3500+ Films - 2.5 million words – 1 million viewers! Founder and Curator Carmela selects some of our most entertaining, powerful and inspiring South Asia films at We Are Moving Stories. These include shorts and feature length about Afghanistan, Iran, Nepal - women’s journeys, the films of Fateme Ahmedi - and after the earthquake.
Total length of this section: 22 films.
<AFGHANISTAN>
Rebel Beats - Defying death threats, Afghanistan’s most popular female rapper takes on controversial issues such as gender equality, child marriage and violence against women. Length: 26 minutes. Writer/Director Omid Marzban:
“As an audience you can see two sides of Afghanistan in the Rebel Beats. One side that is commonly known from the world press which tells you about the oppression of women, domestic violence and male dominance. And the other side, which you hardly notice in the mainstream media is that a generation or a large group of people – including men – do exist in Afghanistan who believe in gender equality, deny male dominance and work hard to defeat religious, cultural extremism. These are the people who risk their lives”
RocKabul - Would you put your life on the line for music? Length: 1 hour 30 minutes. Writer/Director Travis Beard:
“I made this film to show the world that Afghanistan is not only a place of conflict, drugs and poverty. I also made this film to show Afghans that metal music is not satanic music 99% of the time it is just good old rock and roll that the teenage youth want to explore and use as a form of self-expression.”
Jirga - A former Australian soldier returns to Afghanistan to find the family of a civilian he accidentally killed and apologise to them, placing himself willingly at the mercy of the village justice system – the Jirga. Length: 78 minutes. Writer/Director Benjamin Gilmour:
“it will move you, and it will make you question your assumptions about war and our so-called ‘enemies’, it will challenge you and stay with you. Jirga will also delight and surprise you. It has suspense, mystery, and a superb soundtrack. There is a beauty in this film that audiences have really responded to. It reveals a side to Afghanistan and its people you’re unlikely to see in the mainstream media. It will lift your heart and give you renewed hope in the possibility of peace and the survival of humanity.”
<IRAN>
The Broker - This tragicomic glimpse into an Iranian dating agency, whose clients’ feelings and preferences are trampled in the rush to marry them off, offers a shocking reminder that the patriarchy’s fiercest agents can also be women. Length: 61 minutes. Writer/Director/Producer Azadi Moghadam:
“I think that no matter where someone lives, everyone can probably find themselves in a similar situation, being hopeless in finding love or feeling very lonely. If they do, could the marriage agencies act as a suitable answer? ”
Azadeh - Set during the Iranian Green Movement, this is the true story of a forbidden friendship and the young girl who is forced to make the ultimate sacrifice after her best friend gets trapped in a land-mine field. Length: 19 minutes. Director Bandar Albuliwi:
“I directed the film Azadeh in response to the inhuman and unfathomable living conditions in which Iranian woman are subjected to on a daily basis. The world needs to be exposed to these basic human rights violations and take charge. ”
Silence - A deaf young mother saves another woman's life. Length: 7 minutes. Writer/Director/Producer Maryam Pirband:
“This story was in my mind when I did stunt work and directed action films. I am the first Iranian stunt female but I am also a director and actress and did stunt work just for fun. When I did rapple and came down from high buildings this story was born in my mind. I started to shape it and think about the character. I wanted my character to be a woman doing this job and in Iran this is odd suddenly I decided to make it even more odd, having her with a disability.”
Gliese 667: The Mirror - Another you is calling you to resist. Length: 14.52 minutes. Director Tahereh Ahmadishad:
“Producing Gliese 667: The Mirror is my very first try at directing. The main approach to this project has been formed by my personal observations and experiences of women’s real-life, beneath the surface of Tehran, the capital city of Iran and also hours of interviews with individuals. ”
Online Shopping - Donia, a young Iranian girl wants to immigrate for continuing her studies abroad. Before her departure, she tries to sell her belongings online. One of the customer is a man who enters in her house and behaves strangely…Length: 15 minutes. Writer/Director/Producer Ghasideh Golmakani:
“As I have already mentioned, there were costumers for my second hand shoes online! They were calling me and asking me prices and information. I was taking note and you can find parts of these notes in the film. Once finished, I have shown it to several psychologists to be sure about my purpose. ”
Iphigenia: Book of Change - "a mythical story about how one women escapes her prison". Length: 49.23 minutes. Writer/Director Elise Kermani:
“I was inspired by the story of a relative of my husband who endured years of imprisonment in Iran. I have the greatest admiration for people who are able to endure and survive captivity and then be able to go on and live their lives after they get out. I am also inspired by ancient Greek mythology and drama - my play combines the stories of contemporary women who have endured and survived captivity with the story of the Greek character Iphigenia.”
