The Key
Rakan Mayasi
France, Palestine, Belgium, Qatar. 2023. 13 min
An Israeli family’s equilibrium gradually disintegrates as the mysterious sound of a key is heard every evening in the door of their apartment.
Continue reading The Key (Rakan Mayasi) France, Palestine, Belgium, QatarAgony
Eulalia Ramón
Spain. 2024. 22 min
Adela and Rosa were friends in college, but the world kept separating them. Rosa dedicated herself to teaching. Adela, on the other hand, dreamed of being a writer but ended up as a hitwoman for a third-rate drug lord. Shortly after turning sixty, both women are discarded, on the same day, for the lives they have chosen.
Continue reading Agony (Eulalia Ramón) SpainFirst Frames
Ilie Mitaru
Turkey, USA. 2024. 24 min
First Frames follows photographer and Syrian refugee Serbest Salih and his mobile darkroom that brings photography education to overlooked communities across Turkey, where children contend with access to school, memory and displacement from devastating earthquakes.
The documentary unfolds almost completely from the child’s perspective. They speak about their friendships, curiosities and frustrations while engaging with photography for the very first time. The children become collaborators in the documentary, capturing their worlds through their unique filming.
The film embraces the magical nature of children’s thinking and portrays them not as passive subjects of their circumstances but as playful, resilient and complex individuals, with their insights and sometimes surprising perspectives.
Continue reading First Frames (Ilie Mitaru) Turkey, USAThe Great White Whale
Michael Dillon
Australia. 2023. 105 min
Deep in the wild Southern Ocean, halfway between Australia and South Africa, a snowy volcano, nine thousand feet high, rears up from the sea like a great white whale.
Five times it tried to kill the first team that attempted to climb it. Yet in 1964, back they sailed, through the worst seas in the world, to try again, this time with legendary explorer, Bill Tilman as their skipper.
Its one of the least known yet most audacious Australian adventures of the 20th century.
Join us on those first attempts to climb Big Ben, the smoking glacier ringed volcano on Heard Island, Australia’s loneliest, most remote outpost. It’s a tale told with quirky humour by those who were there, backed up with their beautifully shot archival footage. Paul Jarman’s brilliant musical score pays tribute to the utter boldness of the quest, bringing to life this little known moment in Australian history.
Continue reading The Great White Whale (Michael Dillon) AustraliaPooja Gupte studied cinematography from Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata, India. Pooja was selected as an Indian cinematographer in Berlinale Talent Campus 2012, Germany. She was also invited to present her work in Stuttgart, Germany as part of series Making of Indian Cinema at Stuttgart-Indian Film Festival 2019. Pooja has recently become a member of Imago’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Her first feature film as a Director of Photography “Crossing Bridges” won at 61st National award as best Sherdupen film which she also had produced under her production house Easel Films. She was awarded Best Cinematography for feature film “Rukh” in 5th AIFF 2018. Pooja was awarded best cinematography for the short film “Water Demon” at Feel the Reel International Film Festival 2021 Glasgow UK. Pooja is also a very active member of IWCC (Indian Women Cinematographers Collective).
Continue reading Pooja Gupte, Jury member for Best DOP at ImagineindiaJacques
Lysandre Leduc-Boudreau
Canada. 2023. 90 min
For over forty years, Jacques Duhoux, expedition pioneer in northern Quebec, has lived alone in the Uapishka (Groulx) Mountains. Now at 85 years old, he continues to live off the grid, despite the inevitable decline that comes with age. A tribute to a true monument of northern exploration, Jacques exposes the delicate balance between nature, aging and the search for freedom.
Continue reading Jacques (Lysandre Leduc-Boudreau) CanadaMaría Zaragoza (Madrid, 1982)
In 2014 she participated in the feature film adaptation of her story Realidades de humo, which the director Joaquín O. Loustaunau directed in Mexico and premiered in 2016. She has written the scripts for A candidate for the end of the world (Margarita Xirgu Award for best script radio 2019, produced and broadcast by RNE in 2020: https://www.rtve.es/play/audios/ficcion-sonora/ficcion-sonora-candidato-para-fin-mundo-maria-zaragoza/5571447/), Mi Mama Me Mima (dir. Marc Romero, produced by The Pride of My House, in post-production), Agonía (dir. Eulàlia Ramon, produced by Atrece Creaciones, 2024), Perpetua Navidad Azul (dir. Marina Aparicio, Galatea Productions, in preparation ), has participated in the script and documentary work of the documentary I am Cloe, I exist (Long documentary produced by Globomundi and Atrece creations, dir. Fiorela Gianuzzi, to be released). She is currently immersed in several feature film and short film projects.
Eulàlia Ramon is an actress, photographer and film director.
Currently, she is immersed in various projects, highlighting her work as a director. In 2023, he directed his first short film, Divine Accounts, written by María Zaragoza, which has achieved more than 80 festival selections, 18 awards and a nomination for the Goya Awards in the category of best fiction short film. In 2024, he presents Agonía, his second fiction short film, which premiered at the Closing of the International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia.
Continue reading Eulalia Ramón incorporates to Imagineindia as JuryAsh Valley: Janyl
Shu Zhu
Kyrgyztan, Canada. 2024. 18 min
Ash Valley: Janyl is about Janyl who investigates strange behavior in livestock near a large oil rig. Something feels wrong, but her superior asks her to stay out of the investigation for her own safety.
Continue reading Ash Valley: Janyl (Shu Zhu) Kyrgystan, CanadaDeal at the Border
Dastan Zhapar Ryskeldi
Kyrgyztan. 2024. 104 min
At the Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan border, Aza and Samat work as members of a drug trafficking organization. One day, they run into Nazik, who has narrowly escaped from human traffickers. Aza decides to give up the drug money and save Nazik, but Nazik tragically dies while crossing a river. Aza is determined to at least return Nazik’s remains to her homeland, but his decision thrusts him into even greater danger. The border regions of Central Asian countries, that are located adjacent to Afghanistan where massive amounts of drugs are produced, are hotspots for drug trafficking and organized crime. As those desperate for survival struggle to maintain a shred of dignity, the camera frequently pulls back to capture the vast and indifferent mountainous landscapes of the borderlands. The film is genre-driven but is also captivating with its restrained dialogue and composed visuals.
Continue reading Deal at the Border (Dastan Zhapar Ryskeldi) Kyrgyztan. Official Section
imagineindiafestival.com 