The Cranes are Flying
Mikhail Kalatozov
Russia. 1957. 96 min

This landmark film by the virtuosic Mikhail Kalatozov was heralded as a revelation in the post-Stalin Soviet Union and the international cinema community alike. It tells the story of Veronica (Tatiana Samoilova) and Boris (Alexei Batalov), a couple who are blissfully in love until World War II tears them apart. With Boris at the front, Veronica must try to ward off spiritual numbness and defend herself from the increasingly forceful advances of her beau’s draft-dodging cousin. Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival, The Cranes Are Flying is a superbly crafted drama with impassioned performances and viscerally emotional, gravity-defying cinematography by Kalatozov’s regular collaborator Sergei Urusevsky.

MIKHAIL KALATOZOV

Mikhail Kalatozov was born on December 28, 1903 in Tiflis, Russian Empire [now Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia. He was a director and cinematographer, known for Vernye druz’ya (1954) and Zagovor obrechyonnykh (1950). He died on March 27, 1973 in Moscow.
In 1934-1936 was a general director of film concern Sakhkinmretsvi. In 1936 left Georgia.
Born in the same town as the genius Sergei Parajanov.
Was appointed Deputy Minister for Film in the 1950s.
Was censured by the Soviet government for ‘negativism’ and forced to do administrative work for seven years (1932-1939), before being allowed to resume his directing career.
In the Georgian film industry as actor, cameraman and editor from 1923, graduating to directing in 1928.
Spent eighteen months in Los Angeles during World War II on a diplomatic assignment. This allowed him to watch Hollywood films unavailable in the USSR.

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Mandi
Shyam Benegal
India. 1983. 160 min
Cast : Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah

This classic film is based on a classic Urdu short story ‘Aanandi’ by Pakistani writer Ghulam Abbas. It deals with a brothel at the heart of a city, in an area that some politicians want for its prime locality. They rally up against the brothel and its inhabitants in the name of morality, and soon everyone in the area jumps on the bandwagon. The politicians offer to put up an alternative residence for the prostitutes, only this place is miles away, isolated from the city. The madam of the house has no choice but to comply, but by the end things take a (logical) turn for the better. After all, men will be men.

Under the sun
Yang Qiu
China.   2015.  19 min

Venue :   Función Lenguaje
Date :   27 may.  19.30 h

One incident occurs, two families tangle. There’s nothing new under the sun.

In her words
Annie Zaidi
India.  2015.  42 min.

The Film traces the historical and social journeys of Indian women’s lives as revealed through the literature they created in every era. The story of how women lived, and their march towards freedom and self-definition was not officially documented. However, through the verses of nuns, bhakti devotee rebels, folk songs, verses written by courtesans, amateur anthropologists, the memoirs of activists, and modern literature, we witness the oppressions and aspirations of Indian womanhood over two millenia. The film traces these changes through the translators, publishers, historians, and contemporary writers and readers who are pushing towards a more gender equal society.

Something Better to Come
Hana Polak
Denmark/Poland. 2014. 95 min
Cast : Yula, Hanna Polak

Venue : Función Lenguaje
Dates :  28 may.  19.30h

Ten-year-old Yula has but one dream – to lead a normal life. For 14 years, Hanna Polak follows Yula as she grows up in the forbidden territory of Svalka, the garbage dump located 13 miles from the Kremlin in Putin’s Russia.