第二届珞珈纪录片学术论坛会暨圣丹斯国际电影展（2011武汉）

1，A SMALL ACT

Director: Jennifer Arnold

Director’s Home Country: USA

Film Location: Kenya

Film Language: English/Kikuyu/Swedish

Genre: Documentary

Run Time: 88 min

Synopsis

As an impoverished boy in Kenya, Chris Mburu's life was dramatically changed when an anonymous Swedish woman sponsored his primary and secondary education. Now a Harvard-educated human-rights lawyer, he hopes to replicate the generosity he once received by founding his own scholarship fund to aid a new generation. The challenges Mburu faces instituting his new program seem at times insurmountable but lead him down the path to discovery. Who is Hilde Back, the person who signed the checks that gave him a chance to succeed?

With clarity and grace, Jennifer Arnold's film bears cinematic witness to the lasting ramifications of a small ripple of human kindness. Using a strong narrative thread, she unearths fascinating accounts and weaves them together seamlessly. It doesn't hurt that her subjects have pure motivations and back stories to match. The secret of A SMALL ACT was destined to be discovered, if only to remind and inspire others to take such a chance—and change a life. –Sundance Film Festival 2010

2，AMREEKA

Director: Cherien Dabis

Director’s Home Country: USA

Film Location: USA

Film Language: Arabic/English

Genre: Narrative

Run Time: 96 min

Synopsis

Director Cherien Dabis’s auspicious debut feature, AMREEKA, is a warm and lighthearted film about one Palestinian family’s tumultuous journey into Diaspora amidst the cultural fallout of America’s war in Iraq. Muna Farah, a Palestinian single mom, struggles to maintain her optimistic spirit in the daily grind of intimidating West Bank checkpoints, the constant nagging of a controlling mother, and the haunting shadows of a failed marriage. Everything changes one day when she receives a letter informing her that her family has been granted a U.S. green card. Reluctant to leave her homeland, but realizing it may be the only way to secure a future for Fadi, her teenage son, Muna decides to quit her job at the bank and visit her relatives in Illinois to see about a new life in a land that gives newcomers a run for their money. Dabis weaves an abundance of humor and levity into this tale of struggle, displacement, and nostalgia and draws an absorbing and irresistibly charming performance from actress Nisreen Faour as Muna, who stands at the heart of this tale. AMREEKA glows with the truth and magic of everyday life and signals the arrival of an exciting, new directorial talent.

– Sundance Film Festival 2009

美利坚（剧情片）

导演：切瑞恩-达比斯（美国）

影片拍摄地：美国

语言：阿拉伯语/英语

片长：96分钟

情节摘要：

《美利坚》是切瑞恩-达比斯的第一部故事片，也是导演的成名作。这部温暖轻松的电影讲述了一个巴勒斯坦家庭在美国对伊拉克战争的文化余波中颠沛流离的故事。穆娜-法拉是一名巴勒斯坦的单身母亲，她在令人生畏的约旦河西岸定居点忍受着日复一日的折磨，有控制欲的老母亲成天唠叨个没完，失败的婚姻所留下的阴影也总是萦绕在心中，而面对这一切，她还是努力保持着乐观的天性。忽然有一天，她收到一封通知，她和家人都获得了美国绿卡，一切都变了。虽然不愿意离开家乡，但想到这也许是让十几岁的儿子法迪长大后过上好日子的唯一出路，穆娜还是决定辞职投奔伊利诺依州的亲戚，去一块能为新移民提供赚钱机遇的土地上开始新的生活。导演达比斯在这个讲述奋斗、漂流和乡愁的故事里穿插了大量幽默和轻松的元素，而扮演穆娜的女主角Nisreen Faour生动趣致、魅力无穷的表演成为了本片的重中之重。《美利坚》一片反映了真实生活的闪光之处，同时也标志着一位才华才华横溢的新导演横空出世了。

3，FREEDOM RIDERS

Director: Stanley Nelson

Director’s Home Country: USA

Film Location: USA

Film Language: English

Genre: Documentary

Run Time: 120

Synopsis

In 1961 segregation seemed to have an overwhelming grip on American society. Many states violently enforced the policy, while the federal government, under the Kennedy administration, remained indifferent, preoccupied with matters abroad. That is, until an integrated band of college students—many of whom were the first in their families to attend a university—decided, en masse, to risk everything and buy a ticket on a Greyhound bus bound for the Deep South. They called themselves the Freedom Riders, and they managed to bring the president and the entire American public face to face with the challenge of correcting Civil- Rights inequities that plagued the nation.

