CREDITS
Cast: Golah Adineh, Minoo Farshchi, Mani Kasraian, Atefeh Razavi
Cinematography: Hossein Djafarian
Editing: Masume Shah-Nazari
Screenplay: Rakhshan Bani-Etemad
Producer: Jahangir Kosari, Alireza Raisian
Directed by: Rakhshan Bani-Etemad

SYNOPSIS The protagonist, a professional film maker and divorced mother of an older teenaged son must decide between seemingly incompatible options: her own need for adult love and companionship and her son's fear of losing his mother's love. Gathering filmed interviews with a wide range of Iranian women affected by numerous restrictions in an extremely patriarchal culture, the mother ponders the choices between which she finds herself deeply ambivalent. Will she allow guilt and her son's desire to be "the man of the house" determine her course?

THE FILMMAKER Rakhshan Bani-Etemad is one of the leading women of Irani film. She graduated in the field of film directing from The Faculty of Dramatic Arts and joined Iranian TV in 1973, beginning her career as continuity girl and assistant director. Later on, she made a number of short documentaries and directed her first picture "Off The Limits" in 1988. Her next films – “Canary Yellow” (1989), “Foreign Exchange” (1990), “Nargess” (1992) and “The Blue-Veiled” (1995) established her as one of the most influential women directors in Iran.

“The Bourne Supremacy”
USA-GERMANY / 2004 / 108 MIN / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Cast: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Karl Urban, Gabriel Mann, Joann Allen
Cinematography: Oliver Wood
Editing: Richard Pearson, Christopher Rouse
Music: John Powell
Screenplay: Tony Gilroy (from Robert Ludlum’s story)
Producers: Patrick Crowley, Frank Marshall, Paul Sandberg
Directed by: Paul Greengrass

SYNOPSIS A sequel to the successful adaptation of Robert Ludlum’s “The Bourne Identity” (2002), “The Bourne Supremacy” re-enters the shadowy world of expert assassin Bourne, who continues to find himself plagued by splintered nightmares from his former life. The stakes are now even higher for the agent as he coolly maneuvers through the dangerous waters of international espionage - replete with CIA plots, turncoat agents and ever-shifting covert alliances - all the while hoping to find the truth behind his haunted memories and answers to his own fragmented past.

THE FILMMAKER Paul Greengrass has worked extensively across British film, television and theater. In 2002, he gained worldwide attention with his feature film “Bloody Sunday” about the 1972 civil rights march in Northern Ireland which resulted in 13 deaths. The film garnered numerous awards around the world, including the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival as well as Best Director at the British Independent Film Awards. Greengrass’ other CREDITS include “The Murder of Stephen Lawrence” (2000), “The Theory of Flight” (1999) and “The Resurrected” (1989).

“Collateral”
USA / 2004 / 119 MIN / ENGLISH-SPANISH

CREDITS
Cast: Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith, Mark Ruffalo, Peter Berg, Bruce McGill
Cinematography: Dion Beebe, Paul Cameron
Editing: Jim Miller, Paul Rubell
Music: James Newton Howard
Art Direction: Daniel T. Dorrance
Screenplay: Stuart Beattie
Producers: Michael Mann, Julie Richardson
Directed by: Michael Mann

SYNOPSIS Max has lived the mundane life of a cab driver for 12 years. The faces have come and gone from his rearview mirror, people and places he’s long since forgotten… until tonight. Vincent is a contract killer. When an offshore narcotics trafficking cartel learn they are to be indicted by a federal grand jury, they mount an operation to identify and kill the key witnesses. Tonight, when Vincent arrives in LA, five bodies are supposed to fall. Vincent hijacks Max’s taxicab and Max becomes ‘collateral.’ However, unforeseen circumstances cause them to depend on each other for survival in ways neither could have imagined as the FBI and LAPD race to intercept them.

THE FILMMAKER Michael Mann has earned numerous honours for his work as a director, writer and producer, including three Oscar nominations in the category of Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for the drama “The Insider.” Other writing-directing CREDITS include “The Last of the Mohicans”, “Heat” and “Ali”, the acclaimed film biopic of boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

“Da Zero A Dieci”
(From Zero To Ten)
ITALY / 2002 / 99 MIN / ITALIAN

CREDITS
Cast: Stefano Pesce, Massimo Bellinzoni, Eliabetta Cavallotti, Pierfrancesco Favino, Barbara Lerici, Stefania Rivi, Fabrizia Sacchi
Cinematography: Gherardo Gossi
Editing: Angelo Nicolini
Music: Luciano Ligabue
Screenplay: Luciano Ligabue
Producer: Domenico Procacci
Directed by: Luciano Ligabue

SYNOPSIS Angst doesn't just hit you when you reach 40 - at least not according to “From Zero To Ten”, where midlife crisis becomes a reality at 36. Giove is a (reasonably) happily married man, who believes that from the moment we are born to the second we die, "we exist to give and receive grades." He categorises his life as a seven minus, but the weekend over which the action of the film takes place promises to be a nine. This is because he and his friends are heading to the hedonistic mayhem of Rimini to complete a weekend they never finished 20 years ago.

