Tidal forces of capitalist economy, war, and colonialism result in many dimensions of displacement. Cultures clash and merge, political economies reformulate into webs of interdependence stretching around the globe, and human beings are flung far from their places or origin. This program will explore diaspora through the lens of personal identity, within the context of a global labor market.
Panelists
Kathleen Coll
Professor of Anthropology and Politics, USF
Jethro Patalinghug
Film maker and Associate Artistic Director of FaCine
Robin Abad Ocubillo (Moderator)
SFUFF Program Producer
Films
Letter to the Outsider
Hong Kong, Netherlands | English | 2018 | 6 mins. | Directed by Dorothy Cheung
The short film is based on a letter transgresses the boundary of inside and outside, here and there. Witnessing Hong Kong’s political imprisonment far from home, the film attempts to question human perception of a space or a country, reflected in images of repurposed prisons in the Netherlands.
Children of Spring
Germany, USA | Arabic, English Subtitled | 2019 | 43 mins. | Directed by Dusan Solomun
A high-rise roof somewhere in Berlin. From the rooftop you can see the whole city. It is summer. On the roof is a group of refugees from Syria. The depth below reminds them of the depth of the sea. Above them is only sky. On this roof, they feel like they are back on their journey across the Mediterranean – lost on a small rubber boat. They begin to reenact the most dramatic situation they have survived during their flight: crossing the Mediterranean between Turkey and Greece. They try several times but the Turkish Coast Guard prevents them. During an attempt, water begins to swamp the boat – the refugees save themselves by swimming for hours.
Ashmina
England, Nepal | English, German, Nepali | 2018 | 15 mins. | Directed by Dekel Berenson
Nestled between a beautiful lake and the Himalayas, Ashmina, 13, lives with her family at the outskirts of Pokhara Nepal, paragliding capital of the world.
The remote and traditional town is also a busy tourist destination where the locals are profoundly affected by the swarms of tourists who visit it daily. Forced to skip school, Ashmina helps her family make ends meet by working at the landing field, packing the parachutes of foreign pilots in return of small change.
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