BLOCK D: Viewpoint, Soup, Have You Eaten?, Ulwandle Ushile / Meeting The Tides, They're Just Fish, The Taste of Nature: The Making of the World’s Bean to Bar Chocolate

Ulwandle Ushile / Meeting The Tides

NORTH AMERICA PREMIERE

Tembisa Jordaan  South Africa  2020  9:53  

This story is about the unheard voices of traditional marine fishers. On the doorstep of UNESCO-listed iSimangaliso Wetland Park – a nature lover's wonderland that attracts tourists from all over the world - are the homes of the poorest and most marginalized coastal communities who have a high dependency on natural resources for survival. In the heart of the most tranquil beaches, we follow brave village women as they conquer the harshness of the waves just to provide for their families. We take a walk in their shoes as they share in on their past and present experiences of the ocean, the generational access to marine living resources, their indigenous knowledge on the practice of mussel harvesting and what they hope for in future, especially since they were once criminalized during apartheid times for wanting to provide food for their families.

Tembisa Jordaan is an avid cook, music lover, Marine scientist and the Biodiversity Stewardship and Biodiversity Economy acting manager, at Ezemvelo KZN wildlife. She is passionate about sectoral transformation in the biodiversity space, and the improvement of conservation models to be more people oriented and improve lives. She recently starred in a 3-part marine conservation documentary commissioned by Off the Fence, called “Our Oceans” and won the N.E.W Film pitch competition at the Nature, Environment and Wildlife Film congress, to create a short documentary about the lives of marine Traditional Fishers in KZN. Her short film, "Ulwandle lushile", is a result of the work she did for many years in marine resource management with KZN coastal communities.

I honestly can't take credit for the amazing work. I had the best crew and amazing characters. The concept is something that has always bothered me about environmental or natural science films or doccies. African stories are rarely ever told by Africans, especially in this genre, and there is a dire need for that to change. I simply created a platform for 3 amazing Women to share their lived experiences of the ocean and how they have relied on marine resources for generations. I think this is one way that we can preserve and document the remnants of our indigenous knowledge systems, as Black people.

• Project Type: Documentary, Short

• Genres: Environmental, natural sciences, conservation

• Runtime: 9 minutes 53 seconds

• Completion Date: September 3, 2020

• Production Budget: 3,321 USD

• Country of Origin: South Africa

• Country of Filming: South Africa

• Language: Zulu

• Shooting Format: HD

• Film Color: Color

• First-time Filmmaker: Yes

Soup

CANADA PREMIERE

Inga Sukhorukova  Russian Federation  11:11 

Tolya called his father all of a sudden, on Wednesday, and said that they need to meet. His father is guessing, why today? So many years have passed after they parted because of a big scandal.

Director Biography

FILMMAKER, SCRIPTWRITER

Born and raised in PERM, Russia.

In 2015 graduated as a scriptwriter from the All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography n.a. S.Gerasimov (Workshop of Yuriy Arabov).

Currently has graduated from the All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography n.a. S.Gerasimov (Workshop of Valeriy Ahadov) as a film director.

Making art and documentary films for TV, advertising and music videos.

Specifications

• Project Title (Original Language): Суп
• Project Type: Short
• Runtime: 11 minutes 11 seconds
• Completion Date: October 1, 2019
• Production Budget: 3,000 USD
• Country of Origin: Russian Federation
• Country of Filming: Russian Federation
• Language: Russian
• Shooting Format: RED
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Film Color: Color
• First-time Filmmaker: Yes
• Student Project: Yes

The Taste of Nature: The Making of the World’s Bean to Bar Chocolate

NORTH AMERICA PREMIERE

Yumi Hasegawa Japan 2021 01:15:00  

How does Adachi make the best chocolate in the world?

A bean to bar chocolate given by his friend changed one Japanese man’s destiny. After experiencing the taste of bean to bar chocolate, Adachi sets out to make something even better.

He traveled around the world to search for the best cacao and opened his chocolate shop in Tokyo. And after just 2 years, his chocolate won the first prize at Salon du Chocolat Paris and other chocolate awards all over the world.

