Shot in the late spring/early summer of 2010, The Interim Country explores the reasons why Kyrgyzstan, a small, land-locked country in Central Asia, made international headlines repeatedly during this year. Occupying a pivotal role in Great Power rivalries and in the international drug trade, Kyrgyzstan has felt the effects of the disintegration of the former Soviet Union more dramatically than any other post-Soviet state. Just five years ago, the Kyrgyz “Tulip Revolution” was hailed as a peaceful readjustment of a post-Soviet country, once acknowledged as one of the only “democratic” regimes of Central Asia in the 1990s. But the Tulip Revolution was soon betrayed, and under Kurmanbek Bakiyev and his “family regime,” Kyrgyzstan descended into authoritarianism.

The Interim Country chronicles the popular revolt that led to the toppling of president Bakiyev and his clan in April 2010, and the ever-deepening chaos into which the country plunged in its aftermath, culminating with the large-scale inter-ethnic violence in June 2010. The lack of power and legitimacy of the interim government, with its own family network and clan-based divisions, have prevented it from stabilizing the country politically, economically, and socially. All this is documented through interviews with several top officials, and “people on the street.” From Bishkek to the southern cities of Jalal-Abad and Osh, over the breath-taking highway uniting North and South through the Tian-Shan mountain range, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Russians, Meshketian Turks, and other ethnic minorities share their anger, frustrations, and hopes. In an interview in his Moscow exile, Askar Akayev, the first president of independent Kyrgyzstan, himself toppled during the Tulip Revolution, gives his own version of history and current events.

Preceded by:

Sunset is an experiment with sound and motion. There are no messages or hidden agendas, other than to reveal the discoveries made during my investigations. There is, of course, the seed of an idea or a bit of a plan when I begin, but I am quickly directed by the work, answering the needs, sorting the puzzles and discovering solutions through the aid of technology.

Few of us are aware that Poland is lined with scores of execution sites, massacres and mass burials of Jewish victims. The majority of these sites have not been identified and lack any type of monument status. This film documents the good work of Polish businessman Zbigniew Nizinski, who is determined to change that reality. Every several months, he visits areas in Poland’s east where he believes mass graves of the Holocaust exist beneath the soil. He speaks with elderly local residents, some of whom are willing to share information they have been harboring for years: the memories of the mass murders they witnessed. With the assistance of Poland’s Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich, Nizinski works to confirm the mass murder sites. The goal is to officially commemorate these spots and give a sense of dignity to the innocent Jews executed there.

The most successful Chinese movie of all time, Aftershock is an intimate epic human drama set in motion by events beyond our control, Aftershock sweeps across three crucial decades in recent Chinese history and explores the wounds and resilience of a family decimated by loss.. Acclaimed director Feng Xiaogang’s highly anticipated new film opens and closes with Tangshan and Chengdu, two of the most severe earthquakes ever witnessed. As dramatized in the novel of the same name by Chinese Canadian author Zhang Ling.

The hot summer night of July 28, 1976 falls on the unsuspecting town of Tangshan, where two seven-year-old twins – born before the introduction of China’s one-child policy – enjoy a typical sibling relationship. Their affectionate quarrels slowly subside into the darkness as they fall asleep amid the modern coolness of a newly purchased electric fan. But during the night, the earth begins to tremble. The children awake to the cries of their mother and the urgent, unthinkable question of a rescue worker: “Who should be saved: the girl or the boy?” Trapped under the same slab, digging out one would inevitably result in collapsing the wreckage onto the other. In a whisper, their mother mutters, “The boy.” Considered dead, the girl is laid to rest next to her father’s corpse, but unexpectedly wakes up the following day as an orphan (beautifully played as an adult by rising star Zhang Jingchu) and tries to adjust to a new life within the loving care of the family who adopts her.

As their two lives take different paths over the years, Aftershock uses the core story of the earthquake to explore a controversial issue in Chinese culture – the preference for a son over a daughter – while exploring such complex subjects as survival, family relationships, guilt and post-traumatic stress with equal sensitivity. Feng transforms his characteristically acute and ironic observations of contemporary China into sharp historical analysis. Painting an emotional epic with potent strokes of truth, he has brought to life a new model of disaster cinema that is intimate, choral and uniquely Chinese.

