Country Focus - Algeria - Pune International Film Festival

Country Focus - Algeria
2015
Director: Rachid Bouchareb
Outside the Law
Hors la loi
2010-137’-French, Arabic, English-Color-Algeria, France, Belgium, Tunisia, Italy
Producer: Jean Bréhat
Cast: Jamel Debbouze, Roschdy Zem, Sami Bouajila,
Chafia Boudraa, Bernard Blancan, Sabrina Seyvecou
Screenplay: Rachid Bouchareb
Cinematographer: Christophe and Beaucarne
Editor: Yannick Kergoat
Sound Production: Sébastien Wera
Music Composer: Armand Amar
Costume Designer: Stéphane Rollot, Edith Vesperini
Production Designer: Yan Arlaud
Production Company: Tessalit Productions, Agence
Algérienne pour le Rayonnement Culturel (AARC), EPTV
After losing their family home in Algeria, three brothers and their mother are scattered
across the globe. Messaoud joins the French army fighting in Indo-China, Abdelkader
becomes a leader of the Algerian independence movement in France and Saïd moves to
Paris to make his fortune in the shady clubs and boxing halls of Pigalle. Gradually, their
interconnecting destinies reunite them in the French capital, where freedom is a battle to
be fought and won.
Director’s Biography:
Rachid Bouchareb was born on September 1, 1959 in Paris, France.
From 1977 to 1983, he worked as an assistant director for France’s
state television production company, Société française de production
(S. F. P). Subsequently, he worked for broadcasters TF1 and Antenne
2. He formed a production company called 3B with his associate Jean
Bréhat in 1988. Bouchareb began making short films in the 1980s.
Festival/Awards:
Damascus Film Festival: Golden Award, Special Jury
Award (2010)
Director’s Filmography:
Two Men in Town (2014)
Just Like a Woman (2012)
London River (2009)
Days of Glory (2006)
L'ami y'a bon (Short) (2005)
Le vilain petit poussin (Short) (2004)
Le vilain petit poussin (Short) (2001)
169
Country Focus - Algeria
2015
Director: Rachid Benhadj
Perfumes of Algiers
Parfums d'Alger
Producer: The Cultural Influence Algerian Agency (AARC),
Net Diffusion
2012-108’-French, Arabic -Color-Algeria
Cast: Mohamed Remas
Screenplay: Rachid Benhadj
Cinematographer: Vittorio Storaro
Editor: Francesca Bracci
Sound: Kamel Mekesser
Sound Designer: Kamel Maxar
Music Composer: Said Bouchelouche
Production Designer: Amine Debagh
Production Company: Agence Algerienne pour le
Rayonnement Culturel (AARC), Net Diffusion
Karima, a famous photographer who lived in Paris for several years, was forced to return to
Algiers to attend the agony of the old patriarch, against which she rebelled and was exiled.
This forced return will awaken in her, the scars and the ghosts of a repressed past. Once
again, it is time to settle accounts. Nothing is more falsely serene than certain places she
loved, more deceptive than the scents of Algiers.
Festival/Awards:
Abu Dhabi Film Festival (2012)
Director’s Biography:
Born in 1949 in Algiers, Rachid Benhadj studied architecture at the
National School of Decorative Arts and Film in Paris. Also a painter, he
produced several TV films and documentaries in 1979. In 1992, he
made “Touchia” which won the Audience Award at the 4th Festival of
African Cinema of Milan in 1994. He later moved to Italy, where he
still lives. He is a teacher in a school for cinematography and the
director of Cinecittà Accademie Multimedia Act.
