Bermuda International Film Festival 2009

A comedy highlighting the dangers of a totalitarian state. Surely people can’t be whisked off a suburban street in broad daylight and interrogated at the whim of some grey government mandarin? Can they?

This story of boy meets girl, is told over the time it takes to listen to a wonderful rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, a feast for the senses which will leave you smiling.

A long summer vacation by the sea. An ordinary Turkish family whose life takes an unexpected turn. Told through the eyes of a ten-year-old boy, this is a picturesque and moving début. Summer Book is the seemingly ordinary story of a Turkish family in a provincial Mediterranean town. It’s the end of the school year, and ten-year-old Ali and his classmates receive a study book for the summer. When Ali’s book is stolen by the class bully, his patriarchal father Mustafa, an ambitious merchant, gives Ali a different task: sell a boxful of chewing gum for profit. Meanwhile, Ali’s much older brother Veysel comes home for a break from the military academy and reveals his wish to switch to a civilian school in Istanbul. This infuriates the father. His wife does what she can to calm tempers and keep the family together. Easy-going Uncle Hasan is on Veysel’s side. But when the father suffers a stroke, all the dynamics of this family topple. Summer Book is not only a compelling coming-of-age story but a microcosm of a very distinct feeling in contemporary provincial Turkish life: the yearning for change in conflict with the suffocating comfort of the simple life. The director observes the daily routine of this family and portrays its dramatic potential in a subtle, minimalist way. Convincing acting by the protagonists (often non-actors) and the warm tones and natural lightning combined with meticulous camera work make this a wonderful début full of atmosphere that seduces you into following this meditative journey.

If 10,000 baby loggerhead turtles emerge from the sands of Florida, then only one will return 21 years later to lay more eggs. This beautiful and enthralling film follows the adventures of one such turtle as she surfs fate throughout early life until, as a fearless and virtually indestructible adult, she finally climbs back on to that Florida beach. You might watch this documentary purely for the visual extravaganza; every scene representing long hours of laborious preparation. You may be captivated by the dramatic narrative, beautifully delivered by the vocal talents of Miranda Richardson. You may feel that it is worthwhile because the Sargasso Sea, which surrounds Bermuda, is a stopping point for our turtle. Or you may just be astonished that, having grown to 3,000 times her original size, and having followed her ancestors for over 10,000 miles without a single signpost, she finds her way home at all. Stunning.

There is sometimes a fine line between genius and madness – and Lee “Scratch” Perry demonstrates both sides of the line amply in this fascinating documentary about the legendary Jamaican musician and music producer. The film traces Perry from his early days through to the peak of his career – he was a mentor to the young Bob Marley, he defined the sound of modern reggae and he pioneered a slow and darker version of the genre known as dub. He was also among the first to come up with the studio sound familiar today as remix and he produced international hit songs for artists such as Paul McCartney and The Clash. He also built his Black Ark Studio with his bare hands, and then burnt it down in a fit of drug-induced rage. The Upsetter is a sight and sound clash of visual and aural styles, using stock footage, photographs, concert video, audio clips, music video clips both old and new, and an exclusive, candid interview with the mastermind himself at his home in Switzerland.

Director Ari Folman explores a dark chapter in his (and Israel’s) life in this award-winning animated feature. In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon. Soon afterwards, Israeli soldiers including Folman’s brigade, allowed Christian Phalangist militiamen to invade the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps where they killed thousands of men, women and children. While not directly responsible for the slaughter, the Israelis – mostly teenage soldiers like Folman – tacitly assisted by sending up flares to illuminate the night sky and, many feel, by standing by and allowing the murders to occur. The director’s ferociously honest exploration of the reliability of memory and the long-term impacts of violence on young soldiers is a tribute to the filmmaker’s own moral honesty and to generations of young people scarred by ungodly acts of war.

West of Pluto is a zany and dramatic portrait of 24 hours in the lives of 12 teenagers living in the suburbs of Quebec City. On a day when the kids are giving hilarious class presentations on their hobbies, Pierre-Olivier is coming to grips with the fact that Pluto has lost its status as a planet; Jerome is trying to express his feelings for the girl he loves; Nicolas and Steve are attempting to name their hopeless punk band; Emilie is organising a party for the girls that you just know is headed for disaster. In this mix are all the things teens experience for the first time: infatuation, drugs, sex and alcohol. In a raw and authentic manner – probably because the filmmakers auditioned and improvised with students from their old high school, rather than trained actors – the kids are confronted with the opinions they have about themselves, their friends and their situations. West of Pluto is funny, sad and very real.

If you were a ten-year-old boy in 1970 Brazil, you had one thing on your mind: The Brazilian soccer team playing in the World Cup. But for young Mauro (Michel Joelsas), his excitement for Pelé is overshadowed by his parents' departure. In that historic year, the Brazilian population wasn't just united by one of the greatest soccer teams ever assembled. It was also dealing with increasingly aggressive activity by a dictatorship eager to arrest any non-conformists. So while Mauro collects national team trading cards and plays out matches with his tabletop soccer game, his parents rush him from their home, explaining the couple needs to "go on vacation. In telling the story from Mauro's eyes, director Cao Hamburger doesn't offer names, faces, or specifics. Mauro's parents just drop him off at his grandfather's apartment and head for the hills. Only one problem: Unknown to the family, Grandpa died earlier in the day. Our young hero is forced to make his own way and contend with Shlomo (Germano Haiut), the grandfather's crusty old neighbour in a predominantly Jewish building. Mauro and Shlomo become buddies, of course, but Mauro learns much more from the diverse world that surrounds him. He teams up with a few kids (led by Daniela Piepszyk) to play soccer, gawk at women in a dressing room, and meet the people in the community. Italians, Jews, and Blacks make up Mauro's new landscape, filling in the slots of his life like those soccer cards filling up his collection book. Hamburger's coming-of-age story breathes within this larger mosaic of race, ethnicity, religion, and politics, and many of the film's memorable scenes have those issues at centre