Farewell My Bird - An elderly photographer who loves his pet canary more than anything becomes jealous when a young boy makes a connection with his bird, creating a "love triangle.” Length: 22 minutes. Director/Producer Ameneh Moghaddam:
“For it’s a simple yet deep story. I want the audience to see how a common thing can bring two generations together. In order to keep a person’s memory alive through his or her legacy, it should be left behind with someone who cares and loves for it. Even though they are different, they are more similar than people think.”
It Is What It Is - Filmmaker Cyrus Yoshi Tabar, a first-generation Iranian-Japanese-American, has a photo of his grandparents holding him as an infant. The photo captures his first and last encounter with them. Seeking to understand the fracture in his family, Cyrus embarks on a journey into the dark and nebulous corners of family history. Length: 8 minutes. Writer/Director/Producer Cyrus Yoshi Tabar:
“Thank you! I started the project with a desire to uncover why there is such a rift in my family, in hopes that this would answer questions I had about my own identity. In the end, I found that it was the quest I took, rather than the terminus, to connect with my family about our history that had the most impact on me.”
<NEPAL>
<WOMEN’S JOURNEYS”
Daughters of the Curved Moon - This documentary captures the journey of a young woman, Nisha, as she challenges the traditional ideologies in her community. The documentary shows the way women’s lives are still bound by Hindu societal structure in Jumla, Nepal. Length:90 minutes. Directors/Producers Sophie Dia Pegrum and Miranda Morton Yap:
“While volunteering in a remote corner of Nepal, in the Himalaya, I (Miranda Morton Yap) was inspired by the women I was working with, and I wanted to share their stories. I hoped that by filming their lives, and capturing their songs and spirit, that others would be as inspired as I was.”
Catherine's Kindergarten is the story of a mother’s emotional journey to come to terms with the death of her only child, juxtaposed with her physical journey to a Nepalese mountain village to open a school in memory of her daughter. Length: 1 hour 10 minutes. Writer/Director/Producer Kaye Cleave:
“The film is about joy, and love and the heart break of loss. It shows us how we can hold both the joy and the grief in our hearts; how we can strengthen our resilience and accept the randomness of life.”
Seven Women Nepal: The Birth Of A Social Enterprise is a documentary that examines how one Australian created a successful social enterprise with the disabled women of Nepal and what is truly possible with a willingness to learn from mistakes and the right people to help. This is a great documentary for anyone who has ever dreamt of making a difference through education and empowerment. Length: 32 minutes. Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Claire Stone & Gaby Purchase:
“It takes one person to start an organisation but then an army to sustain it. We understand this even more now.”
A Year - A Himalayan village woman yearns to provide a better life for her young daughters. But the only possible option she sees is surrogacy – a choice that will explode her domestic tranquility and become a searing dilemma. Length: 13.47 minutes. Writer/Director/Producer/Editor Jisun Jamie Kim:
“A Year started when I heard about the evacuation of 26 Israeli surrogate babies from Nepal during the recent earthquake. Right about then I had been thinking of having my own eggs frozen. Changing my career and pursuing my dream of becoming a filmmaker in my 30s made me delay, year after year, facing the question of having another child. Freezing eggs and having a child through IVFs were not uncommon choices among my friends. ”
Ashmina - In an impoverished country, rife with contradiction, a young girl is torn by her obligation to her family and the influence of foreign visitors. Length: 15.30 minutes. Writer/Director/Producer Dekel Berenson:
“Ashmina’s story was inspired by a 2014 trip to Nepal. Following a mountain climbing expedition in the Everest region, I travelled to Pokhara to complete my training as a paragliding pilot. I was immediately captivated by the young children who were working in the landing field and instantly knew that I would one day return to Nepal to capture their story on film.”
