October 2008
| Oslo Dokumentarkinos arrangementer på Film fra Sør / Oslo Dokumentarkino's events at the Films from the South festival | |
| A Promise to the Dead Without the King Lakshmi and Me Shock Waves From Prison to Parliament Download one-page overview in pdf for print here |  |
  ----- ALLENDE 100 YEARS: THE LEGACY OF SALVADOR ALLENDE IN LATIN AMERICA Special event following the screening on Sunday Oct. 12, 15:00, Vika 1: With: Mariano Aguirre and Richard Gott. Moderator: Sarah Prosser (Discussion in English) Mariano Aguirre is a political analyst and Director of FRIDE, Madrid Richard Gott is a well known journalist/writer and historian.  Salvador Allende was born in 1908 and died on the 11th September 1973 during Pinochet’s bloody coup. Allende introduced socialist politics through democratic means, and in so-doing created an expectation amongst people in Chile and Latin America that real change was possible. The coup, backed by Washington, destroyed this vision of a democratic route to greater equality and justice. In the film A Promise to the Dead Ariel Dorfman makes a connection between Allende and Latin American politicians today. Is the legacy of Salvador Allende still alive in Latin America? Is there any connection between Allende’s presidency in the 1970’s and the new left movements of Latin America? What will a new president in Washington mean for Latin America? |  ---- A Promise to the Dead. The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman Director: Peter Raymont Canada 2007, 90 min Languages: English and Spanish, subtitled in English Ariel Dorfman was cultural advisor to the Allende government in Chile in 1973 when Pinochet took power through a bloody military coup. Dorfman was one of very few members of the government to survive the coup alive. He has interpreted his role on this earth to tell the story of the dead and those that disappeared after 11 September 1973. Dorfman’s life of exile and his reflections on what happened 28 years before the second 11 September represents the emotions and fates of many Chileans who were also forced to flee their country in the 70’s. It also provides a deeply emotional and poetic comment on how innocent death and the abuse of power can affect the human soul and an individual’s identity ----- I anledning at det er 100 år siden Salvador Allende ble født viser vi denne filmen om Ariel Dorfman. Dorfman var rådgiver for Allendes regjering fram til Pinochets kupp i 1973, og var en av de få i regjeringen som overlevde. Han har siden sett på sin rolle som en som må fortelle historien til de som ble drept og det som ble tapt 11. september 1973. Dorfmans liv i eksil og hans refleksjoner over hva som hendte 28 år før den neste "11. september" representerer følelsene og skjebnene til mange chilenere som også ble tvunget på flukt fra militærdiktaturet. Filmen gir også et bilde av hvordan maktmisbruk og uskyldiges død påvirker et menneskes sjel og identitet. A Promise to the Dead is screening: Sun. Oct. 12 15:00 Vika 1 (with discussion) Tue. Oct. 14 19:00 Tancred (Cinemateket) Wed. Oct. 15 16:30 Lillebil (Cinemateket) Download one-page overview in pdf for print here |
  ---- DEMOCRACY VS. IDENTITY Discussion with director Michael Skolnik after the screening on Saturday Oct. 11, 13:00. (Discussion in English) Is there a conflict between democratisation and modernisation on one hand and maintaining traditions and identity on the other? Swaziland is the last absolute monarchy in Africa. In the film Without the King Mswati III, the present king, who lives a life of luxury while his people are among the poorest on the planet, argues that a political reform will rob them of their culture, and therefore their identity. Does he have a point? | ---- Without the King Director: Michael Skolnik Swaziland/USA 2007, 84 min Language: English Without the King tells the story of Swaziland - where the last absolute monarch in Africa rules over what is one of the world’s poorest populations. While the king lives a life of luxury, the majority of the population lives in abject poverty, with the highest rate of HIV in the world and the lowest life expectancy in the world. Through close interviews with the royal family and with citizens plotting to bring about an end to tyrannical rule, the film paints a picture of a country which is destined to experience dramatic political change