THE FILMMAKER Born in Correggio, a small town in Northern Italy, Luciano Ligabue switched different jobs (fruit gatherer, worker at a plant, accountant, deejay, salesman, promoter...) before publishing his first record ('Ligabue') as a rock songwriter in 1990. He quickly became one of the most famous Italian rock stars. In 1997 he published a collection of short stories about his hometown, his young days and his present career. From these stories emerged his first film as director, “Radiofreccia” (1998), which portrayed Correggio in the '70s. “From Zero To Ten” is his second film.

“Dhoop”
INDIA / 2003 / 110 MIN / HINDI

CREDITS
Cast: Om Puri, Revathy, Sanjay Suri, Gul Panag, Gopi Desai, Ganesh Yadav, Yashpal Sharma, Virendera Saxena, Preeti Dayal
Cinematography:
Editing:
Music: Lalit Sen
Screenplay: Kumud Chaudhary, Sanjay Chauhan
Producers: Parth Arora, Saket Behl
Directed by: Ashwini Chowdhary

SYNOPSIS Professor Suresh Kapoor and his librarian wife have a son who is a captain in the Indian army. When the son is killed on the Kargil border, the world collapses for the parents. While the family is engulfed in sorrow, a letter is received from the Home Ministry informing them that the government has allotted a petrol pump as an acknowledgement for the services of their son. After some hesitation, the couple decide to keep their son's memory alive through this petrol pump. What follows is a long and exhausting struggle against the corrupt system to get the petrol pump started. Based on a true story.

THE FILMMAKER Ashwini Chaudhary has worked as an assistant to director Prakash Jha (“Mrityudand”). He previously directed “Ladoo”, which bagged the Swarna Kamal award in 2000. “Dhoop” was nominated for Best Story, Best Dialogues and Best Supporting Actress awards at the Screen and Zee Cine Awards.

“Dirty Pretty Things”
UK / 2002 / 97 MIN / ENGLISH-SOMALI

CREDITS
Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Audrey Tautou, Sergi Lopez, Sophie Okonedo, Benedict Wong
Cinematography: Chris Menges
Editing: Mick Audsley
Music: David Byrne, Christian Henson, Nathan Larson
Art Direction: Rebecca Holmes
Screenplay: Steven Knight
Producers: Robert Jones, Tracey Seaward
Directed by: Stephen Frears

SYNOPSIS Okwe, a kind-hearted Nigerian doctor, and Senay, a Turkish chambermaid, work at the same West London hotel. The hotel is run by Senor Sneaky and is the sort of place where dirty business like drug dealing and prostitution takes place. However, when Okwe finds a human heart in one of the toilets, he uncovers something far more sinister than just a common crime.

THE FILMMAKER One of the "new generation" of British filmmakers, Frears came to a movie career after having earned a Cambridge law degree. Although Frears' first solo directorial outing was “Gumshoe” in 1971 it was only in 1984 that he won international recognition for “The Hit” a gangster yarn set in Spain. The following year he collaborated with Anglo-Pakistani author Hanif Kureishi on “My Beautiful Laundrette” which got him worldwide attention. Frears followed up with 1987's “Sammy and Rosie Get Laid” and “Prick Up Your Ears.” In 1988, Frears' “Dangerous Liaisons” established him as a bankable commodity. He followed with the gritty, neo-noir “The Grifters” which earned him an Oscar nomination as Best Director.

CREDITS
Cast: Daniel Brühl, Katrin Sass, Chulpan Khamatova, Maria Simon
Cinematography: Martin Kukula
Editing: Peter R. Adam
Music: Yann Tiersen
Art Direction: Matthias Klemme
Screenplay: Wolfgang Becker, Bernd Lichtenberg
Producer: Stefan Arndt
Directed by: Wolfgang Becker

SYNOPSIS When his mother, a steadfast Communist, has a heart attack and falls into a coma while watching him being arrested during a protest in Berlin in 1989, a young East German man becomes concerned that when she wakes up, the excitement of the fall of the Berlin Wall may be too much for her. So eight months later, as she is returning home from the hospital, he sets about recreating the era of Communist East Germany in the area around her apartment. But the illusion of depressing Iron Curtain malaise is difficult to maintain.

