Competition Section films that I saw, and my opinions about them.

THE TEACHER

Palestinian school-teacher Basem (Saleh Bakri) grapples with personal devastation, after a tragic incident involving his son, who dies in custody merely suspected of participation in a protest. His life takes an unexpected turn when he forms a deep connection with Adam, one of his traumatised students, who has suffered personal losses in the ongoing conflict. He also develops an unexpected bond with British social worker, Lisa (Imogen Poots). Simultaneously, a high-profile American attorney and his wife seek the return of their son, an Israeli soldier, held captive by a Palestinian resistance group. The group’s demand for a prisoner exchange creates tensions with authorities, intensifying the search for the soldier, and suspecting Basem and Adam’s neighbourhood of holding him hostage.

Oscar-nominated director, Farah Nabulsi weaves these disparate yet interconnected stories into a gripping drama that is marked by empathy, unexpected twists, and unceasing provocations, anchored by Saleh Bakri's power-house performance.

The Teacher was filmed under challenging conditions, in Palestinian occupied territory, and marks the feature debut of BAFTA-winning British-Palestinian writer-director Farah Nabulsi. It is based on true events.

A Palestinian production, it could be the 'mouse' that roared.

I missed the first few minutes, but could not help applauding the entire cast, with Saleh Bakri in particular. You get to see the Israeli occupation’s ugly face, as well the pining of the couple who are dying to see their son. Adam's is also a confused, bitter and yet humane performance.

By my yardstick, among my top three, in the competition section.                            

                       Muhammad Abed El Rahman

                                 Farah Nabulsi

DALMA: Missed

MANDOOB: Missed

BLACK LIGHT SIX FEET OVER: Missed (One hat-trick I am not proud of))

DEAR JASSI: Missed (What’s going on over here? Well, it could be one of three possibilities: Clash with another booking, tickets not available, or another event that I just had to attend).

And not being able to see Jassi was a big miss, which, by now, you know why.

ONE OF A KIND (WAKHRI): Missed

(The bad patch of my viewings continues. This one was from Pakistan, and I have seen very few films from Pakistan. The loss was greater when I heard that the film was definitely worth seeing).

Iram Parveen Bilal studied screenplay-writing under writer-director Sriram Raghavan, from India, a few years ago, in his workshop. And, as a tribute to his student’s cute name, he named one of his characters in his film Agent Vinod, ‘Iram Parveen Bilal’.

IN FLAMES

Mariam is a medical student, living with her mother, Faraha, and younger brother, in a tiny Karachi flat, owned by her grand-father. When he dies, leaving a mountain of debt, an uncle steps in, offering to cover the debts, after which, he claims, they have signed over their apartment, to him, and that he is evicting them. The legal system, heavily weighted against women, offers them no protection. Faraha, grieving and isolated, has little energy to fight. Mariam takes refuge in a romance with a kindly fellow student, but her mental health is failing; she has nightmares that are the stuff of horror movies. The mother and her daughter must join forces to overcome both real and phantasmal forces that threaten to engulf them.

A second Pakistani film in a competitive international film festival? Rare, indeed. Made with Canadian funds and Pakistani-Canadians, the film has, in common, an actress who also starred in Wakhli. She is called Bakhtawar Mazhar, and I have an exclusive interview of hers lined-up. Far from the traditional Pakistani stereotypical outings, In Flames triggers your mind, and draws your attention to contemporary Pakistani society. Support from the cast is on par with many international levels, and the film makes it to my third of the top three in the competition section.

            Bakhatwar Mazhar                                                                

Adnan Hassan Shah Tipu

         Syeda Ramesh Nawali

SUNDAY (Yakshambe)

An elderly Uzbek couple live as they have always done: shearing their sheep, milking their goats, growing watermelons and weaving carpets. The old woman never lets anyone leave the house without a gift, and gently attends to her grouchy husband. His habitually simmering ill humour reaches boiling point when their two adult sons – one who lives nearby, one far away – start replacing their household goods with new-fangled ones, that the duo can’t operate. The brothers’ next plan is to pull down and replace the family home, whatever their parents say. This story of generational division and hurt unfolds with the slow rhythm of the changing seasons. and is spread from Monday to Sunday. Shot entirely within their home, with the steppes only occasionally seen in the distance, it has the concentrated force of a poem.

Indeed. Full of eloquent silences, this gem from Uzbekistan, also made it to my list of the top three. A grandmother, marvellously played by a much younger actress, her husband of half-a-century, an old man, the kind that you are bound to encounter in many parts of the world, and a generational conflict that is tinged with black humour. It is rare to find such real-life characters, in their 70s/80s, hold so much of your attention. Another in my favourite three. It said, in 97 minutes, what life takes two generations to unfold.

                Shokir Kholikov

       Royaza Piyazova

        Abdurrahman Yusufaliev              

ROXANA: missed. There I go again. (What a beautiful name, common to India and Pakistan, besides the country that sent this film, Iran).

OMEN (AUGURE): Missed. (And I agree that missing competition films is not a good omen).

TIGER STRIPES

Synopsis: Zaffan goes to a strict girls’ school in rural Malaysia, where her youthful high spirits – dancing and climbing trees in the rainforest – mark her out as a rebel. At 12, she is also the first girl in her class to reach puberty, meaning that her body changes in ways regarded as shameful. When girls start to collapse around her with inexplicable fainting fits, she is identified by teachers as a dark spirit who has cursed the school. Little do they know that she does have a secret self–- one with a tail and teeth. Drawing on the playfully scary spirit of old-school Asian monster movies, as well as traditional myths, Tiger Stripes is raw, joyful and buoyed by great performances from its young, rookie cast. It is a truly independent ptoduction, with funds coming from: Malaysia, Taiwan R.O.C., Singapore, France, Germany, Netherlands, Indonesia and Qatar.

This one flattered to deceive. Innovative in subject and shot in the picturesque region of South-East Asia, which I have had the pleasure of visiting time and again, it had spirited performances, but floundered between the (Muslim) horror world, and a girls’ school milieu. A rivetting performance of the young girl protagonist, it became boring towards the end.

Amanda Nell Eu graduated from the London Film School. Her short film, It's Easier to Raise Cattle, premiered in competition, at the Venice International Film Festival, and received a Special Mention at the International Short Film Festival Clermont-Ferrand. Amanda is an alumnus of the Berlinale Talent Campus and Locarno Filmmakers Academy. In her work, she explores the female body and identity, within the cultural context of Southeast Asia. Tiger Stripes is her debut feature film.

Amanda Nell Eu

Zafreen Zairizai

My ratings of the Competion Films I saw:

The Teacher: ****

Sunday: ****

In Flames: ***1/2

Tiger Stripes: ** 1/2 

-Siraj Syed