He is trying to reach much higher in the pursuit of the chocolate never seen before. But during the journey to that chocolate in the deep Amazon in South America, there are unimaginable events waiting for him...

For those who fall in love with chocolates, this documentary shows the bittersweet story of chocolate through 2 and a half years of shooting in South America, North America, and Japan.

Director Biography - Yumi Hasegawa

Born in 1982 in Tokyo. She graduated from Nihon University

majoring in fiilm making. She started her career as a camera assistant and has worked with Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Masato Harada. In 2015, her debut as a cinematographer, “Haman” won an award at the Yubari international Fantastic Film Festival and the movie was selected for the Sitges and Montreal Film Festivals. This is her first film as a director.

Specifications

• Project Type: Documentary
• Runtime: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Completion Date: April 27, 2021
• Country of Origin: Japan
• Country of Filming: Bolivia, Plurinational State of, Japan, United States
• Language: English, Japanese, Spanish
• Shooting Format: Digital
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9
• Film Color: Color
• First-time Filmmaker: Yes
• Student Project: No

Have You Eaten?

Lina Li  Canada  2020  5:00 

Living in downtown Toronto to attend school, Lina Li returns to the comfort of home in Thornhill and her mother's cooking. In this candid short, filmmaker Lina Li and her mother engage in an intimate conversation about immigration to Canada, misunderstandings, barriers to communicating, love and the taste of home. 

Part of THE CURVE, a collection of social distancing stories that bring us together. Enjoy more works from this series here .

They're Just Fish

BRITISH COLUMBIA PREMIERE

Paula Iglesias & Ana Serna Spain  2019  17:00

Farming fish in the desert is all about withstanding high temperatures and constant sandstorms. It's about adapting to a new and very different environment.

Teslem (32), Dehba (33) and Jadija (30) are three women all born in the Sahrawi refugee camps in southern Algeria. They went north to study and later returned to the camps.

They now work on a fish farm in the middle of the desert. It’s a place where summer temperatures can soar to 50C, and where winter sandstorms can destroy the greenhouse that protects the fish from the cold at night.

Like the fish, the women yearn for a place that they’ve never seen. They yearn for the ocean. 

Director Biography

Ana Serna Reinares (Bilbao, 1988) has a degree in Audiovisual Communication and a Master of Research and Creation in Art. While Paula Iglesias Rodríguez (Santiago de Compostela, 1986) studied journalism and video and audio editing and post production. In 2012, they launched together with other women the cultural production company Histeria Kolektiboa and in 2015 they formed Al Borde Films. As a result of this joint work, they have created documentary short films like They´re just fish and Butterfly flapping (2018), carried out with the support of ICAA and the CreaDoc laboratory (MiradasDoc Festival), released in Zinebi 60 and awarded with the Cineclub Fas; or the feature film Manufacturing women (2018), supported by the Basque Agency for Development Cooperation and the Diputación de Gipuzkoa, released in Zinebi 60 and purchased by Eitb. Currently, they are immersed in the production and development of new documentaries.

Specifications

• Country of Production: Spain
• Language: Arab
• Themes: Refugees, Sisters, Food Production

Viewpoint

Mohsen Mohammadi  Iran  2020  5:20  

a young, not married couple went out on a date and both of them got carried away by a neon title and a challenge grow heated.

Director Biography

Mohsen Mohammadi born 1990 in Sine Kurdistan.

Graduated in Iranian Youth Cinema Society in 2015-2016

Student of master of Arts in soore art university of Tehran

Winner of best experimental film for 'Pertains' in Zhiar short film festival in 2008

Director of short films (not distributed yet): 'REDRUM', 'Xwargin', 'wekok' and 'Roniyachav'

Director of short documentary film 'Gap of Works'

Specifications

• Project Title (Original Language): Roniyachaav
• Project Type: Experimental, Short, Student
• Runtime: 5 minutes 20 seconds
• Completion Date: November 1, 2020
• Production Budget: 200 USD
• Country of Origin: Islamic Republic of Iran
• Country of Filming: Islamic Republic of Iran
• Language: Kurdish, Persian
• Shooting Format: Digital
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9
• Film Color: Color
• First-time Filmmaker: No
• Student Project: Yes - soore art univercity of tehran