Category: Currently available for school and special screenings

The Beauty of the Donkey

The Beauty of the Donkey

By First Hand Films

Filmmaker Dea Gjinovci and her father, who has been living in exile in Geneva for sixty years, return to his home village of Makermal in Kosovo. The village was destroyed during the war, and the only thing that remains are the stories of the villagers who are still alive. It is a community of resilience, and so is their story.

In this deeply moving docu-fiction, the filmmaker joins these people and her father on a search for traces of the past. Together, they bring back memories of her father’s childhood in Kosovo in the 1950s. They reveal shocking things, remember everyday occurrences, and many questions remain unanswered, such as the mysterious disappearance of her grandmother.

With her heart-warming film, Dea Gjinovci shows how important it is to come to terms with history.

Promtional partnerships

LAPSH-LEPA Genève

 

Naima

Naima

By First Hand Films

NAIMA – a heroine abroad

After many years working in the low-paid sector, the charming Naima, originally from Venezuela, has finally landed a job as an apprentice nurse. … But her happiness comes up against harsh reality: the patients love her empathetic humour, but her colleagues criticise her professional distance. When Naima fails her placement, her world collapses. But then she embarks on her toughest battle yet: standing up for herself.

We look behind a façade of prejudice and show a fighter who is looking for the right path to integration for herself and for many others. Naima should give courage not only to migrants, but also to all those fighting for their place in society.

Naima is a heroine of such strength and vitality that you fall in love with her charm from the very first moment. Dok Leipzig, Vika Leshchenko

In the media, migrants often appear as a threatening group, but we rarely learn who they really are. NAIMA shows the struggles and untapped potential that many still carry with them, even after years in their new country. NAIMA reflects the individual fates of many migrants who, unlike ‘expatriates’, go abroad with completely different circumstances. Unrecognised qualifications and difficult access to training often prevent them from developing their potential and finding their place in society. This often results in health problems, particularly psychological ones, which constitute a vicious circle for their professional and family lives.

Promotional partners

Milchjugend.ch | Milchjugend.ch | Multimondo | Association Découvrir | Espace Femmes | Universtität Zürich Latin American Center Zurich | Alter Start | Effe | Frida | Ville de Bienne

 

The Shameless

The Shameless

By First Hand Films

A story of forbidden love and unwavering will

Renuka flees from a brothel in Delhi in the middle of the night, takes on the name of a Hindu goddess and goes into hiding in a community of sex workers in northern India. There she meets Devika, who is much younger and dreams of becoming a rapper. However, she is condemned to continue the tradition of her caste as a prostitute.

A tender but forbidden romance develops between Renuka and Devika – and conflict is inevitable. The two women overcome huge hurdles and make great sacrifices on their journey to freedom. When their situation leaves them no choice, murder is also a means of defence.

This suspense-packed thriller shows people on the margins of society and provides an insight into a part of Indian society.

Anasuya Sengupta received the Best Actress Award at Cannes for her performance in this film.

Gabriel Lobos is nominated for the Swiss Film Prize for Best Cinematography.

Promotional Partners
Médecins du Monde Suisse

Born Svetlana Stalin

Born Svetlana Stalin

By First Hand Films

Svetlana Stalin, la fille unique du dictateur Joseph Staline, s’enfuit en Suisse en laissant derrière elle sa Russie natale et ses deux enfants.

Du sommet de l’empire soviétique à la solitude et la pauvreté, le film retrace le parcours et le destin d’une femme résolument libre.

C’est le portrait d’une femme qui essaie de prendre le contrôle de sa vie et d’échapper à l’ombre de son père. C’est l’histoire d’un personnage public déchiré entre son éducation, sa responsabilité de mère, ses ambitions de personne politique et ses propres ambiguïtés.

En 1967, en pleine guerre froide, Svetlana Stalin se rend à l’ambassade des États-Unis à New Delhi pour demander l’asile. De l’Inde, elle se rend chez des religieuses en Suisse romande qui la cachent chez elles.

Lors de ce séjour en Suisse, l’enjeu dépasse son propre destin : les discussions sur la signature d’un traité de désarmement nucléaire entre les États-Unis et l’URSS ont lieu à ce moment-là à Genève. On craint que le passage de la fille de Staline à l’Ouest ne compromette tout rapprochement entre les deux blocs.

Jusqu’à sa mort en 2011, Svetlana est pourchassée par la presse, les services secrets et de nombreux admirateurs.Celle que l’on surnomme la princesse du Kremlin ne se repose jamais et est constamment en fuite.

Le film raconte la biographie avec des images d’archives rares et une animation fine.