Director’s Filmography:
For Bread (2005)
Mirka (2000)
L'Albero dei destini sospesi (1997)
L'Ultima Cena (1995)
Touchia, Women of Algiers song (1992)
The Desert Rose (1988)
170
Country Focus - Algeria
2015
Director: Djamila Sahraoui
Yema
Yema
2012-90’-Arabic-Color-Algeria
Producer: Antonin Dedet, Olivier Guerbois
Starring: Djamila Sahraoui, Samir Yahia, Ali Zarif
Screenplay: Djamila Sahraoui
Cinematographer: Raphaël O'Byrne
Editor: Catherine Gouze
Sound Designer: Guillaume D'Ham
Music Composer: Guillaume D'Ham
Production Company: Neon Productions, Les Films de
l'Olivier (II), Fonds Sud Cinéma
Festival/Awards:
Dubai International Film Festival: Best Director (2012)
Namur International Francophone Film Festival: Best
Actress (2012)
In an isolated house on a drought-stricken mountainside, Ouardia must bury the body of
her son Tarik, a victim of the civil conflict waging between the government and the
fundamentalists. She suspects her other son, Ali, a mujahedeen fighter, has had a hand in
the killing. Their mutual distrust is evidenced in the young soldier that Ali has sent to guard
her. Beautifully capturing the expansive Algerian countryside, this minimalist tale of a
single family’s tragedy takes on mythic proportions.
Director’s Biography:
Djamila Sahraoui was born in Algeria in 1950. Having studied
literature in Algiers, Sahraoui obtained a diploma in film direction and
editing at IDHEC. She directed several documentaries, which were
awarded at different festivals, as well as her first feature film
"Barakat!" (2006) which was awarded 11 prizes at multiple festivals.
With her second feature, "Yema" (My Mother) (2012), under
development since 2008, Djamila won the FIPRESCI Award at the
Dubai Film Festival 2012.
Director’s Filmography:
For Bread (2005)
Mirka (2000)
L'Albero dei destini sospesi (1997)
L'Ultima Cena (1995)
Touchia, Women of Algiers song (1992)
The Desert Rose (1988)
171
Country Focus - Brazil
2015
Director: Domingos de Oliveira
All the World's Women
Todas as Mulheres do Mundo
Producer: Domingos de Oliveira, Luiz Carlos Pires
Fernandes
1967-86’-Portuguese-B & W, Color-Brazil
Cast: Leila Diniz, Paulo José, Flávio Migliaccio, Joana
Fomm, Ivan de Albuquerque
Screenplay: Domingos de Oliveira
Cinematographer: Mário Carneiro
Editor: Raimundo Higino, Nazareth Ohana, João Ramiro
Mello, Paula Gracel
Sound Designer: Aloisio Viana
Music Composer: Hector Berlioz
Production Designer: Joaquim Assis, Luiz Fernando
Goulart
Production Company: D.O. Producoes Cinematograficas,
Saga Filmes
A womanizer suddenly finds a woman who makes him change the way he looks at their
gender. He falls in love, and believes she is in fact all women in one. Because of this, he has
to face an important decision, to go on with his old life or embrace this special relationship
and become a monogamous man.
Director’s Biography:
Domingos de Oliveira was born on September 28th 1936 in Rio de
Janeiro. Oliveira is known for being an extremely active and versatile
artist, who not only directs films and plays, but also works as a script
writer, and even acts on movies and TV series. He is one of the most
awarded artists in the history of the Festival Internacional de Cinema
de Gramado, of which the 2013 edition honoured his career and
works.
Festival/Awards:
Brazilia Festival of Brazilian Cinema : Best Film, Best
Director, Best Actor, Best Story and Dialogue (1966)
Director’s Filmography:
Paixão e Acaso (2012)
Primeiro Dia de Um Ano Qualquer (2012)
Todo Mundo Tem Problemas Sexuais (2008)
Juventude (2008)
Carreiras (2005)
Feminices (2004)
Separações (2002)
172
Country Focus - Brazil
2015
Director: Glauber Rocha
Antonio das Mortes
O Dragao da Maldade Contra O Santo Guerreiro
Producer: Glauber Rocha, Zelito Viana, Claude Antoine,
Luiz Carlos Barreto
1969-100’-Portuguese-Color-Brazil, France, West Germany
Cast: Mauricio da Velle, Odete Lara, Othon Bastos, Hugo
Carvana
Screenplay: Glauber Rocha
Cinematographer: Affonso Beato
Editor: Eduardo Escorel
Sound Designer: Carlos de la Riva, Paulo Lima
Music Composer: Marlos Nobre
Costume Designer: Hélio Eichbauer, Paulo Lima, Glauber
Rocha, Paulo Gil Soares
Production Designer: Glauber Rocha
Production Company: Mapa Filmes, Claude Antoine
Films
A tale of class conflict in a historical Brazilian setting. Antonio das Mortes is a legendary
and brooding man with a troubled past that haunts him and keeps him in need of an
enemy to fight against. Working for the landed nobility, he is sent to kill Coirana, the last
cangaceiro (a "bandit" on the side of the people) of a Bahia inland city. His life had been
meaningless for the last 29 years, but now, a new challenge awaits him. But soon it
becomes obvious that this new cangaceiro is not who he is made out to be. He is an idealist
of the sixties in the garb of the forties. A leader to the hopeless and the hungry. Antonio
das Mortes begins to reconsider his feelings towards Coirana and his followers, beginning
a new crusade.
