Small World Film Festival 2017 – My City

And the winner is……….

A film from Afghanistan documenting life in the remarkable ancient city of Bamiyan has won the Small World Film Festival’s top award for 2017.

Delegates from UNESCO Creative Cities and members of the public filled the UGC cinema in Enghien les Bains (France) on Saturday 1 July 2017 to watch a selection of the top films from the Small World Film Festival which originated in Bradford UK in 2016. This year the theme was simply ‘My City’ and filmmakers from around the world were invited to submit work up to six minutes long telling the world about their city.

The overall winner of the festival was a film from Afghanistan documenting life in the remarkable ancient city of Bamiyan and was awarded the Bradford UNESCO City of Film award for excellence (see image1). The film was directed by Mohammad Ali Sheida.

A representative of the UNESCO office in Afghanistan, Sara Noshadi was at the screening to accept the award in behalf of Bamiyan and the films director and said: “It would appear, at times, that in Afghanistan the dreary monochord of strife and conflict drowns out all else. But it is not so; this short movie from Bamiyan proves otherwise. Afghans share a common yearning for the fullness of life’s variegated manifestations.
The people of Bamiyan remember the heartbreaking day of the destruction of the Buddhas but they are rebuilding their future so fiercely and by doing so they are making Bamiyan a symbol of Afghanistan’s post-war reconstruction.”

Director of Bradford UNESCO City of Film, David Wilson said; It was a great honour to present a selection of the films as part of the artistic programme in Enghien les Bains and there was a great response from the audience who found the films moving and uplifting. I was delighted to be able to honour the winner with our new and specially designed awardrecognising film excellence, from Bradford UNESCO City of Film. “

The films will now also be screened as part of a special film strand in Santos, Brazil as part of the Santos Coffee Festival in July. Santos was designated as a UNESCO City of Film in 2015 and has forged a strong partnership wit Bradford. Other cities from the network have also asked to screen the films including Dundee (Scotland), Paducah (USA) and Jingdezhen (China).

The team at Bradford UNESCO City of Film are now planning for next year’s Small World Film Festival and hope to announce the theme and application process in the next few weeks.

Judges on the People’s Panel – which met last night (Thursday) in City Hall, Bradford – were impressed with the sweeping cinematography which revealed the story of the UNESCO City of Crafts and Folk Art, Bamiyan. The city and nearby region is home to sandstone cliffs dotted with ancient caves and the archaeological remains of carved Buddha statues which were destroyed in conflict. The city was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 2003 and the organisation is supporting restoration projects in the area.

Director of Bradford UNESCO City of Film, David Wilson will present the filmmaker with a new, specially commissioned award depicting the iconic Bradford City Hall clock tower, at the UNESCO Creative Cities annual meeting next month in Enghien Les Bains, France.

More than 50 entries were received from cities around the world but it was the mesmerising beauty and incredible story of Bamiyan, directed by Mohammad Ali Sheida that won the panel over.

Bradford UNESCO City of Film Director, David Wilson said “The People’s Panel is becoming a real highlight for us and this year’s was particularly magical watching the audience genuinely surprised and delighted by films about cities that were in some cases new to them.

“I am very pleased this year to be able to honour the winner with our new and specially designed award recognising film excellence, from Bradford UNESCO City of Film. “

The film from Bamiyan also won the category for best citywide story. The runner up was from Paducah, (USA) UNESCO City of Crafts and Folk Art with the film Paducah:Where the spirit flows.

The heart-warming film, Due Piedi Sinistri from Rome,(Italy) UNESCO City of Film won the category of best individual story in a city. The film with a brilliant twist by director Isabella Salvetti, tells the moving story of a young girl in a wheelchair whose loyalty to a different football team – rather than her disability – is that which divides her from a boy. Runner up was an elegant animation from Nagoya (Japan) UNESCO City of Design called Through the Windows directed by Miyo Sato.

