Cinema Without Borders has announced its jury members to decide on the winner of 2024 Bridging The Borders Award at the LUCAS International Festival for Young Film Lover in Germany. LUCAS programmers have also announced the nominees for the Cinema Without Borders’ Bridging The Borders Award sponsored by 360 Media.
Cinema Without Borders presents its Bridging The Borders Award, sponsored by 360 MEDIA Consulting, for the 5th time at LUCAS International Festival for Young Film Lovers. The jury members include:
Keely Badger is the Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of 360 MEDIA Consulting; a woman-owned, woman-led digital marketing agency for storytellers, changemakers, and brands working on the frontlines of social impact and innovation. Her high-performance multimedia campaigns have attracted influential clients such as The Sundance Institute, The Redford Center, Human Rights Watch, KPJR Films, and over 50 award-winning indie films.
Developing a love for the transformative potential of documentary film to bridge communities and awaken critical consciousness, Keely has worked in the public and private sector over the past 15 years, using social impact cinema as a tool to inspire audiences to meaningful action. With a background in helping produce, brand and market films by providing strategic audience engagement models, impactful multimedia campaigns and community partnership-building, Keely has successfully helped independent filmmakers galvanize social change in both grassroots and international arenas.
360 MEDIA is proud to serve as a presenting sponsor of the 2024 Bridging The Borders Award.
Susan Morgan Cooper is a Director/Producer/ Writer, and her credits include: To the Moon and Back, Documentary, Director/Producer/Writer 2016 (A cinematic act of love and courage’ … Broadway World) – Hopper [In his own words] Documentary, Producer/Writer 2013 (“I was moved to tears” Mike Medavoy) – Mulberry Child, Documentary, Director/Producer/Writer 2012 (‘A powerful and touching film’… 31/2 stars. Roger Ebert) – An Unlikely Weapon [The Eddie Adams Story]..Documentary, Director/Producer/Writer 2008 ( ‘A terrific documentary’ The Hollywood Reporter) – Making Of Shadows in The Sun, Documentary, Director/Producer/Writer 2005 – Heroes And Sheroes. Television Series, Director/Producer/Writer 2000
Mirjana: One Girl’s Journey, Documentary, Director/Producer/Writer 1997 – Stringers, Narrative Short Director/Producer/Writer 1990 – Hadley’s Rebellion, Narrative Feature Associate Producer 1989
Arameh Etemadi is a versatile media professional with extensive experience in television production, documentary direction, journalism, and film criticism. Since 2007, she has been recognized as a film critic for Iranian Film Magazine, where she is known for her insightful articles and film reviews. In 2014, she won the award for Best Art Interviewer from the Iranian Society of Film Critics and Writers (ISFCW).
Currently, Arameh Etemadi works as a film critic for Film-e Emrooz Magazine, and her writing has also appeared in a range of other publications, including Chelcheragh, Hamshahri Javan, Shargh Newspaper, Tehran-e Emrooz, and 24 monthly magazines. She was born and raised in Tehran, where she began her professional career as a journalist and film critic for Hamshahri and Naghshafarinan in 2004. She holds a master’s degree in journalism and has studied Social Communication Science in Tehran and Arameh Etemadi completed post-production courses at UCLA. In addition to her work as a film critic, Arameh Etemadi is also a talented writer, director, and live TV show producer. Her documentary on the life and works of “Mohamadreza Lotfi” was released in 2015, showcasing her skills as a director.
Chale Nafus was born in Dallas during World War II, he attended public schools, spent summers on his sister’s ranch in Comanche County in the 1950s, learned Spanish from schoolmates, and dreamed of getting out of Dallas. After getting through freshman year at SMU, he worked at Texas Instruments before realizing he really needed a college education. After attending the University of Texas at Arlington (B.A., English), La Universidad Autónoma de México, and UT Austin (M.A., English/RTF), he began a long college teaching career at Texas Southmost College (Brownsville), La Universidad de Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, Borough of Manhattan Community College, Kingsborough Community College (Brooklyn), and finally Austin Community College (1973-1998). At the latter, he founded the Department of Radio-TV-Film, taught classes in film studies, and for seven years served as Chair of Humanities (Northridge Campus). Retiring in 1998, Chale spent 4 years traveling and writing before joining the staff of Austin Film Society as Director of Programming (2002-2015). He is now totally retired and happily serving on the boards of Austin Film Society and OUTsider Fest as well as the advisory committees of IndieMeme (South Asian film organization) and Cine Las Americas.
