links to other Auroville Radio programs covering the film festival event:

13th Dec: Auroville Food Festival within AVFF17

14th Dec: VOX POP on AVFF17

14th Dec: AVFF17, GEN Green Belt

16th Dec: AVFF17 Opening Ceremony

17th Dec: AFF17 – Desire

17th Dec: AVFF17 Swaha Blues Band

22th Dec: Line of Goodwill, Tibetan Doctor, Housing/Entry Service Closed, AVFF17

27th Dec: AVFF 2017 Closing Ceremony

download pdf

CLOSING CEREMONY! By 5pm a large ANTICIPATORY CROWD waited to hear the Judges Choices. But before the grand finale Francois & friend performed an acrostic UNPLUGED set. The Director of Directors, Krishna with Sasi by her side took FRONT n CENTRE and got down to business. Welcoming the crowd and thanking all the people who made this event possible. Then in due course presented three of the judges. The 3 judges in turn ANNOUNCED the WINNING FILMs. Then more of Francois & friend singing traditional songs from around the world (fitting for HUMAN UNITY). Krishna and Sasi were back for more MCing and then they introduced the Secord round of judges. The Judges (with a little DRUM ROLL) then announced the final WINNERS. All the winners received a BEAUTIFUL plaque from Accomplished Aurovillian Artist, Priya Sundaravalli, which she graciously DONATED to the Film Festival. Lastly, our Director of Directors announced the coveted MONGBRAS award (which is the AUDIENCE AWARD).

Then the crowd was treated to Auroville’s talented YOUTH (via TLC: one of Auroville’s schools) who provided a varied musical performance and a cast of 20?. There were individual, duets, and group performances. Later the Svaram group and Mohanam group (Bamboo Team) gave sterling percussionist performances.

FOODIES: To MEAT or not to MEAT: During the past 7 days, we had vegetarian & vegan meals. BUT tonight, people could choose between Chicken Biriyani or Veg. At 6:30p part of the crowd from the AWARDs Ceremony moved IN-MASS like a single un-coiling ORGANISIM to queue (line up) for some South Indian Chicken Biriyani or veg. Oh there maybe one more blog to WRAP UP UNFINISHED business and I will include the menu of each evening.

OK NOW what U all have been waiting for, can I have a Drum Roll…
ENVELOP PLEASE! & THE WINNERS ARE:

The 3-member jury, comprising of Kavitha, Moghan and Charu came to a mutual agreement, under HUMAN UNITY category.
1 – CINEMA PARADISO AWARD: “POLAROID” (16 minutes)

Director: Thomas Larsen Otterdal

The reason the judges selected this film was that the film is a strong invitation for all of us to take responsibility for our preconditioning.

2- WISDOM AWARD: “HERITAGE FIGHT” (91 minutes)

Director: Eugénie Dumont

The reason the judges selected this film was that the film was a great story of preservation of ancestral wisdom and values

3- JURY AWARD: “UN PAIS DI CALABRIA” (90 minutes)

Directors: Shu Aiello/ Catharine Catella

The reason the judges selected this film was that this film is a wonderful example of human acceptance and openness. And I’ll add: It provides a ROAD MAP for the refugee crisis of Europe, and where n how to resettle refugees.

The Jury decided to give two special mentions as follow:

1- “RIDING LOVE” (3 minutes)

The reason for special mention of this film is that it is an attempt at an alternative economy where joy and happiness rather than power and money is the objective.

2- “ELEPHANT’S PLAYMATE” (6 minutes)

The reason for special mention of this film is that it is a great example of how a story can be told simply and directly.

Next were the 3 AUROVILLE categories and the judges were Radhika Khanna, Aravindan.G.P., Jeanluc Buro (these judges gave their reasons on stage).

ABOUT Auroville

Paradiso Award: Auroville’s Children – Special mention: Unique Towns – Auroville
Jury Award: Ecovillage Design Education Documentary Auroville – Special mention: The Mother
Wisdom Award: Tree House Community

BY Aurovillians/Bioregion

Paradiso Award: Together – Special mention: Blue Boy
Jury Award: Asylum Park – Special mention: Earth and Bamboo
Wisdom Award: Inner Dialogues (episode one for re-screening) – Special mention: Be Part of the Solution and Not the Problem
Creativity Award: Entre chien et loup Special Mention: Path that Leads Nowhere

STUDENTS:
Paradiso Award: DotA 2 Tribute
Jury Award: A Collection of Animations
Wisdom Award: Open Your Eyes