THE FILMMAKER Born in 1954, Wolfgang Becker is a director, cinematographer and writer. He studied at the German Film and Television Academy (DFFB). His graduating short film “Butterflies” won the Student Oscar and the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival. He has directed five feature films since 1988. His last film “Life Is All You Get” (“Das Leben ist eine Baustelle”,1997) was co-written with Tykwer. “Goodbye Lenin” won 8 German film awards and 6 European film awards and has become the highest grossing film in the history of German cinema.

“Girl With A Pearl Earring”
UK-LUXEMBOURG / 2003 / 100 MIN / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Cast: Colin Firth, Scarlett Johanssen, Tom Wilkinson
Cinematography: Eduardo Serra
Editing: Kate Evans
Music: Alexandre Desplat
Art Direction: Christina Schaffer
Screenplay: Olivia Hetreed (based on the novel by Tracy Chevalier)
Producers: Andy Paterson, Anand Tucker
Directed by: Peter Webber

SYNOPSIS Griet comes to Vermeer's home as an illiterate servant but her duties take her to the Master's studio. Here she shows an instinctive affinity with the artistic process and Vermeer arranges for them to spend more time together. His obsession with her beauty becomes obvious to Catharina, his jealous and possessive wife, and her scheming mother. Caught in the middle, Griet must also deal with the lust of Vermeer's patron, Van Ruijven who agrees to continue his patronage if Vermeer will paint Griet. Thus, the servant becomes the subject of Vermeer's most famous work. Nominated for 3 Academy Awards.

THE FILMMAKER A self-confessed cinephile, Peter Webber made his first short film, “The Zebra Man”, straight out of film school, going on to work as a film editor. As an award-winning documentary director, his subjects ranged from Wagner to crash test dummies. He worked for many years in television, notably creating huge controversy with the Channel Four miniseries, “Men Only.” “Girl With A Pearl Earring” is his first feature film.

“Heda Hoda”
(The Blind Camel)
INDIA / 2003 / 84 MIN / HINDI-ENGLISH

CREDITS Cast: Shivaji Satam, Suhasini Mulay, Swati Dave, Ashok Banthia, Parikshat Sahni, Gaurav, Chawdaand, Gauri Vaidya
Editing: Vinod Ganatra
Music: Vanraj Bhatia
Screenplay: Ajit Duara, Vinod Ganatra
Producer: Satish Pendharkar
Directed by: Vinod Ganatra

SYNOPSIS In a sleepy little village in the region of Kachh, young Sonu has been given charge of some camels. Accompanied by his sister, he takes them to the wilderness to graze. The children take a break for food and the camels drift away and venture into bordering Pakistan. Sonu cannot go back home without retrieving them.

THE FILMMAKER Vinod Ganatra has been working in the film industry since 1983. While freelancing as an editor for television, he launched his own production company Movieman. He has several awards to his credit and has also served on international juries and selection panels. “Heda Hoda” is his debut feature film.

“Hum”
(Us)
PAKISTAN / 2003 / 72 MIN / URDU

CREDITS
Cast: Sania Saeed, Sohail Hashmi, Badar Khalil, Asma, Danish, Sheikh Amer Hassan
Cinematography: Ali Imran
Editing: Imran P., Amir A.
Music: Ahmed Jehanzeb, Strings
Screenplay: Mohammad Ahmed
Producer: Raheel Rao, Irum Binte Shahid
Directed by: Ayeshah Alam

SYNOPSIS The story of the disintegration of a marriage through the small details of life. Can a damaged relationship be repaired?

THE FILMMAKER Ayeshah Alam started off as an actress on stage and television and slowly moved into direction. She freelances as producer and director for all the major television networks in Pakistan. Her previous directorial work includes “Iman, Umeed Aur Mohabbat” (1996), and “Dhoop Ki Deewar” (2000).

“Hyderabad Blues 2: Rearranged Marriage”
INDIA / 2004 / 100 MIN / ENGLISH

CREDITS Cast: Nagesh Kukunoor, Jyoti Dogra, Vikram Inamdar, Elahe Hiptoola, Tisca Chopra
Cinematography: G. S. Bhaskar
Editing: Sanjib Datta
Music: Salim-Suleman
Art Direction: Kishore Choksi, Praveen
Screenplay: Nagesh Kukunoor
Producers: Elahe Hiptoola, Nagesh Kukunoor
Directed by: Nagesh Kukunoor

SYNOPSIS Varun Naidu has been happily married for six years. He has everything – a great job, a great wife (also with a great job), a good social life and… no kids. All of this is about to change when Ashwini, his wife, decides it’s time to strike that last item off the checklist!

THE FILMMAKER A chemical engineer by profession, Nagesh Kukunoor’s debut film “Hyderabad Blues” made history when it became the largest grossing small-budget Indian film in English. It ran to full houses for 31 weeks in Mumbai, as well as making festival rounds and winning audience awards at the Peachtree International Film Festival in Atlanta and the Rhode Island Film Festival. Six years down the road, “Hyderabad Blues 2: Rearranged Marriage”, is a sequel, in the truest sense, to the film that started it all. A hilarious slice of middle-class Indian life, it rekindles our ability to laugh at ourselves.

