Hotel Rwanda (2004) Running time: 121 mins. Director: Terry George

Based on a true story, the film depicts the heroic actions of Paul
Rusesabagina, who risked his life to save over a thousand Tutsis and
Hutus marked for death during the Rwandan massacre

This wrenching political thriller, based on fact, performs the
valuable service of lending a human face to an upheaval so savage it
seemed beyond the realm of imagination when news of it filtered into
the West. Its vision of the slaughter of 800,000 Tutsis by the ruling
Hutu tribe in Rwanda during a hundred-day bloodbath in 1994, offers a
devastating picture of media-driven mass murder left unchecked. The
story is based on the real-life experiences of Paul Rusesabagina
(Oscar nominee Don Cheadle), the soft-spoken Hutu manager of the
Hotel Des Mille Collines, in Kigali, who with his Tutsi wife, Tatiana
(Sophie Okonedo), and children, narrowly escapes death several times.
Mr. Rusesabagina was directly responsible for saving the lives of
more than 1,200 Tutsis and Hutu moderates by sheltering them in the
hotel and bribing the Hutu military to spare them. A small, honest,
emotionally complex film, Hotel Rwanda simultaneously destroys and
reaffirms your belief in the intrinsic goodness of man.

Awards include the 2004 AGF People's Choice Award & 2004 AFI Fest
Audience Award, and numerous nominations including Best Screenplay at
the 2005 Academy Awards.

Women Facing War (2001) Running time: 3mins each. ICRC

These short films portray three women in different conflict-scarred
lands, and their stories of astonishing resourcefulness and
resilience in coping with the disintegration of their families, the
loss of their home and belongings, and the destruction of their
lives. 1. Gaza, Palestinian Territories Zakiya supports herself and
her seven children in the absence of her detained husband. 2.
Belgrade, Former Republic of Yugoslavia Olja describes her feelings
on learning finally of her missing husband's death. 3. Afghanistan
Nasrin, a widow and mother, explains how medical care has helped her
regain mobility after a mine accident.

To Be A Refugee (1998) Running time: 15 mins UNHCR

Refugee children share vivid descriptions of the pain and isolation
of being refugees, and their hopes for normal lives. They recount
their stories of war and flight and what it's like "To Be A Refugee."

Children of Ibdaa (2002) Running time: 30min Director: S. Smith Patrick

CHILDREN OF IDBAA: To Create Something Out of Nothing is about the
lives of several adolescents in a Palestinian children's dance troupe
from Dheisheh refugee camp in the West Bank. They use their
performance to express the history, struggle, and aspirations of the
Palestinian people, specifically the fight to return to their
homeland. Through interviews and documentation of the children, the
video offers insight into their families' displacement from their
villages in historical Palestine, the physically and emotionally
stressful aspects of life in a refugee camp, and the unique
experience of participating in the politically motivated dance
troupe. The story culminates in a visit by the children for the first
time to demolished villages from which their grandparents were
expelled in 1948.

No other film exists about these unique adolescents and their
creative, conscientious, and peaceful contribution to the
international dialogue that shapes their lives. Through their
performance, the members of Ibdaa bring the perspective of
Palestinians to the attention of the Western communities that they
visit. Ibdaa's use of traditional debke dance perpetrates the
Palestinian culture while they creatively and non-violently address a
brutal political reality.

Awards include the 2003 Golden Gate Awards - Best Documentary Short

The Killing Fields (1984) Running time: 142mins Director: Roland Joffe

The Killing Fields is an unforgettable, epic film based upon a true
story of friendship, loyalty, the horrors of war and survival, while
following the historical events surrounding the US evacuation from
Vietnam in 1975.

American newspaper correspondent, New York Times reporter Sydney
Schanberg is covering the secret US bombing campaign in Cambodia.
After having persuaded his Cambodian assistant, friend and
interpreter, Dith Pran to remain behind with him to help cover the
story after the communist Khmer Rouge takeover and withdrawal of US
military forces, Schanberg unintentionally betrays his aide by
miscalculating the situation. They are separated and Pran is forced
to remain when Schanberg and other American journalists and
Westerners evacuate to escape a life-threatening situation in
occupied-Cambodia during the fall of Phnom Penh in 1975.

