OFF-AFFBCN 2021 LA VIDA QUE NOS QUEDA_Esp-1

Ciclo de cine OFF-AFFBCN: «La vida que nos queda» en los Cinemes Girona

The key words for this cycle are everyday life and culture of origin, as represented in the cinematographies of the countries from which the titles we have selected for this cycle originate. India, Iran, Hong Kong, China, Nepal and Singapore look into the mirrors that cinema creates through the multiple images that contribute to the narratives gathered in this exhibition. The respective films to be screened have in common the dates of production – all are from 2020 and 2021 – and all are characterized by the dramatic genre that defines them. La vida que nos queda (The life we have left) is a statement intended to encompass the conflicts that arise from the corresponding stories and the not always expected outcomes that occur in these filmographies. On the one hand, Iranian cinema is very present in this selection with three titles, as it is in the Asian Film Festival Barcelona and in the programming we do throughout the year. On the other hand, productions from Hong Kong, China and India also have a very relevant role in this cycle because, despite the smaller volume of films, these are titles that the public will appreciate for their subject matter. And finally, it is also worth mentioning the titles from Singapore and Nepal that we have added to this program for their contribution to La vida que nos queda (The life we have left) .

PROGRAM

Saturday, December 11, 2021, at 8 p.m.

Emkan is a 17-year-old teenager who has not seen his father for many years and his mother works until late night in a factory. He has a small recording camera and he decides to make a film to give a twist to his routine life. Although Emkan is not very proficient, he tries his best to achieve his goal. This film was part of the Oficial Section of AFFBCN2021.

Born in 1957 in Saveh, Abolfazl Jalili is a writer and director. He is considered one of the members of the Iranian new wave, he started making amateur films at the age of 16, and made more than eleven documentaries, three short films and two medium-length films. In 1984, he started making feature films including Hafez (2007), Gol Ya Pooch (2005), Abjad (2003), Delbaran (2001), Don (1998), La Gale (1989), Bahar (1986), which are just some of the more than fifteen titles he has made throughout his career.

Saturday, December 18, 2021, at 8 p.m.

Vasantrao is the biography of the Hindustani classical maverick Vasantrao Deshpande. Born in a village in Vidarbha, Maharashtra and then single-handedly raised by his mother in Nagpur, Vasantrao’s life is a canvas of exciting events. Events that shaped his life and ultimately his music. It includes his unique friendship with P.L. Deshpande and Begum Akhtar, life in Indian Military Accounts, learning music in Lahore to his posting on the Indo-China border during the 1962 war, or performing in Katyaar Kaljaat Ghusli, the play that made him a force to be reckoned with. The film tries to show the unknown story of Vasantrao to understand how he came to be known as Pandit Vasantrao Deshpande. This film was part of the Oficial Section of AFFBCN2021.

Nipun Dharmadhikari is a filmmaker, writer and actor. He won a National Award for Dhappa, the film with which he made his debut as a filmmaker. Although he works mainly in Marathi, his mother tongue, Nipun also writes and directs in Hindi. Despite his dedication to cinema, he has not left the world of theater, where he continues to direct and act in Marathi and English.

Saturday, January 8, 2022, at 8 p.m.

Before losing his battle with cancer, cultural icon Julian Lee left behind an autobiographical screenplay based on his experience of the disease. Director Kit Hung brings the script to life seven years after Lee’s tragic death. The life of Alex, a young gay photographer, is turned upside down when he is diagnosed with peritoneal cancer. Abandoned by his brother and a lover with whom he has an unstable relationship, Alex has to endure with true resilience a long and tortuous treatment, which forces him to have a stoma that will cause a painful loss of his sexual identity. This film was part of the Hong Kong New Talents and Oficial Panorama Section of AFFBCN2021.

Kit Hung graduated with a Master’s degree in Fine Arts at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is the Lecturer of the Academy of Film at the Hong Kong Baptist University, and is currently a PhD student at Goldsmiths (University of London). His feature debut Soundless Wind Chime (2009) was one of the three finalists nominated for the Teddy Award at Berlinale. Stoma is his second feature film.

Saturday, January 15, 2022, at 8 p.m.

Right before Soodeh Sharifzadegan’s second marriage, her 11-year-old son, Matiar, is kidnapped. After considerable effort, Soodeh is forced to ask for the ransom money from her ex-husband, Peyman. After Matiar’s release, Soodeh, being curious, comes to the sudden realization that it was all her son’s plan to provide the grounds for his father’s return. This film was part of the Official Panorama Section of AFFBCN2021.

Kazem Mollaie started filmmaking with a short film named From Game to … in 1999. Mollaie hold a B.A. in Cinema Directing from Soore University of Tehran in 2005. He has been the member of several organizations such as Iranian Young Cinema Society (IYCS), the Iranian Alliance of Motion Picture Guilds (Khaneh Cinema) and member of Board of Directors of Iranian Short Film Association (ISFA). He is known for his first feature movie named Kupal (2017) and short films like Delete (2011) and Minus (2009).

Saturday, January 22, 2022, at 8 p.m.

