Cinematography: Neeraj Sahay, Mrinal Desai, Adityan M, Pushon Kripalani
Editing: Nayantara Kotian
Script: Nayantara Kotian, Hitesh Kewalya
Produced and Directed by: Nayantara Kotian

SYNOPSIS
Set in Mumbai, “Casting Shadows” takes a look at the unusual lives of look-alikes. In a unique world in which fiction blends into reality, the film moves between two men who have nothing in common save the alias they share – that of the greatest star in Indian cinema history – Amitabh Bachchan.

THE FILMMAKER
Nayantara Kotian graduated from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, with a diploma in film and video communication design. Her first documentary on the closure of a single screen cinema was made while she was a student and won many awards. “Casting Shadows” is her second documentary. She is currently working as a freelance writer/director in Mumbai.

Editing: Ramiro Ariza Castillo
Sound: Sebastian C. Garzon Agudelo
Script: Diana M. Mendoza
Produced and
Directed by: Monica Moya

SYNOPSIS
Bibiana delivers and rents washing machines for less than 1 dollar per hour. John William walks dozens of miles a day dragging furniture that he sells by credit and without a guarantee. Chocolate and Chiqui are a very young couple who have spent more than half of their lives collecting cardboard, plastic and paper to help feed themselves and their baby.

These are just some of the names and faces that one can meet during a walk through a typical neighbourhood in Bogota. They are informal vendors or workers of the “submerged” economy that sustains over half of the city.

“Rebusque” is the Colombian term for this informal street economy and this film focuses on the stories of many of its practitioners.

THE FILMMAKER
Monica Moya, was born in 1973. She is a journalist, teacher, and has been a correspondent for various media publications such as: Tiempo (Espana), Cambio 16, El Espectador y Tiempo (Colombia), La Nacion (Costa Rica) and Bienestar (Colombia) . She has worked at Yage Productions since 2005.

SYNOPSIS
The film is set in France in the summer of 1944. It is the time of liberation. There is a public punishment of women accused of having affairs with Germans during the war...

THE FILMMAKER
Jean-Gabriel Periot is an artist and filmmaker based in Tours, France. His work has been shown extensively around the world, winning a number of awards including the Grand Prix at the Tampere International Film Festival, USA, and Best International Short at the Cork International Film Festival, Ireland. He recently wrote and directed the short film “200000 Fantômes.”

Cinematography: Simon Chambers
Editing: Emiliano Battista
Script: Simon Chambers
Produced and Directed by: Simon Chambers

SYNOPSIS
Two rebellious London-based Bangladeshi sisters are sent ‘back home’ against their will for arranged marriages. Through intimate footage of highly personal moments, the film explores the universal theme of love and the conflicts between those who migrated to the west and their children, who were born in the west. It dispels clichéd myths about the Islamic treatment of women and puts a human face on the communities that are currently being targeted as a result of terrorist attacks on the west.

THE FILMMAKER
Simon Chambers graduated from the National Film and Television School in 2004. This is his first documentary feature.

Cinematography: David Munoz
Editing: Alicia Medina, David Munoz
Script: Francesca Prince, David Munoz
Produced and Directed by: David Munoz

SYNOPSIS
The film examines Rwanda 14 years after genocide claimed the lives of over 800.000 people. The film poses many pertinent questions. What is the current situation of the country? What feelings prevail in the hearts of the victims? Can victims and killers live together? What’s the importance of education in a society that has lived through genocide? Is it possible for another genocide to take place? Who should act when genocide is happening? Do we, as individuals, have any responsibility?

THE FILMMAKER
David Munoz is the founder and director of Hibrida, a multidisciplinary communication company in Spain. He writes, directs and produces both fiction and documentary films that have been selected and awarded in numerous international film festivals. He has also participated as a juror in many international film festivals. David also has a PhD in financial economics and has worked as a financial analyst in a Japanese bank and as a financial adviser to regional governments in Spain.

Camera: Ruhi Hamid
Editing: Jude Suggett
Script: Ruhi Hamid
Produced and Directed by: Ruhi Hamid

SYNOPSIS
Every year, thousands of young women are taken abroad and forced into marriages by their families. This film gains unique access to the work of the British Consulate’s unit in Pakistan that rescues girls who call them for help. It is a task fraught with diplomatic pitfalls and personal risk, lending this film a real tension as the team bounce over the roads of rural Pakistan on their way to another “rescue.” By calling for help, the girls are in danger of losing everything – including all contacts with their families. “Imagine waking up tomorrow and not having a mother,” says one. “A father. A family. Your home. Your community.”