“Il Miracolo”
(The Miracle)
ITALY / 2003 / 93 MIN / ITALIAN

CREDITS
Cast: Carlo Bruni, Stefania Casciaro, Claudio D’Agostino
Cinematography: Paolo Carnera
Editing: Luca Benedetti
Music: Cinzia Marzo, Donatella Pisanello, Officina Zoe
Screenplay: Pierpaolo Pirone, Giorgia Cecere
Producer: Maurizio Tini
Directed by: Eduardo Winspeare

SYNOPSIS Tonio is an introspective 12-year-old pained by the friction between his parents. While riding his bicycle one day, he’s hit by a car driven by Cinzia, a troubled young woman whom Tonio sees briefly through a veil of blinding light as he loses consciousness. Emerging from his coma some days later, Tonio happens upon a dying man in the same hospital. As Tonio touches him, the man is mysteriously revived, prompting talk of miraculous healing powers. Rather than an exploration of faith, “The Miracle” is instead an examination of how incidents of this kind play into people's need to believe or to exploit.

THE FILMMAKER Eduardo Winspeare is one of the new breed of Italian directors. “The Miracle” is his third directorial effort. His previous films include “Pizzicata” and “Life Blood”, both coloured by a deep sense of place – his fascination for his native Southern Italy. Variety said of his directorial debut: “[It] recalls the early pictures of the Taviani Brothers but with more visual and emotional warmth. Winspeare...makes plentiful use of local color, especially music and dance, but never loses sight of the emotional arcs that give the gently simmering relationships their depth.”

“In Othello”
INDIA / 2004 / 103 MIN / ENGLISH

CREDITS Cast: Barry John, Khandkar Adil Hussain, Sheeba Chadha, Dilip Shankar, Vivek Mansuhkani, Roysten Abel
Cinematography: Ranjan Palit
Editing: Beena Paul
Music: Arjun Sen
Screenplay: Roysten Abel
Producer: Amit Bhatia
Directed by: Roysten Abel

SYNOPSIS A multicultural theater company in today’s New Delhi is staging a production of Shakespeare’s Othello. The director takes a bold step by casting an inexperienced small town actor as Othello. The new actor falls in love with the leading lady, who is also the director’s love-interest, and the two men become bitter rivals. Things become even more complicated as the actors’ theatrical personae start to seep into their lives outside the theater.

THE FILMMAKER An actor’s director, Roysten Abel takes the uncertainties of improvisation to extract raw and dramatically intense performances from his actors. An alumnus of the India’s National School of Drama, he has a long standing repertoire of contemporary interpretations of Shakespeare’s plays that have
been performed internationally. In “In Othello”, the convergence of influences from Indian Kathakali performance styles creates a powerful and vibrant mix with traditional Shakespeare.

“Javaid Shampoo”
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 71 MIN / ENGLISH-URDU

CREDITS
Cast: Sahir, Mehr Tarar, Wajahat Malik, Zainab Abbas, Ibrahim Jamal Khan, Asim Bokhari, Ghayur Akhtar, Tasnim Kausar, Nasreen Qurershi, Umar Fayyaz
Cinematography: Masood Malik, Khurram Butt
Editing: Ahmer Khan, Fabi Khan
Producers: Tarun Talky & NIU Media Productions
Written and Directed by: Faisal Rehman & Bilal Minto

SYNOPSIS Javaid's family makes counterfeits of internationally branded shampoos. Javaid helps his father with the business but has decided he wants to enter the world of showbiz. But, since he's a practical boy, he also has an alternative in mind if showbiz does not work out for him: go to Kashmir and participate in the ongoing jihad there. To try and achieve his first goal, he takes up employment at the workshop of Saba - a silver jewelry maker whose product is popular amongst the fashionable classes of Lahore. However there are more pressing problems at hand which must be dealt with first.

THE FILMMAKERS Faisal Rehman was born in 1964 in Lahore. A film star during the eighties, he appeared in 42 films as a lead actor. He now acts in productions for television. Bilal Minto was born in 1967, also in Lahore. A partner in a law firm, Bilal has been practicing law for the past 14 years. Their joint directorial debut was a 60-minute feature, “World Ka Centre”, which premiered at the 2nd KaraFilm Festival (2002) and received a Ciepie for Special Jurors’ Selection. “Javaid Shampoo” is their second film together as writer-directors.

