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Background on the Bursaries Archive of All Films Watch a Film

Archive of all films made under the One World Bursary Scheme (by year starting with most recent)

You can also see individual pages for UK Bursaries 2007, Overseas Bursaries 2007, Bursaries 2006, and Bursaries 2005.

 

UK Bursaries 2007

I am HIV Positive - A story of a woman living with HIV in Tehran and the stigma and discrimination she faces in her everyday life.

Parisa Aminolahi, Royal Holloway

 

A Song for Chile - This film follows Chilean musician Vladimir, as he travels back to his homeland for the first time after years of exile imposed by the Pinochet dictatorship. Vladimir attempts to come to terms with his own past and decide if he has a future in Chile.

Lawrence Saleem-Ahmad Martin, Goldsmiths College

 

Mama Zar - An intimate portrait of Mama Zar, a remarkable woman who heads the Zar ceremonies (an ancient shamanic healing ritual) on the Iranian island of Quesm.

Roxana Pope, Edinburgh College of Art

 

Just Like Mom - Through the portrayal of three generations of single mothers in the same family and their experiences of destitution, violence and alcoholism, the film sensitively examines the life of impoverished women in Brazil.

Maria Eduarda Andrade, Goldsmiths College

 

Waiting for Salvation - A fascinating insight into the hidden lives of abandoned widows in the Indian pilgrim city of Vrindavan, who have dedicated their lives to the service of God.

Purnima Ragunath, Brunel University

 

Weaving Life:  On the Panama Hat’s Trail across Ecuador - A cultural and anthropological journey following the key production stages of the Panama Hat, narrated by three central characters.

Katharina Rau, Brunel University

 

Clowning in Conflict - A film showing the hopes and fears of children living in the midst of conflict within a refugee camp in Bethlehem. The Palestinian youth circus project SHIRAA is brought to life.

Esther Hertog, Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology

 

Lal Masjid (The Red Mosque) - The film follows the personal journey of the film maker - from his own experience as a hard line religious extremist in Pakistan to that of a documentary film student in the UK, and examines how a privileged upper middle class boy got involved in religious extremism.

Syed Stef Amjad Ali, Royal Holloway

 

Re-learning the Basics – Cambodia and the Battle for Education - The remarkable life story of Mr Rarn who made the transition from tuk tuk driver to college graduate via sheer hard work, determination and a bit of good luck.

Charlotte Dubenskij, Cardiff University

 

Overseas bursaries 2007

Extradio - A personal discovery in which the director contrasts her original expectations of people of African descent living in the UK with the reality she finds.

Daniellis Hernandez, EICTV, Cuba

 

Welkom na London - This film explores the little-known world of South African youth culture in England. The aim of his documentary is to serve as an eye opener for those who dream of moving to the UK from South Africa.

Levi Saville, AFDA, South Africa

 

Bridging my Home - The film follows the Bengali artist Moushumi Bhowmik and her band, who all reside in London, and looks at the unique phenomenon of two conflicting cultures uniting through music.

Debanjan Bandyopadhyay, Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, India

 

 

Bursaries 2006

It’s not easy - an insight into Cuba’s current political, social and economic paradoxes told through the eyes of two Cuban mothers. 

Gustavo Gama Rodrigues, Goldsmiths                     

 

After the Rains Came - an intimate portrait of the semi-nomadic pastoralist people of Samburu, Northern Kenya.

Sarah Thomas, Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology

      

Sebastian - the tragic legacy of Argentina’s military dictatorship on the lives of one family. 

Gabriella Kessler, Goldsmiths   

 

A Shameful Art - asks the question as to why Egyptian society judges belly dancers so harshly.    

Recha Hosseinnia, Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology

 

The Saiga Story- identifies the human story behind illegal saiga poaching in rural Kazakhstan.  

Julia Mills, University College Falmouth

           

Feel Good Factory- is a touching and at times humorous romp through the burgeoning world of Indian male grooming obsession.       

Gopi Shastri, Goldsmiths                                

 

Umoja - Independent Women - depicts the resilience of rape survivors living in a women only village in Samburu, Northern Kenya.   

