Accepting the Difference

Harvie Krumpet

Adam Elliot / Australia / 2003 / 22 min.

Harvie Krumpet is an extremely unlucky person. From birth he has suffered from Tourette’s syndrome, in school the others made fun of him, and when he finally became an adult, his family froze to death on a bicycle. On the eve of the WWII he left for Australia to begin a new life. His misfortune followed him there as well. He miraculously survived being hit by lightning, and the one joy of his lonely life became watching television. Finally, in the hospital where he stays because of testicular cancer, the fortune smiles upon him in the form of his nurse Val. They begin a happy period of life together, raising their adopted daughter Ruby, until on Harvie’s 65th birthday his wife suddenly dies. Even this tragedy and his own health problems do not stop him from bravely fighting against his bad luck. This animated Australian film about the uniqueness of every human being is narrated by Geoffrey Rush and has received many awards.

Contact : Melodrama Pictures, email: melodramapictures@bigpond.com , www.melodramapictures.com

Girls/ Meisjes

Menna Laura Meijer / Netherlands / 2003 / 25 min.

A young woman must have nice long legs, a thin waistline, and when possible a body resembling a Coca-Cola bottle. And she definitely must have dark skin. “White girls don’t understand that I need a warm dinner on the table every evening,” says one of the three teens talking about their ideal women. Director Menna Laura Meijer, in a humorously edited documentary filmed for her four daughters, shows the expectations and fantasies that adolescent boys have about women and what they consider to be the ideal partner.

Contact: IKON TV, email: Guuske.deVree@ikon.nl

Intolerance – Ivan / Netrpeljivost – Ivan

Marko Popović / Serbia and Montenegro / 2002 / 25 min.

Twenty-year-old Ivan Jokic studies molecular biology at the University of Belgrade . He travels to school by taxi, carries a scalpel in his pocket, suffers from paranoia, and is often awakened in his sleep by nightmares. His gaudy sunglasses, coloured hair, and entire look give away his homosexuality. “I would prefer it if you were a rapist and burned down houses. But this…You are a freak of nature,” Ivan’s own mother tells him, adding that he should be careful. Ivan had himself seen some of his fears become reality. After a beating at his dorm, being kicked in the head in the centre of Belgrade as the police looked on ambivalently, and the brutal assault of his friend while attempting to organize a “Pride Parade,” Ivan begins to consider immigrating to Germany . Through Ivan’s words and the scenes of violence against individuals of different sexual orientation, it is apparent that “coming out” in a society marked by nationalism, intolerance, and war is a life-threatening step. Despite his fears, Ivan does not intend to give up his right to publicly manifest his identity.

Contact: TV B-92, email: ksenija@b92.net , www.b92.net

Sunny Intervals and Showers

Jonathan Goodman Levitt / Great Britain / 2003 / 89 min.

“Over the course of six months I changed from a nice gentleman into an evil monster. As soon as one is labelled as manic depressive, everything you say is brought into question, whether it is you who are speaking or your sickness.” The words of Dr. Allan Levi, who after teaching for 14 years at a prestigious medical faculty, is let go after his diagnosis. With the help of his wife, Jackie, and a self-help group of individuals suffering from similar problems, he tries to come to terms with his illness. Thanks to his optimistic nature and a humorous and detached view of his illness, it appears at the beginning as if everything is going well. But time shows that a psychiatric disorder does not lend itself well to a good family life. In the end his wife tells the court during their divorce trial that her husband is a danger to their children. Director J.G. Levitt followed his extraordinarily open and eloquent protagonist and his family for over a year. The case of Allan Levi reveals the complex difficulties people who suffer from manic-depressive disorders can encounter and the inability of modern science to cope with the disease.

Contact: Jonathan Goodman Levitt, email: jlevitt@stanfordalumni.org

My Flesh and Blood Jonathan Karsh / USA / 2003 / 84 min.

“Children are a gift,” states Susan Tom. From very few other mouths these words would seem more convincing? This is because Susan is caring “full-time” for her 11 adopted children suffering from various handicaps. Missing limbs, mental retardation, severe burns, and even advanced stages of cancer among those in her home are not able to drive out the humour, hope, and little joys of everyday life. Director Jonathan Karsh, in a cinéma vérité style, decided to map out the four seasons of this remarkable family in which Susan reigns with her soft and loving hand. Without cheap sentiment and with an extraordinary sense for catching the little dramas of each day the director introduces us to the children, who don’t have any illusions and who don’t embellish – children for whom their adoptive mother is literally everything.