in the not too distant future. ---- Without the King er en historie om Swaziland. Swaziland er Afrikas siste absolutte monarki, og er også et av verdens fattigste land. Mens kongen lever et liv i luksus, lever størstedelen av befolkningen i dyp fattigdom, og landet herjes også av AIDS. Filmen forteller, gjennom nære intervjuer både med kongefamilien og med deler av den undertrykte opposisjonen, en historie om et land som i nær framtid vil gjennomgå en drastisk politisk endring. Dette er både en personlig fortelling om noen av menneskene som lever midt i denne endringen, og en historie om et lands utvikling. Without the King is screening: Fri. Oct. 10 14:30 Vika 3 Sat. Oct. 11 13:00 Vika 2 (with discussion) Tue. Oct. 14 16:50 Eldorado 3 Download one-page overview in pdf for print here |
  ---- CASTE, CLASS AND WEALTH - HOW INDIAN SOCIETY IS RESPONDING TO ECONOMIC GROWTH Saturday, Oct. 18., 17:00, Tancred (Cinemateket) (Discussion in English) Discussion with Namrata Goswami, IDSA, New Dehli, after the screening. Goswami is a researh fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies (IDSA) where one of her fields of research is Ethnic and Intra-State Conflicts. She has a PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University. She has both experience with the caste system and many thoughts about what is needed to change the Indian caste and class system. Though outlawed by the Indian Constitution the caste system, in various forms, continues to survive in modern India strengthened by a combination of social perceptions and class/economic status. Nishtha Jain’s film Lakshmi and Me is about the relationship she has with her own maid who is defined by society as a social inferior. The discussion afterwards will consider to what degree the positive economic growth recorded in recent years in India is integral to the breaking down of social divides. It will also debate whether, alternatively, increased differences in wealth contributes to these divisions being preserved or even strengthened. | ---- Lakshmi and Me Director: Nishta Jain India 2007, 59 min Languages: English, hindi, marathi, tamil Subtitled in English Indian society is today still characterised by fundamental divisions based on both class and caste. Nishtha Jain’s film is about the relationship she has with her own maid who is defined by society as a social inferior. A western audience can appreciate how deep-rooted the social divisions are and at the same time appreciate why individuals are beginning to challenge traditional definitions and to demand change. Lakshmi and Me is a reflective and deeply personal film. Only one hour long it is able to carefully approach a subject and tell a story that leaves us closer to understanding ingrained Indian social and cultural attitudes, attitudes that are subject to increasing resistance. ---- India er fremdeles et samfunn som er dypt splittet i klasse- og kastemotsetninger. Nishta Jain har laget en film om forholdet til sin egen hushjelp som er av lavere kaste, og klasse. I filmen får vi et lite innblikk i hvor rotfestet disse skillene er samtidig som vi også ser at mange utfordrer de tradisjonelle skillelinjene og krever forandring. Dette er en ganske stillfarende film og bare en time lang, men nettopp med en slik forsiktig tilnærming og en fortelling som kommer så nær menneskene i den kan vi kanskje forstå noe av hvilke sosiale tradisjoner mennesker i India lever med, og av og til slåss mot. Film screenings: Tue. Oct. 14 14:15 Vika 3 (screening with Shock Waves) Sat. Oct. 18 15:00 Tancred/Cinemateket (with discussion) Download one-page overview in pdf for print here |
   ---- MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY IN DR CONGO Wed. Oct. 15, 17:30 in Vika 2 (Discussion in Norwegian) The journalists working for Radio Okapi fundamentally believe that by reporting the daily events and news from around the country they will make a crucial contribution to a transition to a more democratic and peaceful society. They are willing to risk their lives on a daily basis to deliver the true stories of even the worst abuses that are happening across the country. Is freedom of expression possible in the DRC and can the radio journalists we meet in the film Shock Waves really make any difference? Discussion (in Norwegian) with Morten Bøås (Fafo). Morten Bøås has travelled and undertaken research