Women,s voices

Keeping the Music Alive ( S.E.Younsi/M.Gahlot) France, Singapore

Keeping the Music Alive
Sarah E. Younsi/Mandakini Gahlot
France, Singapore. 2023. 77 min

Zohra, Afghanistan’s award-winning first all-female orchestra, has captivated audiences around the world with its musical talent. However, the return of the Taliban, with its rigid and damaging views on women and music, now puts the ensemble in grave danger. With the fall of Kabul, members still in the country have gone into hiding, while those who fled are advocating internationally to rescue their fellow musicians. The question remains: despite the challenges, will they be able to keep their music alive?

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Life section

Scream (Kenzhebek Shaikakov) Kazakhstan

Scream
Kenzhebek Shaikakov
Kazakhstan. 2023. 108 min

Born without legs, Melis lives with his young son in a small rural village. There is a weapons test site near the village, but Melis and other villagers lead a peaceful life. Zhalgas and his friends eagerly wait for the days when weapons are tested at the site, since the school closes on those days. With a strong will to live, Melis is wholeheartedly focused on raising his son. At some point, Melis’s body becomes associated with the weapons tests that signify nuclear experiments. This revelation causes an uproar in the village. Through the lens of everyday life in the small rural village, Kenzhebek Shaikakov captures the tragic history of Kazakhstan.

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Sin categoría

Talking with Rivers (Mohsen Makhmalbaf) Iran

Talking with Rivers
Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Iran. 2023. 50 min

Talking with Rivers is a conversation between Iran and Afghanistan, two neighbouring countries that used to be one land. The two countries are now sharing their stories after they parted from each other, from the era of Soviet invasion to the civil war and the Taliban era, up to and including the rise and fall of America and the return of the Taliban.

MOHSEN MAKHMALBAF

Mohsen Makhmalbaf is an Iranian director, writer, producer. He is known as one of the most influential filmmakers and founders of the new wave of Iranian cinema in the world today.

During his career, Makhmalbaf has made numerous critically-acclaimed films including Salam Cinema (Cannes 1995), Time of love (Cannes 1995) Gabbeh (Cannes 1996), A Moment of Innocence (Locarno1996), The Silence (Venice 1998), Tales of Kish (Cannes 1999), Testing democracy (Venice 1999), Kandahar (Cannes 2001), Scream of the Ants (Montreal 2007), The President (Venice 2014) and The Night of Zayandeh-Rood (Venice 2017) …
He is the recipient of more than 60 international awards from some of the most prestigious film festivals across the world.
His film Kandahar has been chosen as one of the top 100 best movies of history of cinema by Times Magazine. And his film A Moment of Innocence has been selected as one of the top ten best films of the ’90s amongst the director of world international film festivals.
As a writer-director, Makhmalbaf has also published more than 30 books, many of which have been translated and published in many languages.

DIRECTOR,S NOTE

During the past 40 years, I have directed and produced ten feature and documentary films about Afghanistan. I have launched and completed dozens of cultural and educational projects in Afghanistan and for that matter, for years I lived in various times in different cities around Afghanistan, closely witnessing the contemporary history of Afghanistan and the lives of the people. In all these years I have felt that the world has forgotten Afghanistan and unaware of the sufferings of the Afghan people and those who intended to help but failed, had no concrete knowledge and notion of Afghan society. This film is an attempt to explain the complexities of this situation in a plain and intelligible language.

POSTER

CONTACT

may@makhmalbaf.com

Documentary Section, Women,s voices

The List (Hana Makhmalbaf) Iran

The List
Hana Makhmalbaf
Iran. 2023. 65 min

In the course of a few days, with the final withdrawal of the international forces from Kabul, the lives of millions of Afghan people suddenly changes for the worse.
Overnight, with the return of the Taliban to power, many artists and filmmakers in the country find themselves at risk of being executed. In an attempt to escape to safety, like many others, they rush to the international airport to board the last few leaving planes.

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- Official Section -

Privacy (Sudeep Kanwal) India. Official Section

Privacy
Sudeep Kanwal
India. 2023. 85 min

PRIVACY is a social thriller set in and out of Mumbai slums. It follows the story of Roopali, who works at the Mumbai surveillance command and control center as an operator. While being ambitious, she constantly fights her own guilt and resists her dark past. Things start to get complicated when Roopali ignores protocol and begins to investigate a robbery/murder that takes place on her watch.

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NEWS, Women,s voices

Rituparna Sengupta will be President of Jury at Imagineindia 2024

Rituparna Sengupta is Indian actress and producer who is known for her work in Bengali, Odia and Hindi cinema. One of the most successful actresses of Bengali cinema, she rode the crest of her box office success in the late 1990s. She has won a National Award, two Filmfare Awards, four BFJA Awards and four Anandalok Awards.

Rituparna was born on 7 November 1970. She was interested in the arts since a young age and learned painting, dancing, singing and handicrafts at a painting school, called Chitrangshu. She studied at Carmel High school, and later graduated in history from Lady Brabourne College. She began studying Modern History for an M.A. at University of Calcutta, but had to interrupt studies to concentrate on her career as an actress.

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NEWS, Women,s voices

Rita Azevedo Gomes recieves Imagineindia Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024

Rita Azevedo Gomes is an independent filmmaker who, since 1989, the year of her first feature film, has been recognized for her quality and autonomy in the film industry. Her films have been acclaimed by both national and international critics and have been selected for various film festivals worldwide. She has received numerous awards and has been honoured with retrospectives of her work. She is frequently invited to participate in symposiums, master classes, and debates.

She has been active in the fields of Cinema, Theatre, Opera, and other artistic domains since the early 1970s. As a filmmaker, after her debut feature film, “The Sound of the Shaking Earth” (1989), she persisted with determination in her cinematic endeavors. Nearly a decade passed, and in 2001, she directed her second feature film, “Fragile as the World,” which was enthusiastically received at the Venice Film Festival and highly praised by critics.

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Women,s voices

Anemone (Alicia Hernanpérez) Spain

Anemone
Alicia Hernanpérez
Spain. 2022. 14 min

Samantha and David are in the car looking out to sea. They are going to scatter their mother’s ashes on the beach of their childhood, but nothing goes as planned. Sister and brother will face their respective truths about that mother figure. This is a story about a miscarried ritual. It tells the difference between what we imagine and what actually happens.

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