 |
This
year, the number of films we have received from the region which was the
largest in recent years more than double of that last year. Furthermore,
the films were generally excellent in quality. We also received films
for the first time from Malaysia which , unfortunately, were not nominated,
but made us more aware that environmental problems were seriously affect
entire Asian region.We celebrate the 10th anniversary of the film festival
this year and, although it might be a coincidence, not a few works remarkably
focus on one single theme as if commemorating the 10th anniversary viewing
it from past, present future perspectives. |
+Click pictures to
see the detail of each films
| EARTH
VISION Grand Prize |
War
and Peace
iIndia/166min)
Director/Producer: Anand Patwardhan
|
Backgrounds
for Indian and Pakistan nuclear testing are described, extending
to Japanese atomic airraid victims and the Smithsonian Institute.
|
Juror's
Commentary/Tadao Sato
This documentary ovejectivly depicts issues of nationalism
and nuclear wepons, which are both very serious themes, with
persuasive way.
Both India and Pakistan are about to fall into dengrous situation
at the present day, this film brings the big subject "war
and peace" to people in all over the world.
|
|
| Jurors'
Special Prize |
Suspended
Particulate Matter: Desperate Efforts for the 21st Century
iJapan/47minj
Director:
Yoshikawa Hidekazu
Producer:
Ishiguro Arata
|
| Investigation
of SPM in automotive exhaust gas, especially that from diesel
engine vehicles, focusing on the pollution lawsuit in Amagasaki |
Joror's
Commentary/Channipa Chetsomma
The topic of the film, the air pollution, to some people may
now be repetitive when we talk about environment, and might
be considered a "cliche" for presenting the topic
into film. But the film "SPM" finds the way out
by exploiting the story telling showing why and how people,
not only the victims, must handle and manage the problem.
And only the ones who fight would deserve the prize. Since
environmental deterioration is not a small problem, so it
takes our lifetime or maybe for good that we have to fight
against it. But why shouldn't we?
Personally, I was impressed that even though the content of
the film is about negative situations, the story telling is
totally and perfectly non-aggressive, yet, it still has the
strong and powerful positive impact on the audience. The ending
scene that the very old wife of the first victim appeared
on the film giving the final interview to the shooting team
was moved. The director repeated the camera angle that the
wife sitting at the same table in her same position, but there
is no her husband at the other side of the table as it used
to be. The old wife smiled a little but we could feel the
sadness that her husband could not survive the illness from
SPM to see the success of the very long fighting the SPM lawsuit.
The fighting which I'd rather say it's the temporarily success
and not the victory. There is no use helping people when they
were dead. Should the citizen fight for their welfare from
the governmental organizations, while it is understood that
providing of such to the people is the duty of the government
itself, and since the troubles happen to the mass of the nation
should be considered the national problems, though there must
be the cooperation from the citizen side, too ?
The film is well-made, well-planned and well-researched as
well as there is some humor in it, even though it is a black
humor.
|
|
| Excellence
Prize |
Frontiers
of Dreams and Fears
(Palestine/56min)
Director/Producer: Mai
Masri
|
The severe lives of Palestinians are
described through the friendship and dreams of two girls living
in a refugee camp.
|
Juror's
commentary /Saneeya Hussain
In shortlisting this film for the 3 final award winning categories,
the jurors had a long discussion on Frontiers of Dreams and
Fears. From a technical and artistic perspective, the jurors
felt the film was very well made. In letting the two central
protagonists of the film, Palestinian teenagers Mona and Manar,
narrate the story some very emotive and creative means were
employed to present the messages of the film. What made it
more difficult to select the film was the treatment of the
subject matter of the film. Some of the questions we looked
at were:
1. Did the film fall within the parameters of Earth Vision
as an environmental film festival?
2. Should one consider the lack of access to the Palestinian
point of view in the world media in selecting a somewhat one-sided
presentation?
3. Does a lack of balance or objectivity prevent this particular
film from making an impact?
The jurors were informed by the organisers that the eligibility
of Frontiers of Dreams and Fears' was not a problem since
the mandate of the Earth Vision Festival had broadened over
the years to include non-environmental subjects. And while
there was great deal of debate on questions two and three,
the answers eventually were in favour of the film.
Mai Masri, the director, was commended for her persistence
in producing an "Excellent" film.
|
|
EARTH
VISION Award
|
God's
Children
(Japan/105min)
 |
Description
of people thriving at the Payatas waste dump, called the second
smoky mountain, despite the discouraging environment |
Memory
of Dances
(Philippines/52min)
 |
Description
of aborigine struggles in the Philippines to preserve their tradition
and culture |
Reverse
the Trend
(Bangladesh/31min)
 |
Villages
in Bangladesh suffer floods almost every year. Presently, local
communities and the Administration are cooperating for flood control. |
Long
Journey of Mighty Wings: From the Desert to the DMZ
(Korea/39min)
 |
Migration
of endangered black vultures is tracked from Mongolia to Siberia,
and to South Korea. |
Madame
Yinyuzhen, the Hero of Desert Control in Jingbeitan
(China/19min)
 |
"I
sing to not feel lonely," smiles the woman, who alone changed
yellow desert sands into green forest. |
Mini
Marsupials
(Australia/53min)
 |
Cattle
brought in by immigrating Europeans go wild and are endangering
indigenous species to extinction. |
The
Ecosystem of the Forest:
Deciduous Forest in Japan
(Japan/30min)
 |
Forest
mechanisms, including the food chain and material recycling, are
tangibly explained, focusing on small animals and microorganisms
in the ground. |
|
| Jurors
of final judgment |
Tadao Sato
chairperson of the selection committee / film critic
Channipa Chetsomma
Studying in Faculty of Communication Arts, Chulalongkorn University,
she worked for Japanese newspapers. After graduation, she joined
in Mr. Cherd Songsri's "Cherdchai Productions" as production
manager and continuously works there as producer until now.@She
got the award for script writing for TV series Tawipop in 1994.
Saneeya Hussain
She has a liberal arts master's degree in English Literature, and
has worked for the past 20 years in advertising, print journalism
and environmental communications. She has a special interest in
development communications and in building media capacity in investigative
reporting on the environment.
|
Special
Program
Alexei and Spring<Japan/104min.>
|
Producer
Komatsubara Tokio,
Kamiya Sadako
Director
Motohashi Seiichi
Music
Sakamoto Ryuichi
|
Budische,
a small village in the Republic of Belarus. A village contaminated
by radioactive fall-out from the nuclear accident at Chernobyl.
Most residents left the village; fifty-five elderly people and one
young man, Alexei, remained
........ because the village is their homeland.
........ because there is a 100 year-old spring.
Around this spring, untainted by the nuclear accident, Alexei and
the villages spin a new tale.
This film received an official entry at the Berlin International
Film Festival 2002.
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