CREDITS
Cast: Aashish Chaudary, Aarzoo Gowatrikar, Vinod Sharawat, Roshini Chopra, Piyali Roy, Shiv Pandit, Yamini Namjoshi, Dhruv Singh
Cinematography: Amit Roy
Editing: Hina Saiyada
Music: Medival Punditz
Producer: Quartet Productions Pvt.Ltd.
Written and Directed by: Siddharth Anand Kumar and Ankur Tewari

SYNOPSIS Armaan Pratap Singh has spent the last four years of his life hanging loose in the US. But now, at 24, he's been hit by an identity crisis, which has brought him home to Delhi on a quest for self-discovery. Part of this self-discovery is his desire to meet Shreya, his college sweetheart, to see if they still have the same chemistry. The answer will soon be known when he throws a lavish party at his family’s sprawling farmhouse.

THE FILMMAKERS Siddharth Anand Kumar assisted Mira Nair in the making of “Kamasutra” (1995), worked as a Director of Photography and editor on the television series “Rajdhani” (2000), and was an executive producer for Shekhar Kapur’s company Digital Talkies. His short feature “Game” was the closing film at the Commonwealth Film Festival in Manchester, UK (2002). His work was also recently awarded a Commonwealth Vision Award.
Ankur Tewari studied hotel management in Bhopal, but switched to music and theater soon after. His break came as a songwriter and musician for various television series and documentaries. He served as Art Director on the series “Rajdhani”, and also as a producer in Shekhar Kapur’s company Digital Talkies.

“Maqbool”
INDIA / 2003 / 132 MIN / URDU-HINDI

CREDITS
Cast: Irrfan Khan, Pankaj Kapoor, Tabu, Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Piyush Mishra, Ajay Gehi, Masumi Makhija
Cinematography: Hemant Chaturvedi
Editing: Aarif Sheikh
Music: Vishal Bharadwaj
Screenplay: Vishal Bharadwaj, Abbas Tyrewala (Based on “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare)
Producer: Bobby Bedi
Directed by: Vishal Bharadwaj

SYNOPSIS Macbeth meets the Godfather in present-day Bombay. The Scottish tragedy set in the contemporary underworld of India's commercial capital; two corrupt, fortune telling policemen take the roles of the weird sisters, and "Duncan" is Abbaji, the head of a crime family. Abbaji's mistress and Maqbool plot and carry out his death; the sea plays the role of Birnham wood.

THE FILMMAKER Vishal Bharadwaj came to direction after earning a well-deserved name as a music composer in films such as “Maachis”, “Godmother”, “Satya”, “Chachi 420” and “Hu Tu Tu”, often collaborating with THE FILMMAKER and lyricist Gulzar. His directorial debut “Makdee”, a fable for children was a great success. “Maqbool” is his second film as director.

“Raghu Romeo”
INDIA / 2004 / 99 MINS / HINDI

CREDITS
Cast: Vijay Raaz, Saadiya Siddiqui, Maria Goretti, Saurabh Shukla, Virendra Saxena, Vijay Patkar, Surekha Sikri
Cinematography: Rafey Mahmood
Editing: Suresh Pai
Screenplay: Rajat Kapoor
Dialogues: Saurabh Shukla
Art Direction: Mohd. Tanveer
Producer: Cinematograph, NFDC India
Directed by: Rajat Kapoor

SYNOPSIS Raghu is a 30-year-old waiter who lives with his widowed mother in a ramshackle lower middle class tenement and takes television too seriously. A dancer, Sweety, is in love with Raghu and a gangster Anna is in love with Sweety. One shining light inspires Raghu to coast through his humdrum existence with a semblance of equanimity - the ideal woman, Neeta, who unfortunately is not a real person but a character in the long running all time hit soap opera, ‘Dard’. Reshma, the actress who plays Neeta, is hardly like the character she portrays. What happens when reality collides with fantasy? A madcap adventure that ends with Raghu finally
growing up.

THE FILMMAKER Rajat Kapoor is an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). He is actively involved with theatre, acting and modelling on both TV and film besides filmmaking. “Raghu Romeo” is his second feature film following “Private Detective”.

“Rog”
INDIA / 2004 / 125 MIN / HINDI

CREDITS
Cast: Irrfan Khan, Ilene Hamann, Suhel Seth, Himanshu Malik, Munish Makhija, Shyamoli Varma
Cinematography: Anshuman Mahaley
Editing: Akiv Ali
Music: M. M. Kreem, Music Mushrooms
Screenplay: Mahesh Bhatt, Niranjan Iiyengar, Subodh Chopra
Producers: Pooja Bhatt, Sujit Kumar Singh
Directed by: Himanshu Brambhatt

SYNOPSIS When a successful fashion model from the city, Maya Solomon, is found murdered in her apartment, a police inspector, Uday Singh Rathod is assigned to investigate the case. This leads him to the well-known columnist, Harsh Vardhan, who was Maya’s mentor and instrumental in her rise to stardom and also the last person to see her alive. But the immediate suspect for the murder is her gold-digging fiancé, Ali, who was meant to marry her a week later but who Maya may have decided against marrying. As Uday pieces together the story of Maya’s past, he discovers that he too is strangely falling under Maya’s spell.