Cleopatra Mukula, Brunel University  

 

Their Helicopter      

Salome Jashi, Royal Holloway

 

A Call too Far – explores the impact on local call centre staff in India of the flood of financial services and call centre operations in the UK.

Dipti Gogna, Film & Television Institue of India, Pune

 

Bursaries 2005

Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes - Set in Sierra Leone, this documentary depicts the day to day realities of life at the bottom rung of the diamond mining industry.

Peter Conteh, Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology

           

Dona Juju’s Party – this film is an exploration of the Afro-Brazilian religion of Candomblé.

Lindsay Goodall, Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology 

 

Khymer Street Kids – explores the realities of child homelessness in Cambodia.

Stuart Froude, Bournemouth Media School

 

We Don’t Exist -  is a poignant tale of what life is like for the Bedouin people of Negev, Israel, as seen through the eyes of one family struggling to be heard and recognised by their own government.

Carola Hesse, Goldsmiths

 

Saint or Fallen One? – explores the life and dreams of a charismatic and controversial aspiring Ghanaian politician. With Michael Jackson as his hero and the battle against poverty as his task, is Haruna Mohammed the progressive politician that Ghana needs?

Jessica O’Keefe, Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology

 

Tungzi Street – a portrait of elderly men living in China’s changing times.

Xiaoxiao Sun, Royal Holloway College, London University

 

Voices Across the Ocean - This film centres on the images an adolescent conjures up while listening to BBC Hindi Service and how his perceptions of London meet with the reality of being there.

Ganesh Gaikwad, Film & Television Institue of India, Pune 

 

2004

The Real Brazilian - What does it mean to be Brazilian? Bruna asks, ''Should I go crazy over football? Should I wear a thong instead of a swimming suit? In my life journey, from the Brazilian countryside to cosmopolitan London, I have apparently dumped my Brazilianness somewhere, and the aim of this documentary is to track it down.....''

Bruna Gagliardi, Goldsmiths College

 

People of the Sand - The region known as Lençόis Maranhenses in the north-east of Brazil has a very distinctive and breathtakingy impressive landscape. It is a 150 thousand hectare area of sand dunes, blue lagoons and calm rivers that flow to the sea. It is a place full of mysteries, magic legends and very real stories of people that struggle to live despite the generosity of nature.

Iracema Sodre Fonseca de Salles, Goldsmiths College

 

Milking the Desert - Exploring the notions of silence and the rhythms of every day goings on at the Mar Musa (the Ethiopian) Monastery in Syria. Notions of silence encompass meditative silence and the silence of the desert each complimented with the daily hub of activity at the monastery. View the Film

Yasmin Fedda, Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology

 

The Second Red Line - The film follows the work of volunteers working with HIV/AIDs patients in the Buduburam Refugee Camp, Ghana. Due to the lack of adequate medication the only thing the volunteers can offer is their care and compassion. View the Film.

Veera Lehto, Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology

 

My Brother My Enemy - India and Pakistan were on the brink of nuclear war in 2002. Since then a steady process of thawing once icy relationships is very much in progress and the most poignant sign of this is the resumption of sporting relations, in particular cricket. As India toured Pakistan for the first time in 15 years, the filmmakers – one Indian, one Pakistani – visited each other’s family and homelands to glimpse feelings on both sides of the border.

Masood Khan, National Film and Television School

  

Homeland -  On the border between Slovakia and Ukraine lies a Rutherian village divided by a fence - the Slovak side is known as Velke Slemence, the Ukrainian side Mali Selemenci. Over the past 100 years it has found itself in Czechoslovakia, wartime Hungary and the USSR - now that Slovakia has joined the European Union it forms part of the Schengen border. The film explores themes of nostalgia, transience and stability, and the barriers between East and West though the eyes of the locals.

Hannah Skrinar, Northern Media School

 

2003

Born to Serve?-  Each year girls leave the Andes and their families in droves to work as maids in Peru’s capital, Lima. This film follows an Andean mother, Luz, as she leaves her children to find work in the big city. But what does the future hold for Luz and her fellow migrants?