Bijan Tehrani founder and Editor in Chief of Cinema Without Borders (CWB) online- publication and Cinema Without Borders Foundation is an award-winning author of children’s books and short films. Tehrani has been a passionate advocate of human rights, which he has actively pursued as a filmmaker, historian, and -critic over the past five decades.
Bijan Tehrani has organized a numerus cultural events dealing with international cinema and social justice. The ongoing ELAC International Animation Day is an annual festival showcasing international animation and I, Immigrant International On-line Film Festival portrays the positive impact of immigrants in their new societies. Bijan is also the creator of the Bridging the Borders Award that is offered in ten international film festival in US, UK, and Australia. Bridging the Borders Award goes to the films that help bring people of the world closer together. Bijan Tehrani has won several awards and has been recognized by several film festivals and cultural institutes as Ambassador of International Cinema because of his services to the world film community through 15 years of publishing Cinema Without Borders.
Terry George, Academy winner and director of Hotel Rwanda, had this to say on the 10th anniversary of CWB:” At a time when media consolidation is threatening diverse and unique voices, Cinema Without Borders provides a forum for underrepresented perspectives and stories. Now more than ever, we need to reach across cultural, political, and national lines. Cinema Without Borders is part of this critical work.”
Nominees for MOZAIK Bridging the Borders Award:
THROUGH ROCKS AND CLOUDS
Raíz. PE/CL 2024. D: Franco García Becerra. S: Annemarie Gunkel, Alicia Quispe. 83 min. Feature film. Original version with English subtitles and German live voice-over. Released from age 6, Recommended from age 9.
BETWEEN ALPACAS AND FOOTBALL FANTS IN THE PERUANIAN ANDES
In autumn 2017, Feliciano has two main things on his mind: his family’s alpacas, which he has to look after, and soccer — because Peru has the chance to finally qualify for the World Cup again. But here in the highlands, a mysterious creature with big horns is on the move, and the adults are also talking about mining, which is poisoning the environment, and whether they should move away. Feliciano talks to his favorite alpaca about soccer, but he also senses that his life could be threatened by something completely different. A look at developments in the breathtakingly beautiful expanse of the Andean highlands that have global causes — and very local effects.
THE MOUNTAIN
The Mountain. NZ 2024. D: Rachel House. S: Rachel House, Tom Furniss. 89 min. Feature film. Original version with English subtitles and German live voice-over. Released for age 6. Recommended for age 11.
“MAY THE STRENGTH AND POWER OF LIFE OF OUR ancestors be with us all!” (MĀORI-PROVERB) Sam is supposed to be treated in hospital, but instead of waiting idly for her recovery, she prefers to take her fate into her own hands: following her Māori culture, she sets off for Mount Taranaki, which is said to have healing powers. On the way, she first meets Mallory and later Bronco, who are both running away from their own problems. With their sights set on the summit, the three fight their way through the magical nature of New Zealand and find on their way not the power of the mountain, but that of friendship. From self-discovery and the individual processing of conflicts to death, the adventure film spans themes of being human, albeit with a good dose of humor and dynamism thanks to its editing.
SAVAGES
Sauvages! CH/FR/BE 2024. D: Claude Barras. S: Catherine Paillé, Claude Barras. 80 min. Animated film. Original version with English subtitles and German live voice-over. Released from age 6. Recommended from age 8.
A LOVELY ANIMATED ECOLOGICAL FABLE TO SAVE THE RAINFOREST
Eleven-year-old Kéria rescues a baby orangutan with her father at his workplace, a palm oil plantation. At the same time, her cousin Selaï comes to stay with them because a large company wants to destroy his family’s habitat for palm oil. Stylish Kéria is initially embarrassed by her indigenous relative, but after she gets lost in the neighboring jungle in search of a runaway baby monkey, he helps her and together they find his and Kéria’s family in the jungle. Kéria discovers her roots and finds herself in the middle of a conflict with big business. An impressive stop-motion film with great attention to detail that aims to sensitize all age groups to create a world in which there is more justice and less destruction of nature.
