OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST ARCHIVE BASED DOCUMENTARY
There To Document: A Decade of Freedom Film Fest in Singapore (Singapore)
Directed by Celeste Tan
Produced by Sharmeen and Sifar
They were there to document. An intergenerational community reflects on the 10-year history of Freedom Film Festival in Singapore. Started by Malaysia’s Pusat Komas in 2003, activists in Singapore brought the festival here in 2010. Over the last decade, the festival has brought plural perspectives from around the world to local audiences and sparked discussions about unjust laws, inequality, migrant rights and under-represented communities. The whole festival has continuously and fearlessly presented the struggle towards justice, especially in Southeast Asia. This film celebrates the festival as part of Singapore's shifting landscape, examining its place in the changing sociopolitical realities we live in.
AWARD WINNER BEST ARCHIVE BASED DOCUMENTARY
80 YEARS LATER (USA)
Directed by Celine Parreñas Shimizu
Produced by Dan Shimizu, J. Reid Miller, Celine Parreñas Shimizu
The feature documentary 80 YEARS LATER explores the racial inheritance of Japanese American family incarceration during World War II through multigenerational conversations with survivors and their descendants. In the 80th anniversary of Executive Order 9066 that imprisoned 120,000 Japanese Americans in World War II, families still grapple with the legacy of their experience. How does one inherit traumatic history across generations?
AWARD WINNER BEST ASIAN DOCUMENTARY
MIRROR (India)
Directed by Siddhant Sarin and Debankon S. Solanky
Produced by Siddhant Sarin, Arunas Matelis and Sarah Kang
A momentary act of revenge transformed the lives of two young Indian women forever. After surviving an acid attack, while carrying scars of human brutality on their face, both Ritu and Faraha learn to redefine their lives through a sea of odd currents daily. Strangely enough, Ritu’s scars also brought her some fame, she occasionally finds herself talking on television, modelling at fashion events, or featuring in a Bollywood film… still, she often feels lonely. She wants to be loved and embraces an ambiguous relationship with a fellow female acid attack survivor. On the other hand, Faraha has come to terms with her post-attack singlehood and her new lease of life. As she begins to enjoy the freedom and independence, a desire to become a mother slowly brews within her. By intertwining the shadows and lights, and hope and hopelessness in Ritu and Faraha’s life, Ayena becomes a mirror where we can also see our own reflections.
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST ASIAN DOCUMENTARY
Poverty Reduction in China: A New Dawn (Japan)
Directed by Sumio Fujita
Produced by Yijie Zhu, Jundian He
China has had the fable of "foolish old man removed the mountain" since ancient times. It tells the story of a family working together and determined to remove the towering mountain at the door. The goal of China's targeted poverty alleviation is to eliminate extreme poor. The process of poverty alleviation is the same as the story of the foolish old man described in the tale. It is a long and difficult process. It has been also a huge practical problem faced by the government since the founding of the People's Republic of China. The world is witnessing and paying attention to the outcome. How do China reduce poverty? In the torrent of changes in the era, this film has documented the continuous development of the Chinese people from poverty, and their spirit has been passed down from generation to generation.
AWARD WINNER BEST CHINESE DOCUMENTARY
Crossing's End (Taiwan)
Directed and Produced by Yu-Lun SHIH
On a winter night in 2002, a couple in their early 20s is breaking up atop a bridge, when the woman falls down. Is it a suicide or accidental death? The man asks a friend to call an ambulance, but the woman dies. The man and his friend are imprisoned for murder when an eyewitness reverses his original statement and says that he saw the two men throwing the woman from the bridge. After more than a decade, director Shih Yu-Lun collaborates with the ‘Taiwan Innocence Project’, a non-profit organization that helps innocent people who have been unjustly convicted, to re-investigate the case. While the film depicts the activities of the Taiwan Innocence Project, director Shih Yu-Lun′s main focus is on the story of two innocent young men and their families. A powerful, solid story that maintains a credible gaze and a consistently calm tone without any emotional rush.
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST CHINESE DOCUMENTARY
Girls!GO (China)
Directed by Xiaolan Xu
Produced by Xiaolan Xu, Shiying Wang
A group of girls in Jinshan District, an outer suburb of Shanghai City, started playing football under the guidance of a senior coach when they were in Grade 1. As children of migrant workers, they come from poor families.Their families have their own difficulties. As they are now about to graduate from primary school, they will attend their last league match: Shanghai Decathlon Championship. They will face an old enemy:Pu Tuo football team.Jia Ding football team is also hot on its heels. They will meet a fierce challenge, and are about to usher in a new stage of life.
