Category: ARFF Amsterdam 2024 – Globe Award

Original Film Title: L’ultima isola

Director’s Name: Davide Lomma

Writer’s Name: Davide Lomma

Producer: Davide Lomma

Country of Origin: Italy

Country of Filming: Italy

Language: Italian

Runtime: 1 hour 14 minutes

Film Description:

“The Last Island” is a documentary that narrates the extraordinary story of eight friends who accidentally find themselves caught up on the island of Lampedusa in one of the darkest moments in the history of the Mediterranean Sea. From a quiet evening on a boat, to the sudden rescue of hundreds of people at sea, the film explores the power of friendship and human resilience in emergency situations.

Original Film Title: 色达日记

Director’s Name: Dilip Ghosh

Writer’s Name: Olivia Dunlop

Producer: Purnendu Roy, Olivia Dunlop, Simon Dunlop

Country of Origin: India

Country of Filming: India

Language: Bengali, English

Runtime: 28 minutes 11 seconds

Film Description:

Sundarbans the largest mangrove forest in the world where there are tiger victim families which include the widowed women along with their children, their atrocities, their livelihood, their survival in the midst of the forest, their encounter with the Royal Bengal Tiger has been vividly portrayed in this documentary of 28 minutes and 11 seconds.

Original Film Title: 色达日记

Director’s Name: SHAO MIN SHEN

Writer’s Name: SHAO MIN SHEN

Producer: SHAO MIN SHEN

Country of Origin: China

Country of Filming: China

Language: Mandarin Chinese

Runtime: 59 minutes 2 seconds

Film Description:

Located in the Tibetan area, the Sertar Wuming Buddhist College is known as the world’s largest sacred site for Tibetan Buddhism missions. Recent years have seen an expanding scale that around 50 to 60 thousand Buddhist followers gathered here to study Buddhism within few years. The dense living conditions led to safety hazards such as fires, so the local government conducted demolition and reconstruction in Sertar. Since then, the population dropped from 50,000 – 60,000 to 5,000 – 6,000 people. During our stay in Sertar, the random people and events we encounter have caused us lots of doubts.

Original Film Title: Carla the Rescuer

Director’s Name: Clement Lye

Writer’s Name: Clement Lye

Producer: Kristine F. Hoover

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes

Film Description:

Brief Synopsis: Join us on a journey with Carla Peperzak, who was a part of the Dutch resistance as a teenager during WWII, where she helped dozens of fellow Jews by forging ID cards or finding safe haven from the German invaders and their Dutch enablers. Growing up in Amsterdam, Carla’s family attended the same Reform temple as Anne Frank, and she was friends with Anne’s sister Margot. During the Nazi occupation, Carla lost three-quarters of her extended family in the Holocaust even though she fought vigilantly to help others survive. Working through the horrors and pain she experienced, she began her calling to speak out and continues this work today. Even at 100 years of age, she reminds us all of the critical need to respect one another, inspiring each of us to never remain silent in the face of harm. The story is told by four generations of women in Carla’s family: Carla, a daughter, a granddaughter, and a great-granddaughter. In the documentary, Carla’s great-granddaughter is the age Carla was during WWII. The message of tolerance and inclusion is personified through the documentary’s subject matter experts and leaders. Carla shares the gift of her story as a first-person witness and truthteller not only of the atrocities of the Holocaust but also of the potential for each of us to make a difference in the world today.

Original Film Title: ARMED with A BRUSH

Director’s Name: Nèma van Raalte

Writer’s Name: Nèma van Raalte

Producer: Nèma van Raalte

Country of Origin: Netherlands

Country of Filming: Chile

Language: Spanish

Runtime: 54 minutes 24 seconds

Film Description:

Nemad©c, an independent film production company based in the Netherlands, proudly announces the launch of ARMED with a BRUSH, a full-feature documentary portraying the works and lives of Chilean street art movement Brigada Ramona Parra (BRP).

The BRP originated in 1968 as a propaganda department of the JJCC (Juventudes Comunistas de Chile, Chilean Communist Youth League). As a young group they supported the democratically elected President Salvador Allende.

The early members of the Brigada Ramona Parra (named after a political activist assassinated in Santiago in 1946) painted verbal messages on strategically placed walls of the capital to communicate their views in support of democracy and equality. Their art form evolved into colourful murals depicting symbols of what they have always believed to be basic human rights, while lashing out against totalitarian regimes and social inequalities.