Opening film of the 47th LUCAS Film Festival
WE GROWN NOW
We Grown Now. US 2023. D+S: Minhal Baig. 92 min. Feature film. Original version with German subtitles. FSK 12. Recommended from age 13.
HOW CAN YOU LEARN TO FLY WHEN THE WOLRD WANTS TO PUT YOU IN SHACKLES?
Learning to fly. Not so easy when you grow up in the Cabrini-Green housing project, a social hotspot in Chicago. While Michael Jordan becomes a world-famous star in the summer of 1992, friends Eric and Malik dream of a promising future. A young boy was shot dead on the street in their neighborhood and their parents forbid their children to go out. But how can you learn to fly when the world wants to shackle you? And what happens to a friendship when one of the two friends suddenly has to move away? With powerful images and elegant slow motion, WE GROWN NOW conveys a strong message about freedom and boundaries.
IF ONLY I COULD HIBERNATE
Baavgai Bolohson. MN/FR/CH/QA 2023. D+S: Zoljargal Purevdash. 98 min. Feature film. Original version. Released from age 12. Recommended from age 14.
A HOPEFUL DRAMA ABOUT THE RESILIENCE OF A BOY WHO WANTS TO STUDY PHYSICS AND HAS TO STRUGGLE WITH THE MOST DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES
Life on the breadline in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar is increasingly consuming the strength of half-orphan Ulzii. While he steals wood at night to at least heat the family’s meagre yurt in the icy winter, during the day he finds less and less strength to take his chances on a physics scholarship that could save him from the daily struggle for survival. When his alcoholic mother finally leaves the family to find work in the countryside, Ulzii is plunged into a downward spiral. The film tells of poverty, cohesion and community in a way that is at once tragic, hopeful and at times even humorous. The blue-grey colors and snowy panoramas capture both the physical and emotional coldness of Ulzii’s life.
SMELL OF BURNT MILK
Milch ins Feuer. DE 2024. D+S: Justine Bauer. 79 min. Feature film. Original version with English subtitles. Released from age 12, Recommended for age 16.
THOSE WHO SHAKE UP TRADITIONS OPEN UP NEW PERSPECTIVES ON THE FUTURE Justine Bauer’s seemingly documentary-like debut film creates an authentic picture of rural life in the field of tension between idyll and isolation — thanks to the frequent use of amateur actresses who speak in Hohenlohe dialect. The 4:3 format avoids the kitsch of broad landscape shots and focuses on the actresses. But what legacy does rural life hold for young people? 17-year-old Katinka wants to become a farmer. However, as we know, the farm is inherited by men and the dairy business has not been profitable for some time. Katinka doesn’t want to go anywhere else, because here she has nature, animals and her friends. Where others see no future, Katinka tries to build one for herself, in defiance of tradition
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Langue Étrangère. FR/DE/BE 2024. D: Claire Burger. S: Claire Burger, Léa Mysius. 105 min. Feature film. Original version. Released from age 12, Recommended from age 16.
PURE, AUTHENTIC COMING-OF-AGE BETWEEN LEIBZIG AND STRASBOURG Fanny from France travels to Leipzig for a school exchange. Her partner is Léna, who longs to immerse herself in political activism. Fanny is attracted to Léna and does everything she can to impress her. After some initial skepticism, the two young women eventually grow closer. Initially friendly, the feelings between the two change at a party. Full of staged tenderness, FOREIGN LANGUAGE tells the story of two people who long for intimacy in an environment in which they both feel alienated. A Franco-German declaration of love that also captures the fears of Generation Z about the future.
VERA AND THE PLEASURE OF OTHERS
Vera y el Placer de los Otros. AR 2023. D+S: Romina Tamburello, Federico Actis. 103 min. Feature film. Original version. Released from age 16. Recommended from age 16.
EAVESDROPPING THE LUST OF OTHERS, FINDING YOUR OWN PLEASURE
17-year-old Vera earns a little pocket money on top of sport and school: she steals the keys to an empty apartment from her mother, who works as a real estate agent, and rents it out to other teenagers for one or two undisturbed hours. She secretly stands behind the apartment door and eavesdrops on the couples having sex. Vera listens and watches closely. She often sits there absorbed and concentrated with her headphones; later her open, completely unashamed looks become more important. The film watches her closely and patiently as she searches for and classifies her own desires, at the same time seeing through the lies and truths of the adults and finally taking the initiative herself.