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST CHINESE DOCUMENTARY
Remembering 1950 (China)
Directed by Kunru Song
Produced by Peter Chen, Wei Huang, Hongsong Chang
Remembering 1950 is a documentary film about Chinese veterans, known as the People's Volunteer Army, during the Korean War.
AWARD WINNER BEST FIRST TIME DIRECTOR DOCUMENTARY
Land of My Father (Korea)
Directed by Matthew Koshmrl
Produced by Christina Sun Kim, Matthew Koshmrl
A Korean farmer protests the Japanese government in Tokyo over its claims of the disputed island territory of Dokdo after he finds out his father was abducted and enslaved in a coal mine during the Japanese occupation of Korea. A Korean woman who lived on Dokdo with her father struggles to keep his legacy alive after the Korean government mysteriously erased their history of being pioneering residents. Set in the unresolved trauma of the Japanese occupation of Korea, Land of My Father (아버지의 땅) is a story about two individual's lives that are intertwined with a remote disputed island.
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST FIRST TIME DIRECTOR DOCUMENTARY
UMA HALIBUR HAMUTUK - A Casa que nos Une (Portugal)
Directed and Produced by Ricardo Dias
In Timor-Leste a group of women remembers the year of 1999: the Difficult Situation in Liquiçá during April, the independence referendum in August and the next weeks. They talk about the present and the future of their country. One of them, known as Mana Lou, founded IS-MAIK and through this catholic institution helped thousands of refugees. In 2018 she was awarded with the Ramon Magsaysay award in Manila. A film documentary about human values.
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST FIRST TIME DIRECTOR DOCUMENTARY
Things I Could Never Tell My Mother (Bangladesh)
Directed by Humaira Bilkis
Produced by Humaira Bilkis and Quentin Laurent
It's a narrative about my changing relationship with my mother over the last sixteen years. My mother is a poet and I got inspiration from her to be a filmmaker. Her transformation happened in 2002 when she went for Hajj, the largest holy pilgrimage for the Muslims. After that, she became remorseful of her previous way of life which was full of poetry, visits to the theater and movies. In turn, she also started to show disapproval of my profession as image-representation of living beings is prohibited in Islam. As a daughter, I don’t want to let go of my relationship with her and I felt the need to reconnect with her. So, I agreed to her wish to undertake a trip to Mecca along with her. As I started making plans for both my film and a trip to Mecca, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. My intention of revealing my true-self to my mother along with my relationship with a partner of different religion - everything takes a tumble and I find myself in a completely unexpected path to discovering the true nature of the relationship with my parents, especially my mother.
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
America Boxed In (USA)
Directed and Produced by Casey G. Williams, Ian S. Williams
America Boxed In is a story that examines a world where globalization reigns supreme. It explores the consequences of the “heart of the global economy”—the freight container. By greatly lowering the cost of moving goods from anywhere, to anywhere, and the time it takes to do so, this mere metal box has delivered unprecedented prosperity, served as an agent of momentous political shifts, and forged a 21st century borderless age where insecurity prevails.
AWARD WINNER BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
Who's afraid of Thailand? (Iran)
Directed and Produced by Behnam Bahadori
What is so fascinating about Thailand?
Have you ever wonder what foreigners think about Thailand ? What about asking Iranians, in Iran. People from all walks of life, including Government Officials, Business people. This film is unique because it talks about Thailand in a very different way, and also because it is an unprecedented pick inside Iran.
