Opening Film/Gala Premiere:
Letters to the President
Dir.: Petr Lom
Iran. 2009. Documentary. 74 min. Color. Beta SP. Persian (with English subtitles)
DEC 5 / BLZ 11 / 18:30 (by invitation only) • DEC 7 / BLZ 11 / 15:30

Every year nearly 10 million Iranians send their letters to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with hopes of better lives. Despite his growing popularity, the president’s populist policies are yet to prove themselves since most Iranians are still living in poverty. Petr Lom, the director of the film, was allowed to accompany the president on several countryside trips (the only foreigner given such access), and the result is an astounding look of Iran beyond the news.

Setiap tahun hampir 10 juta warga Iran mengirimkan surat kepada sang Presiden Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dengan harapan akan membawa kehidupan yang lebih baik. Walaupun popularitasnya mulai berkembang, kebijakan populis sang presiden belum dapat terbukti ampuh karena masih banyak warga Iran yang hidup dalam kemiskinan. Petr Lom, sang sutradara, adalah orang asing satu-satunya yang mendapatkan izin untuk mengikuti sang presiden dalam beberapa perjalanannya ke berbagai daerah di Iran. Hasilnya adalah sebuah dokumenter yang memperlihatkan sisi lain dari Iran yang belum pernah kita lihat sebelumnya.

Petr Lom is an independent documentary director and producer. Entirely self-taught, he directs, shoots and edits his own films. He is a former academic with a Ph.D. in political philosophy from Harvard University. His previous films are BRIDE KIDNAPPING IN KYRGYZSTAN (2004), ON A TIGHTROPE (2007), YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM ALLAH (2007). The latter two films will be screened in JIFFest this year. Petr Lom will attend the screenings of the film. (screened together with YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM ALLAH)

Gala Premiere
Muallaf (The Convert)
Dir.: Yasmin Ahmad
Malaysia. 2008. Drama. 80 min. Color. 35 mm. English / Malay / Cantonese (with English subtitles for non-English languages)
DEC 12 / BLZ 4 / 19:00 (by invitation only) • DEC 11 / BLZ 11 / 16:00

This is a tale of three souls who find solace in religion. Brian has lost his faith in Christianity since he was 12 after being humiliated by his father, a strict Catholic. During his teaching days at the school, he meets the two sisters who often recite verses from the holy Qur’an and gain simple knowledge of Islam. Each of their life journeys will never be the same again.

Sebuah kisah dari tiga jiwa yang menemukan kedamaian di dalam agama. Brian kehilangan kepercayaannya pada Kristianitas sejak berusia 12 tahun saat ia dipermalukan ayahnya sendiri, seorang pemeluk Katolik yang taat. Selama masa kerjanya mengajar di sebuah sekolah, ia bertemu dua gadis kakak-beradik yang sering membacakan ayat-ayat dari Al-Qur’an, dan mendapatkan sebuah pemahaman yang sederhana tentang Islam. Perjalanan hidup mereka tidak akan pernah sama lagi.

Special Mention, Asian Film Award, Tokyo International Film Festival, 2008.

The 10 Conditions of Love
Dir.: Jeff Daniels
USA / Australia. 2009. Documentary / Biography. 54 min. Color. Digital. English
DEC 5 / BLZ 11 / 15:30 • DEC 9 / BLZ 11 / 18:30

A personal story of Rabeeya Kadeer, the leader of the Uyghur people, China’s moslem minority. Years of oppression from the Chinese Government had forced to live in exile in the United States. She did not stop her struggle, by turning words into weapons, she gains international attention to her people’s suffering.

Kisah tentang Rabeeya Kadeer, pemimpin dari suku Uyghur, kaum muslim minoritas di China. Setelah mendapatkan tekanan dari pemerintah China selama bertahun-tahun, ia terpaksa hidup dalam pengasingan di Amerika Serikat. Ia tidak menghentikan perjuangannya. Ia berhasil mendapatkan perhatian dunia internasional tentang penderitaan yang dialami oleh kaumnya.

The film raised a controversy when being screened at Melbourne International Film Festival. The Chinese government demanded the organizer to pull off the film. Several Chinese filmmakers withdrew their films from the festival’s lineup. The festival’s website even got hacked by Chinese hackers. Jeff Daniels is scheduled to attend the screenings.

Dernier Maquis (Adhen)
Dir.: Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche
France. 2008. Drama. 93 min. Color. 35 mm. French / Arabic (with English subtitles)
DEC 7 / BLZ 4 / 16:00 • DEC 10 / BLZ 4 / 22:00

In a rundown industrial park, Mao, a Muslim boss, owns a company specializes in repairing trucks and pallets. His latest strategy is to convert an empty room into a mosque where the workers can pray. So he decides to open a mosque anddesignates the Imam without consulting the workforce. Already unhappy with their poor working conditions and meager salaries, his employees rebel, reminding him of their time-honored right to select their own religious leader.