Trashion Show by Masha got the Audience Award – Mongbra

THAT’S ALL FOLKS! Till we meet again at AVFF 2019’ It was a great FESTIVAL and we thank everyone who had a hand in it. WE LOOK FORWARD TO MORE FILMS (hopefully FOOD – Aneeta) n entertainment for the next rendition.
Till Then,
The AVFF 17’ gang

Today had a slew of Films (many short ones) to view. Today marks the last day to choose which venue and movie you want to watch, because tomorrow there won’t be any films to watch from 4-6:30pm. There will only be one showing and that is at the MMC where all the winning films will be screened. This should take about 2.5 hrs. So be on time tomorrow, Saturday at 5 pm, so that you can catch the AWARD CEREMONY, a GALA ENTERTAINMENT Presentation & then a MARATHONE of GREAT WINNING FLICKS…

Carbon Neutral Fund: I was on my way to edit in AV Radio when I ran into Glenn (Forest Group) and he thanked AVFF for the Rs7000 money we raised for our Carbon Neutral Fund (CNF). The CNF was a new AVFF initiative which sought to raise funds via a Crowd Funding portal and for every $10 donation we (Forest Group) would plant a tree. Global Warming is the greatest threat to the Earth (well actually HUMANS are the greatest treat!). And planting trees plays a role in binding the CO2 into the tree. A tropical tree does this 365 days of the year, where a temperate tree may only for ¾ of the year. We hope to make the CNF even bigger next Festival and lighten our carbon footprint.

FOODIES: AVERTING a MIDDLE EASTERN DELIGHT DISASTER: A series of BAZZAR COINCEDENCES created a STATE OF SEIGE & PANIC & almost torpedoed our Middle East Dinner! Let me explain…Orly decided that she had too much on her plate (hummus, falafel, pita)J and wanted to cancel Middle Eastern Night and tried to meet with Aneeta on Monday to inform her of her intentions. However, Aneeta was cooking North Indian so forgot all about the meeting. Orly tried to arrange another meeting but that didn’t work either so Orly sent a Facebook post to Aneeta saying she had to CANCEL THE DINNER. Aneeta replied ‘OK no problem, food festival going fine’. Early yesterday Aneeta realizing that TOMORROW is the dinner – so calls Orle to discuss how she could help. Orly response with ‘What are you talking about, I canceled the dinner and you replied that it was FINE!’ Aneeta replies ‘What, I never said no such THING!’ Orly says ‘Here’s your post! Aneeta looks at it and says, ‘LOOK at the PHOTO that’s not me, nor is my name spelled Anita! Orly DOUBLE TAKES and doesn’t know WHAT TO THINK.

As it turns out Orly had two Aneeta/Anita who were working on Food Festivals and got their WIRES CROSS. So Orly AVERTED a MIDDLE EASTERN DISASTER & made it a DELIGHT with lots of hard work and coordination. So, if you see Orle thank her for going beyond the call of DUTY! Middle East dinner was a close 2nd.

MUSICA: We were first treated to a mix of some funky tunes by Rai Barelli electric veena band. They played a good but short set. Then the The Nu Jazz Trio (Suresh on drums, Dhani on bass and Yuri on keys) STEPPED UP n took the stage and jammed and the moved the audiance. The base player and keyboardist shared some nice LICKS. The movin and grovin crowd was treated to some WICKED MODERN JAZZ.

A little before 8pm the band wrapped it up and then people drifted to the different movie venues.

… and a few more photos by Marco S.

See all of Serena’s films at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCprfkWyP0z-RqxZU-UQWcuw

Day 6: Dec 21, the Solstice

Locked Up, Locked In: Hey something funny happened last night I got locked in the AV Radio office.  Their door has a faulty latch that you had to jiggle just the right way to open the door.  Well it finally gave up and I was locked inside I banged on the door to attract the Watchman’s attention and he came (luckily) and rescued me…(the door could open from the outside but not the inside) – so then the watchmen comes inside and tries to show me how to open the door and he TRIES n FAILS!! So now AV Radio has captured two of us and we pound on the door to attract someone to FREE US!  LOCKSMITH first thing in the morning!

FOODIES:  SADHANA FOREST: GIFT ECONOMY:  Tonight’s meal was vegan c/o Sadhana Forest.  Sadhana Forest is one GROOVY n unusual community in Auroville (http://sadhanaforest.org/ ).  They have been a partner of the film festival since our inception.  This year they STEPED UP and did even more for us.  And tonight, they fed over 250 people…Wires got crossed and they thought they were cooking for a lot less…SO that’s the reason U ALL had such small portions (unusual for Sadhana).  But B THANKFUL we have to remember that most DINERS received this dinner for FREE (there were a few who donated to them).  YES that’s right, Sadhana provides meals for FREE.  Much THANKS Sadhana!!