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
EARTH: MUTED (Sweden)
Directed by Mikael Kristersson, Åsa Ekman and Oscar Hedin
Produced by Oscar Hedin, Marina-Evelina Cracana and Åsa Ekman
ONE VALLEY, THREE FAMILIES & A NATURAL CRISIS At the bottom of Hanyuan valley in Sichuan province of China, bees are going extinct due to extensive use of pesticides and monocultures. In this lush landscape that hides an ecosystem on the brink of collapse, three farming families work hard in the field worrying about their children's future. Cao, a thriving fruit cultivator, follows the recommendations of the authorities to spray pesticides and hand-pollinate hundreds of trees. Season after season, he gets to acknowledge that his methods may harm the environment, yet his wish to send his granddaughters to university makes him continue. Jingjing, the 7-year old daughter of beekeepers Zhang and Chen, travels thousands of kilometers up North to see her parents. They never intended to leave the child behind with the grandparents, but the the bees wouldn’t survive in Hanyuan, and Jingjing’s future depends on their livelihood. Ye, a single parent living on the top of the mountain, wants to bet his last money on an organic cherry orchard. To finish his house and pay for his boy’s education, their income must increase. When his father puts pressure to spray the crop to protect it from pests, Ye is prone to give in. Cao, Jingjing and Ye are shown in relation to nature – in an orchard without pollinating insects, among the hives of the last domesticated bees and in a mountainside forest where wild bees still fly. Their stories reveal an universal human conflict - the difficulty to choose between your dear ones’ immediate needs and the bigger picture, the well-being of planet and mankind itself.
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
Premium Spectacular: The Observation of Cryptocurrency Business in Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
Directed by Yuk Ming Sze and King Si Cheung
Produced by Bo Huang
Financial technologies, also known as fintech and represented by cryptocurrency and blockchain, are bringing a new disruption to the global financial service. As an international financial centre, Hong Kong has attracted many companies, investors, and entrepreneurs to invest in the fintech industry, which flourishes the market. However, virtual currency transactions are regarded as illegal in mainland China, which borders Hong Kong. This programme discussed the history and application of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, interviewed business people and bankers of cryptocurrency to exchange their views on the future of cryptocurrency. It explained the risk of cryptocurrency to the financial market and Hong Kong's laws and regulations on cryptocurrency.
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
The Show Must Go On (India)
Directed and Produced byDivya Cowasji and Jall Cowasji
After decades of dormancy, the ageing icons of Parsi Theatre return to the stage, putting aside their walking sticks and wheelchairs for one final curtain. Plunging into rehearsals, this documentary chronicles the resilience of a singular cast of characters that want nothing more than to go out with a bang. For most of them it will be the last time on stage after careers spanning over half a century. As the film tumbles headfirst into the creative chaos of rehearsals, we get an intimate portrait of the bonds shared between the veteran stars and the youngsters, along with a distinct flavour of their sensibilities, marked by a particular brand of not-so-subtle (and sometimes downright potty) humour that is uniquely their own. The players want to put up the best show they can, not one that’s simply good enough given its ‘senior citizen’ tag. In a way this film is very much about debunking and celebrating old age. About how people considered well past their prime, still have so much to give and be, and are themselves living, breathing, flawed, and joyous beings. A great tragedy befalls the cast on the eve of the Final Show. Will it change everything? Or will the show go on, despite all odds?
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
Sementara (Singapore)
Directed by Joant Úbeda, Chew Chia Shao Min
Produced by Joant Úbeda
Filmed during Singapore's 50th anniversary, Sementara (“transient”) encapsulates the philosophies, daydreams, and crucial moments strangers share-which all lead back to certain universal truths.
AWARD WINNER BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
THE TIGER MAFIA (Switzerland)
Directed by Karl Ammann
Produced by Laurin Merz
The magnificent tiger is one of the world’s most beloved, and threatened creatures. Filmmaker, Karl Ammann uncovers their illegal breeding in secret South East Asian tiger farms. His nine-year investigation exposes how body parts are harvested from both live and butchered tigers, and then traded for sale in China’s underground pharmaceutical and jewelry industries.
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
Four Journeys (Netherlands)
Directed by Louis Hothothot
Produced by Pieter van Huystee, Ruby Chen
An intensely personal film about the destructive influence on a Chinese family of the one-child policy, which was introduced in 1979. Filmmaker Louis Hothothot (Louis Yi Liu) was born in China in 1986, as an “illegal” second child. The authorities punished his parents with a fine equal to three times the annual salary of his father, whose career was also torpedoed. The devastating consequences of his birth left Louis with a festering sense of guilt, and in his 20s he left for Amsterdam. Now, five years after last seeing his parents and sister, he visits them to unravel the family history. Wielding his camera with sometimes intimidating effect, Louis forces them to confront their traumatic past, one that hides yet another ordeal. He probes them with sharp questions and remarks to drag them out of a distressing past. It’s painful, but necessary, because “if memories are frozen in the past, what can dissolve the pain?”