The films were chosen from a selection of shorts which have been playing throughout June on Bradford Big Screen as part of the Small World Film Festival. The Festival has been celebrating the UNESCO creative cities network by screening films about life in the different countries. Bradford is a key member of the network as the first City of Film.

Panel member, Andy Waterman said: “It’s great to see such a wide and diverse range of films.”

Another member, Megan Clayton said: “It was brilliant to see such a variety of films from all over the world with such a range of artistic ideas”

As a legacy from the event, several of the films will screen at the Santos Coffee Festival in Brazil later this summer. Santos joined the network in 2015.

There are 116 cities from 54 countries in the UNESCO Creative Network. The cities use their designations from gastronomy to craft, design and film to foster social and economic good and to raise the profile of their cultures and communities.

More on the 2017 festival here

This year the festival is open to all member cities of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network the theme for the Small World Film Festival 2017 is ‘MY CITY’

All UNESCO Creative Cities were invited to submit a short film (max 6 mins) about their city. We have had an amazing response from all over the world and all entries which meet the criteria will be screened on the Bradford Big Screen in City Park Bradford throughout June 2017. The films will also be screened for our people’s panel on 15 June 2017 where some of the best entries will then be selected to be screened at the UNESCO Creative Cities Annual Meeting at the end of June in Enghien-les-Bains, France.

If you would like to be part of the People’s Panel please email bradford.unesco@gmail.com

Here is the list of films selected for this year’s Small World Film Festival.

409 by Morgan O’Brien – Galway, City of Film, Ireland

5 Minutes Kavarna by Millen Nickolov – Sofia, City of Film, Bulgaria

5 Minutes of Sofia: The Yellow Cobblestones by Millen Nickolov – Sofia, City of Film, Bulgaria

Appliqués for sun by Daniel Bissonnette – Montreal, City of Design, Canada

Bradford Colours by Jordan Dinchev – Bradford, City of Film, UK

City of Design Graz by OchoReSotto – Graz, City of Design, Austria

City Windows by Tammy Weiss – Santos, City of Film, Brazil

Detroit: City of Design by Stephen McGee – Detroit, City of Design, USA

Due Piedi Sinistri by Isabella Savetti – Rome, City of Film, Italy

Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature by Liz Knowles – Dunedin, City of Literature, New Zealand

Experience Östersund by Theresia Grön – Östersund, City of Gastronomy, Sweden

Feel the Busan by Hwajung Shin – Busan, City of Film, South Korea

Film of Jeonju by Focal Point of Jeonju Creative City – Jeonju, City of Gastronomy, Korea

Heidelberg Through Hasselblab by Oliver Sigloch – Heidelberg, City of Literature, Germany

Huit by Daniel Bissonnette – Montreal, City of Design, Canada

In Fenestra by Guy Whittaker – Bradford, City of Film, UK

Jingdezhen – A City Rich in White Gold by Lui Yulin– Jingdezhen, City of Craft and Folk Art, China

Morning Ulyanovsk by Julia and Gala Uzrutoza – Ulyanovsk, City of Literature, Russia

My City Bamiyam by Mohammad Ali Sheida – Bamyam, City of Craft and Folk Art, Afghanistan

My City Denia  by Jean Feche & Alfred Pavia – Denia, City of Gastronomy, Spain

My City Katowice by Aleskander Moś – Katowice, City of Music, Poland

My City Saint-Etienne by Dominique Dozolme and Carine Loubeau – Saint-Étienne, City of Design, France

My City, Bitola by Municipality of Bitola – Bitola, City of Film, Macedonia

My City, Busan by Hwajung Shin – Busan, City of Film, South Korea

My City, Gillimh by Johnathan Connolly – Galway, City of Film, Ireland

My City, Graz by Jakob Halder – Graz, City of Design, Austria

My City, Krakow by Bartłomiej Kukliński – Krakow, City of Literature, Poland

My City, Nagoya by Daisuke Yamashiro – Nagoya, City of Design, Japan

My City Nagoya, Through the Windows by Miyo Sato – Nagoya, City of Design, Japan

My City, Nottingham by Pauline Thomas – Nottingham, City of Literature, UK

Nottingham Loves by Nathan Farrow – Nottingham, City of Literature, UK

Paducah: Where the Spirit Flows by Adam Wolffbrandt – Paducah, City of Craft and Folk Art, USA