Di sebuah kawasan industri yang kumuh, Mao yang beragama Islam memiliki sebuah bengkel yang khusus memperbaiki truk dan peralatannya. Ia ingin mengubah sebuah ruang kosong menjadi sebuah masjid tempat para pegawainya dapat menjalankan ibadah. Ia pun membuka masjidnya dan memilih sang Imam tanpa bertanya kepada para pegawainya. Kondisi lingkungan kerja yang buruk ditambah dengan gaji yang kecil menyebabkan para pegawainya memberontak untuk mengingatkan Mao bahwa mereka ingin memilih sendiri pemimpin mereka.

Won Muhr Award for Best Composer and Best Editor at the 2008 Dubai International Film Festival

99% Honest (99% ærlig)
Dir.: Rune Denstad Langlo
Norway. 2008. Documentary. 70 min. Color. Digital. Norwegian (with English subtitles)
DEC 9 / BLZ 6 / 19:00 • DEC 11 / BLZ 6 / 13:45

Emir, Amina, Haji and Assad are all members of the hip hop group Forente Minoriteter (United Minorities). The film follows them through their musical process, with its ups and downs. The film crew has followed the band for two years, resulting in an intimate encounter with some very charming and open young people. They are all different but still find common ground through their passion for music and, not least, in finding their own space and identity amid conflicting demands from friends, family and Norwegian society.

Emir, Amina, Haji dan Assad adalah anggota dari sebuah kelompok hip-hop bernama Forente Minoriteter (United Minorities). Sutradara film ini mengikuti mereka selama 2 tahun melalui segala lika-liku kehidupan mereka sebagai sebuah kelompok musik. Mereka bertemu dengan orang-orang muda yang menawan dan terbuka pemikirannnya. Perbedaan pada diri masing-masing anggota tidak menjadi penghalang bagi mereka untuk berkarya, karena mereka disatukan oleh kecintaan mereka terhadap musik.

Forente Minoriteter, the main subject of this documentary, are a group of people from different backgrounds who strive to raise awareness and promote cultural diversity in music, dance, film, theater and writing. They work mainly for children and young people to catch their interest to work further with different art forms. Nominated for Best Documentary and Best Score at the 2009 Amanda Awards, Norway. (screened together with COFFEE & ALLAH)

A Dream For Kabul
Dir.: Phillippe Baylaucq
Canada. 2009. Drama. 81 min. Color. Digital. English/Dari/ Japanese (with English subtitles for non-English languages)
DEC 7 / BLZ 11 / 18:30 • DEC 10 / BLZ 6 / 13:00

In 2001, Haruhiro Shiratori lost his only child in the attacks on the World Trade Center. Instead of isolating himself in grief, he decides to meet the Afghan people and help them prevent such attacks from happening again. A Japanese Don Quixote, he dreams of building a cultural centre for the children of Kabul. A Dream for Kabul charts Shiratori’s double effort – to advance a humanist project in the face of adversity while seeking reconciliation with his dead son. A Dream for Kabul is part of a National Film Board series called “”The Many Faces of Afghanistan””. Sponsored by the Canadian Embassy, a discussion on Afghanistan will follow the screening of this film.

Pada tahun 2001, Haruhito Shiratori kehilangan anak laki-laki satu-satunya akibat serangan teroris di gedung World Trade Center. Alih-alih tenggelam dalam kesedihan, ia memutuskan untuk bertemu dengan rakyat Afghanistan dan membantu mereka untuk mencegah terjadinya penyerangan seperti yang ia alami. Seorang warga negara Jepang yang bermimpi untuk membangun sebuah pusat kebudayaan bagi anak-anak di Kabul. A Dream For Kabul menceritakan tentang dua usaha Shiratori – untuk membangun sebuah usaha kemanusiaan di tengah kemalangan sembari mencari perdamaian dengan anaknya yang telah tiada. A Dream For Kabul adalah bagian dari seri National Film Boardyang berjudul “The Many Faces of Afghanistan”. Disponsori oleh Kedutaan Kanada, sebuah diskusi tentang Afghanistan akan dilakukan setelah pemutaran film ini.

Phillippe Baylaucq’s films Lodela (1996) and Mystère B (1997) won the Telefilm Canada award, at the 15th and 16th FIFAs respectively. In 2001, he made Hugo and the Dragon, a musical fable for all audiences, a critical success that also won the Telefilm Canada prize at the Banff Television Festival and the Gémeau for best children’s feature. Outstanding Canadian Documentary Award at the 2009 ReelWorld Film Festival in Toronto.