THE FILMMAKER Himanshu Brambhatt began his career as an assistant director on Mahesh Bhatt’s 1984 film “Naam.” He went on to assist Bhatt on 22 films subsequently. He made his directorial debut with “Vishwaasghaat” in 1996 and followed it up with “Andaz Tera Mastana” in 1997. He has also directed a number of televisions serials such as “Saibaba”, “Jai Santoshima”, “Ghar Sansar” and “Jai Ganesha.”

“Salakhein”
(The Bars)
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 150 MIN / URDU

CREDITS
Cast: Ahmed Butt, Sajid Hasan, Zara Sheikh, Meera, Saud, Sami Khan, Shafi Mohammad, Farooq Zamir, Deeba
Cinematography: Ali Jan
Music: M. Arshad
Screenplay: Amjad Islam Amjad
Producers: Khalil Rana, Rashid Khwaja
Directed by: Shehzad Rafique

SYNOPSIS
When a conscientous middle-class young man from Gowalmandi in Lahore raises a voice against the use of unfair means at an examination centre, the local mafia contrives to have him arrested for cheating. Unable to bear the shock, his father passes away and his mother loses her mind. Vowing revenge on those who caused the tragedy, he falls in with a rival mafia, gradually becoming enmeshed in a life of crime and living the life of a fugitive from the law. Meanwhile, his former neighbourhood love has been married off to a young police officer who is hot on his heels.

THE FILMMAKER Shehzad Rafique makes his second film as director with “Salakhein” having made a name for himself as the producer of commercial hits such as “Ghoongat” and “Nikah”. His first film as director was the critically acclaimed “Rukhsati” which fared poorly at the box office. He has also represented Pakistan at various film festivals
around the world.

“Shark Tale”
USA / 2004 / 90 MIN / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Cast: Voices of Will Smith, Robert DeNiro, Renée Zellweger, Angelina Jolie, Jack Black, Martin Scorsese, Ziggy Marley
Animation: William Salazar, Fabio Lignini, Fabrice Joubert, Lionel Gallat, Ken Stuart Duncan
Editing: Nick Fletcher
Music: Hans Zimmer
Art Direction: Samuel Michlap, Seth Engstrom
Screenplay: R. Letterman, Damian Shannon, Mark Swift, M. J.Wilson
Producers: Janet Healy, Bill Damaschke, Allison Lyon Segan
Directed by: Bibo Bergeron, Vicki Jenson and Rob Letterman

SYNOPSIS Oscar is a fast-talking little fish whose big dreams have a habit of landing him in hot water. Lenny is a great white shark with a sensitive side. When a great white lie turns Oscar into an improbable hero and the truth about Lenny makes him an outcast, these two become the most unlikely of friends. “Shark Tale” is an undersea comedy that gives new meaning to the phrase ‘sleeping with the fishes.’

THE FILMMAKERS Vicky Jenson made her directorial debut on the computer-animated blockbuster “Shrek”, which won the first Academy Award ever presented in the category of Best Animated Feature.
Bibo Bergeron previously directed the animated feature “The Road To El Dorado.” Before joining DreamWorks, he ran his own animation studio, Bibo Films, in his native France.
“Shark Tale” is Rob Letterman’s first feature writing-directing experience. Prior to this, he made a short film “Los Gringos” (2000).

CREDITS
Cast: Voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Julie Andrews, Antonio Banderas, John Cleese, Rupert Everett
Editing: Michael Andrews
Art Direction: Steve Pilcher
Music: Stephen Barton, Adam Duritz, Mark Everett, Harry Gregson-Williams, James McKee Smith
Screenplay: A. Adamson, Joe Stillman, J. D. Stem, David N. Weiss
Producers: David Lipman, Aron Warner, John H. Williams
Directed by: Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon

SYNOPSIS Picking up where the first movie left off, the newly-wed couple goes to Princess Fiona's parents for dinner after their honeymoon. When a Fairy Godmother discovers Fiona and Shrek are married she reminds the king about a deal they agreed on years ago that Fiona should have married Prince Charming (her son). The king then hires Puss-in-Boots (a sword fighting cat and ogre slayer) to kill Shrek.

THE FILMMAKERS Born in New Zealand, Andrew Adamson previously directed the original “Shrek” and served as technical director on “Toys” (1992), and as Visual Effects Supervisor on “Batman Forever” (1995), “A Time to Kill” (1996) and “Batman & Robin” (1997).
Kelly Asbury is an illustrator, storyboard artist, art director and designer and now works for Dreamworks SKG. In 2002 he co-directed the Oscar nominated “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.”
Conrad Vernon directed “Morto the Magician” in 2001 and has worked on a number of animated films including “Shrek.”