Oscar, a security guard at a salt marsh who lives in complete solitude. He never gets letters in the mail or messages on his answering machine. One day, his routine is upset when he runs into his sister, whom he has not heard from in over two years. Being reunited with his sister Mari and meeting her boyfriend has unexpected consequences for Oscar.

Lucy is a 19-year old TV intern at a Swiss TV network when she discovers a lookalike in archival footage about the local women’s lib movement in the 70′s. Her family’s resistance to the matter convinces Lucy that a secret lurks behind this mysterious double, and she sets out to find the woman.

Sponsored by:

André’s Confiserie Suisse

Consulate General Switzerland – Chicago

The discovery of a discarded sofa in Taipei city transforms a routine Sunday into a capricious adventure of perseverance and self-discovery for Filipino guest workers Manuel and Dado.

Sponsored by Drs. Manuel and Lillian Pardo

The premise is irresistible. When the government of Kenya announces it will offer free primary education for the first time, an eighty-four-year-old man shows up on the doorstep of a rural school, ready for class. Having never had the benefit of an education, Kimani N’gan’ga Maruge figures it’s never too late to start. Towering over the little children at their desks, he is just as eager to learn.

The First Grader is an inspiring story about the universal human urge to make our lives better. But this is more than just a high-concept fable; Maruge’s story is true. As adapted by screenwriter Ann Peacock and director Justin Chadwick (The Other Boleyn Girl), the film spins the tale in a timeless fashion, even as it builds a context from the specifics of one man’s life.

Maruge (Oliver Litondo) was part of the generation that helped liberate Kenya from British colonial rule. He spent his youth fighting for freedom, and endured horrors occasionally shown in flashback. Now, what he really wants is the education he never had the time or opportunity to obtain.

Although the announcement of free education was meant to liberate families from the onerous school fees that keep so many African children out of the classroom, Maruge spots a chance and takes it. But when he arrives at the school gate, teacher Jane (Naomie Harris) turns him away. She has no legal reason, so she says he’ll need books and a pencil. Maruge returns with both. Then she says he’ll need a uniform. He comes back wearing a school uniform – short pants and all. Scene by scene, he begins to warm the heart of a teacher who’s strict nature is, of course, only a feature of having kept a rural school on its feet for so long.

Litondo is wonderful as Maruge, showing both the strength and humour of the man. Although he depends on a walking stick to get around and his eyes aren’t what they used to be, he’s living proof that you’re never too old to learn.

BHOPALI documents the experience of second generation children affected by the Union Carbide gas disaster of 1984, the worst industrial disaster in history, and subsequent contamination of groundwater by Union Carbide Corporation (an American company now owned by Dow Chemical, the second largest chemical company in the world). It follows several children as they and their families cope with the ongoing medical and social disaster, as well as their memories of that traumatizing night that shocked the world and changed Bhopal forever. Set against the backdrop of vehement protests for the 25th anniversary of the disaster, the Bhopalis continue to fight for justice, proving to be anything but victims.

Thousands were killed and more than 100,000 were affected by the contaminants. 26 years have passed since the disaster, yet the suffering continues and, for the victims, justice has yet to be seen. Award winning director Van Maximilian Carlson presents a modern portrait of shattered lives in the community surrounding the abandoned Union Carbide factory. We focus on survivors of the disaster and their families as they continue life amongst the indelible remainders of contamination and death. Set against a backdrop of high stakes activism, global politics, and human rights advocacy, this film explores the ongoing struggle for justice against Union Carbide, the American corporation responsible for the disaster. Featuring Noam Chomsky, Satinath Sarangi, and attorney Rajan Sharma.

UNION CARBIDE, now owned by DOW Chemical, is the perpetrator of the world’s worst industrial disaster in modern history. It once produced jobs and pesticides that aided India’s agricultural development but “from the 80s onwards, Union Carbide cut costs in every way possible… which meant reduction of safety.” In 1984 a toxic gas leak occurred at the factory, killing and devastating thousands

For the Bhopal people the disaster has been unending. There are more than 100,000 people still chronically ill. In the next generation there are children born to gas effected people that are being born with birth defects, growth disorders, and additionally there are 30,000 people who have been forced to drink contaminated water for the last 15 years.” The demand for justice against the corporation responsible is articulated in BHOPALI by interviews, scenes of activism, and commemorative events during the 25th anniversary of the disaster (December 2009).

Website: www.bhopalithemovie.com.