Movies

All the short films, documentaries and feature films of the Migranti Film Festival 2019!

Short Films

“The love immigrants” by Mónica Hernández Rejón
(Sweden, 2019, 18’) – First Italian screening

‘The Love Immigrants’ is a short documentary film that reflects on what it means for Latin American women and transgender people to move to Sweden because of love. Inspired by our own migration stories, we want to explore the challenges that different intercultural couples face in today’s Sweden. The film aims to make visible the complexity and diversity in the experience of being immigrants in a country that, despite being well known for having an open-minded and progressive society, has still strong power structures that create imbalances within different intercultural couples.

“Simbiosis” by Achmad Rezi Fahlevie
(Indonesia, 2018, 15’) – First Italian screening

Rukman Supriatna who is often called Mr. Anang is a traditional fisherman in Pangandaran of west java. Every time he wants to go to sea, he has to borrow capital from the skipper for going to sea because of the savings and loan business that has been not in village unit cooperatives and systems of sharing results was not fair, it’s making Mr. Anang should be looking for a temporary job to be sufficient his family needs.

“La tierra que habitamos” by Marco Aurelio Celis
(Mexico, 2019, 4’) – First Italian screening

It is a short film that portrays the immigration status of two characters with different nationalities, that happen to be in the same city and with the same purpose…to find happiness and achieve the American dream. Ustin (Haiti) and Douglas (Honduras) recite a poem in which they express their feelings and frustrations after having made a long journey to reach the city of Tijuana.

“A bit of this & a bit of that” by Jake Gill
(UK, 2018, 7’) – First Italian screening

Hidden away amongst the backstreets of Manchester’s vibrant Northern Quarter lies This & That, a small Indian café owned by Ismail Mallu, a first-generation Indian migrant who came to the UK in 1966 during the peak years of migration from the subcontinent. Through his culinary artistry, Ismail has been able to enrich the culture of Manchester to the point where the ‘rice and three’ dish has effectively become a staple of the city. He continues to perpetuate his Indian roots but has been openly embraced as an exemplary figure in Mancunian society. Within the spatial confines of the restaurant, you can find visitors that hail from a wide variety of different races, religions, genders and ages, but they all come together to break bread (or naan!) and share the delicious food on offer. Ismail holds a dual identity; he is partly Indian and partly Mancunian, a bit of this and a bit of that.

“Daughter’s table” by Heui Song Son
(South Korea, 2018, 17’) – First Italian screening

A musical short film about three sisters that cook a delicious meal for their terminally ill mother. “Daughter’s Table” follows three adult sisters as they rush to their mother’s side after receiving news of her ill health. While together, they find themselves falling prone to the same sibling rivalry that characterized their upbringing.

“The apricot tree” by Gideon van Eeden
(Netherlands, 2018, 16’) – First Italian screening

A bigoted widower fails at maintaining his late wife’s apricot tree. When his attempts are interrupted by a refugee found sleeping in his garden shed, he learns how to find closure.

“Ècharpe noir” by Barbara Fuentes
(Brazil, 2018, 15’) – First Italian screening

In the middle of the urban chaos, sometimes we lose the ability to see beauty in common things, but the search for this sensitivity it is such a human urge that we ended up searching in many places and experiences. Martha and Thiago find that on each other, However, Thiago gets a scholarship to study abroad and spend a year away from Martha. Will that love and togetherness be able to survive the distance?

Documentaries

“Royak romance” by Christine Seow
(Singapore, 2019, 22’) – First Italian screening

Rojak Romance is a documentary featuring a mixed race couple and the different perspectives of their relationship as they attempt to gain approval from their families. In this documentary film, a young mixed-race couple (a Malaysian Ceylonese Tamil male and a Chinese American female) interrogate differing religious backgrounds, expectations on children, and meeting each others’ families, as they speculate on how to exist as a mixed-race couple in multiracial, yet CMIO-centric Singapore. Through Tinesh and Jane’s personal journey, Rojak Romance examines the history and identity of the Ceylonese Tamil community.

“Golden fish, african fish” by Thomas Grand
(Senegal, 2018, 60’)

The Casamance region in the South of Senegal is one of the last areas of traditional fishing in West Africa. Facing the growing menace of industrial fishing companies and overcoming very harsh working conditions, the fishermen of Casamance contribute to the food supply (or food safety) of many African countries. But for how long?

“Buried seeds” by Andrei Severny
(USA, 2019, 74’) – First Italian screening

Buried Seeds, a film by Andrei Severny, is a timeless and true story of human passion, willpower, and resolve in the face of adversity. The film follows Michelin Star Chef Vikas Khanna on his journey as an immigrant.  Born with clubbed feet in Amritsar, Vikas is bullied by his classmates. Khanna takes refuge in his grandmother’s kitchen and discovers his passion for the vivid traditions of Indian cuisine.  At the age of 29, Vikas moves to New York with nothing in his pocket and ends up in a homeless shelter. Through years of struggle and hard work, Vikas opens his first Indian restaurant in Manhattan.  Vikas Khanna grows to become one of the most influential chefs in the world and a cultural ambassador of his nation. While wealth and glory may be transient, what truly defines him is the will to create himself every single day.

