29.-30.1.2010
INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF MOVIES
WITH ANTHROPOLOGICAL THEMES

DRUGS AND PRAYERS - INDIAN PSYCHIATRY IN THE REALM OF SAINTS

Germany/India, 2009, 57 min
Helene Basu
30.01.2010 18:25

The Sufi shrine of Mira Datar in India is large pilgrimage centre specialising in healing possession madness/mental illness. Recently, it has also become a site of experimenting with new forms of community care in the mental health sector. The NGO „Altruist“ facilitates communication between the mental health department, shrine dignitaries, psychiatrists and patients suffering from diverse kinds of mental troubles who seek help from the saint. Under the heading of „Dava and Dua“  Altruists promotes psychiatric services at the shrine parallel to the cures of possession illnesses offered by ritual specialists. The film documents interactions between different actors at the shrine (patients-psychiatrists, psychiatrists-ritual specialists, patients-ritual specialists), listens to the stories of afflicted persons and presents diverse views on the presumed causes of mental illness as well on the benefit or non-benefit of medicine and/or ritual practices as perceived by patients and their relatives.

Language of dialogues: Hindi and Gujarati
Language of subtitles: English

LOVE STORY

Česká republika, 2011, 50 min
Petra Ludvíková
27.01.2012 21:15

Desmond Love is a mature man and feels and behaves so. He likes to smoke his pipe and looks after his ducks. Men usually like talking about cars and Dessy´s favourite subject are his two shopping-trolleys. He parks them in front of his house nad likes to enhance them with various details. Desmond is one of the residents at Camphill Clanabogan, that means a person with mental handicap. In the scope of a therapy, he learns how to write on a computer. He writes his own story. This documentary amended with short cartoons let us glimp into Dessys´s memories – word after word, exactly as he remembered them. At the same time, we have got a chance to see Dessys´s home and everyday-life of Camphill community with its permanent inhabitants: mentally disabled people, young volunteers and people, who control and administrate the home.

Petra works as a Project manager of Palace Akropolis and also as a moderator of Radio 1. She organises culture events, foreign concerts, music workshops etc. In the past, she worked as e.g. editress of genre programmes on TV Óčko and in the production of annual film awards Český lev organised by a production company VAC. Love Story is her film debut which she made in cooperation with experienced cameramen Martin Čech, mister of sound Petr Stýbl and an editor Lucie Haladova. It Camphill Clanabogan, where the film takes place, at first she spent 3 months as a volunteer.

Director and production: Petra Ludvíková
Language of dialogies: English
Language of subtitles: Czech

GÁJ

Česká republika, 2009, 37 min
Pavel Borecký
30.01.2010 17:00

Documentary mosaic about Czech fellow-countrymen living in a small Serbien village. 90 years ago, family Frič desired a change. They left the rough life at mountainous Banat - the Southern promontory of Rumenien Karpats - and moved to more fertile lowlands stretching along impressive Danube. Soon the others followed.
Nowadays, melody after melody is wafting from Írovič's orchard. Their son is practicing playing the harmonica. Next competition is coming soon. What does his talent mean for the Czech minority?
Gaya Czechs are the last compact social group which settled down at Serbien Banat. Eventhough they do not need to drag themselves way up the hills to reach their fields, they remind to be a minority in comparison with pure Czech Gernik.
How has this change in the course of decades influenced upcoming generations?

Language of dialogues: Czech