AWARD WINNER BEST DOCUMENTARY ON LGBTQ+
Lotus Sports Club (Netherlands)
Directed by Vanna Hem, Tommaso Colognese
Produced by Robert Witlox, Tommaso Colognese and Vanna Hem
Shot in Cambodia over 5 years, Lotus Sports Club, is an inspiring coming-of-age story that centres around Leak, a teenage trans man who plays football in the under-21s women’s team of Kampong Chhnang, and Pa Vann, the coach and father-figure to Leak and other LGBTQ+ players on the team. 61-year-old Pa Vann established the football team in 2009 to encourage solidarity among straight, lesbian and gender-diverse players. He also opened his home to the more vulnerable often homeless teenagers, including Leak, thus providing these LGBTQ+ players a safe place to be themselves. After living with Pa Vann for many years, Leak, driven by the pressure to make more money for his family and forced off the football team because of his age, takes the heart-breaking decision to move to Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, leaving behind the one person he loves the most.
AWARD WINNER BEST DOCUMENTARY ON MINORITIES
Because of you (Korea)
Directed by Seong Woo Kim and HanSeok Kim
Produced by Han Seok Kim and JinYoung Yoon
Daecheongho is the third largest artificial lake in Korea. 40 years have passed since it was completed in December 1980, but several people who lost their hometowns still live around it. They are the submerged. There are brothers who take a boat every day to farm the field (now changed into an island) inherited from their father, and there is a 65-year-old married couple who have been with this lake for over 40 years. In a rapidly changing world, they are slow but adapting to nature and protecting their hometowns in their own way.
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY ON MINORITIES
Mira's Minders (USA)
Directed by Tanni Chaudhuri
Mira’s Minder is a visual narrative on India’s emergent caregivers (aayas) from Kolkata, West Bengal. Many caregivers, from rural or semi urban geographic spaces travel to the cities to work in domestic settings to look after children and the elderly. This docu fiction (three fictionalized short stories of women working as caregivers are embedded within interviews), examines this domain of work embedded in intriguing gendered narratives, within the context of developing nations (different from unorganized domestic-help labor market of the past).
AWARD WINNER BEST DOCUMENTARY ON MUSIC
SCENE UnSEEN (Singapore)
Directed by Abdul Nizam
Produced by Panuksmi Hardjowirogo
SCENE UnSEEN is about the need to create, no matter what the circumstances. It uncovers the little-known story of the independent music scene in Singapore. Musicians tell a remarkable tale of idealism, discrimination and disillusion, as they create new spaces in the perfectly-organized city state for pure freedom of expression. In 2015 and 2016, alternative musicians came together to celebrate their independence. The film is structured around their raw performances, interspersed with freshly unearthed archival footage and conversations with key figures who built the scene and then kept it alive. In the early-70s Singapore’s underground scene was suppressed with devastating consequences for local live music. It was given a lifeline in the early-80s by alternative radio then reemerged from its dark age in the early-90s, when local musicians and gig organizers embraced the DIY ethos and a new era of punk and other alternative genres exploded.
This is a Singapore you didn't expect!
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY ON MUSIC
9, Sound and Healing (France)
Directed by Pierre Redon
Produced by Les Soeurs Grées
WHAT IS THE INFLUENCE OF SOUND ON OUR PHYSICAL OR MENTAL STATE? The documentary and musical series “9” directed by Pierre Redon, is devised like a research endeavor around sound and healing. In order to address this question, The Masters of Sound – musicians and singers from Mongolia, China, Japan and Europe – gathered together to meet with the Masters of Healing, whose practice deal with magical forms as well as quantum physics or science. In this sense, each invitation went far beyond a mere cultural rendezvous and led us guests, to be participants and actors of these meetings. THE SERIES AND IT CONTAINS. 01. HEALINGS The Healing sessions give access to individual sessions during which the Masters of Healing mobilize their know-how and technique. They are sometimes accompanied by the Masters of Sound, directed by Pierre Redon. 02. SEMINARS The Seminars form a series of thematic lessons taught by the Masters of Healing. 03. CEREMONIES The Ceremonies created and directed by Pierre Redon, accompanied by the Masters of Sound offer participants an opportunity to transcend the self through the experience of magic. The Chakras Ceremony and the 5 elements ceremony were created in this sense, sometimes integrated to the practices of the Masters of Healing.
