Life of Guangzhou - Challenge of New Generation: 2008 Sapphire Moving Image Salon

[2008 Sapphire Moving Image Salon Schedule]

German Day——Rublyovka
14:30 2008.06.15

Rublyovka Road is the traffic artery connecting powerhouse Moscow with the Russian outback. Throughout history the region bordering Rublyovka has had a magnetic attraction for the ruling elite, visited by Tsars, dictators and presidents. Of course, Russia’s present head of state Vladimir Putin resides there now. In Putin's Russia, Rublyovka has become synonymous with wealth, social ascent and decadent lifestyles. Tell-tale signs of the past and the gross excesses of Russian cutthroat capitalism have created a bizarre microcosm that is unparalleled elsewhere in the giant empire. Nouveau riche upstarts have caused property prices on the Rublyovka to rocket sky-high. Now a fight for the last remaining pieces of land has broken out. Huts of the poor are swept aside to make way for the palaces of the wealthy by means that could not be more unfair or brutal. The Russian State, celebrating an imperial comeback bolstered by petro-billions, has declared open season on the weak and the poor, like "Indians in their reservations". And hardly anyone dares to protest. No wonder - Rublyovka is a strictly guarded maximum security area, where many things are hushed-up and kept under wraps. In spite of grudgingly-granted filming permits, the film team was constantly harassed and threatened by the Russian security service FSB, traffic police and each and every other security company. Many parts were filmed with a hidden camera. Nevertheless, the film was completed.

The camera follows losers and profiteers, rich and poor, the powerful and their string puppets through their daily lives in a country where the social divide has become increasingly wide. The film draws a social portrait of present-day Russia, in which Putin's "steered democracy" increasingly assumes dictatorial features.

A Lesson in Belarusian
19:30 2008.06.15

After the Soviet Union collapsed, Belarus becomes an independent country and a humanistic Lyceum is founded in Minsk, with the aim of raising an elite Belarusian intelligentsia. However, in 1995, Lukashenka comes to power. Democracy and freedom come to an end and the Lyceum is labeled a banned institution. The Lyceum pupils do not give up though, but steadfastly keep studying in the underground. The Presidential elections, for which Lukashenka changed the Constitution in order to be elected for a third term, become the culminating point of the film. Despite fear of repression, thousands of people enter the streets. In the main square of Minsk, the Lyceum pupils join forces to build a tent city, which is then brutally pacified by militia. Hundreds of people end up in prison. However, the Lyceum pupils do not give up; they deeply believe that one day Belarus will be a free country.

From the 50 Yard Line
14:30 2008.06.22

The film From the 50 Yard Line presents the football field not only as a sports venue but also as a stage for the marching band. The viewer goes on an exciting adventure through band camp, auditions, the marching season, and the regional and national competitions in 2006. You see the great rewards of disciplined practice, the overlooked technical artistry of the group endeavor and the important life-changing effects of instrumental music education. Another layer delves into the misconceptions about the marching band, showing band kids in a whole new light. The primary vehicle of the story is the Centerville High School marching band from suburban Dayton, Ohio, the 1992 Grand National Champions. Recognizing that all bands, big and small, can do amazing things, the film also portrays the band at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, which has just recently started up again after being silenced for 18 years due to budget cuts. One wonders what music was lost forever during the silent years at schools nationwide where programs were cut. This film shows the memorable story of the importance of instrumental music education, complete with the never-before seen emotional aspects of the experience. The students at the schools are wonderful subjects and their personal stories genuine and compelling. Nowhere else do you see hundreds of teenagers working together in such unison and commitment for one common goal. It is part drama, comedy, reality show, music video and full-on entertainment. (The film is recommended by the Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF), where it was the Audience Award Grand Prize Winner for Documentaries. Film will be sent by the RIIFF. Film can possibly be subtitled in Chinese).

Switch on the Night
16:30 2008.06.22

A poetic documentary exploring the stories of seven refugee children in Australia – their experiences of immigration, their memories, dreams and fears. All of them have experienced life in Australian immigration detention centers in Villawood, Baxter and Port Hedland - but a large part of this reality remains unseen.

Banana Kids
19:30 2008.06.22

“Banana kids – yellow on the outside and white on the inside!” They are between 10 and 20 years old; they are French of Chinese heritage; and, with an ironic sense of humor, they declare themselves to be “banana kids”. Born to parents who arrived in France during the 1980s at a time when immigration from China increased rapidly, all of these young teenagers were born in France.

Three for the Taking
20:30 2008.06.22

The carefree life of 16-year-old Inga is changed dramatically with the news of her mother’s fatal illness. From one day to the next Inga is left alone with two younger siblings. She has to run away from the welfare workers who want to place her in an emergency shelter for children. Inga wanders with the kids from her boyfriend’s house to her aunt’s. Like it or not, she becomes a mother for the kids and for her sacrifices, she receives unusual recompense …

Intelligence
21:15 2008.06.22

There may be no human trait more widely valued than intelligence. Yet questions about what comprises intelligence and how to measure it have dogged educators, employers and governments throughout this century. Even today, the intelligence of children is commonly tested in schools – yet there is no agreement on what a fair test would be, nor how the results should be used. Moreover, as computers become ubiquitous, they too are raising questions: Can machines be intelligent? And, if they can, will theirs be a superior intelligence? These questions -- and the way they connect -- will become ever more important as we travel further into the Information Age. In a society where information generates wealth, intelligence is becoming the primary -- and potentially the only -- currency of power. Shot in locations ranging from hospitals to military installations, Intelligence looks at what the term means to us by weaving together the perspectives of people as different as school children, neurologists, philosophers and spies. Binding it all together is a retelling of the Emperor’s New Clothes which puts the aspirations of a wired world in a new -- and comic -- light.