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| 5:30pm |
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The Veil of Berta (US Premiere)
Director: Esteban Larrain
Documentary. 2004. Chile. 73 min. Spanish, subtitled. |
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In the mountains in the south of Chile, the multinational enterprise
Endesa is developing the "Ralco" project, building a
gigantic dam that will stop the flow of the Bio-Bio River, and
flood the land where the native Pehuenche community, Ralco Lepoy
have lived for centuries.
In spite of the public support of the Chilean government, the
company is opposed from the start by the strong resistance of
a small group of elderly Pehuenche women. After years of actively
resisting the project, by 2002 these are the only families that
the company has failed to evict.
The Veil of Berta is a delicate narration of the story of one
of these women, Berta Quintremán, who at the age of 88
leads the last group opposing the construction of the dam. A woman
with a strong personality and a unique blend of humor and energy,
Berta lives alone on her small piece of land, and observes all
the traditions of her people. On a daily basis, she greets the
trees and the sun, takes mate (a typical herbal tea) with her
dead and says her prayers. But at the same time she confronts
the authorities of Endesa and the government, manages to halt
the machinery and works together with other families to prevent
the flooding of their land.
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| 7pm |
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Compadre (US Premiere)
Director: Mikael Wiström
Documentary. 2004. Sweden. 86 min. Spanish and Swedish, subtitled. |
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Compadre is a documentary about the destiny of a Latin
American family over a period of thirty years.
Its focus is on the strong character of the disabled father,
Daniel. Together with Nati, the love of his life, and their newly-born
daughter Sandra, he begins family life working on a garbage heap
in Lima, Peru, in the seventies. That is where they meet the director
of the film and make him the godfather of their child.
Since then, the lives of the director and of the family have
been deeply related in friendship and conflicts over those thirty
years. Compadre addresses the conditions of love and
friendship in a world torn by poverty and inequality.
The film is an independent continuation of the feature length
documentary The Other Shore (1992).
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Compadre is preceded by:
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Porter (Solo Un Cargador)
Director: Juan Alejandro Ramirez
Documentary. 2003. Peru. 20 min. Spanish, subtitled. |
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What does a simple porter dream about? Solo un Cargador
is not a documentary but a spoken meditation. In voice-over narration,
an anonymous Peruvian porter expresses his thoughts on his condition
and his impossible dreams. While hauling foreign travellers’
gear through the mountains, the porter’s thoughts wander towards
the desire for a better life, beyond material ambition.
Deprived of hatred, his voice bears the silent disillusion of
the destitute, living in a world that will never be fair. Far
from giving in to the pressures of his harsh living conditions,
he maintains a sense of irony throughout his troubling, intimate
revelations.
His terse narration evokes an ageless longing for justice and
redemption. A film with a human face and an illustration of the
life of the cargadores in Peru.
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| 9pm |
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Seoul Train
Directors: Jim Butterworth, Aaron Lubarsky, & Lisa Sleeth
Documentary. 2004. USA. 54 min. Korean, subtitled. |
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With its riveting footage of a secretive “underground railroad,”
Seoul Train is a gripping documentary exposé into
the life and death of North Koreans as they try to escape their
homeland and China.
Seoul Train also delves into the complex geopolitics
behind this growing and potentially explosive humanitarian crisis.
By combining verité footage, personal stories and interviews
with experts and government officials, Seoul Train depicts
the flouting of international laws by major countries, the inaction
and bureaucracy of the United Nations, and the heroics of activists
that put themselves in harm’s way to save the refugees.
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Seoul Train is preceded by:
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Singapore Rebel (World
Premiere)
Director: Martyn See Tong Ming
Documentary. 2005. Singapore. 26 min. English. |
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The film has just been withdrawn from the Singapore International
Film Festival because of government censorship. We are proud to
host the World Premiere and to support freedom of expression for
artists worldwide.
Often cited as the economic miracle of the Far East, Singapore
looks every bit like the paragon of the rich Asian nation. Beneath
its gleaming façade, however, lies a citizenry that has
been governed by the same political party for 46 years.
No act inspires more fear and foreboding in Singaporean society
than an open confrontation with its government. Yet, one citizen
has taken it upon himself to do just that. Singapore Rebel
chronicles the tribulations of opposition activist Dr. Chee Soon
Juan from his initial overcoming of fear to his acts of civil
disobedience.
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