A side bar: What I find ever more amazing is that Aviram and Yorit have to travel to see their other projects…family in Israel…etc. this could be for 2 weeks to 2 months or more … and Sadhana Forest keeps running on its own – Aviram has built in self-sufficiency and sustainability into Sadhana – the farm is like a well-oiled organic machine – just keeps on KEEPING ON!  Sorry for the digression…but it is a marvel

RAW VEGAN: I talked to several people who had the raw vegan dinner and a couple had a bit of stomach issues but all thought the food was good.  So, I stand corrected.  Thank you Kofpu for your assistance.

Demographics:  One thing is clear for this festival – the ratio of Aurovillians to visitors watching movies has shifted.   There are more visitors coming to watch movies.  In one of my interviews it was revealed that since this week is end of school year, parents and students are busy with end of school year things.

MUSICA: Tonight we were treated to a very long set from: LADY SINGS JAZZ, a Jazz 5tet with Diva Vera (vox), Rolf (bass), Ray (drums), Smile (sax), Yuri (keys) n Dhani (guitar).  A very good set singing covers.  And thanks to the Sadhana Forest COOKING Crew, who created a dance floor and got down and boogied for most of the set – the COOKING Crew COOKED on the dance floor!  They laid down the GAUNTLET so hopefully other dancers will take up the challenge and BOOGIE for the coming evenings…IF NOT – they will on Sat when DJ Mouhsine will get them on their DANCING FEET!

More MOVIES on tap:  after the band stopped, people gravitated to the different venues to catch some more flicks…

photos by Stefano

To celebrate the beginning of the school holidays, we invite you to Cinema Paradiso at 4 pm until 5:20 pm for really good films for children that the young and young at heart will enjoy.

In the Archive building, from 4 pm to 10:30 pm, we present a series of short fictions and documentaries, with a few standing out: the poetic A Passion of Gold and Fire, the touching Al Sheikh Noel, and the surprising Geneva Convention.

At 8 pm at Cinema Paradiso, another one of our favourites of the festival not to be missed, Nobody Knows my Songs by Zoran Maslic. It is a movie about identity, sense of belonging, friendship and love. “The more I worked on Nobody Knows my Songs, the more I understood that Berge Arabian, my main character, is a bridge-maker. It is because of people like him that we can cross to the other shores, not always having to swim through cold and dark waters.”

Also at 8 pm at the outdoor venue, Angry Buddha will bring you to Hungary where János Orsós, a teacher and a Buddhist founded a school to help teenagers from the poorest Romani ghettos to attend universities.

It is not over!! Tomorrow afternoon, at 5, the winners will be revealed, and at 8 pm, we will screen the winning films, so you have one last chance to see these beautiful movies from all 4 categories.

Day 5…Wed, Dec 20, MOVIE SEEKERS, CODE BREAKERS:

Our Director of Directors (Krishna) realized this and redesigned the info and posted this on AVNET and presto, one no longer needed a Rosetta Stone to decipher our MOVIE GUIDE.  I ran into an ol Aurovillian several times during the festival – who I had asked if she has watched any movies and she repeated several times ‘I went on to the website but it was very difficult…’   ‘Well this time she said I went to AVNET and I could find the info easy so I’m coming this afternoon’.

PRESTO, Check it out!  This stroke of generalship has broken the esoteric code and delivers what YOU NEED!
So, HOPE to see more of you at the cinema!  At 6:30pm the Skype connections was cooking, the visual were good and the audio clear (100% better than last night).  The Director/camera man, editor, sound engineer & publicist (talk about multi-tasking!) shared his insights to his research into ORGANICS in Europe.  Those that stayed (not a lot) were treated to a good exchange of information.

Rabbit Food:  The cuisine for tonight was Raw Vegan…i’ve been a veg since 71′ and my diet is closest to vegan and I usually do raw fruit for dinner.  So, I’m OK with raw vegan…Tonight there seemed to be hip anticipation and people seemed to come out early and the nightly queue (line – I’m bi-lingual) snaked its unruly coil around the food court and extended even further than the other nights.
The Verdict: This was the first meal that I didn’t enjoy.  The okra (lady finger– I’m bi-lingual) dish was unusual, the salad dressing non-descript, ok I’ll stop.  I think the major failing was that the general was missing.  The other nights the generals were there to direct traffic.   Maybe the hip n cool thought it was a good meal…

Entertainment:  For 3 of the past 4 nights we were treated to bands so there could have been a bit of anticipation to have more of the same.  However first up was some Avant guard, mixed media, human contortionist babble by Ra.  Then some awesome keyboard by Hartmut.

