Last year saw protest from a portion of the Chinese community over the screening of The 10 Conditions Of Love, a film about the plight of Rebiya Kadeer, the leader of a minority Muslim ethnic group based in the Xinjiang province of China. Protestors went so far as to hack into and compromise the MIFF website. This year, the controversy most certainly continues in spectacular fashion.
Green Days
21-year-old Hana Makhmalbaf directs this semi-fictional account of an Iranian playwright's creative crisis against the backdrop of the violent political conflict of the 2009 Iranian election. Using actual footage of street clashes, mainly caught on mobile phone, Makhmalbaf exposes the horrific violence of an oppressive regime, while also reveling in the hope of a young, dissentious and optimistic generation.
The Juche Idea
The Juche Idea is the title given to the official doctrine established by Kim Il-Sung of North Korea. Its foundation lies in the premise that a nation must practice self-reliance to the extreme. Kim Jong-Il, an avid movie buff, has subsequently developed a series of rules relating to the production of films that ensure they will adhere to The Juche Idea. In this film, Jim Finn subverts these rules to create a study of the nature of cinematic propaganda under a fascist regime.
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SIGN UPRussian Lessons
A scathing examination of the Russo-Georgian war, Russian Lessons examines some of the atrocities committed by Russian forces during the course of this conflict. Going further, the film exposes a national disinformation campaign that has allowed these crimes to be hidden from a disinterested global media.