Festival/Awards:
Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent
Cinema (2010)
Panorama of European Cinema (2010)
Cannes Film Festival: Best Director (1969)
Director’s Biography:
Glauber Rocha was born in Vitória da Conquista, Brazil in 1939. By the
age of 16 he started freelancing for a local newspaper and debuted as
a movie reviewer. In 1959, he finally directed his first short, "Pátio".
Rocha then decided to quit college and pursue a career as a journalist,
along with filmmaking. He is famous for his film trilogy, “Deus e o
Diabo na Terra do Sol” (1964), “Terra em Transe” (1967) and “O
Dragão da Maldade Contra o Santo Guerreiro” (1969). In 1971, during
the Brazilian military dictatorial regime, he left the country to a
voluntary exile, never completely returning home until his last days.
Rocha ultimately died in 1981, at the age of 42.
Director’s Filmography:
A Idade da Terra (1980)
Di (1977)
Claro (1975)
Câncer (1972)
Cabeças Cortadas (1970)
Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol (1964)
Barravento (1961)
173
Country Focus - Brazil
2015
Director: Glauber Rocha
Black God, White Devil
Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol
1964-120’-Portuguese-B & W-Brazil
Producer: Luiz Augusto Mendes
Cast: Geraldo Del Rey, Yoná Magalhães, Othon Bastos
Screenplay: Glauber Rocha
Cinematographer: Waldemar Lima
Editor: Rafael Justo Valverde
Sound Designer: Geraldo José
Music Composer: Sérgio Ricardo
Costume Designer: Paulo Gil Soares
Production Company: Banco Nacional de Minas Gerais,
Copacabana Filmes, Luiz Augusto Mendes Produções
Cinematográficas
The film begins in the 1940s, when ranch hand Manuel is fed up with his situation. His boss
tries to cheat him of his earnings and Manuel kills him, fleeing with his wife, Rosa. Now an
outlaw, Manuel joins up with a self-proclaimed saint who condones violence and preaches
disturbing doctrines. It is now Rosa who turns to killing and the two are on the move once
again. And so it goes on, the two running from one allegiance to another, following the
words of others as they attempt to find a place in their ruthless land.
Festival/Awards:
International Festival of Acapulco, Mexico: Mexican
Critics Award (1964)
Festival of Free Cinema, Italy: Best Film (1964)
International Festival of Porreta Terme, Italy: Gold
Naiade (1964)
International Mar Del Plata Festival, Argentina: Best Film
(1966)
Director’s Biography:
Glauber Rocha was born in Vitória da Conquista, Brazil in 1939. By the
age of 16 he started freelancing for a local newspaper and debuted as
a movie reviewer. In 1959, he finally directed his first short, "Pátio".
Rocha then decided to quit college and pursue a career as a journalist,
as well as being a filmmaker. He is famous for his film trilogy, “Deus e o
Diabo na Terra do Sol” (1964), “Terra em Transe” (1967) and “O
Dragão da Maldade Contra o Santo Guerreiro” (1969). Rocha is
regarded as one of the best Brazilian directors of all time and the
leader of the Cinema Novo movement. In 1971, during the Brazilian
military dictatorial regime, he left the country to a voluntary exile, He
never completely returned home until his last days. Rocha ultimately
died in 1981, at the age of 42.