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY SERIES
Travel Minahasa and Beyond - Pulisan Village (Indonesia)
Directed by Irham Acho
Produced by Sariti
Hills savanna views, exotic rocks, and beautiful sand beach, these all can be found on Pulisan Village, North Sulawesi. Pulisan Village is one of tourism destinations in Likupang District. It has Pulisan Beach that has beautiful white sand, and Pulisan Hills. Various activities are provided in this village, such as snorkeling, diving, and visiting the floating houses.
AWARD WINNER BEST DOCUMENTARY SERIES
Meet The Millenial Series (Netherlands)
Directed by Joep van Osch
Produced by Anjet Blinde
The series ‘Meet the Millennials’ portrays the upcoming generation of millennials in East Asia. It searches for common ground and a new narrative shared by millennials in the Eastern and Western parts of the world. Meet the Millennials reveals an exciting Asian generation that has found its voice and is ready to use it. It’s told in a loose and humoristic documentary/road-movie style by presenters Lucas De Man (BE/NL) and Hyunsin Kim (DE/KOR). Together, they take us on a journey to six cities (Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Shenzhen, Taipei, Tokyo) in East Asia, where they meet 100+ millennials who share their stories on camera. They speak with students and professors, robotics engineers and street artists, experts in AI and experts in love and intimacy. They interview young educators, politicians, environmentalists, men, women, married, single, gay, straight—you name it. In three episodes, Lucas and Hyunsin introduce us to this generation and show us how they’re dealing with the biggest issues they face. Episodes: 1. Inside the pressure cooker. Life as a student or young professional can feel stressful. So how can we stay sane in a world that demands so much from us? Can we change the system? 2. Love and intimacy. How hard can it be to find the one, to find someone to love? Judging by the amount of single millennials all over Asia–pretty hard actually. An episode about the search for love and intimacy. 3. The new Human. The robots have arrived. How will they change, or even replace, humanity? What will our future look like? DNA modification might make it possible to live to a healthy 150 years – but do we even want to?
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY SERIES
THE RIVER OF SEVEN NAMES (Spain)
directed and Produced by Sergi Ricart
Traveling with a river is like traveling with life. For nine months, photographer and mountain guide Sergi Ricart followed alone the Mekong river from the Tibetan plateaus, where he explored and climbed several virgin mountains, to the Delta in Vietnam, after cycling about 3000 km, living along the way the awesome metamorphosis of its nature and humanity. But he missed one chapter in that journey: reaching the sources. So, one year later, and this time with some friends, he went back to Tibet to try to close the circle.
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY SERIES
Noria, 35 000km from France to Laos in a Citroen 2CV (France)
Directed by Fabien Bastide
Produced by Fabien Bastide and Coralie Vongsouthi
Noria is the story of a daring adventure carried-out by Coralie and Fabien who had the weird idea to drive "Rustine"*, their loyal vintage Citroen 2CV, all around the globe. Get on board and let yourself be carried along the 18 countries they crossed to join Laos from France, with minimalist equipment for fully enjoying the adventure! Small trips and great expeditions have always excited Coralie and Fabien. By all means, they love to travel the world: on foot (crossing Corsica; Southern France through National Parks; from Italy to Spain along Mediterranean coast), by 2CV car (35,000km from France to Laos; crossing of West Africa), hitching (Eastern Europe), by train (from Hanoï, Vietnam to Montpellier, France via -Vladivostok, Russia). Bref! whether for expatriation (2 years in India; 7 years in Laos; long stays in Africa) or for shorter excursions, their bags are always ready for a new departure.
AWARD WINNER BEST STUDENT DOCUMENTARY
So long and thanks for all the fish (China)
Directed and Produced by Haoyu Wang
2019, in a small industrial city in western China, Zangzi, a second-year high school student, was required to suspend schooling. His parents set free caged animals every day, believing that Buddhism can solve their child's psychological problems, while only provoked Zangzi's rebellion. Two years later, when the 2021 College Entrance Examination results were released, Zangzi was at a turning point in his life. The family sent him to the city where the university was located, looking for a river to set fish free once again for him. By participating in and recording three set-free events, the director tried to reach the core of the problem that everyone in this family was avoiding.
