Global Lens Film Series

Presented by MIFF. From Sep 16th through Sep 24th, 2006The Miami International Film Festival (MIFF) unites efforts with the Global Film Initiative to bring the Global Lens Film Series to Miami this September. This event is showcased every year in different cities through the Unites States and it promotes cross-cultural understanding through the medium of cinema. This year the festival will be hosted at the Tower Theater in Little Havana and it invites audiences to immerse in the reality of several cultures seen from the perspective of independent cinema. Festival’s films screenings will be presented in the following order: Sep 19th, 21st and 24th, 2006. Almost Brothers. (Quase Dois Irmãos). A film by Lucía Murat. Brazil, 2004, 102 min. This poignant film is the story of two men: white, middleclass Miguel, and a black favela-dweller Jorge who meet as boys through their fathers’ passion for music. Their friendship is renewed during a lengthy incarceration in the mid 1970’s. Director Lúcia Murat offers a commentary on the lowest rung of society in contemporary Rio de Janeiro when, as adults, Miguel and Jorge, one a government official and the other a drug lord, respectively, discover that their lives have more in common than they ever realized. Sep 16th, 20th and 22nd, 2006. Border Café (Café Transit). A film by Kambozia Partovi. Iran, 2005, 105 min.In a village near Iran’s border with Turkey, Rehan, a young woman with two children, faces a difficult choice when her husband dies. Instead of agreeing to marry her brother-in-law, as required by traditional law, she chooses to support her family by re-opening her late husband’s restaurant. Kambozia Partovi represents Reyhan’s struggle for self-sufficiency in a rigidly traditional environment as all too real, when she is locked out of her café, is unable to inherit wealth, and is continuously pressured to move into her brother-in-law’s home and become his second wife. Sept 17th and 22nd, 2006. Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures. (Cinema, Aspirinas e Urubus). A film by Marcelo Gomes. Brazil, 2005, 99 min. In 1942 in the middle of Northeastern Brazil, two very different men meet along the road: Johan, an aspirin salesman avoiding the German draft, and Ranulpho, a rural Brazilian seeking escape from the drought. Although their personalities and lives are worlds apart, the two men develop a deep friendship, as Johan, in an effort to provide Ranulpho with job skills, teaches Ranulpho to run the film projector, and drive a truck. In this deliberately-paced road film, Marcelo Gomes reminds us that war is as close as Johan’s radio, broadcasting its relentless warnings that all lives are changed when the world is in conflict. Sep 20th and 23rd, 2006. In The Battlefields. (Dans les Champs de Bataille – Maarek Hob). A film by Danielle Arbid. Lebanon, 2004, 90 min. Daughter of self-destructive parents, Lina, 12, doesn’t show much interest in the war taking place around her in 1980’s Beirut. Instead, Siham, her aunt’s beautiful adolescent maid, is the focal point of her rebellious and neglected childhood. As the basis for the girls’ relationship shifts, issues of loyalty and power set off a series of events, which isolate Lina even more. Unlike films in which the violence of an urban war zone motivate a family to strengthen their ties, in this film, director Danielle Arbid depicts, instead, relationships that are shattered by passion, reprisal and guilt. Sept 18th and 23rd, 2006. Max and Mona. A film by Teddy Mattera. South Africa, 2004, 98 min. Traditional beliefs say that the souls of the dead will not join their ancestors until the mourners cry at their graves. Max Bua, 19, from a South African farm community, has inherited his grandfather’s talent for mourning. Despite this heaven-sent gift, Max has his sights set on becoming a doctor and must travel to Johannesburg to begin his studies. With money the villagers collected for his tuition fees, and a wedding gift, he sets off to the city. Arriving too late to register and secure his room at the university, Max must seek out his infamous Uncle Norman. Director Teddy Mattera has constructed a slapstick comedy about a young boy’s coming of age and his wild adventure with a most unlikely partner in crime. Sep 18th and 23rd, 2006. The Night of Truth.(La Nuit de la Vérité). A film by Fanta Régina Nacro. Burkina Faso, 2004, 100 min. Mirroring the political strife and genocide in contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa, this film opens as preparations are being made to end a decade of civil war in a fictitious country. A peace agreement is about to be signed and celebrated in a night of reconciliation with a “lying down of arms”. As the powerful drumming begins, both rebels and government forces gather, bringing with them years of rage, grief, hope, suspicion, and bitterness. In this first feature film, Fanta Régina Nacro boldly presents the sometimes unintentional but inhuman behavior inherent in all people. Sep 17th and 19th, 2006. Stolen Life. (Shen Si Jie). A film by Li Shaohong. China, 2005, 90 min. A young girl is taken to live with her aunt and grandmother in Beijing. As an adolescent, Yanni, becomes withdrawn and reclusive, believing that she has been abandoned by her parents, and that she has no control over either her life or her fate. The fact that her “family” doesn’t have much hope for her future only compounds her depression. Surprising everyone in her hostile household, Yanni is accepted to college. As she prepares to begin her new life, an encounter with a delivery boy triggers a series of unexpected events. Director Li Shaohong takes us, as viewers, on a walk through a discovery of not only life under the city, but also a realistic perspective on the human experience. Sep 17th and 21st, 2006. Thirst. (Atash). A film by Tawfik Abu Wael. Israel/Palestine, 2004, 110 min. After one of his daughters “shamed” him, Abu Shukri brought his family to the edge of nowhere, to scratch out a living by burning wood to make charcoal. When he decided that the family would build a pipeline to bring in running water, he set off a chain of events that alters life irrevocably. A masterfully shot tale of repression and control in a harsh landscape that examines the dynamic of power within a family stretched to the breaking point. Working with a cast of first-time actors, director Tawfik Abu Wael crafts a story that is both archetypal and yet deeply rooted in the social conflicts of the Middle East. Global Shorts screenings will be presented in the following order: Sep 16th and 24th, 2006. Source of History. Adama Roamba. Burkina Faso, 2003, 22 min. An African village and the lives of three young children are put on the line when negotiation between the government and rebel forces fail. Little Terrorist. Ashvin Kumar. India, 2004, 15 min. A Hindu schoolteacher introduces a young Pakistani boy to a new culture, religion, and custom, as he shelters the boy from border guards. Harvest Time. Zheng Zheng. China, 2004, 36 min. After graduating from college, Xiaosong returns to his rural village to find that his former classmates’ successes surpass his own. Elephants Never Forget. Lorenzo Vigas Castes. Venezuela/Mexico, 2004, 13 min. Pompous Pedro fails to recognize the children he abandoned who have tracked him down and come to take revenge. More Than The World. Lautaro Nuñez de Arco. Argentina, Argentina, 2004, 12 min. At the village’s folk celebration, Marito’s dance with his love causes her father to step in, and the young boy’s passion overtakes him. For more information, please call: 305-237-FILM (3456) or visit www.miamifilmfestival.com