174
Director’s Filmography:
The Age of the Earth (1980)
Claro (1975)
Câncer (1972)
Cutting Heads (1970)
Der Leone Have Sept Cabeças (1970)
Antonio das Mortes (1969)
Entranced Earth (1967)
Country Focus - Brazil
2015
Director: Domingos de Oliveira
Edu Heart of Gold
Edu Coração de Ouro
1968-85’-Portuguese-B & W-Brazil
Producer: Joaquim Domingos de Oliveira Assis
Cast: Paulo José, Leila Diniz, Amilton Fernandes, Luis B.
Neto, Joana Fomm
Screenplay: Domingos de Oliveira, Eduardo Prado
Cinematographer: Mário Carneiro, Dib Lutfi
Editor: Joaquim Assis, Cláudio MacDowell, Nazareth
Ohana, Alberto Salvá
Sound Designer: Carlos de la Riva, Goulart Filho,
Amedeo Riva
Music Composer: Joaquim Assis
Production Designer: Luis B. Neto
Production Company: BJD Produções Cinematográficas
Festival/Awards:
Brazilia Festival of Brazilian Cinema (1967)
Edu is a 27 year-old, unemployed carioca, who lives with his father and his sister. His
biggest challenge of the day is getting out of bed. He then goes to the beach, or roams the
city finding adventures with all sorts of women, even though he is engaged to Neusa.
What will become of him?
Director’s Biography:
Domingos de Oliveira was born on September 28th 1936 in Rio de
Janeiro. Oliveira is known for being an extremely active and versatile
artist, who not only directs films and plays, but also works as a script
writer, and even acts on movies and TV series. He is one of the most
awarded artists in the history of the Festival Internacional de Cinema
de Gramado, of which the 2013 edition honoured his career and
works.
Director’s Filmography:
Paixão e Acaso (2012)
Primeiro Dia de Um Ano Qualquer (2012)
Todo Mundo Tem Problemas Sexuais (2008)
Juventude (2008)
Carreiras (2005)
Feminices (2004)
Separações (2002)
175
Country Focus - Brazil
2015
Director: Glauber Rocha
Entranced Earth
Terra em Transe
1967-111’-Portuguese-B & W-Brazil
Producer: Glauber Rocha
Cast: Jardel Filho, Paulo Autran, José Lewgoy
Screenplay: Glauber Rocha
Cinematographer: Luiz Carlos Barreto
Editor: Eduardo Escorel
Sound Designer: Aloisio Viana
Music Composer: Sérgio Ricardo
Costume Designer: Clóvis Bornay, Guilherme Guimarães,
Paulo Gil Soares
Production Designer: Glauber Rocha
Production Company: Mapa Filmes
Eldorado, a fictitious country in Latin America, is sparkling with an internal struggle for
political power. In the eye of this social convulsion, the jaded journalist Paulo Martins
opposes two equally corrupt political candidates: a pseudo-populist and a conservative. In
this context, Paulo is torn between the madness of the elite and the blind submission of
the masses. But, in this complex tropical reality, nothing really is what it seems to be.
Festival/Awards:
Cannes Film Festival: FIPRESCI Award (1967)
Locarno International Film Festival: Grand Prix - Best
Film (1967)
Director’s Biography:
Glauber Rocha was born in Vitória da Conquista, Brazil in 1939. By the
age of 16 he started freelancing for a local newspaper and debuted as
a movie reviewer. In 1959, he finally directed his first short, "Pátio".
Rocha then decided to quit college and pursue a career as a journalist,
as well as being a filmmaker. He is famous for his film trilogy, “Deus e o
Diabo na Terra do Sol” (1964), “Terra em Transe” (1967) and “O
Dragão da Maldade Contra o Santo Guerreiro” (1969). Rocha is
regarded as one of the best Brazilian directors of all time and the
leader of the Cinema Novo movement. In 1971, during the Brazilian
military dictatorial regime, he left the country to a voluntary exile, He
never completely returned home until his last days. Rocha ultimately
died in 1981, at the age of 42.
