The Josef Trilogy (Thomas Worschitz, 65 min Austria 2004) To some an idyllic destination, to others a place of claustrophobia. Considering their existence in the Austrian mountains monotonous, five woodcutters, all named Josef, dream of leaving for a new and colourful life in Canada. Years later, when the quintet of anti-heros finally find themselves on the road travelling through Canada's vast landscapes, they slowly realize that the monotony is within them.

In the Beginning was the Eye (Bady Minck, 45min Austria/Luxembourg 2003)
This film takes us on a time-travel using images of an iconic mountain found on postcards. The historic imprint of political realities and human fates are rendered visible onto the idealized landscapes. The post cards were written by travellers who witnessed the same place at different times.

Brilliant City (Axel Stockburger, Mike Faulkner, Matthias Kispert 14 min UK 2004)
The camera eye scans the panorama of a residential complex comprised of 25 high-rises in the northern part of Shanghai. The remote point of view (of the elevated camera as well as the artists, temporary visitors from London), establishes a spatial as well as referential distance to the featured daily life activities. The gaze zooms into the urban fabric, perceiving patterns of movement and symbolic activity.

Fast Film (Virgil Widrich 14 min, Austria / Luxembourg 2003)
This film uses a unique technique of printing stills onto paper pieces, which arethen folded origami-style and re-animated. An experimental collage of chases, rides, and races from around 300 classic films adds up to one hell of a trip through film history, high on adrenaline. Fasten your seat belt!

Mecanomagie (Bady Minck, 16min, Luxembourg 1996)
Jitzerten are humanoid beings that zigzag over trails and roads without being noticed by the indigenous inhabitants of Luxembourg. Mecanomagie describes the ancient circle of sowing, growing and harvesting; a universe composed of religion, rituals and the mysterious powers of nature.

Burning Man as seen by a mammoth (Piltdown Camp, 30min, US 2004)
Once a year the Burning Man festival takes place in the Black Rock desert in Nevada, USA. In 2004, the temporary tent city was home to 30,000 people who drifted aimlessly through pyrotechnical installations and flying objects, meeting with others in blinking costumes and riding mutant vehicles. The video documentary takes the point of view of the annually-resurrected Mammoth, a human powered vehicle that takes viewers on a ride around the surreal world of Burning Man.

Temporary, evolutionary architecture constitutes the core concern of the works by exyzt, a Paris-based collective of architects. Their canny and humorous project documentation guides us through the life-circle of their urban constructions, which are driven by communal activity and experimentation ('form follows action').

Two contemporary dance videos, Foliage Chorus (20 min UK) and Stealth (3 min), interrogate movement in very distinct ways. In Foliage Chorus, a troupe of dancers intertwines with the branches of a tree of light. They grow, blossom and retract, expressing through movement that draws on an Indian classical dance vocabulary (Bharata Natyam). Shobana Jeyasingh's choreography is a successful bridging of cultures and generations and expresses her own British/ Indian identity.

Stealth creates a creepy atmosphere as it follows a child in camouflage gear through a forest, to the clicking sounds of rifles being loaded. The choreography by Michael Nunn and William Trevitt (George Piper Dances) quotes from exercises conducted by soldiers. The viewer is left in a space of tension and uncertainty, sometimes entering the fantasy world of a child playing warfare, sometimes reminded of the true lives of children soldiers around the world.

Cease! Fire! (Kaw Lah Film collective, 49min Thailand 2004)
This documentary takes a close look at daily life during civil war (a major cause of migration globally). An account of the situation of the Karen people in Burma/Myanmar, the filmmakers, of Karen origin themselves, visit villagers during a so-called ceasefire and witness a terrible reality.

Une Double Mort (Alain Bourrillon 59min France)
The Akha people are one of the Mountain People groups who migrated from China into Thailand over the past 2000 years. They live in the borderlands of the Mekong Quadrangle. This documentary follows the Akha lady Ah Pia through vital weeks of her life that mark her ritual transition from a young girl to a woman, ready for marriage.

Virtual Borders (Manu Luksch 90min UK/Austria 2003)
This feature documentary tells the story of an Akha village headman, Abaw Buseuv, who goes on a journey from Thailand to China. He is accompanied by an Akha radio broadcaster and the filmmaker. Their aim is to attend a gathering of Akha people and to transmit discussions from this conference back to the Akha in remote mountain villages of Thailand.

A mix of karaoke video clips features songs by musicians from ethnic minority groups, who skillfully employ the global language of pop. Includes: Chengbo (Akha pop from China), Ase Wawi (Akha pop from Thailand), Mong bor dai ya (Hmong pop from Thailand).

Two films by artist/filmmaker Santiphap Inkong-ngam explore the migratory history of people of the Mekong quadrangle through their stories and tales.
The documentary Yong in Transition (20 min Thailand 2004) gives voice to the Yong people. They compare the ways of life of the different generations and question the idea of progress through modernity.
Just A Second (Thailand 2005)
A film between here and there, past and future, fiction and documentary, follows the Mekong and collects myths along the way.

"For years, I searched for a project that would try to re-conciliate my soul with 'Mother India'", writes Canada-based Eric Filion aka VJ Nokami. Video impressions of his first trip to India, processed with VJ softwares led to the Namaste project, an emotional translation of his experience and encounters.

Manu Luksch
London 2005

When + where

Feb 15th: Saen Jai Mai Akha village, Mae Salong area
Feb 18th, 7pm-12pm: Suan-dok Temple, Chiang Mai
Feb 19th: ESC, Numborluang Sunpatong

Film Programme listing+links

Workshops

Thai and international filmmakers/artists will lead workshops, which provide an opportunity for local youth to acquire hands on experience and first practice in digital filmmaking, as well as discuss its potential for socio-political activism. The project directly involves youth in the conceptualization, planning and implementation of the project, to lay the foundation for a new generation of critical artists and activists.
Detailed schedule to be confirmed.