2010 Films

An entire village in Northern Iraq is wiped out when misinformed American soldiers stage a nighttime raid.Cennet , a young Turkmen girl is the only survivor and jouneys to her elder brother who was hurt in the bomb blast.

“Nothing in the world will last – it is but a two day fair” sings Mura
Lala, drawing inspiration from the Sufi traditions of Sant Kabir and
Bhita'i. The film is a two day journey into the music and everyday life of this uncle-nephew duo, set against the backdrop of the Rann.

African Lullaby is a piece from Lullabies of the World – a Metronom Film collection of animated films based on lullabies of different nations. The movies are made for everybody, but mostly for children. Every lullaby is performed in its original language and the songs are performed by Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Ana’s Playground is an allegory about the moment when a child is forced to choose between ideology and humanity while living and playing in a dangerous war environment. The story culminates with a glimpse of how war and violence affect the humanity of a child, and how the world at large often reacts to this tragedy.

Behind the Rainbow explores the transition of the ANC from a liberation organization into South Africa's ruling party, through the evolution of of the relationship between two of its most prominent cadres, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma.

Bridge Between Two Worlds charts the remarkable journey of three newly arrived refugee children at an Australian primary School. Their stories, told from the childrens' perspective, provides a touching, dynamic and entertaining insight into the ever changing face of Australian society.

A delightful short film that shows how if we could all behave more like children, the world would be a better place.

From 1961 to 1991, Africa was a battleground for four different competing interests. The Soviet Union wanted to extend its influence into a new continent; the U.S. lusted after Africa's natural resources; former European empires felt their grip on the area weaken; and, newly formed African nations fought to defend their recently won independence. When the latter called on Cuban guerillas to aid them in their struggle, Castro and Cuba stepped in to build a new offensive strategy, which would have long-lasting influence on developing countries in their battles against colonialism.

A documentary focussing on the coast of Kenya and the fishing community. It explores the problems of population growth, shortage of resources, poverty and hunger.

It’s morning - and the postman delivers a package to Ernst. It’s a brand new soccer ball. Mother goes with ernst to the yard. The other boys want to play with Ernst, but they run too fast.

"Finder of Lost Children" is the story of two half-sisters that meet for the first time at the funeral of the father neither one of them knew. These reluctant siblings make a road trip to deal with their father's meager possessions and in so doing discover the existence of several other lost brothers and sisters who are unaware of their father's passing.

A middle aged God-fearing South African woman (Yvonne Chaka Chaka) starts having nightmares and becomes violently ill. She seeks medical and spiritual attention and is advised to go to a sangoma. She is instructed to travel to Nigeria where she encounters her nemesis. Is this real or all just a terrible nightmare?

In 1965, Freddy Ilanga, a 15-year-old Congolese boy became Che Guevara’s personal Swahili translator and was subsequently sent to Cuba. At first Freddy thought his stay in Cuba would be temporary. However, 40 years and he lost all contact with his family. That is until 2003, when he received an unexpected phone call from the Congo. His family had finally found him...

The rags to riches story of a young country girl, Gloria Minto who was determined to makes the most of life. She came from humble beginnings and with the help of those around her and the will of only a Jamaican woman, she fought her way to success and prosperity.

Cooee! Here I come! Hans Chris- tian Andersen’s celebrated fairy tale about the poor country lad whose creativity and frankness winds him the princess and half the kingdom. The film is a puppet animation and is even performed with sign language.

A young girl leaves the village where she grew up with her grandmother, to go to 'the city' in search of her mother. However, after she arrives things don't go to plan.

Madala is an 11 year old boy. He is love with his neighbour, Josefina, a prostitute. Madala knows about AIDS, he knows how to get it and how to prevent it and he knows Josefina can get it easily if she doesn't use a condom. He doesn’t know how to talk to her about it, but because he loves her, he desperately wants to help...so he finds an original and unique way to do so!!

Over the course of just one day, this film gives an intimate portrait of the lives of a child soldier, a maid and a hip hop dancer living in Uganda today.

A thought-provoking exploration into Islam on the magical Ilha de Mocambique. 