Movies:  Then from 8pm a MIXED BAG of different Movies, some with heavy content.
Tomorrow and beyond: Check out our NEW PROGRAM on AVNET (and B pleasantly surprised) and C U at the movies.
There are still a few meal tickets left for the last 3 nights.  B there or B square…

above photos by Marco S.

Thursday, day 6, and once more, you’ll have the opportunity to learn more about 2 films. After the screening of

At the outdoor screen, Magali Chirouze, the producer of Stony Paths, will answer your questions after the screening which starts at 9:30 pm. The movie follows Arnaud Khayadjanian in Turkey, in the land of his forefathers who survived the genocide, where he meets people who saved Armenians in 1915.

There are a few films from the Human Unity category that really caught our attention, and Natural Disorder, playing at 8 pm at Cinema Paradiso is definitely one of them. This captivating film shows us how Jacob Nossell, a young Dane of Korean descent suffering from cerebral palsy is creating a play on the subjects of normality, ability, and the right to live. As the director says it beautifully: “He is too handicapped to be accepted and too normal to accept his destiny”.

At 10 pm, at Cinema Paradiso, don’t miss Asmad, set in a Himalayan village, a short fiction about a young boy weighed down by guilt due to an incident that he feels responsible for.

Only 3 days to go, and more beautiful films…

above photos by Marco S.

Starting at 8 pm at the outdoor site, we have 3 great movies back to back. Do not miss the dynamic and clever Fast Forward in which a former trader turned teacher questions his pupils and experts on the subject of the acceleration of time, therefore making us reflect on our own relation to time.
Right after, be touched by Alzheimer’s – A Love Story which is, as the title implies, a beautiful love story.
Then, meet Udai, the adorable and colorful rickshaw driver from Riding Love who will restore your faith in humanity.

If you feel you already saw some good movies, the best is yet to come!

above photos by Marco S.

above photos by Ake

MOVIES: to show, or not to show, or WHEN to show, that is the question?  Over the years we (AVFF) have tried lots of different combinations of when to screen movies at the different venues on weekdays; eg mornings, noon to 5 etc. Often the venues were empty – so this year we decided to start screening from 4 to 6 and 8 to 10:30pm.  Tho the late sessions go even longer due to our extended program of SKYPE’s & Directors access – we are using Skype (4x) plus Directors/Producers (4x) who have come to the festival – to hear first hand, INSIGHTS and Q&A from them.  This is a major feature of this festival (we trialed it last year and STEPPed IT UP this year).

EAT’s! OK OK I know you’re wondering what orgasmic culinary delights we had last night – North Indian cuisine:  Aneeta and Lalit led the charge to provide us with a YUMMY North Indian dinner.   A SAD NOTE:  Most of the of the evenings meals are sold out, there are still a few available.

Musica! The program said that the International Film Festival 4Tet Jazz group would play from 7-8pm.   However, they started at 6:15pm and played past 8pm, I don’t know the exact time cuz I went to watch a movie at 8 but they were still jamming…really great jazz.  We hope to hear more from them again soon.

You will have the opportunity via Skype to talk with Mattie Porte, one of the directors of  An Enquiry Into a New Story for Humanity: Change the Story, Change the World, which was shot in the Findhorn Ecovillage in Scotland, and at 8 pm, on the outdoor screen, you will see a series of short fictions from the Human Unity category.

Now, for our favorite films of the day:

In Taxi Tehran, also at 8 pm, at Cinema Paradiso, let Jafar Panahi drive you through the streets of Tehran where you’ll meet all kind of passengers. The particularity of this film is that it was made clandestinely, as Panahi is banned from making films for 20 years. But as he says himself, “Nothing can prevent me from making films since when being pushed to the ultimate corners I connect with my inner-self and, in such private spaces, despite all limitations, the necessity to create becomes even more of an urge.”

A little later, at 9:45 pm, again in Cinema Paradiso, a group of 18 year old French students of diverse ethnic background bring us to Montreal as they try to see what life as a minority is like there. Through the people they meet, they question their own sense of identity.