“Shrouding the clouds” by Hao-Chung Chan
(Taiwan, 2018, 90’)

Yunlin, a county in western Taiwan. Yunlin literally “cloud forest”, is named for the dense forests and cloudy landscapes of its past. With the passage of time, the forests of this wonderland, which relies mainly on agriculture and fishery, has gradually disappeared; only the beautiful clouds remain. From a distance, it is still pure and tranquil.

“Mirò. Las huellas del olvido” by Franca G. Gonzales
(Argentina – Ecuador, 2018, 90’) – First Italian screening

En el norte de La Pampa (Arg.) existió un pueblo que hoy yace tapado por la soja. Su vida se cortó abruptamente en 1912, y muy poco sobrevivió de él en la memoria de los pobladores de la zona. Hace 4 años, los chicos de una escuela rural descubrieron que algo brillaba en la llanura. Eran miles de fragmentos desparramados y removidos por el arado. “Miró” excava en ese pasado oculto e inasible. 110 años después, algo pulsa por emerger bajo un horizonte de planicies infinitas.

“My home, in Lybia” by Martina Melilli
(Italy, 2018, 66’)

Antonio Melilli è uno dei 20.000 italiani costretti ad abbandonare la Libia nel 1969, in seguito al colpo di stato di Gheddafi. A partire dalle memorie del nonno, nato e cresciuto a Tripoli tra gli anni ‘30 e gli anni ‘60, quando la Libia era colonia italiana, la regista traccia una mappa dei luoghi appartenuti a quel tempo passato, e li rintraccia nella Tripoli di oggi, facendoli ripercorrere ad un giovane libico, Mahmoud. Martina e Mahmoud si sono conosciuti solo attraverso internet, ma questa nuova amicizia rivela quanto è difficile vivere a Tripoli e comunicare con il resto del mondo da quando la milizia ha preso il controllo della città. My home, in Libya racconta il senso di appartenenza ai luoghi, la memoria individuale e collettiva e come essa lavori sui ricordi, così come il mezzo digitale fa con le immagini.

“Dove bisogna stare” by Daniele Gaglianone e Stefano Collizzolli
(Italy, 2018, 98’)

Il film è costruito sull’intreccio di tre ritratti di donne di differenti età e provenienza che, spinte da un’urgenza individuale, hanno deciso di occuparsi di migranti al di fuori di ogni consolidata struttura di accoglienza. Sono ritratti intimi, vòlti a restituire lo stupore per come queste donne agiscono, più che complesse riflessioni sul perché di questo agire, e ad indagare la rete con cui esse sono in relazione: gruppi di volontari, gli abitanti del territorio e i migranti che in quel territorio vivono, spesso per costrizione e non per scelta. Le protagoniste si muovono e si raccontano in momenti di intimità, in un necessario spazio di pausa dal fluire quotidiano, in cui il mondo rimanga fuori dalla porta e in cui, più che rispondere a delle domande, si possa trovare il tempo di farne emergere altre, per rivendicare motivazioni che appaiono limpide in contrasto con il chiacchiericcio aggressivo e superficiale che prevale, nella narrazione dominante, intorno alla questione delle migrazioni.

Feature Films

“Three august days” by Madli Lääne
(Estonia, 2018, 20’) – First Italian screening

In the midst of the political upheaval of the early 1990s, an Estonian girl and a Russian boy reach across cultural lines to unite over a shared bottle of American soda.

“Benzinho” by Gustavo Pizzi
(Brazil-Uruguay-Germany, 2018, 95’) – First Italian screening

Irene sta crescendo quattro figli turbolenti in una casa che si sta sgretolando. Mentre Irene consola la sorella Sonia (che si è appena liberata da un matrimonio instabile) e sostiene il proprio marito, il figlio maggiore, Fernando, annuncia che è stato reclutato da un squadra di pallamano professionista in Germania e partirà tra tre settimane. Irene è felicissima all’idea che il sedicenne possa emanciparsi, così da poter viaggiare e vivere da solo.

“Il vegetariano” by Roberto San Pietro
(Italy, 2019, 109’)

Krishna, un giovane immigrato indiano figlio di un brahmino, vive nella campagna emiliana e lavora come mungitore. Quando una mucca improduttiva sembra destinata al macello, Krishna sarà costretto a fare una difficile scelta che lo obbligherà a fare i conti con un nucleo secolare di convinzioni come la metempsicosi e il rispetto per tutte le forme di vita.