...but desire remains in us as a challenge to the world even though infinitely deprived of its object.
“In our century, hospitality has been replaced by the hospitality industry. When we see the word in print or we hear it from somebody's lips, it is always in the context of the commercial world: whether it be in reference to a holiday package deal, a hotel or the customer service offered by an air hostess. Hospitality has become merchandise, and luxury merchandise at that. A service provided in exchange for cash, or better still, for a signed slip guaranteeing payment by some prestigious credit card. In this world of economic trade, we are vulnerable without the shield of a Mastercard or American Express card. Only the balance of our plastic can protect us.” Hector Zagal and Julián Etienne: Sobre la Hospitalidad.
UntitledWhen tourists journey to the furthermost reaches of the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea, is it the indigenous tribes people or the white visitors who are the cultural oddity? This film explores the difference (and the surprising similarities) that emerge when "civilized" and "primitive" people meet.
UntitledTraces of the past and neglect gradually merge into spaces that leave new traces, ones that represent time regained and the search for meaning through communal life and the land as a bridge for human relationships. In December 2001, after 50 years of neglect, squatters move in to the ancient Masía of Can Masdeu and restore it as a home and rural-urban or “Rurban” social centre. The daily life of its 24 squatters unfolds in parallel to that of their neighbours, as they share the cultivation of the land and the defence of one of the last non-urbanized valleys on the slopes of Barcelona’s Collserola Park.
Traces of the past and neglect gradually merge into spaces that leave new traces, ones that represent time regained and the search for meaning through communal life and the land as a bridge for human relationships. In December 2001, after 50 years of neglect, squatters move in to the ancient Masía of Can Masdeu and restore it as a home and rural-urban or “Rurban” social centre. The daily life of its 24 squatters unfolds in parallel to that of their neighbours, as they share the cultivation of the land and the defence of one of the last non-urbanized valleys on the slopes of Barcelona's Collserola Park.
Can Baz is a film made from the perspective of a member of Alevi Kirmanc in East Anatolia, whose religious philosophy is expressed in the statement: What you seek, seek not in Mecca, not in Kaaba and not in Jerusalem, seek rather in yourself. The effects of the last massive annihilative attack, which began in 1994, can be refound in the example of Murat and Ahmet Öztürk, two brothers living in exile and addicted to drugs in Istanbul-Beyoglu. The film portrays their life with their band, Siya Siyabend; their friend Hasan Isik, an inhalant-sniffing street kid; and their pursuit of freedom by the wrong means.
UntitledCan a candidate with no political experience and no charisma win an election if he is backed by the political giant Prime Minister Koizumi and his Liberal Democratic Party? This cinema-verité documentary closely follows a heated election campaign in Kawasaki, Japan, revealing the true nature of “democracy”.
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