Contact: Films Transit International, email: janrofekamp@filmstransit.com , www.filmstransit.com

The Collector of Bedford Street Alice Elliott / USA / 2001 / 34 min.

This documentary takes a warm-hearted and optimistic look at mental illness and love. Larry Selman, 59, is mentally retarded. He doesn’t understand well the concept of time, but he knows that compassion means being kind to people. He lives alone with his two cats and a dog in a small apartment in Greenwich Village in New York . Larry’s only relative is his 89-year-old uncle, Murray, who takes care of him the best he can. Although he lives on ten dollars a month and whatever food his uncle prepares for him, he is able on his own initiative to raise thousands of dollars each year for charity.

Contact: Alice Elliot, email: elliotgirl@aol.com

Máňa Ten Years Later / Máňa po deseti letech

Olga Sommerová / Czech Republic / 2003 / 59 min.

“I am always on the run. I rest only when I am in prison. Prison gives me order and meaning,” confides Máňa, a repeat offender, to director Olga Sommerová. After another year spent in prison, Máňa is again to be released. But where will she go when she has no place to live, and how will she manage when she is not used to work? Thirty-four year-old Máňa does not have the slightest illusions about her life, which she knows very well is a never-ending cycle of prison, short periods of freedom, petty crime, court, and back to prison again. One of the last remaining joys for her is the visits of the film crew, who are able to capture the emotionally unstable Máňa in moments of bewildered joy as well as during tragicomic meetings with the social care authorities. Ten years after making her first film about Máňa, Olga Sommerová returns to her anti-heroine with the same warm sympathy and without making value judgments.

Contact: Czech TV – Telexport, email: Jitka.Kalalova@czech-tv.cz , www.czech-tv.cz

7th Heaven / 7. Himmel

Steffan Strandberg / Norway / 2002 / 57 min.

For Lars Kristian Gulbrandsen, art is a state of mind as well as a lifestyle. He is able to find beauty in everything, even in trash. Even if his artwork hangs in world famous galleries, many of his neighbours consider him to be crazy. In a little island in South Norway this extravagant artist, dressed in a rose coloured miniskirt and woman’s blouse, paints his face with the same colours that he uses for his abstract paintings. As a “human piece of art” he regularly goes to church and communicates with the local people in an attempt to challenge their prejudices and preconceived rejection of all things different. Pulsating music, experimental shots and artistic humour, apprehension, and pointed opinions allow us to see inside the labyrinth of the sensitive soul of a man, who in a traditionally conservative environment is determined to fight for acceptance of his attitude towards life, art, and mainly his individuality.

Contact: Norwegian Film Institute, email: arnab@nfi.no

Garden / Gan

Ruthie Shatz, Adi Barash / Israel / 2003 / 85 min.

Seventeen year-old Palestinian Nino and 18 year-old Dudu make their living off prostitution and selling drugs in an infamous part of Tel Aviv known as the Garden. Both left their homes because their parents beat them, and they have been living on the streets for a number of years. When Nino, who is in Israel illegally, tries to visit his family, he is shot in the leg by his own brother and eventually interrogated by the Palestinian secret service under suspicion of collaboration with the Israelis. “When will we finally live our lives?” asks Dudu, and Nino replies: “When God is dead.” Over a period of time a pair of Israeli filmmakers examines their lives to the smallest of details. By using hidden microphones, the filmmakers are able to follow their subjects closely as they meet with clients and also capture fleeting moments of happiness at a wild house-party. We witness their constant problems with the police and watch Nino as he stands trial. In this honest and open testimony, it becomes clear that the one thing that they both value is their friendship and their desire to once and for all leave the Garden of Tel Aviv .

Contact: Fig Films, email: ruthieshatz@figfilms.com , www.figfilms.com

The Tank Man

Arto Halonen / Finland / 2004 / 17 min.

Jesus Perdomo Triguero is one of the most individualistic characters in the centre of Havana . For 28 years he has supported himself and his mother through his original street antics – a production in which he juggles tin barrels in an unusual manner. Finnish director Arto Halonen follows the elderly juggler on his morning route on the town bus, through his encounters with typical Havana citizens passing its streets, up to his evening performance by the tourist cafés. Unobtrusive piano melodies combined with temperamental Cuban music suitably accompany the proud and charismatic Jesus, without who is almost impossible to imagine the streets and true spirit of Havana .

Contact: Art Films production AFP Oy, email: eva.romero@artfilms.inet.fi, www.artfilmsartohalonen.fi

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