Food on tap?  Many of us who have more or less camped out at Town Hall for the past several days have used as our sustenance the Town Hall café, consuming large amounts of tea, juice, vadhai, iddlies and doshas…however Sunday many Auroville eateries are closed so our breakfast & lunch breaks were looking dim – but we scored!  Tanto Pizza to the rescue! Yum pizzas!!  And for dinner we were treated to the East Asian Pavilion (Korean, Japanese, Chinese/Taiwanese – however most of the food came from Korea? and their legions of volunteers.

For entertainment we were treated to Shrini Yatra’s troupe with a cast of 100’s (maybe a bit less).  From traditional sitar and South Indian dance to comedy, drumming and drum troupes.  This was a great way for the children to be entertained. OTHER??

A large, appreciative and vocal crowd:  This year’s Kino Kaberat was screened to all (who were at the venue)!  At 7pm all the Kino Kabaret movies were shown to a large, appreciative and vocal crowd of onlookers.  The crowd was not disappointed with the movies that were created within the 50 preceding hours.  It looks like Kino Kaberat is going to be an institution at the AVFF.

Good Movies:  There were some really good movies for big people on Sunday…and we were treated to insights of director Eugénie Dumont who made a great movie on Aborigines of Australia.  But the real sleeper was My Burning Heart…

Side note: This year’s film festival has a number of FIRST, the AVFF was the first official event of the 50th jubilee year celebration.  The first time we had a concurrent Food Festival.  The first year of our Carbon Neutral project.  The AVFF wanted to recognize the exemplary reforestation work that AV is known for.  So we started this fund via a crowd funding platform, where people donated money and for their reward we (Forest Group) plants a trees that go on extracting CO2 from the atmosphere for the life of the tree.  Tropical trees can do this year-round whereas trees in temperate climates can only do this during the warmer months of the year.  We were able to donate RS7000 to the Forest Group to plant trees.   This year was a first for an 8 day event (normally it’s 5 days).  And lastly it was the first year we introduced the Kino Kabaret.

The different film teams spread all over town for the next day for their shooting. Editing was done in the common meeting space at Town Hall, overlooking the outdoor venue space where all final films will be screened. CPUs and nerves were running hot towards the deadline on Sunday at 6 p.m. and culminated in…
Sunday, December 17th, 7 p.m. the concluding screening with an enthusiastic audience.

Thanks to Marco S. and AurovilleRadio for these impressions

Our recommendation for today is Marzia, my Friend, a beautiful and interesting documentary on an Afghan journalist and her dream of freedom. Through the intimate portrait of Marzia, Kirsi Mattila, the director, talks about the status of Afghan women today. But the film is more than that, it is also about the friendship between two women from two very different cultures.

Enjoy!

above photos by Marco S.

above photos by Olivier

above photos by Ake

above photos by Loki

pitching at the initial Kino Kabaret meeting

Well its Fri, Dec 15, a day before the film festival officially opens and the Kino Kabaret wanted to jump start the film festival by starting a day early. This is take two of the Kino Kabaret, a trial run of the event took place in Sept 2017. That was a great success and this session is rolling along. The KK brings together creative creatures in cinematography/acting/directors/& wantabees. And within the first 15 minutes the motley crew established what all movies will have in common, a sound, an item, a line. For this session, the three things were: a cap, the line was:  What a wonderful World and sound was loud munching/chewing loudly.   Let the creativity begin! The different teams will work on their projects and at the end of 50 hrs. – we’ll get to witness their strokes of genius in our collective creative commons.

Six hours earlier the hollowed grounds of the Town Hall started its transformation into the creative set for the 5th bi-annual film festive. Art Installations by OK and Marco were first out of the block with the stage a close third and the tables and benches to follow.  Other art works were done by Orly, Dominiique and Richa abd Rriva.   One of the venues this year for screening movies is the new archives building.   It was a lot of work to transform the archives room into a screening room. Too much light and acoustic problems! But thanks to Umberto and his team of volunteers they accomplished the task within a few days.

Speaking of volunteers, this installment and all installments of the AV Film Festival couldn’t take place without the willing helping hands (and feet!) of our volunteers. So here is a big thank you to all the volunteers.