After Mobutu, King of Zaire and Congo River, the Belgian director Thierry Michel pursues his exploration of Central Africa.

His new documentary, entitled Katanga Business, is a kind of political economic thriller, which takes place in this south-eastern province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the world’s richest regions in mining resources.

In a little village somewhere in af- rica, a boy named kirikou is born. He’s extremely small but has an enormous will-power.

Lamu’s archipelgo in Kenya at “Mauladi  annually celebrates the birth of Prophet Mohamed .There is a pilgrimage that takes place where Muslims I East Africa and the middle east for a few days to express religious fervor and attend festivities on the main island.

A unemployed actor lives out his acting urges as a ticket inspector in the subway. He finally reaches his goal, but not without paying a high price. A tragicomedy about the search for a place in society.

Sofia wants to be a movie director. Soon she will find out that Lola,
her teen sister, wants to turn into a butterfly and “be taken by the wind”

Three friends on holiday find an abandoned briefcase at a

bus stop. They decide to keep it, but soon realise that it might not be so easy.

A heartwarming, but tragic documentay that tells the stories of children living  with HIV in Uganda. 

The African Premiere of Motherland (Enat Hager) directed by award winning director Owen Ailk Shahadah.

Motherland is a bold, epic documentary that fuses history, culture and politics to tell a new dynamic story of a continent. A fascinating narrative unfolds with interviews from  Meles Zenawi, Jacob Zuma, Ali Mazuri and Harry Belafonte.

The gum tattoo is a common tradition in West Africa. Formerly, to show pain during the process which enabled them to reach adult life was very shameful for the women and their families. This short film gives us an insight on this disregarded custom which reveals a new facet of African culture

A young businessman is shot on his birthday as he returns home from his birthday party one night with his fiancée, Victoria. A few weeks later, the assailants come back and stab him to death. Overwhelmed by the shock and loss, Victoria decides to leave Montreal to start a brand new life.But the killers come after her too....

Ndoto Za Elibidi was devised originally as a stage play with actors
from the Nairobi slums. This Swahili story pivots around the theme of
acceptance and love as its colourful protagonists - parents, four
daughters and their lovers - come to terms with HIV and ghetto life.

For more than a half million women each year, pregnancy is a death sentence. Every minute another mother dies from a complication in pregnancy or childbirth, many of which could be prevented. A gripping documentary that tells the powerful personal stories of pregnant women and their caregivers in four countries as they try to avoid becoming one of these troubling statistics.

The child naming ceremony in Yorubaland, reveals that "oriki" goes beyond the word-tag differentiating one person from another, but it is a serious and time honoured tradition for giving a newborn child an identity.

Fearless and feisty the 'Rough Aunties' are a remarkable group of women unwavering in their stand to protect and care for the abused, neglected and forgotten children of Durban, South Africa. This newest documentary by internationally acclaimed director Kim Longinotto follows this outspoken, multiracial cadre of women as they wage a daily battle against systemic apathy, corruption and greed to help the most vulnerable and disenfranchised of their communities.

A beautiful young lady in her mid twenties is disabled and in a wheel chair.  Only one man in the community sees beyond Saida’s disability and promises to love her...but he is a servant....and Saida's parents won't allow it, until they find out the shocking news that Saida is pregnant. 

A candid account of sexual conceptions and misconceptions set in the context of Harare. A group of seven men and seven women aged between 23 and 53 years are booked into a hotel for six days and asked various questions pertaining to sex and sexuality, individually and in groups in a desire to deviate from the paralysis caused by the HIV and Aids agenda.

'Shungu' follows the lives of ordinary people as Zimbabwe experiences political turmoil, economic meltdown and health care collapse. Interwoven throughout is the tumultuous political power struggle between President Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's liberator turned dictator - and his nemesis opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. The film gives voice to the hopes and challenges of ordinary people, revealing life under one of Africa’s last “strongmen.”

Iran's Solitude directed by Mehrdad Sheikhan has been awarded at the 2010 Tiburon International Film Festival in the US.  
Solitude recounts the story of a stone monster, living a lonely life on his barren stone planet.
A poetic and tragic animation about loneliness.

