International Film Fest Comes to Miami
Global Lens 2005 Features 10 Foreign Films

By Mary Damiano

The Global Lens Film Initiative, a traveling program of 10 international films, begins this weekend and runs through October 15 at the Tower Theatre in Little Havana.

The Miami International Film Festival is one of only 14 United States institutions chosen to present Global Lens 2005. The Global Lens Film Initiative promotes cross-cultural understanding through cinema by supporting and presenting acclaimed, story-based films from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. The Global Film Initiative is dedicated to sharing stories told on film—familiar tales made exotic by their settings and the unexpected twists arising from very different human experiences.

Several filmmakers are scheduled to attend the festival, including Minh Nguyen-vo, director of Buffalo Boy, winner of the New Director's Competition at the 2004 Chicago International Film Festival; Mehdi Charef, director of Daughter of Keltoum and Mariano Galperin, director of Lili's Apron , which premiered at the International Film Festival in Rotterdam.

Tickets are $5 for members of the Miami Film Society and sponsors of the Miami International Film Festival and are available by pre-sale or at the time of the film. Tickets for students with an ID are $5 and are available at the time of the film only. General admission tickets are $7. Ticket order forms are available at http://www.miamifilmfestival.com/.

All films will be shown at the Tower Theater, 1508 SW Eighth Street at 15th Avenue, Little Havana, Miami. For more information, call 305-237-FILM (3456).

Global Lens 2005 Films and Schedule

Buffalo Boy
By Minh Nguyen-vô, Vietnam
Oct. 6, 7:30 pm; Oct. 7, 9 pm

Set in the lowlands of southern Vietnam, this powerful coming of age tale tells the story of the relationship between a father and son, the cycles of life, and the inescapable flow of all things. When young Kim joins the nomadic life of the buffalo herders he is exposed to a complex, brutal way of existence. (2004)

Daughter of Keltoum
By Mehdi Charef, Algeria
Oct. 11, 7 pm; Oct. 13, 9 pm

A young woman, Rallia, raised in Switzerland, travels to an isolated and barren Berber settlement located in the Atlas Mountains of Algeria. Rallia's journey is one of multi-tiered discovery in terms of her relationship to her extended family, traditional Berber culture, and her desperate need to locate her biological mother. (2001)

In a rustic village in Bosnia, two years after the civil war has officially ended, Serbs and Muslims are trying to live and work together. Times are tough, and everyone has to make his or her living in some sort of illegal way. An unflinchingly honest and darkly funny depiction of a poor, corrupt community amidst an attempt to establish some sort of democracy. (2003)

Hollow City
By Maria João Ganga, Angola
Oct. 8; 4 pm; Oct. 10, 9 pm

Set in the aftermath of the Angolan revolution and the devastating results, this film chronicles young N'dala who arrives in Luanda on a military transport plane filled with others in the same situation. After running away, he begins his journey through the unfamiliar and un-welcoming city, drifting amongst the homeless, tragically pulled into their existence of survival. (2004)

Because of ancient prejudices, Hamalla was banished from his native village in Mali. He returns four years later versed in modern technology at a time the village's future is precarious because the holy well of the ancestors is contaminated. In the face of epidemic, the villagers resist all of Hamalla's attempts to convince them of the need to purify the water. (2002)

Lili's Apron
By Mariano Galperin, Argentina
Oct.14, 7 pm; Oct. 15, 9 pm

When Ramón, a chef in a restaurant, is laid off and all efforts to find alternative income fail, his and his wife's, Lili, furniture is repossessed, their family life is disrupted, and Ramón must cope with his wife's nervous breakdown. Out of both a sense of responsibility and panic, he devises a desperate, income-generating plan but hides its implications from Lili. (2004)

Today and Tomorrow
By Alejandro Chomski, Argentina
Oct. 8, 9:30 pm; Oct. 13, 7 pm

A talented, would-be actress with a paying job as a waitress, Paula is always on the run: from her landlord, from the gas bill, from being late for work, and from her father's demands. Faced with two days to collect three months rent, Paula's disillusion and emotional turmoil become increasingly disturbing as her desperation leads her to darker corners of Buenos Aires' nightlife. (2003)

Uniform
By Diao Yinan, China
Oct. 9, 9 pm; Oct.12, 7 pm

Uniform perfectly illustrates a Chinese saying "the clothes enter before the person". A young tailor finds his life improving in a variety of ways when he - innocently at first - starts wearing a policeman's uniform left unclaimed in his family's laundry shop. This accomplished work typifies the style of the next generation of emerging Chinese filmmakers. (2003)

What's a Human Anyway?
By Reha Erdem, Turkey
Oct. 8, 7 pm; Oct. 15, 4 pm

Set in an urban apartment building where neighbors, friends and family are living in close quarters, the film focuses on male protagonists through whom the three phases of stepping into manhood in Turkish society are explored. In this circus-like environment, there is a little boy who refuses to be circumcised, a young man who refuses to do his military service, a 30-year-old man refusing to leave home. (2004)

Whiskey
By Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll, Uruguay
Oct. 7, 7 pm; Oct. 15, 7 pm

When his successful younger brother is expected for a visit, Jacobo asks Marta, his humble, loyal assistant, to pose as his wife. The brother, lively, inquisitive, and open, spontaneously suggests a seaside trip during which the three characters begin to reveal themselves in situations where farce, jealousy and betrayal lead to places of no return. (2004)