Dec 16, AVFF 17’ was launched last night, kicking the festival off at 5pm, Krishna, Director of directors…(Krishna is like a quarterback in American Football, she directs everyone to act as a cohesive unit to accomplish all the goals) and Sasi (title)…welcomed the crowds and informed them of the many delights to come. For instance, thanks to Aneeta – organizer for the first International Food Festival – everyone could have 8 different cuisines every day of the Film Festival. Tonight, we were treated to African food by the African Pavilion. The other important thing was keeping the cost down by having community members pitch in. This made it possible to deliver meals for only Rs100 per meal.
Judges were introduced, a legion of people were thanked – for without them the AVFF would not take place. Listening to all the individuals and groups mentioned, AVFF is truly a community event. This year’s event was run on a shoestring…and collaborators helped us keep the quality high, while keeping the cost low…for instance the awards, always created by an Aurovillian artist; this year was kindly donated by Priya, Botanical Gardens and AVAG donated equipment and shamianas (tents), I could go on but will stop…

However, this year volunteers were thin on the ground compared to other years…

After the Opening Ceremony, we all had to wait for the dinner – there were over 200 meals served which was enjoyed by all. Thank you African Pavilion for sharing  your cuisine with us.

Yuri Angelo was our man on the ground who organized a great line up of entertainers for the week and kicking off the film festival was Swaha’s Blues Band, a great way to open the Festival! The Band was tight and Swaha’s bluezzies style was a crowd pleazer…

What’s after food & music?…Movies!, as the band was breaking down and packing up, people wandered off in search of a movie or two or three and some were treated to viewing a movie then able to hear/see the director (via Skype) answering questions from the audience. This was trialed last film festival and proved to be a good way to have directors share their ideas and insights with us. So, this year we lined up four Skype calls and 4 live Directors/Producers (who are here!) inter-action with the audiences (one per day).

So Day won is over and it was a win win…for all

photos by Marco S.

Today is a full day filled with diverse and fun events. At 4 pm, bring your kids at Cinema Paradiso for the films made by students of Auroville. Don’t forget to cast your vote outside the venue, and make sure to stay for a series of films from the Human Unity category that the whole family will enjoy. This series will end with an encounter with Jamila Brown, director of

The filmmaker Eugénie Dumont is also here to discuss her film Heritage Fight scheduled at 9:07 pm at Cinema Paradiso.

At 7 pm on the outdoor screen, do not miss the Kino Kabaret screening of all the films freshly made over a period of 50 hours. It promises to be as fun and creative as our last edition in September.

There are so many movies to see, with a few that stand out: the poetic Refugee Blues, Circopolis which follows the artists of the Medrano Circus behind the scene, the light and refreshing Hummus! The Movie, (we dare you to not crave Hummus afterwards!), Scarves of History where one Argentinian mother of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo is invited to meet the Kurdish Mothers of Peace, and Leaving the Nest which portrays a different loving family.

Don’t hesitate to talk to Gali and Marie-Pierre for more guidance.

The 3 opening films of the 5th Auroville Film Festival celebrate, each in its own way, the beauty of human unity.
Musica Vita – Music of Life, a contemplative film about Auroville, is immersing us in a world of nature, sound and music. In a completely different genre, Disturbing the Peace and Forbidden People are two films echoing very current events. In the first one, Palestinians and Israelis get together to build fragments of peace at their own scale, in the second, a Quebec filmmaker observes the Catalan people unite in their quest for autonomy.

A bit later, in Cinema Paradiso, A Bridge Between Two Worlds portrays the will of a man to make a difference in rural Indonesia. After the screening, you’ll even have the opportunity to interact with the director Pascal Gélinas via Skype. Don’t miss it!

Keep your energy for Sunday as the screenings start as early as 9:30 am!

The schedule is out! 

The festival is kicking off on Saturday December 16th at 5 pm, at the Town Hall Plaza, with music and the opening announcements. The closing ceremony will also take place at the Town Hall Plaza on Saturday December 23rd, with the awards being presented to the winners in each category.

This year, we programmed 2 special children’s screenings with films made by students, and films from the human unity category for children, on Sunday December 17th from 4:10 pm to 6:30 pm at Cinema Paradiso, and on Friday December 22nd from 4 pm to 5:20 pm at Cinema Paradiso.

Please note that the schedule is tight and many films are short, so out of respect for the films and the audience, we are asking everyone to really make an effort to enter and exit the venues between the films.

If you need more information on the films or help to choose a film, please send a WhatsApp message to Marie-Pierre at +919145629840. Gali and Marie-Pierre will also be on site to answer your questions.

You can find the schedule here, on Avnet, and with the soft edition of the News and Notes. We will also leave a printed copy at AVDzines, the graphics center at Town Hall, so that you can Xerox.