Remembering Galway 1916 #2 by Paul Murphy with Galway County Council Heritage Office – Galway, City of Film, Ireland

Remembering Galway 1916 #7 by Paul Murphy with Galway County Council Heritage Office – Galway, City of Film, Ireland

lRendez-vous by Daniel Bissonnette – Montreal, City of Design, Canada

Santos, I Love You by Niedja de Andrade e Silva Forte dos Santos – Santos, City of Film, Brazil

Sapporo Smile – A Foreign Tourist in Sapporo by City of Sapporo – Sapporo, City of Media Arts, Japan

Sapporo Smile – Smiling Faces of our Citizens by City of Sapporo – Sapporo, City of Media Arts, Japan

Sotto Casa by Rome City of Film Team – Rome, City of Film, Italy

The Infinitive Factory by OchoReSotto – Graz, City of Design, Austria

The Spring of Simbersk by Vladimir Gurkin – Ulyanovsk, City of Literature, Russia

The Voice of the Wind by Sergey Burtsev and Vyacheslav Serduk – Ulyanovsk, City of Literature, Russia

UNESCO City of Design Dundee Film by Andy Truscott – Dundee, City of Design, UK

Walk in Ulyanovsk by Ruslam Mahmus-Ahunov – Ulyanovsk, City of Literature, Russia

Timings for June Showings

  Bradford Small World Film Festival 2016  

1st-30th June  City Park and City Hall, Bradford.

Everyday on the Bradford Big Screen from 1.15pm until 2pm and from 6pm.

Introduction 

Our exciting Small World Film Festival brings together both moving, heartwarming and humorous stories from across the globe to one place in Bradford – City Park – for everyone to enjoy this summer.

This is the second year of the festival and we’ve been deluged with wonderful entries from all corners of the world.

This year we are  introducing ‘The People’s Panel’ to judge the overall winner in each category and hosting a special screening of some of the top films in each category in the glorious surroundings of City Hall, Bradford.

We hope you enjoy this festival which through the powerful  medium of film shares individual experiences and moments of happiness, sadness, humour and elation which we can all  – as citizens of the world – connect with.

David Wilson, Festival Director and Director of Bradford UNESCO City of Film

THE PEOPLE’s PANEL

WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR BRADFORD SMALL WORLD FILM FESTIVAL 2016

Bradford People’s Panel come together in City Hall to select winners from across the globe. A powerful story of a young Indian rag picker who aspires to be an engineer as he picks electronic waste to make machines from a monstrous hill of waste, has won this year’s Bradford Small World Film Festival.

City’s Stepchild and the Dumphill Dreams by Delhi-based director Pranab Aich also took the documentary shorts, top award. The moving film about children living at the margins of health and poverty was one of 31 which was selected by Bradford UNESCO City of Film to be played in the month long film festival celebrating the diversity of life through film, in City Park on the Big Screen.

A carpet weaver’s story of losing her family in a bomb attack, My Sardasht directed by Ziba Arzhang from Iran won Best Animation. And a tale of a botched blind date, The Park Bench, by American director G. Daniel Bailey won the make Make Us Laugh category. A special category featuring work from Sydney UNESCO City of Film – with a focus on overcoming disability and prejudice – was also screened for the panel.

In a new addition to the festival, the winners were selected by Bradford people from all walks of life, coming together last night (Tuesday 21 June) as the People’s Panel in the glorious surroundings of City Hall.

Festival director, David Wilson said: “We had a brilliant evening and I was bowled over with the enthusiasm and energy of our wonderful panel. We had a really enjoyable and challenging time picking the winners as the quality and creativity of our filmmakers was so high.

Panel member Rebecca Crabtree said: “It’s been a really enjoyable evening and the films covered such a variety of subjects giving us insights into all different sorts of worlds which I really liked.”