The film chronicles scenes of suffering endured during the Cambodian
bloodbath (known as "Year Zero") that killed 3 million Cambodians,
when the courageous and indomitable Dith Pran endures the atrocities
of the Pol Pot regime and is captured by the communist Khmer Rouge
and punished for befriending the Americans. His struggle to stay
alive in the rural, barbaric 're-education' labor camp, his two
escape attempts from his captors, and his horrifying walk through the
skeletal remains of the brutal massacres in the Valley of Death, the
muddy "killing fields," all present potent apocalyptic images on his
journey to Thailand. The Killing Fields is not an easy movie, but it
is a very fine one.

Awards include 3 Oscars at the 1984 Academy Awards: Best Supporting
Actor (Haing S. Ngor), Best Cinematography (Chris Menges), and Best
Film Editing (Jim Clark).

Molly and Mubarak (2003) Running time: 85mins Director: Tom Zubrycki

This touching and heartbreaking film is in part a love story, with a
complicated dynamic of feelings expressed and withheld, of needs met
and unmet. It's a story of loss, on many levels.

Mobarak Tahiri, an Afghan refugee from a persecuted minority group
called Hazara, an arrived in Australia by boat and granted a
temporary protection visa. He came to the small town of Young as a
result of a decision by an enterprising abattoir manager to recruit
Afghan asylum seekers. He meets Lyne Rule and her daughter Molly who
welcome him into their family. Mobarak embraces their welcome, and
soon strong feelings develop between Molly and Mobarak.

Against Molly and Mobarak's burgeoning relationship emerges a picture
of a town divided. The Bali bombing and a heightened fear of
terrorism cause racism to resurge.

Mobarak wants to pursue his friendship with Molly, but, although
there are ambivalent aspects to her feelings, this is more than she
wants. This is a sentimental education of a particularly poignant
kind. Mobarak has to work out how to manage this rejection.

He's in limbo, separated from his family in Afghanistan, unable to
establish the relationship he hopes for, feeling increasingly
distanced from his fellow-Afghanis, and desperately unsure of his
future in Australia. And there is no comforting pay-off at the end.
Mobarak's temporary protection visa has run out, we are told: he is
waiting for the result of his appeal to remain in Australia.

The Boy Who Plays on the Buddhas of Bamiyan (2004) Running time:
96mins Director: Phil Grabsky

Effervescent eight-year-old Mir lives in the ruins of the 1600 year
old Buddhas of Bamiyan which were so ruthlessly destroyed by the
Taliban in Afghanistan in March 2001. Filmed over the course of a
year against the dramatic backdrop of Bamiyan, the filmmaker captures
the hardship of life for the refugees in this war- torn land.

Mir is the main character in this feature film. He is fun, cheeky,
inquisitive, energetic and bright. He also lives in a cave and owns
virtually nothing - though to him this is normal; it is all he's known.

The film is about Mir's life through three seasons: Summer, Winter,
Spring. In post-Taliban Afghanistan, though much has changed and is
changing, there is no guarantee that Mir will survive life in a cave
- the sickness, dirt, dust, lack of water and lack of food. Yet his
engaging story is not one of gloom and doom but that of a normal
child who takes life as it comes and finds entertainment wherever he
can. His playground is the rubble and tunnels of the destroyed
Buddhas of Bamiyan, the shelled and burnt-out town bazaar, the
orchard of the local militia. Through his eyes we see the destruction
of the town, the ever-present militarization and the welcomed but
watched presence of the Americans. Mir has no clue what it is all
about but he knows how to have fun.

Acclaimed at international festivals, audiences have responded to the
charm of this child, a spark of hope in a dark part of the world.
Accolades include Winner of the Valladolid International Film
Festival, Award Winner of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival,
Winner of the Chicago Golden Hugo and Special Award Winner of the
Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

A Safe Place (2004) Running time: 16mins Show Racism the Red Card

This film is an initiative of "Show Racism the Red Card", a campaign
that users top footballers to combat racism, including racism towards
asylum seekers. This film provokes viewers to confront the prejudices
they hold towards refugees.

