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Category: Cinéma - Movies
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Published: Monday, 17 October 2022 09:36
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Written by Gilbert Seah
(MY SMALL LAND, though not in French, is a France/Japan co-production.) It is filmed in 3 languages in Kurdish and in the language where the family is from and where the family is currently residing.
MY SMALL LAND (France/Japan 2022) ***1/2
Directed by Emma Kawawada
MY SMALL LAND follows 17-year old Sarya (Lina Arashi), a 17-year old living with her Kurdish family in Japan. The family is seeking refugee status in Japan.
One of the first things noted in the film is the ignorance in Japan, of where Kurds come from. This is not really surprising as many in North America are also unaware as well as where Kurds come from. One might know of what is known as Kurdistan, but Kurdistan or "land of the Kurds”) or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. Sarya’s father is quick to explain in one of the film's key scenes where Kurds come from - Syria, Turkey, Iran and Iraq. More accurately, Kurdistan generally comprises the following four regions: southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdistan), northern Iraq (Southern Kurdistan), northwestern Iran (Eastern Kurdistan), and northern Syria (Western Kurdistan).
Read more: Film Review: My Small Land
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Category: Cinéma - Movies
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Published: Tuesday, 30 August 2022 09:58
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Written by Gilbert Seah
SALOUM (Senegal 2021) ***1/2
Directed by Jean Luc Herbulot
Shot mainly in French though set in the poorest regions of Africa. A trio of mercenaries navigate a mysterious region of Senegal, in Jean Luc Herbulot’s perhaps coolest film of the festival. His film demonstrates great ingenuity and spirit with lots going on in each layered scene that might be overlooked. Amidst Guinea-Bissau’s coup d’état of 2003, Bangui’s Hyenas, an elite trio of mercenaries, skillfully extract a drug dealer and his bricks — both gold and narcotic — from the chaos and make tracks for Dakar, Senegal.
Read more: Film Review: Saloum