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST STUDENT DOCUMENTARY
The Eternal Jinshan Temple (China)
Directed by Yihan Lin
Jinshan Temple is the only Buddhist temple built on water in China, which dates back to the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), almost a thousand years in the past. Observant Buddhist believers often converge here to perform a rite known as fangsheng, or “life release", which refers to the practice of saving animals from captivity and releasing them into the water. The film tries to form a slice of the history of this eternal artificial architecture through ecology, geography and folklore. A Gopro camera was tied to a turtle that was released in the river to inspect the underwater space of the temple.
AWARD WINNER BEST DOCUMENTARY ON TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE
Muội (Canada)
Directed and Produced by Amy Miller
Despite a tumultuous childhood, a complicated present as a queer single mom navigating the limitations of a restrictive and traditional Vietnamese culture, and the daunting prospects of a bleak future, Muội Hồng persists in dreaming of life as an artist. She finds healing, strength, expression, community, meaning, and authenticity in her pursuit of hip hop dancing.
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY ON TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE
City of Long Stay (UK)
Directed by Caleb Johnston, Felix Meyer-Christian and Geraldine Pratt
Produced by Costa Compagnie, Caleb Johnston and Geraldine Pratt
City of Long Stay is a documentary film examining the migration of Europeans and North Americans to Chiang Mai, Thailand, for dementia care. Why are they coming from such seemingly wealthy countries that have excellent health care systems, and what the implications for health care in Thailand? What are the circumstances driving and drawing people here? What does this tell us about western families, the challenges of getting adequate care in North America and Europe, and new forms of care and intimacy developing in Chiang Mai? The film animates and puts into conversation these questions through interviews with family members of persons living with dementia, the owners and managers of these facilities, and Thai caregivers providing care at the facilities.
AWARD WINNER BEST VR DOCUMENTARY
The Wind Slope (Argentina)
Directed by Juliana Schwindt
Produced by Cintia Peri, Juliana Schwindt and Franco Palazzo
A group of astronomers travels from La Plata to San Juan to record the total solar eclipse on July 2th, 2019. Rodeo, a small and peaceful town, begins to be populated by people drawn to this unique astronomical event: the moon hides the Sun from our view and creates a false night for a few minutes in broad daylight.
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST VR DOCUMENTARY
Genesis (Germany)
Directed by Joerg Courtial
Produced by Maria Courtial
With Genesis you embark on a 24-hour journey to experience the dramatic milestones in the evolution of earth and mankind with a previously unknown intensity. Chaos, rebirth and catastrophes mark the history of Earth, yet mankind exists. 4.7 billion years of evolution condensed into 24 hours reveal: We are children of galactic luck, born in the final second of eternity. Genesis dives deep into the dramatic cycle of becoming and passing, showing earth and life from a previously unknown perspective. Starting with Earth's collision with the protoplanet Theia, we immerse ourselves into the past. Surrounded by cosmic debris we see the young, glowing earth just in front of us. We fly over endless oceans of eternal darkness and move through a magical underwater world with swarms of iridescent creatures 400 million years ago. Emerging from the water an enchanted land unveils: a true paradise of prehistorical jungle and giant insects, only to be followed by mass extinction, leaving us in a lonely, desolate environment. Yet just until a new cycle starts that surrounds us with bombastic dinosaurs who conquer the Earth, before meeting with extinction too. Then finally, we come face to face with our human ancestors, catching glimpses of their achievements and our legacy. Genesis will revolutionize our view on the evolution of our home planet earth. As unreal as science fiction, yet full of mysterious landscapes and creatures that truly existed before. What remains is an intense impression of the earth and the insurmountable force and fragility of life.
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST WOMAN DIRECTOR DOCUMENTARY
Documentary Newsroom (Korea)
Directed EunKyu Lee
Produced by JeongHun Cho, Yongha Suh
Half of the world is women, but the world inside the news was different from reality. According to the 2020 GMMP report, only 24% of experts and 40% of journalists appearing in global news are women. Why does news, a mirror that reflects society, have a male face? <Documentary Newsroom> tells the story of women struggling in the newsroom through the voices of nine journalists from Korea, the United States, and the United Kingdom, including KBS Lee So-jeong, the first female main anchor on Korean terrestrial TV, Francesca, former New York Times gender editor, and Laura Bicker, BBC Seoul correspondent. keep it In the vast archives, we contemplate the direction and value that news should take along with the changes in women's lives.