The video features young asylum seekers talking about their
experiences of seeking asylum in the UK Also featured on the video
are Gary Lineker, Thierry Henry, Shaka Hislop, Lomana Lua Lua, David
James, Shola Ameobi, Sven Goran Eriksson and Ashley Cole. The film
deconstructs the myths about refugees and help bridge the gap of
understanding between refugees and local communities.

Carly (1999) Running time: 7mins UNHCR

This animated film features a young girl, Carly who flees from her
burning home. All alone, she sets out to find help in other lands.
She encounters the Stone-eaters, Smoky-crows and Silk-tails. But none
of them will help her because she is "strange and different from
them". Where will Carly find the safety and warmth of a new family?

Carly is an educational tool for children aged 5 - 8 designed to
tackle themes such as cultural differences and exile.

Lost Boys of Sudan (2003) Running time: 87mins Directors: Megan Mylan
& Jon Shrenk

Lost Boys of Sudan is a feature-length documentary that follows two
Sudanese refugees on an extraordinary journey from Africa to America.
Orphaned as young boys in one of Africa's cruelest civil wars, Peter
Dut and Santino Chuor survived lion attacks and militia gunfire to
reach a refugee camp in Kenya along with thousands of other children.
From there, remarkably, they were chosen to come to America. Safe at
last from physical danger and hunger, a world away from home, they
dream of Paradise, but instead find themselves confronted with the
abundance and alienation of contemporary American suburbia.

It is through their eyes that the film communicates both an idea of
what Sudan is like in their memories of home, the differences between
the lives they led in Africa and their new lives in the United
States, and the simple homesickness and frustration that comes with
being transplanted to a totally foreign country. In the end, what
comes through is their determination to succeed, adapt, and build a
strong foundation in their new country, while never forgetting the
people they left behind.

Lost Boys of Sudan won an Independent Spirit Award and screened
theatrically in 70 cities across the U.S. to strong audience and
critical praise. The film was broadcast nationally on the PBS series
POV in the fall of 2004.

War and Dignity (1993) Running time: 9mins ICRC

Soldiers from various countries and different cultural backgrounds
talk about international humanitarian law, its universality and
implementation, particularly in connection with their own experiences
in combat. 9mins

Marooned in Iraq (2002) Running time: 100mins Director: Bahman Ghobadi

With humour and hope, this Kurdish-Iranian film features a nation of
wanderers who, despite the ravages of war, embrace life and celebrate
it with their music. An elderly Iranian Kurdish man, along with his
two musician sons, cross into Iraq during Saddam's destruction of the
Kurds in the wake of the Iran-Iraq war, in search of the woman who
abandoned him years ago. It ends inconclusively but illustrates the
plight of Iraq's Kurds during the Iran-Iraq war.

The story takes place in the late 1980s in the Kurdish area
straddling Iran and Iraq. With two wild and crazy sons Barat and
Audeh in tow, the jilted Mirza sets out to find his runaway wife.
He's taken long enough. To be exact it's been a total of 23 years
since his wife Hanareh left Mirza for his best friend Seyed. Now he
has heard through the grapevine that she may be in danger in the
Iraqi Kurdistan. So off he goes to track her down in Iraq and keep
alive his glimmer of hope they can reunite.

And thus begins the hilarious and colourful trek of sometimes
dangerous situations, and peppered with characters make up the
unforgettable denizens of the barren mountains. As in his previous
films, this Kurdish director is again focusing on the oppression of
his people. The film ends inconclusively, but illustrates the plight
of Iraq's Kurds during the Iran-Iraq war.

Awards received include the International Jury Award at the 2002 Sao
Paolo International Film Festival and the Golden Plaque at the 2002
Chicago International Film Festival.

Yante Ismail External Relations Officer United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees

570, Jalan Bukit Petaling 50460 Kuala Lumpur Tel: (603) 2141 1322 ext
303 Fax: (603) 2141 1780 Mobile phone: (6) 013 352 6286 Email:
ismaily@... Website: www.unhcr.org

Yante Ismail External Relations Officer United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees

570, Jalan Bukit Petaling 50460 Kuala Lumpur Tel: (603) 2141 1322 ext
303 Fax: (603) 2141 1780 Mobile phone: (6) 013 352 6286 Email:
ismaily@... Website: www.unhcr.org