INFORMATION
Director: Eugènia Balcells
Year: 2020
Duration: 72’30’’
Language: VOSE
Genre: Documentary
SYNOPSIS
Cartas de Akyab is conceived due to some letters found in an old travel bag, after Eugènia Balcells’s great-grandmother, Luisa, who had hidden them all throughout her life, passed away. On those letters is stated the date and place where they were written: Akyab, Myanmar. The spaces where there should be her name where blank, the words had been carefully erased to keep the secret of their origin. Starting from this evidence, and looking forward to a personal research, this documentary shows us the relationship between East and West, women’s issues and racial and social prejudice, great value and simple humanity of some unknown traditions, through an introspective journey, a search for the origins, a recognition of the feminine lineage and a fascinating discovery. This film honors Eugènia’s Burmese ancestors, that were forced to hide their origin in order to keep living in Europe where they were sent to study. The recognition and integration of this valuable vital heritage finds a meaning and gives coherence to the artist’s work as a whole. Thus, it becomes a multiple kaleidoscope of various reading positions, and a cultural patrimony of universal interest.
DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY
Eugènia Balcells was born in Barcelona and graduated in Technical Architecture. In 1968, she moves to New York and resumes her artistic training at the University of Iowa, where she obtains the MA in 1971. She starts her artistic activity during the mid-70s, in the context of conceptual art, being one of the pioneers in experimental cinema and audiovisual art in her country. The first installations, movies and videos she creates identify with the critico-sociological trends, addressing issues related to contemporary consumerist society and the effect of communication media on mass culture. Nowadays, she also teaches at different centers and universities. In her workshops and courses she works light as the creative essence, integrating various areas of knowledge in her vision, such as philosophy, literature, poetry or physics.
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180º Rule

18Khz

1990

A Balance

A Leave (휴가)

A Love Unknown

A New Day

A’HR

Abhijan (THE EXPEDITION)

Along the Sea

Anima

APARAJITO (THE INVINCIBLE)

Apur sansar (the world of apu)

Aranyer din ratri (Days and nights in the forest)

Around The Table

Bandar Band

Bedridden

Better Days (少年的你)

Bipolar

Borderlands

Bridge

Café By the Highway

Camino Skies

Can Neither Stay Here, Nor Journey Beyond

Captive (Nazarband)

Cartas de Akyab

Charulata (Charulata or the lonely wife)

Children of the Night

Cinema Shahre Gheseh

COLD

Come Here

Crossroads (Tapguan)

Debris of Desire

Devi (The goddess)

Don’t Go Too Far (멀리가지마라)

Drifting (濁水漂流)

Drive My Car

Drown (Shena-ye Parvaneh)

Drowning In Holy Water

El Barro de la Revolución

Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie’s Dead Aunt)

Eternally Younger Than Those Idiots

Far Frontiers

Faraway My Shadow Wandered

Fire on the Plain

Friends and Strangers

Ganashatru (An enemy of the people)

Ghare-Baire (Bimala’s world)

God on the Balcony

GOOPY GYNE BAGHA BYNE (GOOPY AND BAGHA’S ADVENTURES)

H is For Happiness

Hail, Driver

Hand Rolled Cigarette (手捲煙)

I am Vasantrao

I Don’t Fire Myself (나는 나를 해고하지 않는다)

I Met A Girl

In the Wake

Jalsaghar (The music room)

Jeux de Plage

Josée (조제)

Just 1 Day (給我1天)

Keep Rolling (好好拍電影)

Lato Kosero

Life in 24 Frames

Lockdown

Los mensajes ocultos de Ganga

Love, Life and Goldfish

Mahanagar (One Night in Kathmandu)

Mahanagar (The Big City)

Malu

My Childhood, My Country: 20 Years in Afghanistan

Nayak (The Hero)

Not Today

On Your Mom, Get, Set, Go! / Zero to Hero (媽媽的神奇小子)

One More Rainbow (Isa Pang Bahagari)

One Second Champion (秒拳王)

Our Midnight (아워 미드나잇)

Paranoia

Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road)

Pratidwandi (The Adversary)

Ready O/R Knot (不日成婚)

Restart

Rosemary’s Way

Running to the Sky

Sehar

Shakha Proshakha (Branches of the tree)

Shatranj Ke Khilari (The chess players)

Son of the Macho Dancer (Anak ng macho dancer)

Stars Await Us

Stoma (造口人)

Streamline

The Australian Dream

The Badger

The Blue Girl (Dokhtar-e Abi)

The Dogs Didn’t Sleep Last Night (Sag-ha Dishab Na-khabidand)

The Flute

The Forbidden Strings

The Fourth Round (Rand-e Chaharom)

The Great Indian Kitchen

The Inheritance (Mord-e Khor)

The Lake

The Reversed Path (Masir-e Makus)

The Road to Eden

The Single Tumbler

The Slaughterhouse (Koshtargah)

The Woman

The Women

The Year of the Everlasting Storm

Time (殺出個黃昏)

Ulbolsyn

Unboxing Girl (평평남녀)

Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash

Walnut Tree

Water Boy

What We Left Unfinished

Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (Gūzen to Sōzo)

Where is Pinki?

Wind

Wu Hai

Yellow Cat