176
Director’s Filmography:
The Age of the Earth (1980)
Claro (1975)
Câncer (1972)
Cutting Heads (1970)
Der Leone Have Sept Cabeças (1970)
Antonio das Mortes (1969)
Entranced Earth (1967)
Country Focus - Brazil
2015
Director: Luís Sérgio Person
São Paulo Corporation
São Paulo Sociedade Anônima
1965-107’-Portuguese, English-B & W-Brazil
Producer: Renato Magalhães Gouveia
Starring: Walmor Chagas, Darlene Glória
Screenplay: Luis Sérgio Person
Cinematographer: Ricardo Aronovich
Editor: Glauco Mirko Laurelli
Sound Designer: Juarez Dagoberto da Costa
Music Composer: Cláudio Petraglia, Francisco Alves,
David Nasser
Costume Designer: Jean Laffront
Production Designer: Miguel A. Martin
Production Company: Socine
In São Paulo, Carlos leaves his wife Luciana and his son seeking a new beginning in his life.
While wandering through the streets of São Paulo, Carlos recalls when he was 25 years old,
he was an employee of Volkswagen in the boom of the automobile industry in Brazil,
working in the Quality Control department of the factory. He meets the supplier Arturo, an
auto parts business owner, and accepts his gears even with defects, receiving a
commission in return. When he meets bourgeois Ana in the English class, they date and
later she becomes his fiancée and wife. Along the years, the rude Carlos loses his job in
Volkswagen and becomes the manager of Arturo's factory; he has an existential crisis,
losing his identity and becoming a part of the gear of the process of industrialization of São
Paulo.
Director’s Biography:
Luiz Sergio Person (1936-1976) was a Brazilian actor, director,
screenwriter and producer. He established one of the most solid
bodies of work in Brazilian cinema with only five feature films. The
most famous of them, "São Paulo S/A" (1965), remains as an
unparalleled looking glass into the wide spread impact of Brazil's
industrialization process and the rise of a new middle class. His next
film "The Case of the Naves Brothers" was the most courageous cry
against the height of military dictatorship. With aspirations to enlarge
the Brazilian film market, Person was one of the creators of the IRP
(RPI) - Independent Producers Reunion, pioneering the initiative of
cooperative distribution. A lover of theatre, he founded the Augusta
Theatre in 1973, which became one of São Paulos's creative
epicenters.
Festival/Awards: Festival Internacional de Cinema de
Brasilia: Honours (1965), São Paulo State Governor's
Award: Best Script, Best Editing (1965), São Paulo
Awards: Best Director, Best Editing, Best Actress, Best
Supporting Actor, Best Photography (1965),
Internacional Festival of Cinema Novo, Pesaro, Italy:
People's Choice Award (1965), Cabeza de Palenque
Award, Film Internacional Festival, Acapulco, Mexico
(1965), Saci Award: Best Supporting Actress (1966)
Director’s Filmography:
Vicente do Rego Monteiro (1974)
Cassy Jones, o Magnífico Sedutor (1972)
Panca de Valente (1968)
Trilogia do Terror (1968)
O Caso dos Irmãos Naves (1967)
Um Marido Barra Limpa (1967)
Al ladro (Short) (1962)
177
Country Focus - Egypt
2015
Director: Youssef Chahine
Cairo Station
Bab el hadid
1958-77’-Arabic-B & W-Egypt
Producer: Gabriel Talhami
Cast: Farid Shawqi, Youssef Chahine, Hend Rostom,
Hassen el Baroudi, Abdel Aziz Khalil, Naima Wasfy
Screenplay: Abdel Hai Adib, Mohamed Abu Youssef
Cinematographer: Alevise Orfanelli
Editor: Kamal Abul Ela
Music Composer: Fouad El-Zahry
Production Director: Mohamed Hagad, Haig Kevorkian
Kinawi, a physically challenged peddler who makes his living selling newspapers in the
central Cairo train station, is obsessed by Hannouma, an attractive young woman who
sells cold drinks. While she treats Kinawi in a sympathetic way and jokes with him about a
possible relationship, she is actually in love with Abu Siri, a strong and respected porter at
the station, who is struggling to unionize his fellow workers to combat their boss's
exploitative and abusive treatment.
