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TRI Continental Film Festival - Dona Paula, Goa, Sep 28 - Oct 2, 2007
http://www.moviesgoa.org/tricontinental/tricon.htm
Online Media Partner: http://www.goanet.org
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Tri-Continental Film Festival - Report on Day 4
By Ameeta Mascarenhas
Panaji, October 1, 2007 - It was a morning of contrasting cinematic styles
and content today, the fourth day at the Tri-Continental Film Festival, with
the screening of two startlingly different films. The first 'Shake Hands
with the devil: The journey of Romeo Dallaire' directed by Peter Raymont is
the heartrending portrayal of the Rwandan genocide in 1994 of the Tutsis and
the moderate Hutus who supported them, and the horrific inaction by the UN
and international community while it happened. It is the tragic and
courageous story of General Dallaire and his handful of soldiers unsupported
by the UN that sent them there and his return to Rwanda to confront his
past. This documentary brought up questions about the role of the UN in
peacekeeping, but also racism and betrayal in the arena of international
politics.
The second film 'West Bank Story' directed by Ari Sandel, is a short film
that spoofs the famous Hollywood Musical 'West Side Story' to humourously
dramatise the Israeli Palestinian conflict. David an Israeli Soldier falls
in love with the beautiful Palestinian Fatima. Can their love withstand a
2000 year old conflict? This refreshing departure from the serious
documentary film style was found to be as powerful and thought-provoking in
addressing a problem as any other more pedantic ones. It won rave reviews
from the audience who agreed that the solution always lies at an individual
level and, who can deny it 'love' is the answer!
The evening's session began with 'Sister's in Law' which gave a glimpse of
the superbly common-sense justice served up at a small courthouse in South
West Cameroon. The two women at the heart of it are the State Counsel and
Court President. With wisdom, wisecracks and justice in equal measure they
run the legal system of the village. The film, directed by Kim Longinotto
and Florence Avisi made us all wonder why we cannot bring this quick and
just system to our villages - where women and children issues get lost in
the dreary deadlock of an overburdened, over-complicated legal blackhole.
The day ended with 'Our America (Unser America/Nuestra America) directed by
Kristina Konrad, in which she returns to Nicaragua twenty-five years after
the Sandanista revolution of 1979. It looks at the lives of the remarkable
women who took up arms against the US-funded contras and their struggle to
survive today. Dr Dilip Loundo, Brazilian Chair at the Goa University gave
us a brief overview of the political situation in South America at the time,
and the unique form of socialist revolution in Nicaragua and Cuba. He then
led a very enthusiastic discussion about the film and the particular tone of
the film in depicting the revolution as a failure - in the sense that it was
a dream to triumph over poverty and discrimination, within a system of
political plurality and a mixed economic system while remaining independent
of world political blocs. The role of the indigenous poet Ruben Dario and
the church and religion in this revolution was also debated. (ENDS)
Photos & article at:
http://www.goanet.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=957
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