Nasrina Malik who also sat on the panel said: “It’s been absolutely brilliant sitting on thePeople’s Panel. It’s been an event for all ages with both young and old here. I was able to bring my elderly mum to the event and together we really enjoyed watching and voting for the films. It’s been a wonderful experience to share and we’d like to see more of these events in Bradford.”

You can still catch the films on the big screen twice a day until the end of June. For the programme see the website: http://www.bradford-city- of- film.com/enjoy/smallworldfilmfestival/.

Some of the films will also be selected to play at the the Harrogate International Festival next month.

Programme 

We have three judged categories: Documentary Short, Animated short  and Make Us Laugh. Our fourth category is a special showcase of films from our UNESCO network, Sydney City of Film which explores what it is to live and overcome disability in everyday life.  Each category runs on alternate days of the month. To check which schedule is running please scroll to the bottom of the full programme.

Documentary Short Category

Ours to Protect directed by Miquel Galofre

A short documentary film examining the work of environmental organization E.R.I.C (EnvironmentalResearch Institute Charlotteville) on the island of Tobago, West Indies. The film infuses music with facts about how E.R.I.C engages with communities to empower them to protect and manage the many natural resources of Tobago. The film was produced by Sustain T&T as part of a five part series called “A Better Place.”

Homebrewing Waltz directed by Maurício Antunes Oliveira and Rafael Toschi Chiafarelli

To brew beer at home is a process that usually takes weeks – or a minute waltz.

At the Lake directed by Julia Polkowska

Short documentary from camping at the lake

Galapagos, Beyond the Island directed by Manuel Mateo Lajarín

We conjure the words of Alicia Yanez Cossio to be seduced by the magic of the enchanted islands and we take advantage of the opportunity to inquire about the human presence in the archipelago and to deepen beyond the obvious, beyond the islands

 

 We Would End the Painting directed by Matthias Fritsche

Music and art belong together. Taking time for both has been pushed to the background in the fast paced times of the World Wide Web. Alexander Hanke creates screen prints and gig posters underthe pseudonym Zum Heimathafen.  His artwork expresses his feelings of the music and bands. In an old fashioned handwork, the pictures emerge in his living room and later in the workshop. He prints a strictly limited edition of his design. In the prints you can relive moments of a song, a certain part of the lyrics or a special feeling you had during the concert of a band.

 Master Kezban directed by Yavuz Özer

The story of Master Kezban who has been a carpenter in a remote Anatolian village for 20 years.

Blacksmith directed by Goran Poposki and Anastasia Boskosk

A place covered in dust and grime since the 1990s. This blacksmith will show us how to use fire, iron and brute strength to make the sharpest tool in the blacksmiths arsenal, an axe.

Lisbon, we can enjoy life! directed by Diogo Pessoa de Andrade

Two parallel stories of two unknown travellers who arrive in Lisbon for the first time. A girl and a boy explore the city. By following them we are taken through two different adventures in the city, driven by their personal thoughts, experiencing their emotions. Using a more cinematic “City Portrait” visual style, the city will unfold to us through the eyes of the two strangers.

The Barnyard Sanctuary directed by Rebecca Blomgren

An animal sanctuary in Northwest New Jersey focuses on saving livestock from abandonment,

homelessness, and slaughter.

Hussein and Hassan directed by Jamillah van der Hulst

Passionate boxing coaches Hussein and Hassan are the driving forces behind the East Coast Boxing Club, located in Naguru, one of the poorest neighborhoods of Uganda’s capital city Kampala. At a young age Hussein and Hassan had a successful international boxing career. This motivated them to go back to their local community and to support young boxers who, despite the tough living conditions, want to pursue their dreams to be something.

City’s Step Child and the Dump Hill Dreams directed by Pranab Kumar Aich

Unlike the many rag pickers working at this dump hill in Delhi, young Devendra is committed to collecting electronic waste discarded from our homes, in an attempt to create machines. Even the carcinogenic gases emitting from this hill have not been able to poison his engineering dreams. This documentary takes us through the breadwinning yet melancholic hill made out of city waste and its inhabitants living at the margins of health and poverty.