Director’s Biography:
178
Youssef Chahine was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1926. After studying for
a year in the University of Alexandria, he spent two years at the Pasadena
Play House in the U.S, taking courses on film and dramatic arts. After
coming back to Egypt, he debuted with “Father Amine” (1950), one year
later, with “Son of the Nile” (1951) he was first invited to the Cannes Film
festival. He won a Silver Bear in Berlin for “Iskanderiya... lih?” (1979), the
first installment of his autobiographic trilogy, completed with ”Hadduta
Misriya” (1982) and “Iskanderiya, kaman w kaman” (1989). In 1992,
Chahine adapted Albert Camus's "Caligula,” for Comédie Française. The
same year he started writing “The Emigrant” (1994), his dream-project,
which he finally got to shoot in 1994. In 1997, he was again selected for
the Hors Competition in Cannes with “Destiny” (1997). After a prolific
career, he passed away in 2008.
Director’s Filmography:
Chaos, This Is (2007)
Alexandria... New York (2004)
Silence... We're Rolling (2001)
The Other (1999)
Destiny (1997)
The Emigrant (1994)
Cairo As Seen by Chahine (Short) (1991)
Country Focus - Egypt
2015
Director: Tewfik Saleh
Fools’ Alley
Darb Al-mahabil
Cast: Berlanty Abdel Hamid, Tewfik El Dekn, Shukry
Sarhan
1955-90’-Arabic-B & W-Egypt
Screenplay: Naguib Mahfouz, Tewfik Saleh
Festival/Awards:
Carthage Film Festival (1972)
In an archetypal Egyptian neighborhood, Taha works hard to put aside enough money to
marry his beloved Khadija, but when the necessary funds suddenly become available
thanks to a winning lottery ticket, the neighborhood is turned upside-down, revealing the
greed, materialism and opportunism of the alley’s inhabitants.
Director’s Biography:
Tewfik Saleh was born in 1926 in Alexandria. After graduating from the
Victoria College in Alexandria, he earned a BA in English Literature from
the Alexandria University in 1949. He eventually moved to Cairo to study
directing. He went to France in 1950 on a scholarship to study the art of
cinema. After coming back to Cairo, he wrote and directed “Fools' Alley”
(Darb el mahâbîl) in 1955. He went on to direct many more important
films in the coming decades. In 1973, he moved to Iraq to teach cinema at
Iraq's Radio and TV Institute and its Art Academy. He returned to Egypt in
the mid 1980s to teach at the Higher Film Institute. He was deservedly
awarded a first-class Sciences and Arts Decoration from President Abdel
Nasser in 1967, the Tunisian Medal for Cultural Distinction in 1988 and the
State Appreciation Prize in 1996.
Director’s Filmography:
el ayyam el tawîlâ (1980)
el makdu’un (1972)
el Sayyed el Boltî (1969)
Yawmiyyât nâ’ib fi-l-aryâf (1968)
el Moutamarridoun (1968)
Sirâ’el abtâl (1962)
179
Country Focus - Egypt
2015
Director: Soad Shawky
How Do You See Me?
Kayf Tarani
2014-27’-Arabic-Color-Egypt
Cast: Ramez Amir, Amina Khalil
Screenplay: Ahmed Abou Elfadl, Soad Shawky
Editor: Kamal Elmallakh
Production Company: Egyptian Film Center
The film is centered on a series of encounters between two neighbours, Layla and Yassin,
who hail from opposite backgrounds, a reality that unearths contradictions in Yassin's
personality.
Director’s Biography:
Soad Shawky is a director born in 1974. Her films include "El Hawy khtaf el
tabak" (The Magician’s Stolen the Plate) (1995), the story of Naguib
Mahfouz, "El rasm bel nar" (Drawing with Fire ) (1995), a documentary
about the pottery artist Nabil Darwish, "Entezar" (Waiting) (1996),
"Omahat lam yaledn abadan" (Childless Mothers) (1996), the story of
Youssef Gohar, "Fih haga keda" (There’s Something) (1998) and "Lela" (A
Night) (2002). She has also directed 8 series live action segments in
"Sesame Street" the program, from 1999-2000.
180
Director’s Filmography:
The Magician’s Stolen the Plate (Short) (1995)
Waiting (Short) (1996)
Childless Mothers (Short) (1996)
There’s Something (Short) (1998)
A Night (Short) (2002)