During the Pinochet regime, members of the BRP were captured, tortured, and killed, while others went into exile. Still, BRP members persisted in their belief that the paintbrush was mightier than the sword, that ideas would eventually conquer senseless violence and repression.

Today’s BRP is stronger and more determined than ever to peacefully paint for justice and equality among Chileans. Despite the political lull, the BRP brigadistas remain relentless in their strife for a more equitable democracy in Chile, passing their art form and beliefs on to even younger generations, relentlessly, colourfully depicting the dreams and hopes forever painted in the hearts and minds of the Chilean people.

In a series of compelling interviews spanning across three generations and nearly 60 years of paintbrush wielding, ARMED with a BRUSH explores the origins, motivations, symbolism, and evolution of this unique, bold, relentless pacifist movement in a country still wrought with unsolved social and political issues. This never-ending search for justice and equality among the Chilean people may be best expressed by Chin Chin, a senior brigadista, whose firm belief is that (they) “can change the world”.

Original Film Title: Metamorphosis

Director’s Name: Antonio Luis Moreira

Writer’s Name: Antonio Luis Moreira

Producer: MARCAANTONIO

Country of Origin: Portugal

Country of Filming: Portugal

Language: Portuguese

Runtime: 1 hour 20 minutes

Film Description:

Metamorphosis tells the story of three neighboring mountain villages, over almost a century.

Through episodes of everyday life told in the first person, the viewer is constantly confronted with the contrast between the specific dynamics of these territories, seen as geographical spaces linked to human-environmental relations, and the globalized models of modernity that determine the way of life of urban communities.

During the story, we meet a man who never abandoned the land where he was born. Seeing the villages condemned to depopulation, he fought with vision and tenacity for the collective emancipation of the villages through the construction of basic infrastructure and the recovery of fading cultural traditions.

Metamorphosis is a reflective documentary that shows how individual self-esteem and historical awareness allow us to overcome discourses of fatality and determine our future.

Original Film Title: Rigged: Wealthism In Higher Education

Director’s Name: Matt Zodrow

Writer’s Name: Jim Wolfston

Producer: Jill Thacker

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming: United States

Language: English

Runtime: 41 minutes 18 seconds

Film Description:

Laying bare a US higher education culture in which wealth and influence remain the predominant values. RIGGED examines how this obsolete value system favoring wealth in our higher education system grows the disparity between rich and poor and thereby undermines the future of American Democracy.

Original Film Title: Codes of Life Science Humanity

Director’s Name: Jennifer Treur

Writer’s Name: Jennifer Treur

Producer: Jennifer Treur

Country of Origin: Australia

Country of Filming: Australia

Language: English

Runtime: 36 minutes

Film Description:

A musical journey through time and space.

Zooming through mankind’s achievements with AI and space technology we see the earths environment has been sadly left behind.

An experimental film that looks at science vs humanity and asks the big questions that AI will have the courage to answer.

How did we get ourselves into this mess and who will help us?

Original Film Title: Returning on the golden fields

Director’s Name: Fei Chen

Writer’s Name: Hong Chen, Fei Chen

Producer: Na Wang

Country of Origin: China

Country of Filming: China

Language: Chinese

Runtime: 1 hour 50 minutes 20 seconds

Film Description:

When a disillusioned college student returns to his village, he convinces a gold-obsessed neighbor to cultivate high-quality rice instead, leading to unexpected healing and prosperity for the community.

Original Film Title: ‘A Stitch in Time’ Immerse yourself in Maison M’Elise’s world of sustainable haute couture.

Director’s Name: Maaike Elise Stofferis

Writer’s Name: Maaike Elise Stofferis

Producer: Maaike Elise Stofferis, Paul Heaney

Country of Origin: Netherlands

Country of Filming: Netherlands

Language: English

Runtime: 5 minutes 52 seconds

Film Description:

Step behind the scenes with Maison M’Elise’s exclusive documentary, ‘A stitch in Time’ Immerse yourself in the world of sustainable haute couture as we unveil the making of the ‘Blue Appels’ collection. Discover the artistry and dedication that go into each piece, showcasing how authenticity and sustainable practices converge.

Join us on a journey through craftsmanship and creativity, where the story of each gown is intricately woven with purpose and passion. Experience the heart of our commitment to sustainability as we lift the veil on the art of fashion, bringing you closer to the enchanting beauty of ‘Blue Appels.’