Songbirds of the Kora and the Kamelen N'goni

Kevin McSorley, University of Ulster

In Mali, a West African country with a rich musical heritage, song has been designated a female activity, while musical instruments are played by the men. But today there is a new phenomenon taking place - women are rising up against this patriarchal tradition and learning to play two traditional instruments, the kora and the kamelen n'goni. This film will feature two women who have had success as instrumentalists, but who have received criticism from some of their male peers. Through this, it will reveal how these women are fighting for equality in Mali today.

 

Gülsoma and the Little 'Big' Women

Dîdem Sahin, Brunel University - see director's website

When Najla Osseiran, an English teacher in Turkey, read about a child bride living in a shelter in Afghanistan called Gülsoma, she asked her students (right, with Najla) to write letters of support to her. The staff at the orphanage then sent back a photograph of the girl, and this inspired the students to send even more in return - not just letters, but also gifts and resources for the orphanage. Dîdem Sahin will tell this story, and will also travel to Afghanistan to meet Gülsoma and invite her to record a video message for the students who have made contact with her.

See also: website of the shelter where Gülsoma is staying

 

Palenque de San Basilio: A Story of Marginalisation

Alexia Dickinson, Goldsmiths College

This film will focus on the village of Palenque de San Basilio, the only Columbian black community that still speaks a non-Spanish language, and a place that is the subject of discrimination from many other Columbians. Over recent years the village has had greater interaction with people from outside, but this has led to some erosion of the community's traditional values. By speaking to villagers and people living elsewhere, Alexia Dickinson will investigate how this village is coming to terms with the outside world, and why the outside world views it so negatively.
 

Portrait of a Glacier

Marcelo de Oliveira (far right) and Victoria Thomas,
Screen Academy Scotland

The Yaghan people of Patagonia have always believed that, through shamanic rituals, they can control the weather, talk to spirits, heal, kill, and get food. But with climate change impacting upon the environment that surrounds them, what does this mean for their existence and their beliefs? This film will focus on Finisterre, a Yaghan fisherman who lives in the town of Puerto Williams - a man who is educated, and who also maintains some of the traditional beliefs of his people. Through his story, the filmmakers will portray the Yaghan people, and will investigate how they are adapting to a changing world.
 

Look Chechi!

Claudia Engels (right), Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology

'Look Chechi!' will focus on the experiences of children with disabilities in India today, and will ask how their own religion, and the predominantly Hindu culture that surrounds them, affects their lives. Claudia Engels will spend time working with children at the Jyothis School in central Kerala, which is run by the Christian community, but which brings together children from Hindu and Muslim faiths, as well as from Christianity. How do these children relate to their surroundings, and the people close to them? And where are the roots of the perception of disability in India?