Partenaires de promotion

Nashagazeta | Aux Art | Memorial Suisse | Uni Fribourg | Uni Genève | EPFL Lausanne | Swiss Info

Riverboom

Riverboom

By First Hand Films

The road movie Riverboom shows the crazy odyssey of three young war reporters in the chaos of Afghanistan shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Serge, a workaholic journalist, Paolo, a photographer who is as cheerful as he is clueless, and Claude, a morbidly cautious Swiss typographer.

Claude, who plunges into this adventure against his will, buys a video camera in the Kabul bazaar to film this crazy journey that will change his life … before he loses the tapes and finds them again twenty years later. Cheering!

Promotional Partners
Reporter without borders | Le Temps | Payot | RTS

 

Here all performances always up to date

Life is Beautiful – Al Haya Helwa

By First Hand Films

Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly insists on telling stories from his hometown Gaza sharing his own experiences and perspectives, not accepting the boundaries imposed by international politics and rigid bureaucracy. Stuck in the cold and dark arctic of Northern Norway, only able to connect to his family online, he manages to activate his own creativity and the support from his friends to keep up his motto LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL.

Follow us #ICarus

By First Hand Films

Andreas und Daniel teilen nicht nur eine lebenslange Freundschaft, sondern auch ihre Ausbildung zum Automechaniker in der pittoresken Garage von Herisau. Doch während Andreas in der Welt der Motoren aufblüht, fühlt sich Daniel in seiner Ausbildung gefangen. Sein wahrer Traum ist es, als Influencer die Welt zu erobern. Um spektakulären Content für seine Follower zu kreieren, lässt er sich von Andreas bei waghalsigen Stunts filmen.

Doch in ihrem Streben nach dem nächsten aufregenden Moment verlieren die beiden Freunde den Bezug zur Realität. Auf der Jagd nach dem ultimativen “Thrill” stürzen sie sich in gefährliche Situationen und verfallen immer mehr dem Sog von Drogen. Die Grenze zwischen ihrem eigenen Leben und den inszenierten Abenteuern verschwimmt zusehends.

Inmitten des Rauschs und der sich überschlagenden Ereignisse kommt es zu einem tragischen Zwischenfall, der nicht nur ihre Freundschaft auf die Probe stellt, sondern auch ihr gesamtes Leben auf den Kopf stellt. Während die beiden nach Antworten suchen, erkennen sie, dass ihre Suche nach Extremen nicht nur ihren emotionalen, sondern auch ihren physischen Zustand auf eine harte Probe gestellt hat. Eine Geschichte über Freundschaft, Selbstfindung und die gefährlichen Abgründe, die sich auftun, wenn man die Realität aus den Augen verliert.

If only I could hibernate

If only I could hibernate

By First Hand Films

Winner of the Audience Award at the Film Festival Diritti Umani Lugano

A poor but prideful teenager, Ulzii, lives in the yurt area of Ulaanbaatar with his family. He is a physics genius and is determined to win a science competition to earn a scholarship. When his mother finds a job in the countryside, she leaves him and his younger siblings to face a harsh winter by themselves. Ulzii will have to take a risky job to look after them all and keep his home heated.

Promotional Partners
Mandach Naran

The Siren

The Siren

By First Hand Films

1980, Abadan. The capital of the Iranian oil industry is resisting an Iraqi siege. Fourteen-year-old Omid has braved the siege and stayed in the city with his grandfather, waiting for his elder brother to return from the front line. Along with Omid, a gallery of unusual characters have all remained in the city for their own reasons, and each resists in his or her own way. But the noose is tightening as Omid tries to save his loved ones, by embarking them on an abandoned boat he finds in Abadan’s port, that will become his ark.

Golden Seniors

Golden Seniors

By First Hand Films

Five senior citizens dare to step into the unknown. For 18 months, they will participate in a training based on mindfulness and altruism, which will be measured for a study. The aim is to evaluate the effects of meditation on ageing. The film tells their personal journey and mirrors it with scientific objectivity and the challenges of ageing well in our society. Living longer and longer – yes, but how?

Beyond the adventure of these seniors citizens, the film shows meditation as a way to connect with oneself and one’s surroundings. It illuminates the realities of this path with stumbling blocks, moments of doubt, gratitude, joy and sometimes relief.

Promotional Partners
CHUV Lausanne | CNP Neuchâtel | Ensemble Hospitalier de la Côte | HÔPITAUX UNIVERSITAIRES GENÈVE | Mindfulness Swiss | Pro Senectute Schweiz | UNIVERSITÉ DE GENÈVE |