Louise Bonnar, Bournemouth Media School

 

Apollo 11 - Caroline’s mother recalls that when Americans landed on the moon, Ghana was struck by an epidemic of eye infections, painful and temporary outbreaks of blindness known as Apollo 11. Is there a price to be paid for man’s celebrated achievements? Why the rejection of old traditions, where is the sense in the new?

Caroline Deedes, National Film and Television School

 

Born Again - Carla last met Maureen Mulozi in 1998 in Lusaka, Zambia, where they were colleagues and friends. Since then Maureen has became a born-again Christian and moved to a remote Namibian settlement teaching English. Will their friendship survive this religious gap?

Carla Huysmans, Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology

 

Bailarinas - The film follows the lives of two girls in an Afro-Brazilian dance group called Majê Molê. Lêda has had to leave the group due to pregnancy while Simone keeps on dancing. This is a poignant film about childhood & loss, and the hope found through dance & the happiness of motherhood.

Heidi Lipsanen, Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology

 

Flowers Don’t Grow Here - Exploring the daily struggles of the homeless surviving on the streets of the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. View the Trailer.

Shira Pinson, The London Film School

 

Brilliant - Brazilian children dream of becoming professional players – the poorer they are, the stronger this dream is. But many clubs charge young players: Brilliant is starting to change this scenario. Run by an extraordinary lady called Sonia Luz, and with little knowledge of football, this team has succeeded on and off the field.

Haná Vaisman, Goldsmiths College

 

 

2002

The Most Admired Man - known as the 'Daoist Physician of Jade Dragon Mountain', Dr Ho receives hundreds of visitors every year in his small village in South West China.  What lies behind Dr Ho and his fame?

Julia Berg, Granada Centre of Visual Anthropology

 

Life on the Tracks - The railway lines in the Philippines are not just a meeting point for trains. With the shanties springing up either side of the tracks, how does family life exist within its confines?

Ditsi Carolino, National Film & Television School

 

In the Name of Honour - A deep step inside a world where the brutal custom of honour killing still thrives in rural Pakistan, a film told through the eyes of the victim’s mother and her killer: her uncle.

Hammad Ghaznavi, Bournemouth Media School

 

Kawah Ijen - This is an observational film about three sulphur collectors atop a volcano in Indonesia.

Philip Mulroy, National Film & Television School

 

Long Way Home - The search for the real story of the filmmakers' grandfather General Hong, executed in the Philippines in 1946.

Yeonah Paik, Goldsmiths College

 

After Years of Walking - The rewriting of Rwanda’s post-1994 history, set against a Belgian missionary film of its ‘prehistory.’

Sarah Vanagt, National Film & Television School

 

Bhajay & Ravi – An intimate portrait of life and friendship on the streets of India.

Rachel Webster, Granada Centre of Visual Anthropology

 

 

2001

Nahid Siddiqui - A portrait of the well-known Kathak dancer, Nahid Siddiqui, exploring her art and her struggle for pluralism and acceptance in Pakistan.

Beena Sarwar, Goldsmiths College

 

Dreamland - Uncovering the dreams and frustrations of camp squatters in Rio de Janeiro State, as they wait (with the support of MST, the Landless Peoples Movement) for title to unused land.

Gema Juárez Allen, Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology

 

Flowers- The film follows a Brazilian flower girl in the streets of Porto Alegre and paints a picture of her daily struggle for survival, and of the people she meets.

Tomás Creus, London International Film School

 

Safar – This film is a portrait of Sandhya’s own father, who left India 37 years ago to obtain experience and medical qualifications in England.  He did, but lost his country and his roots forever.

 Sandhya Suri, National Film Television School

 

Long Time No See -  A personal testimony, as Johannes tracks down orphans he taught in Guatemala as a charitable agency worker some years ago, and faces up to some painful truths about the work of foreign volunteers.
Johannes Sjöberg, Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology

 

Pianos for Uganda - A striking film about budding musicians in Uganda, whose need for pianos is satisfied by an English charity, which locates and transports them.

Dominic Waugh, Bournemouth Media School