“Il Posto Dell’Anima”
(The Soul’s Haven)
ITALY / 2003 / 106 MIN / ITALIAN

CREDITS
Cast: Silvio Orlando, Michele Placido, Claudio Santamaria, Paola Cortellesi
Cinematography: Arnaldo Catinari
Music: Leandro Piccioni
Screenplay: Riccardo Milani, Domenico Starnone
Producer: Lionello Cerri
Directed by: Riccardo Milani

SYNOPSIS An American multinational company operates a tire-manufacturing plant in a small village located in the Abruzzo mountains in southern Italy. When the American head office tells the Italians that the plant is slated to close, the workers start to organize. Intertwined with the progress of the protests, the film relates the personal stories of the workers and their families: Antonio, the main character, dreams of returning to his home village with Nina, his girlfriend who now works in Milan; Salvatore, a trade unionist, browbeats his 18-year-old son who is more interested in computers than assembly lines; and Mario, searching for an alternate source of income, starts producing fresh pasta with the wives of his friends.

THE FILMMAKER Riccardo Milani has served as assistant director and second unit director on a number of projects. His earlier films as director include “Auguri professore” (1997) and “La Guerra degli Antò” (1999). “The Soul’s Haven”, his third feature was nominated for 3 awards from the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists and won Silvio Orlando the Best Actor award at the Montreal World Film Festival. It has also won two popular awards at other festivals.

“The Terminal”
USA / 2004 / 132 MIN / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Cast: Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stanley Tucci, Chi McBride
Cinematograpy: Janusz Kaminski
Editing: Michael Kahn
Art Direction: Christopher Burian-Mohr, Isabelle Guay
Music: Benny Golson, John Williams
Story: Andrew Niccol, Sacha Gervasi
Screenplay: Sacha Gervasi, Jeff Nathanson
Producers: Laurie MacDonald, Walter F. Parkes, Steven Spielberg
Directed by: Steven Spielberg

SYNOPSIS Victor Navorski, fleeing the war that ravages his tiny Eastern European homeland, finds himself stuck in the terminal of one of New York City's airports when the time of his landing coincides precisely with the point at which the war causes his nation of origin to no longer exist, meaning that his passport and paperwork are no longer valid. As a man without a home, he takes up residence in the terminal itself, befriending the staff of the airport, and falling in love with an airline flight attendant. Based loosely on the real life story of an Irani stranded in Paris.

THE FILMMAKER Born in Cincinnati in 1946, Steven Spielberg is without a doubt one of the most influential film personalities in the history of film. He is perhaps Hollywood's best known director and has countless big grossing critically acclaimed CREDITS to his name, both as producer, director and writer. Among his well known blockbusters are “Jaws”, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, “ET”, “Back to the Future” and “Saving Private Ryan.” His film “Schindler’s List” won him the Best Director Oscar in 1993.

“Pani”
(Water)
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 70 MIN / URDU

CREDITS
Cast: Rabia Noreen, Sohail Asghar, Mona Liza, Amir Malik, Ghazala Javed, Yaqoob Zakria
Cinematography: Ghazanfar Ali
Editing: Rehan Naqvi
Music: Majid Mirza
Screenplay: Zafarullah
Producer: Zafarullah
Directed by: Zafarullah

SYNOPSIS “Pani” is the story of a woman who lives in drought-ridden Thar with her husband and son. On the day of her son’s wedding, her husband tragically dies of thirst in the desert. She takes her son and his wife to the city to protect them from the ravages of desert life. However within a year of the move, in another tragic twist of fate, her son dies due to kidney failure brought on by impure drinking water in the city.

THE FILMAKER Zafarullah started his career in television as a producer of the serial “Daddy” in 2000. He then produced and directed “Dozakh”, a serial on terrorism. He has several other serials and long plays to his credit.

“White Noise”
INDIA / 2004 / 100 MIN / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Cast: Rahul Bose, Koel Purie, Aryan Vaid, Jatin Siyal, Mona Ambegaonkar
Cinematography: Inderjit Bansal
Editing: Anil Naidu
Music: Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar
Screenplay: Vinta Nanda, Mohanjit Singh, Uday Watsa
Producers: Uday Watsa, Mohanjit Singh, Vinta Nanda, Sevy Ali
Directed by: Vinta Nanda

SYNOPSIS Karan, newly arrived in Mumbai, joins Mickey Malhotras' studio 'Lighthouse', as a film editor. Just prior to that, he has had a chance encounter with colleague Gauri whose good looks, personality and inner complexities fascinate him. Gauri takes refuge in work and drink, as she is hurting from the abrupt end to a long relationship with her former boss who is married and playing the field. Head honcho Malhotra has hired her considerable scripting talent hoping that she will resurrect one of his fading on-going television series. Karan reaches out to the pained Gauri. “White Noise”, set in suburban Mumbai, is a modern comment on love, marriage, family and Mumbai itself - the city of dreams, where expression and talent are often replaced by ego and judgement

THE FILMMAKER Vinta Nanda is a leading TV director-producer and documentary film maker and is well known for her concerns with social issues. “White Noise” marks her feature directorial debut.