Neta has lived her entire life in a small village.  She is about to marry a young farmer. Her life is quiet and peaceful...until one day her sister visits with a handsome companion. And he seems to like Neta. Her peaceful little world is about to be irrevocably changed....

A young girl, abandoned as an infant, reflects about the steps people take each day and wonders what could have happened to her if a stranger never "stepped" in her direction. 

During a terrible storm, 12-year- old freddy saves a dog from its volatile owner. Freddy names the dog storm and hides the dog in his room. Later storm’s owner spots a good deal. Freddy must work hard to pay back the owner, but when the boy notices storm is a fast runner, he starts to train him at the local racetrack.

A short comedy about a young man who had a really bad day and tries to commit suicide...but fails spectacularly to pull it off.

Symphony Kinshasa takes a hard hitting tour through Congo’s capital city and discover the consequences of graft, neglect and poverty, as Siku’s film reveals Kinshasa’a imploding infrastructure. Malaria is rife, fresh water is as rare as flood water is common, electricity cables lie bare and live in the street, garbage is everywhere and as a priest notes “living in the capital is like living in a village. The services are the same, non existent.” It’s not pretty but it’s revelatory.

Henry Singer's gripping film tells the story of the extraordinary life and brutal death of filmmaker-turned-conservationist Joan Root, and of her campaign to save her beloved Lake Naivasha in Kenya. The film is both a biopic and a classic whodunit. Who killed Joan Root?

It is dawn in Yaoundé. Coco, a twenty-something Cameroonian, is driving a pretty young woman in his taxi. On the way to the airport he tries to chat her up, but she seems absent, watching with melancholy the streets of the town she is leaving.

A journey into hidden manuscripts through the life of one of Africa’s greatest scholars, Ahmed Baba (Eriq Ebouaney).

That morning, Fally left to the public office for social welfare of Ixelles to receive his social allowance, but then the things became complicated. There he started acting in such a way that his future changed drastically. He will be interned at a Psychiatric Institute.

The Pardon tells the story of two best friends Karemera and Manzi. Manzi killed Karemera's brother during the genocide. When Karemera hears, after the genocide has ended that Manzi has been released from prison, he decides he must seek his revenge.

A beautiful short film set in a San settlement in South Africa that uses drama and animation to tell the story of a relationship between grandfather and grandson and their relationship with the ancestors.

A group of Zambian youths talk openly about sex and their personal sexual encounters. As they share their experiences, a wide range of values and morals concerning sexual behaviours are discussed. From abstinence to condom use and peer pressure, we get a glimpse of what is on young peoples’ minds.

The documentary essay invites one on an atmospheric journey through inter- spaces of the imagination. The movie flows from the contemplations of a German child into the center of Dar- es-Salaam during the fall of 2009. The opening up of the interspaces give way to another view, that is not so much on Tanzania or Africa, but a view that is coming from the inside.

30 talented young female footballers come together as the national women's football team, affectionately nicknamed the 'Twiga Stars,' and prepare for their biggest competition ever. Following the Twiga Stars through the gruel of intensive training, the heartbreak of team cuts, and the tragedies of life that strike along the way... then on to incredible achievements. The Twiga Stars aren't just a team. They're a family. Cheer them on as they fight to prove wanawake wanaweza, meaning 'women are capable.'

Filmed over three years and spanning two continents, We Are Together tells the remarkable story of a group of children who use music to overcome hardship and loss.  It is the story of an orphanage, unlike one you’ve ever seen before, and of the drive of these remarkable young singers and their teachers to make it to London for a series of concerts.  

In a colourful and vibrant town, all the people and animals can whistle – with one exception, namely the small bird called whistleless. But all whistleless wants, is to take part in the music and festivities of the town.

A beautiful portrait of Yande Coudou, Senegal's  much loved poet and musician.

At sunset, the streets of Stone Town are alive with the buzz of joyful Taarab sounds, Zanzibar's own musical tradition that reflects two millennium of the island's cultural exchange at spice routes crossroads.