A woman in New York and her abandoned daughter in Singapore, both grappling with depression and existentialism, pursue a change in their lives in order to overcome thoughts of suicide. The woman is Min, an author with writer’s block. She is haunted by an imaginary nemesis and unsettled by failed relationships with her father and ex-lover. In another corner of the Earth, Renée, is a daughter she has never met. Renée is working on a new art project to cope with the sudden end of her marriage. Over the course of four days, their nightmares, obsessions and illusions unravel an interconnectedness between mother and child in a daily struggle to survive. Meanwhile, the invisible fabric of an alternate universe reveals a different fate for the both of them. This film was part of the Oficial Panorama Section of AFFBCN 2021.

John Clang is a Singaporean visual artist working with photography and film. Based in New York for almost two decades, his art practice often straddles dual realities of global cities, unfettered by confines of time and geography. His works have entered the permanent collection of Singapore Art Museum and National Museum of Singapore. In 2018, he made his first foray into film with Their Remaining Journey, which has its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Saturday, January 29, 2022, at 8 p.m.

Tin-yan got 15 minutes of fame as a child thanks to his magical power: being able to see a second of the future. However, he ended up becoming an adult victim of the potential he failed to tap. He makes a living working in a bar to support his son as a single father. But when the owner of a decaying boxing gym notices Tin-yan’s supernatural power, he thinks he could turn to him to get his business back on track. This film was part of the Special Section of AFFBCN 2021.

Chiu Sin-hang graduated from the School of Film & Television of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He is a singer, actor, screenwriter, and director. In 2017 he won the HAF Award of the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum and co-directed Vampire Cleanup Department with Anthony Yan. One Second Champion is his solo directorial feature debut.

Saturday, February 5, 2022, at 8 p.m.

One night a girl takes a man injured in an accident to the hospital near where she and a boy she barely knows were, in Kathmandu. The girl, a frustrated poet, is the victim of a depressive state that plunges her into incommunicado and does not even allow her to respond to the kind gestures of the stranger. She returns to her village the next morning after years of constant conflict in the city. The boy, a tour guide from India, is on a trip to Kathmandu and will also leave in the morning. They leave separately from the hospital when the injured man’s relatives arrive but meet again unexpectedly. This film was part of the Special Section of AFFBCN 2021.

Mohan Rai studied at the Academy of Audiovisual Arts and Sciences in Kathmandu, Nepal, and at the Asian Film and Television Academy in Noida, India. He has written and directed short films, documentaries, promotional and educational videos. His documentary Sakhi was screened in 2013 at the fourth edition of the Toronto Nepali Film Festival. Another documentary of his, Anjali: How Long Can Someone Live in Other’s Skin, was screened in 2016 at the seventh edition of the International Queer Film Festival, KASHISH Mumbai, India, and at the fourth edition of the Nepal International Human Rights Film Festival. Mohan also writes about film, reviews and has edited two film publications.

Saturday, February 12, 2022, at 8 p.m. (In the context of the CHINESE NEW YEAR)

A young lady comes to Lhasa alone for pilgrimage, but a “multicolored magical lobster” enshrined by other people has totally changed her plans. She decides to take the lobster home to the ocean, and this sets her and the lobster on a journey that takes her through China. During her journey, she comes across many interesting characters and experiences. At the same time, memories, dreams, and hallucinations emerge intermittently. The journey to set the lobster free comes to an end in an unexpected way, and the protagonist finally reaches the most secret place in her heart. This film won the award for best film in the Discoveries Section of AFFBCN 2021.

Queena Li (China, 1985) studied communication and film production at York St. John University, in the UK, and film directing at the Beijing Film Academy. She has written, directed and produced four short films, one of which was nominated at several domestic and international film festivals, including XiNing The First Youth Film Festival, American International Film Festival, California International Shorts Festival, and Macau International Movie Festival. Li also produces commercials and music videos.

Saturday, February 19, 2022, at 8 p.m.

The story is based on true events that took place in 1987. Sardasht, a Kurdish city in the Iran/Iraq border, along with several villages in the surrounding areas are attacked with chemical weapons by Iraqi forces. Ghader, a villager from the area and his pregnant wife, as well as his three young children, are exposed to the chemicals and suffer injuries. The situation in the village and surrounding cities is chaotic. Ghader must singlehandedly try to keep his family alive. This film won the awards for best film and best direction in the Special Section of AFFBCN2021.

Mohammad Hossein Mahdavian was born 1981 in Babol, Iran. He graduated from Soore University with a Bachelor of Film and Television in Directing. He holds a master’s degree in production from the Iran Broadcasting University. «Standing in the Dust» was named the best film at the 2015 Fajr Film Festival. For the second time, he received the award in 2016 for «The Midday Adventures».

11/12/2021 – 19/02/2022
Saturdays from the 11th of December, 2021, to the 19th of February, 2022, at 8 p.m.
Cinemes Girona | c/ Girona, 175, 08025 Barcelona
Ticket price: 4,5€
Price for subscribers and members of Cinemes Girona: 3€
Casa Asia and Cinemes Girona, in collaboration with CREATEHK, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, HKIFF, Irimage, Cultural Council of the Embassy of the R.I. from Iran in Spain and the Farabi Foundation.