<THE FILMS OF FATEME AHMADI>
Chandra walks through earthquake-hit Kathmandu with his grandfather, to visit his mother and newborn sibling in hospital. What awaits them at the end? Length: 15 minutes. Directors Fateme Ahmadi and Asmita Shrish:
“Fateme: Throughout the journey of Chandra and his grandfather to find Chandra’s missing mother, we see the ugly face of destruction in contrast to all the beauty this innocent child used to see. He has to face the brutality of the world/society and so do we as the audience.
Asmita: The film is the reflection in the aftermath of a natural disaster through a child’s eye or may I say through our eyes how we saw Kathmandu at that time, I think that is enough to be personal and universal. It can happen in any place, of course what we see and hear might vary but the feeling is the same after going through any natural disaster, seeing your land torn apart, losing your loved ones and waiting to be recovered. It applies to Kathmandu and Chandra both.”
One Thousand and One Teardrops - On her first day of school, little Louly is faced with a question: what should she wear? The ugly school uniform or whatever she wants? Luckily, she is visited by a magic teardrop-keeper who helps her make a choice by telling the story of how the women of her nation, Iran, have strived to answer this question for 200 years. Length: 17 minutes. Writer/Director Fateme Ahmadi:
“Well, it is a sweet film! Even if you are not interested in animation or any sort of collage, you’d still find the subject matter or the tone and the narrative interesting and worthy of your time I guess.”
<AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE>
Gyalmu’s House - In 2015 an earthquake of terrible power devastated the Langtang Valley in Nepal, taking hundreds of lives from the small community. A year later Nima Gyalmu, a woman of extraordinary strength, dignity and humour rebuilds her house while trying to come to terms with her new world. Length: 19 minutes (a 14 minute version also exists). Directors/Producers Asmita Shrish & Gavin Carver:
“It is a story of one woman’s struggle to rebuild her life, but its themes are universal. For the people of the Langtang valley, the mountains are gods – so what did they do to deserve such devastation. It also shows the universality of the small things in life, we laugh at many of the same things wherever we live, whatever our circumstances. And DIY is frustrating to everybody.”
After the Earthquake - Thousands of survivors of the 2015 Nepalese earthquake are still forced to live in temporary housing, survivors of the tragedy show you how they live, how they survive. Length: 5.53 minutes. Director/Producer Mark Hellinger:
“Many in Nepal still have hope and a belief in a higher power, risking their lives to go to a temple still standing out of the rubble, which may collapse at any moment. Praying for their lives to go back to what it was like before that fateful day.
They hang on to the fact that they were spared when the earthquake happened. They cling to the hope that someone might see their story and do something, help change things, help rebuild their homes, their families and their lives.”
Where have all the smiles gone - The domestic economy of Nepal is currently being controlled and balanced by the remittance. Hundreds of people are leaving their homes in Nepal to pursue their dreams, money and happiness outwards. Instead, with prosperity most of them are coming back in coffins. Length: 90 minutes. Director Anja Strelec:
“Nepali journalist and producer Chandra K Jha contacted me and presented the topic and from the very beginning I was really interested and accepted to work with him on this project. I started to think about the price of a human life and is that price different in Europe, USA and Nepal and why is that so?”
After the Tsunami - Sri Lankan survivors of the 2004 boxing day Tsunami reflect on the event, impact, and aftermath of the tragedy. Length: 6.59 minutes. Director/Producer/Editor Mark Hellinger:
“After spending time in Sri Lanka recently, I spoke to many people about how the destruction of the 2004 Tsunami still impacts them. Usually, when a tragedy like this happens, the world’s attention is on the survivors, but in time that attention fades and the people are still suffering. I thought it was important to tell these stories. So I shot the documentary short in Sri Lanka. It aims to raise awareness of the plight of the Sri Lankan people.”