In Peru, each year in the month of June thousands of people come together to dance at the pilgrimage site of the Lord of Qoyllur Rit’i. They do this in order to beseech forgiveness for their sins, but also to ask for material things. If you go with enough devotion and faith it is said that the Lord will make your wishes come true. The film follows one of the dancers, Laura, who makes the pilgrimage for the first time. She is part of a religious dance group (comparsa) that has its particular Andean-Catholic practices, in which discipline plays a large role. The film shows what it means for individuals to make this sometimes dangerous and physically demanding pilgrimage and the sacrifices one has to make to have dreams come true.
Lotte Haase (the Netherlands) | Cusco, Peru | 2009 | 41 min |
Spanish spoken, English subtitles
Lost in the Muqam
Lost in the Muqam follows Mahmut Mehmet, an Uyghur musician living in China’s Xinjiang province. The Uyghurs are a Muslim ethnic minority and are losing many traditions under Chinese rule. Now even music is beginning to suffer. Mahmut began playing the tambour when he was eleven years old and studied with the late virtuoso Nurmahemmet Tursun, but despite his talent he is now struggling to find an audience. He makes a living performing at dinner parties and teaching young students but can his music survive in the ever changing and hostile environment of modern China?
Camilla French (UK) | Xinjiang province, China | 2009 | 35 min | Mandarin and Uyghur spoken, English subtitles
Ordinary Life
In a neighbourhood in The Netherlands lies a communal home for people with mild to moderate mental handicaps. The supervisors provide individual care, which is aimed at a life that is as full and independent as possible. Eight people are living there in three houses, and they all have their own private room. This intimate documentary tells the story of two of them, Kevin (17) and Nadia (21), from their own perspective. Kevin finds a job at McDonald’s and Nadia tries to feel happy in her relationship with Laurence. Their experiences raise questions about personality, citizenship and ‘normalcy’ in Dutch society.
Sarah Schreuder (The Netherlands) | The Netherlands | 2010 |
43 min | Dutch spoken, English subtitles
