Voyages through film

FROM ISSUE # 146 (February 2008) | IN THIS ISSUE
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Kathmandu is no stranger to film festivals. The Valley has seen each and every type of film, from documentaries at Film South Asia to Aussie flicks at the Australian Film Festival. This time around, it is Alliance Française and the Candid Society who will be presenting Voyages en courts, featuring 43 short films from eight countries. Short films are often regarded as amateur work but these films will show that brevity goes along with complexity.

The 43 films have been put into four categories, while one category, Elles, is by invitation only. The screenings will take place at the Nepal Tourism Board from 22-25 February. Entrance is free.

World shorts, 22 February, 6PM
In Pillow Talk, a bored woman with a repetitive daily routine spices up her existence when she meets a telephone repairman.

In Goretti, a 16-year-old girl becomes the head of her family when her parents die of AIDS and she has to leave school to take care of her five younger brothers.

Strange shorts, 23 February, 5PM
In Nobody's Perfect, ZERO1, a cleaning robot, cannot bear the unexpected appearance of stains in his place of work. As it's surely a joke by his colleagues, he tries to give them a hard time.

Stricteternum is about a house in the suburbs in the middle of nowhere, a car trapped in the snow and a desperate couple who kill time in front of the TV. There is a strange sense of déjà-vu but at any moment, everything can change.

Clermont-Ferrand 2006, 24 February, 5PM
Be Quiet is about a Palestinian boy and his father on their journey home. The father struggles to bring up his son amid the tensions of politics and war.

Imagine that you are a young person in control of a world of old men. In a few minutes, everything is reversed and the old have seized power. They are more numerous, stronger and more malignant than you. This is what happens in Men from Outer Space.

Playground shorts, 25 February, 5PM
In Imago, Antoine, an eight-year old, loses his father in a plane crash. Unable to accept his death, he accepts his loss through a metaphorical dream.

In Marrotes, Céline's parents leave her alone for a few days with her two brothers. During her parents' absence, she meets Valentin, a young, unstable boy given to violent spells. Their games and backgrounds differ vastly but create a mixture of mutual curiosity
and fear.

Candid Society will also be conducting workshops on short films. For more info: 4241163, www.alliancefrancaisw.com.np.