in central Africa for many years and in doing so has amassed a deep knowledge of the country, the people and the situations they live in. | ---- Shock Waves Director Pierre Mignault Canada 2007, 52 min. English/French - subtitled in English See trailer: click on image below A film about a UN-backed independent radio station in the Democratic Republic of Congo where journalists risk everything to ensure local voices report the truth about the violence and oppression that dominates this country. The of journalists of Radio Okapi believes that freedom of speech is the most important factor in building stable democratic institutions. They are prepared to risk their lives on a daily basis to gather and disseminate information about what is actually happening in this country – a country that is rich in natural resources but that is ridden with violence, corruption and human rights violations on a massive scale. ”Journalism must speak for those who have no voice, for people without power who cannot speak out, but who can only whisper. You start with that and take it further” José Menga, reporter for Radio Okapi. ---- En film om en uavhengig radiostasjon i Den demokratiske republikken Kongo. Journalistene i Radio Okapi i Kinshasa mener at ytringsfrihet er noe av det viktigste for å sikre økonomisk og politisk utvikling av et land. De er villige til å risikere livet i en daglig kamp for å hente inn og få ut informasjon om hva som faktisk foregår i dette landet, som fra naturen er svært rikt men som er plaget av vold, korrupsjon og menneskerettighetsbrudd i stor skala. ”Journalism must speak for those who have no voice, for people without power who cannot speak out, but who can only whisper. You start with that and take it further” sier José Menga, reporter for Radio Okapi. Film screenings: Tue. Oct. 14 14:15 Vika 3 (screening with Lakshmi and Me) Wed. Oct. 15 17:30 Vika 2 (with discussion) Download one-page overview in pdf for print here |
Trailer for Shock Waves: click on the picture below. |
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   ---- KORRUPSJON, VALG OG DEMOKRATI ons. 15 okt. kl. 19:00 (Eldorado kino) (discussion in Norwegian) I filmen har jeg ønsket å utforske demokratiets premisser og dilemmaer. I forhold til det konkrete eksemplet som her er historien til Peter Owino Ranginya: Er det å gi ut penger i en valgkamp en alvorlig trussel mot demokratiutvikling, eller ikke? - sier regissør Charlotte Tvedt om filmen. Det er dette vi ønsker å utforske i diskusjonen etter visningen onsdag 15. okt. kl 19:00, på Eldorado kino. |  ---- From Prison to Parliament Director: Charlotte Røhder Tvedt Medieoperatørene Norway 2008, 58 min Languages: English and Norwegian Subtitled in English Two years before the dramatic election in Kenya in 2007, the Norwegian-Kenyan Peter is in Bastøy Prison, sentenced for embezzlement. His fellow prisoners only call him “The President”, for he intends to participate as a candidate for Parliament during the elections in Kenya. The goal is to win without buying one single vote. He will fight for a democratic development and against corruption. Peter admits that the embezzlement was a mistake but nevertheless a necessary means on the way to increased democracy in his own country. The end justifies the means. Wolf, his cellmate from Germany, comes with him to Kenya to help Peter reach his goal. The film follows the campaign, through hard work and limitless optimism, from a Norwegian prison to the Kenyan Parliament. ---- To år før det dramatiske valget i Kenya i 2007 sitter norsk-kenyanske Peter på Bastøy fengsel, dømt for underslag. Medfangene kaller han bare ”Presidenten”: Han planlegger å stille til valget i Kenya, som parlamentarisk kandidat. Målet er å vinne valget uten å kjøpe en eneste stemme. Han skal kjempe for demokratisk utvikling og mot korrupsjon. Peter inndrømmer at underslaget var en tabbe, men allikevel et nødvendig middel på veien mot økt demokrati i eget land. Målet helliger middelet. Cellekameraten Wolf, fra Tyskland, blir med til Kenya for å hjelpe Peter i å nå målet. Filmen følger valgkampen, gjennom hardt arbeide og grenseløs optimisme, fra et norsk fengsel og til det kenyanske Parlamentet. Visninger: Saturday Oct. 11th, 17:00 Eldorado 3 (Norwegian premiere) Wednesday Oct. 15th, 19:00 Eldorado 3 (with discussion) Download one-page overview in pdf for print here |