Smoke That Travels directed by Kayla Briët

What happens when a story is forgotten? A story about my dad, my family and my

fears. “Smoke That Travels” is a personal documentary that explores preservation and loss of Native American culture and her own identity as Prairie Band Potawatomi

Animated Film Category

 

A bomb causes devastation in the city of Sardasht, leaving Kajal as the only survivor of her family. The story is told through carpet weaving.

Make Us Laugh Category

Codependence Day directed by William R. Coughlan

Emily is nervous about meeting her husband Wilson’s family for the first time at their annual Independence Day gathering. Having eloped, she is concerned that the family will never accept her as one of their own. But Wilson has a plan to bring her into the fold..

The Park Bench directed by G. Daniel Bailey

Two different men. Two different blind dates. One park bench. What could possibly go wrong?

Special Showcase of Sydney UNESCO City of Film

Peta Puppets directed by Andy Bambach.  Agency – Northern Rivers Screenwork 

Puppet maker Peta Lipski by Andrew Bambach pictured,  is a prolific artist with a disability who makes hundreds of puppets all with personalities and voices. Peta sings and dances her way around the local shops  looking  for materials to make her hand-made puppets and perform puppet shows all over the Northern Rivers. As an artist with multiple disabilities, Peta expresses herself through her puppet making.

The Dateables directed by Samuel Leighton-Dore. (pictured)  Agency  –  Metro Screen

A short documentary exploring love, sexuality and dating as experienced by those on the spectrum of intellectual disability.

The Battle directed by Poppy Walker and Sophie Hexter.(pictured) Agency  – Northern Rivers Screenworks 

“It made me feel strong and powerful. It changed my body. Something went down and I feel the passion! Gavin is a good teacher, a kind and passionate guy. Doing the film made me feel and be myself.”  Kayah Guenther,  Dancer

Life Is Short Time Is Constant, aka Listic,  directed by Vanna Seang. Agency –  Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE)

Lima Peni (aka Listic) is a musician and free-styler based in Campbelltown. Listic is also legally blind, not that he lets this stop him working on his beloved BMWs or mentoring the emerging rappers or the crew of local young people who see him as a role model. ‘Life Is Short Life Is Constant aka Listic’ is his story.

Two heads are better than one directed by Ludwig El Haddad.   Agency –  Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE)

Auburn-based visual artists, Carla and Lisa Wherby, are winners of numerous local art prizes, and twin sisters. Carla has anxiety and related physical disability, and Lisa is her carer and artistic cohort. Together they bicker and collaborate on vivid works of art that comment on current social issues.

Anaconda directed by Jerome Pearce. Agency –  Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE)

Gerard O’Dwyer has a growing reputation as a performer, leading man and one of the ambassadors for the ‘Don’t Dis My Ability’ campaign. In ‘Anaconda’ we get a glimpse of Gerald backstage as he practices to overcome his stutter, before walking onstage to perform his story.

Valentine directed by Tresa Ponnor.   Agency –  Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE)

Janet Lombardo is an actress looking for love. In ‘Valentine’ Janet ruminates on the difficulties she faces searching for companionship and intimacy as the survivor of a stroke.

Timings schedule for the film categories on Bradford Big Screen

Animation Category:  Runs from the 1st June at 1.15pm, the 3rd June at 6pm, continuing on alternate days and timings in this pattern throughout the month.

Documentary Shorts: Runs from the 2nd June at 1.15pm, the 4th of June at 6pm, continuing alternate days and timings in this pattern throughout the month.

Make Us Laugh  Category: Runs from 1st of June at 6pm, the 3rd June at 1.15pm continuing on alternate days and timings in this pattern throughout the month.

Special showcase of Sydney UNESCO City of Film: Runs from the 2nd of June at 6pm, the 4th of June at 1.15pm continuing on alternate days and timings in this pattern throughout the month.