AWARD WINNER BEST WOMAN DIRECTOR DOCUMENTARY
No Planet for Clothes (Korea)
Directed by Kalam Kim
Produced by JungSu Lee
New clothes produced each year amount to 100 billion, out of which 33 billion are discarded the same year. We give away old clothes in donation bins, believing new owners would appreciate them, but where do they go from there? Who pays the price for all the cheap clothes we bought and discarded?
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST WOMAN DIRECTOR DOCUMENTARY
Neither a Girl Nor a Woman (India)
Directed and Produced by Anjali Patil
Neither a girl nor a woman is a feature length documentary which contemplates, observes and plays along with ideas of what it means to be a girl or a woman in contemporary times. This documentary observes the spectrum of womanhood via three female artists on three levels. A formal space of interview, an intimate space of poetry and a collective space of choreographic gestures. These contemplations are gentle whispering questions. Because questioning is important for evolution.
BKK short DOC OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
The Children of the wandering moon (Thailand)
Directed by Szabolcs Ruczuj
Produced by Aurelija Gedraityte and Szabolcs Ruczuj
The documentary follows the mysterious and mesmerizing story of the Mani tribe in the jungles of Thailand. Four years ago the tribal chief, Lung Khai decided that they will leave their hunter-gatherer lifestyle and settle down for good. We seek the answers to questions such as: where they originally came from, why they left the depths of the jungles and how they are facing the challenges of settling down.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/HiRnkd5LdLQ
BKK short OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
Memoria (Spain)
Directed by Nerea Barros
Produced by Hernan Zin and Xavi Font
The Aral Sea measured 68,000 square km. Millions of people depended on him.
Moynaq, once a prosperous town that lived off tourism and the fishing industry, is now a poor village in northern Uzbekistan in which to live, every day is more difficult.
The grandparents, former fishermen, saw their Sea disappear meter by meter. Now it is a toxic and salty desert in which nothing grows. They refuse to leave their land. It would be losing your memory, it would be losing everything.
MEMORY tells of the legacy between a grandfather and his granddaughter. He continues to dream of the sea, she was born in a desert. He believes that he will return and his granddaughter must remember.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/lpQNfmHSRoU
BKK short DOC OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
Waimai (Spain)
Directed by Victor Giner
Produced by Victor Giner Miñana
Xiao He works fifteen hours a day seven days a week delivering food in Beijing. Like many others, he left his son behind and departed from the countryside with his wife to pursue a better life. Since then, everyday he rushes around and deals with the unexpected in the busy streets of Beijing, and today is not going to be any different.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/lpQNfmHSRoU
BKK short DOC OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
Weekly News Report: Women in Afghanistan (Hong Kong)
Directed and produced by Janet Chen
Reported by Ting Feng Zhang and Lai Ha Chan
Distributed by Phoenix Satellite Television
Under the Taliban rule 20 years ago, Afghan women were restricted by strict Islamic teachings. After 20 years of freedom, they returned to the rule of the Taliban. Fear and helplessness continued to spread among women. Phoenix Satellite TV dispatched an Afghan interview team to visit former Bamiyan TV station anchor and reporter Amini, Afghan TV current affairs reporter Shima, cleaning lady Hajila, and female social media influencer Nadima. They have different backgrounds and life circles but all of them can only wait silently in worry for now.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/KBPov7WWTKg
BKK short DOC OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
Let there be light (United Kingdom)
Directed and produced by Caroline Chu
John knew nothing about the life of his grandfather, but in 2014 he made an incredible discovery.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/7V9R4qvDZFE
AWARD WINNER BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
C’est la Vie: Life with ALS (China)
Directed by Yi Xie
Produced by Wei Min Zhu, Tian Yi Pei and Han Qi Jiang
Distributed by Phoenix Satellite Television
At the age of 40, Cai Lei, vice president of JD.com, was diagnosed with ALS. After getting sick, everything changed for him. Does he accept the reality and wait for death, or in the last time, continue to struggle and do something else? Cai Lei chose the latter. He decided to devote his life to make his own contribution to the research of ALS, and also used his actions to leave a future guide for his son.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/7V9R4qvDZFE