THE FILMMAKER
After her award-winning series “Lahore Law”, director/camerawoman Ruhi Hamid has made films for the BBC, Channel 4, Arte and Al Jazeera International including “Women and Islam” and “The Rockstar and the Mullahs.” Ruhi’s film about the Hmong tribe in Laos was nominated for the Rory Peck Awards in 2004, and “At The Epicentre”, a documentary about the aftermath of the Asian tsunami in Banda Aceh, won her the same award in 2005. Her two recent high profile films are “Inside A Shariah Court” filmed in Nigeria and “The King’s New Laws” which is about law reform in Morocco.

Cinematography: Shakeb Ahmed
Editing: Ambarein Al Qadar, Anil Sharma
Sound: Girjashaker Vohra
Script: Ambarein Al Qadar
Producer: The Public Service Broadcasting Trust
Directed by: Ambarein Al Qadar

SYNOPSIS
Combining the techniques of documentary and fiction, the film “Four Women in a Room” raises crucial questions about sex selective abortions, marriage and motherhood within a South Asian context.

THE FILMMAKER
Ambarein has a degree in Mass Communication from the Anwar Jamal Kidwai Mass Communication Research Centre. She has assisted on documentaries and feature films such as “Silent Waters” and “The City Beautiful.” Her first independent documentary, “Elsewhere”, won the best documentary award at the 0110 Digital Film Festival, Mumbai in 2005. ”Four Women in a Room” is her second film. Currently she teaches Video and TV Production at the A.J.K. Mass Communication Research Centre.

Cinematography: Hector Ulloque Franco
Editing: Hector Ulloque Franco
Script: Manuel Ruiz Montealegre
Producer: Manuel Ruiz Montealegre
Directed by: Hector Ulloque Franco and
Manuel Ruiz Montealegre

SYNOPSIS
On December 18, 2005, a native was elected president of Bolivia for the first time in history. Thirty six native groups, social movements, academics and intellectuals, and a massive population supported Evo Morales Ayma. This led to him winning 53.7 % of the votes. The coca growers from the Tropic of Cochabamba, better known as Chapare, played a prominent role in the process.

THE FILMMAKERS
Manuel Ruiz Montealegre is currently carrying out research on social organisation and administrative political power in Chapare for a doctorate at the Higher Education School in Social Sciences, Paris. He obtained a teacher’s degree in Social Anthropology and Ethnology at the EHESS and is an historian from the National University of Colombia. “Plenty of Evos: The Coca Growers of Chapare” is his first documentary.

Hector Ulloque Franco studied chemical engineering and graduated from the University of Colombia in 2000. That same year he gained admission in the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University and began studying cinema and television.

Cast: Pascal Kleiman
Cinematography: Juan Landa
Sound: Rafa Lozano
Editing: Xavi Cano, Angel Loza
Directed by: Angel Loza

SYNOPSIS
Even though Pascal Kleiman was born without arms, this condition has not been an impediment for him to pursue a career as a techno music disc-jockey. His inspirational story reveals the triumph of will power over all adversities.

THE FILMMAKER
Angel Loza is a self taught filmmaker who has been working since 1985. When he was eighteen and in the midst of the “movida madrilène” (a youth social movement in Madrid in the 80’s), Angel started experimenting with Super 8mm, photography and video. His first script is about life and death from three angles: childhood, adulthood, and old age.

Cinematography: Pedro J. Marquez
Editing: Emma Tusell, Jose Manuel Jimenez
Sound: Nacho Arenas
Script: Ciro Altabas
Directed by: Ciro Altabas

SYNOPSIS
“Hobby” was conceived as a visual document to witness the release of a video-game console in Japan. However, it slowly morphed into a showcase of some of the many ways in which the Japanese spend their leisure time.

THE FILMMAKER
Altabas studied audiovisual communication at the European University in Madrid. After graduating, he studied at the London Film School and at the New York Film Academy. He has also directed and produced “DVD” and “Phobia.”