LUCAS – International Festival for Young Film Lovers, has announced nominees for the Cinema Without Borders’ Bridging The Borders Award sponsored by Go Energistics. The five feature films nominated for GoE Bridging The Borders Award are: Glasses (Einak) from Iran, Girl In Flight (La Fuga) from Chile/Italy, Amateurs from Sweden, Saturday Church from US and Rafiki from Zambia.
A jury of seven formed by CWB will decide the winning film and Yeganeh Taheri, Cinema Without Borders Editor in Germany will present GoE Bridging The Borders Award to the winner at the festival’s award ceremony on September 27.
Nominees:
Glasses
IR 2017. D: Reza Aghaei. 74 min. Fiction film. Farsi OV with Eng. ST and German voice-over
Suitable for all ages. Recommended from age 6, GERMAN PREMIERE
Saeed’s and Sarah’s grandmother has just come home from the hospital. Now her grandchildren are supposed to care for her. But bad luck seems to follow them. First, the cash machine swallows the debit card, then Sarah breaks her grandmother’s glasses while playing. Sarah and Saeed take off through the city on their own to get the glasses fixed. With an eye for small gestures, the film unassumingly tells a story of empathy and willingness to help others while remaining very close to the siblings. (StS)
Montréal Independent Film Awards 2017, International Children’s Rights FF Bursa 2017, Kayseri IFF 2018
Reza Aghaei (*1979 in Tabriz) lives and works in Tehran. Trained in photography, he became an assistant director in 2003 and made his first short film INVISIBLE DOLLS the same year. Since then, he has produced fourteen short films. EJNAK is his first feature-length film.
Filmography (Selection)
2017 2017 EJNAK | 2015 THE CIRCLE (short film) | 2010 MARGIN (short film) | 2009 GOD IS NEAR (short film) | 2008 PICNIC (short film) | 2006 DOG (short film) | 2003 INVISIBLE DOLLS (short film)
Girl In Flight – La Fuga
CH/IT 2017. D: Sandra Vannucchi. 78 min. Fiction film. Ital. OV with Eng. ST and German voice-over
Suitable from age 12. Recommended from age 12
Eleven-year old Silvia has long been dreaming about going to Rome with her family. But at home, her mother will not come out of her dark room all day long, her father is out of his depth and going on vacation is not even up for discussion. So Silvia decides to drive to Rome from Tuscany on her own. On the train she meets the fearless Emina, follows her through the big city and gets invited to sleep over in her Roma settlement. While the turbulent adventure is only beginning for the girls, the worried parents are embarking on a search for their daughter. (CS)
AMATÖRER | AMATEURS
SE 2018. D: Gabriela Pichler. 110 min. Fiction. Swe. OV with Eng. ST. and German voice-over
Suitable from age 12. Recommended from age 13
Except for the yearly Western festival, the Swedish town Lafors is fairly quiet. When the town tries to attract investors through a unusual promotion video, the town’s youth is bound to add an individual touch. The bored friends Dana and Aida have been hoping and waiting for something like this! They produce their version of Lafors and soon realize that their image of the town does not find approval in the adults. Gabriel Pichler weaves a tale of the active participation in society and immigration into an odd filmic universe and displays a humorous plea for the freedom of speech. (CS)
Filmfest München 2018, Tribeca FF 2018, Göteborg FF 2018: Winner »Dragon Award« for »Best Nordic Film«, Seattle IFF 2018: Nomination »New Directors Competition
Gabriela Pichler (*1980 in Huddinge, Sweden) had her debut in 2012 with ÄTA SOVA DÖ at the Venice Film Festival and won the »Audience Award« of the International Film Critic’s Week. Her films combine humour and social criticism with outstanding amateur casts.
Filmography (Selection)
2018 AMATÖRER | 2012 ÄTA SOVA DÖ | 2008 SKRAPSÅR (short film) | 2008 TOVA & TESS – KING & QUEEN OF THE WORLD (short film) | 2007 LEDA (short film) | 2004 NÅNGÅNG (short film)
Saturday Church
US 2017. D: Damon Cardasis. 82 min. Fiction. Eng. OV
Suitable from age 12. Recommended from age 15
Fourteen-year old Ulysses has just lost his father and additionally suffers from the permanent bullying by his classmates. The sensitive teenager lives with his mother, younger brother and a strict aunt in the New York Bronx. More and more Ulysses flees into his fantasies, in which he can forget everything around him through dancing and singing. In time, he explores his sexuality. At Saturday Church, a caring transgender community, Ulysses finds support and ultimately himself. An empathetic coming-of-age debut with a lot of musical flair. (CS)
Damon Cardasis is known as a (Broadway-) producer, screenwriter and actor as well as operating the company Round Films with production partner Rebecca Mills. He is a co-founder of the Lower East Side Film Festival in New York. SATURDAY CHURCH is his directing debut in feature-length films as well has having produced and written screenplay and lyrics for it.
Filmography (Selection)
2017 SATURDAY CHURCH | 2015 MAGGIE’S PLAN (Producer) | 2010 MARCH! (short film)
Rafiki
ZA/DE/NL/FR/KE/NO 2018. D: Wanuri Kahiu. 82 min. Fiction
Swa/Eng. OV with Eng. ST
Suitable from age 12. Recommended from age 15
Skateboard, football and male friends; Kena refuses to conform to other’s expectations not just visually, with her short hair and cap. Ziki, with her colorful dreads also doesn’t think about fitting into any traditional roles. How wonderful that both of them can’t keep their eyes off each other! Even though their fathers fight each other in the capital Nairobi for a ministerial post, and homophobia as well as religious bigotry are all around them, the two young women begin to bravely and independently live out their attraction. A colorful, queer-feminist statement film! (AB)
Cannes FF 2018 »Un Certain Regard«, Karlovy Vary IFF 2018
https://youtu.be/IqHsHxwt9Iw