Film Selection
Girl Against Gravity
Erdenchimeg (11) has her mind set on becoming a famous contortionist – a speciality of Mongolian acrobats. Her team at the circus school is invited to become part of a prestigious show on the parliament square. But suddenly Erdenchimeg seems incapable of managing her exercise. The prospect of becoming the ‘odd one out’ on her team is all the more frightening because her dad is imprisoned, her mother is a former drunk, and Erdenchimeg was only admitted to the circus school as an act of good will. Not just her own dreams, but also the dignity of her family is at stake. But in the end she finds her inner strength and pulls through!
Recommended age 7+
Jens Pedersen studied at Roskilde University and San Francisco State University. Pedersen has directed a number of documentary films, including the series Faith Hope Afghanistan (2013) and Kids on the Silk Road (2017). An episode from Faith Hope Afghanistan won the Audience Award and the Award for Best Documentary at the BUSTER Film Festival in 2014, and both series have had several episodes selected for a number of festivals such as IDFA.
Rainbow Children – Portrait of Elika
Little Elika explains that people in Iran like five things above all: rice, the sun, ice cream, fish and tulips. She gives a presentation about her home country in a Belgian school, which includes a Persian poem she translates directly into French. Her audience is amazed: Elika talks differently all of a sudden. And so something which was strange playfully becomes familiar.
Recommended age 7+
Born in Tehran, Iran in 1982, Maryam Bayani entered the art world by studying graphic design and animation. After making her internationally award-winning animated documentary The Pottery Tale (2009), she discovered her tendency to merge reality and imagination. In 2015, she won a European scholarship for a Master’s course in Documentary Filmmaking called Docnomads, a mobile course that allowed her to study and make short documentaries in Europe.
Show time & place
Luck,
2, Voli prosp.
