Rome, Without Borders Film Festival, 1 – 3 July 2009
One of the biggest contradictions of our time is to be found in the distances between people: geographically speaking the distances between foreign countries are reducing, both means of communication and means of transports give us the illusion of being close to any other part of the world, and that we only need to turn on the TV or to take a plane to go elsewhere. On the other hand this geographical proximity does not correspond to a real feeling of closeness between different peoples, and problems like prejudices, ignorance, intolerance and incomprehension are far from being solved.
The “Without Borders Film Festival”,
which takes place in Rome from the 1st to the 3rd of July (book now hotels in Rome), is meant to show what human beings have in common, if they go beyond religious and cultural differences, and telling stories dealing with the encounter of different peoples, it is intended to show that it is possible to go beyond geographical and mental borders.
The festival, which will be held this year for the second time (the first edition achieved a great success, attracting many cinema lovers in Rome), takes inspiration from a documentary realised by Paul Smaczny, “Konwledge is the Beginning”: filming a tour of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which is made of musicians coming from Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine, the documentary shows how inhabitants of countries that fight against each other can travel, work and live together, learning something from each other.
And the films that are selected every year to take part in the festival deal with similar themes, and telling stories they try to find a common humanity between people, which goes beyond any border. About 15 films of all genres (feature, short, animation films and documentaries) are projected during the festival, and projections are accompanied by meetings and discussions with directors, which give tourists in Rome the possibility to look into important issues and to exchange ideas with other people.
Among the themes discussed in this edition of the festival, the role of women in different societies (in the movie “Feminin – Masculin” by Sadaf Foroughi), censorship (“Head Wind” by Mohammad Rasoulof), the negative opinion that too often people have of Islam (“I Bring what I Love” by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi), peace and non-violence as means to achieve important aims (Kashmir: Journey to Freedom” by Udi Aloni), questions about identity (“Off and Running” by Nicole Opper), and much more. Do not miss the short films realised by some Roman students dealing with the theme of “walls”, in the 20th anniversary of the fall of Berlin wall: this works, together with a photo essay realised by some New York’s students which will be presented during the festival, highlights the importance of learning to destroy borders from an early age.
During the festival you will also have the possibility to visit the exhibition “The Course of History”, with the photos took by Belgian photographer Bart Michiels, who visited the most famous European battlefields and took photos of those landscapes as they appear today, to show how the passing of time covers the traces of those fights, while men cannot find a “cure” for war.
Date: 1st – 3rd July 2009
Location: Casa del Cinema, Rome, Italy