A Road to Mecca: The Journey of Muhammad Asad (Der Weg nach Mekka – Die Reise des Muhammad Asad)
Dir: Georg Misch
Austria. 2008. Documentary. 93 min. Color. 35 mm. English / German / Urdu / Ukrainian / Arabic (with English subtitles for non-English languages)
DEC 6 / BLZ 4 / 16:00 • DEC 10 / BLZ 4 / 19:00

In 1926, an Austrian-born Jew, journalist Leopold Weiss, decided to convert to Islam. Having been raised in a Jewish family, Weiss – or Muhammad Asad as he became known -found himself fascinated by his adopted home of Palestine and the lives of the Bedouin Arabs he encountered. Asad become one of the most influential and inspirational Muslims of the century and a key thinker of his time. The film follows his footsteps, retracing the journey Asad made through the Arab world to Mecca, as a way of reflecting on today’s Arab world and contemporary relations between East and West.

Seorang jurnalis Yahudi kelahiran Austria bernama Leopold Weiss memutuskan untuk menganut Islam di tahun 1926. Dibesarkan di keluarga Yahudi, Weis – atau lebih dikenal kemudian dengan Muhammad Asad – terpukau oleh keluarga angkatnya di Palestina dan kehidupan para kaum Arab Badui yang ditemuinya. Asad menjadi seorang Muslim yang paling berpengaruh dan berpikiran paling maju di masanya. Film ini mencoba mengikuti tapak langkah Asad menuju tanah suci Mekah sebagai sebuah refleksi dari dunia Arab di masa kini serta hubungan kontemporer antara dunia Barat dan Timur.

Georg Misch made a documentary about Hollywood leading lady Hedy Lamarr in CALLING HEDY LAMARR (2004). He won Special Mention of Critics’ Week Award in Locarno Film Festival of the same year.

On a Tightrope
Dir: Petr Lom
Canada / Norway. 2007. Documentary. 74 min. Color. Digital. Norwegian (with English subtitles)
DEC 6 / BLZ 11 / 15:30 • DEC 8 / BLZ 6 / 22:00

The children from the Uyghur tribe in the Chinese province of Xinjiang are studying tightrope walking. The Chinese government rule them on a strict terms, fearing that they will rebel against them. The learning process of tightrope walking was nothing but a scheme to broke the children’s spirit into pieces.

Anak-anak dari suku Uyghur di provinsi Xinjiang, China mempelajari seni berjalan di atas tali. Pemerintah China menerapkan hukum yang ketat terhadap suku Uighur karena takut mereka akan memberontak. Proses belajar berjalan di atas tali tersebut tidak lebih dari sekadar akal licik untuk menghancurkan semangat hidup anak-anak tersebut.

This is the first film to ever document Chinese policy on religion in Xinjiang. Nominated for Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema – Documentary at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

You Cannot Hide from Allah
Dir.: Petr Lom
South Africa / Germany. 2007. Documentary / Short. 12 min. Color. Digital. Pashtu / English
DEC 5 / BLZ 11 / 18:30 (by invitation only) • DEC 7 / BLZ 11 /15:30

An immigrant from Pakistan who had worked for over twenty years as a taxi driver in Washington DC won a lottery in 2001. Suddenly he’s $54 million richer. He returned to his hometown in Pakistan and became a Mayor. Politics is a messy business.

Seorang imigran dari Pakistan yang telah bekerja sebagai pengemudi taksi di Washington DC selama lebih dari 20 tahun tiba-tiba menang lotere sebesar 54 juta dollar. Ia kembali ke kampung halamannya dan menjadi wali kota. Politik adalah bisnis yang kotor.

(screened together with LETTERS TO THE PRESIDENT)

Coffee & Allah
Dir.: Sima Urale
New Zealand. 2007. Short. 14 min. Color. Digital. English
DEC 9 / BLZ 6 / 19:00 • DEC 11 / BLZ 6 / 13:45

A young Muslim woman’s appetite for coffee, Islam and a good game of badminton. When Oromo Ethiopian Abeba Mohammed moves to suburban Mt Albert, she has nothing but her faith in Allah, a taste for Ethiopian coffee, and a zest for life to sustain her. From behind her purdah, and no knowledge of English, Abeba struggles to make a connection with the people of her new homeland.

Seorang perempuan muslim mencintai aroma kopi dan bermain badminton. Abeba Mohammed yang berasal dari suku Oromo di Ethiopia pindah ke daerah Mt. Albert di New Zealand,ia hanya membawa keyakinannya pada Allah, rasa cintanya akan kopi Ethiopia, dan gairah untuk tetap hidup. Dari balik jilbabnya dan tanpa kemampuan untuk berbahasa Inggris, Abeba berjuang untuk beradaptasi dengan orang-orang di tanah tempat tinggalnya yang baru.

Coffee & Allah is not her only award-winning short film. Her 1996 short O Tamaiti won an award from New Zealand Film and TV Awards in 1996, while her 2001 short Still Life was awarded First Prize for Short Films at the 2001 Montréal World Film Festival. Best Short Film at the 2008 Hawaii International Film Festival (screened together with 99% HONEST)

Since the first time JIFFest was held, Islamic-themed films have always had their places in our line-ups. Islam remains one of the widely discussed subjects around the world, and films about Islam that come from both Islam-dominated countries and non-dominated ones continue to draw interests among our audiences. SELENGKAPNYA »