BKK short DOC OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
The Boys Club (Malaysia)
Directed and produced by Yihwen Chen
A Malaysian female filmmaker dreamt of making the first feature documentary for theatrical release in her country. After four years of struggles, her film premiered with glowing reviews. But soon after, she lost her job. This documentary reveals her deeply personal and harrowing filmmaking journey of enduring sexual harassment, bullying and misogyny.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/yyVKyHIuxEg
BKK short DOC OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
HER – Women in Asia (Germany)
Produced by Bettina Thoma-Schade and Michael Wetzel
Distributed by DW Distribution
HER portrays the lives of women from all spheres of Asian societies,
Episode 2 - THE ART OF FREEDOM
Get to know three women from three different Asian countries who have found their own form of expression. How do themes such as femininity, gender roles, women's rights and violence feature in the works of these female artists? Malaysian artist Yante Ismail paints nude women, Uzma Ashraf is a Kathak dancer. Through dance, she learned to relate to her body, which is not easy for a woman in Pakistan. Kartika Jahja, better known as Tika, is an Indonesian musician, a cultural activist, and a sexual assault survivor.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/yXgTAA2qypo
BKK short DOC OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST ASIAN SHORT DOCUMENTARY
Lolitha (Indonesia)
Directed and Produced by Azalia Muchransyah
Produced by Adhi Anugroho
Lolitha is a transwoman from Papua who is HIV-positive. She shares her stories about her queer awakening, her difficult days selling sex in the streets of Jayapura, her activism, and her philosophical analysis of her intersectional identities.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/MQxRVMOmRzg
BKK short DOC AWARD WINNER BEST ASIAN SHORT DOCUMENTARY
My EXID Ideas (Taiwan)
Directed and Produced by YuHui (Judie) Yang
A top university graduate fell into a slump of life after leaving the campus. Uncertain what his next step should be, he decided to take on the responsibility of helping his K-pop idols, EXID, to create a stronger fan base to prolong their popularity. However, 5 months after he started this plan, the members of EXID left the company one after another. How can he keep on with life and with this mission?
Trailer: https://youtu.be/apl-due9uL0
BKK short DOC OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST ASIAN SHORT DOCUMENTARY
Full Circle (Thailand)
Directed and Produced Anirban Mahapatra
Funded by National Geographic Society
Shortly before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, a social enterprise in Southern Thailand joined hands with marginalised coastal communities to collect marine plastic waste, some eight million tons of which is deposited in the world’s oceans every year. The objective was to provide participating community members with additional income, while creating a circular economy based on recycling the harvested plastic and then upcycling it into new products. Full Circle is a documentation of how the initiative worked out two years since its inception, having taken shape through the worst of the Covid-19 lockdowns, and how it went on to benefit the members of communities participating in the project.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/HiRnkd5LdLQ
BKK short DOC OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST FIRST TIME SHORT DOCUMENTARY
Japan trip (Switzerland)
Directed by Daniel Thürler
Lost (in) Japan
Trailer: https://youtu.be/lqnAWFxII4I
BKK short DOC AWARD WINNER BEST FIRST TIME SHORT DOCUMENTARY
Migration Goodwill Malaysia (Malaysia)
Directed and Produced by Azry Ahmad Mustafa Hadi
The story is about a religious teacher from terengganu in peninsula malaysia, migrate to sarawak cross sea to teach religious there are find peace and goodwill between islam and christian there thus settled down there near to 30 years and story of how unity between different religion between the native there that can be emulate to the entire world.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/ErKgQScy998
BKK short DOC AWARD WINNER BEST STUDENT SHORT DOCUMENTARY
Coloring the Rainbow (Thailand)
Directed and Produced by George Kyaw
Produced by Nan Yee Aye (Gina), Richboy, Saruda Apaikunchon and Do Tra My (Min)
This is a documentary interview about LGBTQ people. Two young adults share their very personal stories. An unique view on growing up outside the "norm".
Trailer: https://youtu.be/8cX03hEdews
BKK short DOC OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR BEST STUDENT SHORT DOCUMENTARY
RE-LIVE (Canada)
Directed by Ratana Aiyawongse
Kagan Goh, a patient with manic depression for many years, found a way to live with this condition and became a person giving help to other people having the same problem as he was.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/r9mPY_z-ZIY