“Yasmin”
UK / 2004 / 87 MIN / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Cast: Archie Panjabi, Renu Setna, Steve Jackson, Syed Ahmed, Shahid Ahmed
Cinematography: Tony Slater-Ling
Editing: Kristina Hetherington
Music: Stephen McKeon
Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy
Producer: Sally Hibbin
Directed by: Kenny Glenaan

SYNOPSIS Independent, westernized Yasmin agrees to marry a cousin she has not met to please her widowed father. The villager from Pakistan and the modern, ambitious Yasmin are a mismatch from the start. Yasmin is forced to live a double-life, balancing a traditional home environment with work, socializing and friends. But her confidence begins to wane after 9/11 when she becomes the target of Islamophobia at work. After a crisis of identity, the sudden arrest of her husband triggers in her a new sense of purpose. She fights for his release, and through her campaign comes to a new understanding of her faith and culture.

THE FILMMAKER Kenny Glenaan has worked extensively in television both as an actor and director before moving to film. In 2001 his film “Gas Attack” won the Michael Powell Best New British Feature award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. It was also nominated for Best Film and Best Director at the Scottish BAFTAs in November 2002. “Yasmin” is his second feature.

“Zair-e-Poosht-e-Shahr”
(Under the Skin of the City)
IRAN / 2001 / 92 MIN / FARSI

CREDITS
Cast: Golab Adineh, Mohammad Reza Forutan, Baran Kosari, Ebrahim Sheibani, Mohsen Ghazi Moradi, Mehraveh Sharifinia
Cinematography: Hossein Djafarian
Editing: Mostafa Kherghepoush
Screenplay: Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, Farid Mostafavi
Producers: Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, Jahangir Kosari
Directed by: Rakhshan Bani-Etemad

SYNOPSIS The film charts the story of Tuba who supports her family by working all day in a factory. Tuba’s husband fools around every day, so the whole family is sustained by Tuba alone. Tuba’s eldest son Abbas is working hard trying to obtain a visa – believing that Japan holds more profitable opportunities than Iran – and dreams of returning home wealthy enough to both support his family and impress a lovely office girl who has stolen his heart. When Abbas conspires with his father to sell their house to raise money for his visa, Tuba must fight to save her family and her home.

THE FILMMAKER Rakhshan Bani-Etemad is one of the leading women of Irani film. She graduated in the field of film directing from The Faculty of Dramatic Arts and joined Iranian TV in 1973, beginning her career as continuity girl and assistant director. Later on, she made a number of short documentaries and directed her first picture "Off The Limits" in 1988. Her next films – “Canary Yellow” (1989), “Foreign Exchange” (1990), “Nargess” (1992) and “The Blue-Veiled” (1995) established her as one of the most influential women directors in Iran.

“Zelary”
CZECH REPUBLIC-SLOVAKIA-AUSTRIA / 2003 / 150 MIN / CZECH-RUSSIAN-GERMAN

CREDITS
Cast: Anna Geislerova, Gyorgy Cserhalmi, Jaroslava Adamova, Miroslav Donutil, Jaroslav Dusek
Cinematography: Asen Sopov
Editing: Vladimir Barak
Music: Petr Ostrouchov
Screenplay: Kveta Legatova, Petr Jarchovsky (from the novel)
Producers: Ondrej Trojan, Helena Uldrichova
Directed by: Ondrej Trojan

SYNOPSIS A nurse and her surgeon-lover are part of a resistance movement in 1940s Czechoslovakia. When they are discovered, her lover flees and she must find a place to hide. A patient whose life she saved, a man from a remote mountain village where time stopped 150 years ago, agrees to hide her as his wife. The film was nominated for an Oscar in 2004 in the Best Foreign Language Film category as well as for 11 Czech Lions. It won 2 Czech Lions.

THE FILMMAKER Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) and a graduate of Prague's Film Academy (FAMU) Ondrej Trojan is currently the top film producer in the Czech Republic, both commercially and critically. His first two feature films, “Cosy Dens” (1999) and “Divided We Fall” (2000), both won rave reviews in Variety. Trojan was also one of the main organizers of the Velvet Revolution in 1989, was among the group of twenty or so who signed the original declaration of the revolution, and was one of the founders of Civic Forum, the country's new democratic political movement. Trojan is not normally a political man, and he now plays no political role in the Czech Republic.