'3 Doa 3 Cinta' (Pesantren: 3 Wishes 3 Loves) Indonesia
Produced by Nan Achnas, Nurman Hakim and Adiyanto Sumarjono
Pesantren: 3 Wishes 3 Loves, is the story of three best friends living and studying in a pesantren (Islamic boarding school) in a small village in Central Java, Indonesia. Huda is a dedicated pupil of Kyai Wahab, a religious leader who preaches tolerance and peace. Huda longs to be reunited with his long-lost mother. Rian is a keen amateur filmmaker, who is plotting to run away and join a travelling film exhibitor as his assistant projectionist. Syahid comes from a poor farming family and is desperate for money to fund an urgent liver transplant for his father. Joining an extremist religious group, Syahid quickly finds himself facing an agonising moral dilemma. In the lead up to their graduation, life changes irrevocably for the three friends following the events of September 11, 2001, when they are accused of being members of a hardline Islamic group linked to terrorist activities in Indonesia.
The Strength of Water - New Zealand / Germany
Produced by Fiona Copland, Co-Produced by Karl Baumgartner and Raimond Goebel
Ten-year-old twins, Kimi and Melody, live happily in an isolated Maori community until an enigmatic stranger, Tai, arrives, precipitating an accident which forces the twins apart. While others punish Tai, Kimi acts out his heartbreaking loneliness in destructive, angry ways, while looking after the Melody that only he can see. His family is concerned for him, but only Kimi’s belief in his sister can help him find the strength to let go of what he loves the most.
'Tahaan' (Tahaan: A Boy with a Grenade) India
Produced by Shripal Morakhia and Mubina Rattonsey
A fable-like journey of an eight-year-old boy, Tahaan, and his beloved donkey, Birbal. Tahaan lives in the Kashmir valley with his grandfather, mother and older sister, who live in hope that the boy’s father, who has been missing for more than three years, will one day return home. After losing his best friend, Birbal, to a businessman as part of debt repayment, Tahaan sets off on a long quest to bring the donkey back home.
'Ye Haeng Ja' (A Brand New Life) Republic of Korea / France
Produced by Lee Chang-dong, Laurent Lavole and Lee Joon-dong
Seoul, 1975. A brand new pair of shoes shines on the feet of nine-year-old Jinhee. Thrilled with the unexpected gift, she holds her father tightly from the rear seat of his bicycle, not wanting to let go of her cosy, sudden joy. This exceptional day calls for celebration and makes Jinhee feel like singing a song as she toasts her father, sipping soju for the first time in her life. Little does she know that those shiny shoes are destined to walk her into a new life, one she might not want but will have to learn to accept. Sure enough, the next day Jinhee will be taken to an orphanage and unceremoniously abandoned there in the hope somebody will adopt her, leaving her father free to form a new family.
'Mommo-Kizkardesim' (The Bogeyman) Turkey
Produced by Atalay Tasdiken
The Bogeyman is the story of two siblings, Ayse and Ahmet, who live in a village near the central Anatolian city of Konya. After their mother dies, Ayºe and Ahmet’s father remarries a woman who doesn’t want the children to live with them. The siblings live with their Grandfather, Hasan, as they struggle to stay together amidst an uncertain future. Hasan’s daughter, Fatma, writes from Germany saying that her sister’s children can come and live with her but the paperwork for them to emigrate takes longer than anticipated. As Ayse and Ahmet navigate the looming threat of being packed off to a children’s home, Ahmet tries to protect his little sister as best he can. Every night, they take their bedding upstairs onto the roof. Lying there beneath a blanket of stars they talk about their hopes and dreams and their future in Germany. ‘Mommo’ is ‘the bogeyman’, a threat adding further fear to Ahmet’s unstable life as he tries to remain strong for his sister.