Veteran filmmaker Stanley Nelson’s inspirational documentary is the first feature-length film about this courageous band of civil-rights activists. Gaining impressive access to influential figures on both sides of the issue, Nelson chronicles a chapter of American history that stands as an astonishing testament to the accomplishment of youth and what can result from the incredible combination of personal conviction and the courage to organize against all odds. –Sundance Film Festival 2010

自由搭客（纪录片）

导演：斯坦利-内尔森（美国）

影片拍摄地：美国

语言：英文

片长：120分钟

情节摘要：

1961年，种族隔离制度在美国社会中大行其道，许多州甚至采用极端的手段来执行种族隔离政策，而当时由肯尼迪担任总统的联邦政府忙于国外事务，对国内矛盾不闻不问。直到某天，一支大学生乐队的全体成员决定孤注一掷，乘坐长途汽车前往南部各州。他们自称“自由搭客”，希望能设法使总统和美国的民众正视种族隔离制度，并纠正这种困扰着国民的不公正的人权待遇。退伍军人出身的斯坦利-内尔森所导演的这部励志纪录片，是第一部描述这支勇敢的美国乐队的长篇作品。通过采访当时支持与反对该政策的社会知名人士，内尔森纪录了美国历史的一个篇章，这段历史见证了年轻一代的成就，以及把个人信念与克服一切困难的勇气结合在一起所能取得的惊人结果。

4，LA MISSION

Director: Peter Bratt

Director’s Home Country: USA

Film Location: USA

Film Language: English/Spanish

Genre: Narrative

Run Time: 117 min

Synopsis

Set in the colorful, seedy streets of the San Francisco district that bears its name, LA MISSION is a story of redemption imbued with the curative power of Aztec tradition. Feared, yet respected, as the baddest Chicano on the block, Che (Benjamin Bratt), a reformed inmate and recovering alcoholic, resorts to violence and intimidation to get what he wants. A bus driver by day, Che lives for his beloved son, Jesse, his lifelong friends, and his passion for lowrider cars. Che and the “Mission Boyz” salvage junked cars, transforming them into classics. Che’s macho world is crushed when he discovers that Jesse’s been living a secret life. In a violent rage, Che pummels Jesse and throws him out of the house. Lena, an attractive neighbor and a force to be reckoned with, is a woman with a few secrets of her own. Mutual attraction percolates as Lena challenges Che to reconcile the life he thought he had. – Sundance Film Festival 2009

使命（故事片）

导演：彼得-布拉特（美国）

影片拍摄地：美国

语言：英语/西班牙语

片长：117分钟

情节摘要：

《使命》一片的场景选在旧金山的一条色彩艳丽的破旧街道上，故事中充满了对阿兹台克（南美印第安人）传统救赎力量的强烈感情。切（本杰明-布拉特扮演）是墨西哥后裔，也是街区内令人又敬又怕的一号人物，他曾经蹲过监狱，还接受过戒酒治疗，通常会采取暴力和胁迫的手段来达到他的目的。白天，切是一名公车司机，他的生活支柱是他心爱的儿子杰西，他的一帮发小，以及令他痴迷的改装车。切和他的“使命团”利用废弃车辆进行改装，把它们变成经典好车。然而，有一天切发现了儿子杰西的秘密，他的充满了男子气概的世界立时崩塌了。暴怒中切狠狠揍了杰西，并把他赶出了家门。莱娜，一个令人无法忽视的美女邻居，也有着自己的小秘密。她要求切回到原来他自认为拥有的生活，在此过程中，双方都渐渐对彼此产生了好感。

5，THE LAST TRAIN HOME

Director: Lixin Fan

Director’s Home Country: China

Film Location: China

Film Language: Chinese

Genre: Documentary

Run Time: 85 min

Synopsis

Each year in China more than 130 million migrant workers travel home for the New Year's holiday—the one time they’ll reunite with family all year. The mass exodus constitutes the world’s largest human migration. Amid this chaos, director Lixin Fan focuses on one couple, Changhua and Sugin Zhang, who embark upon a two-day journey to see their children.

The Zhangs left their rural village for factory jobs when their children were just infants. Now a teenager, daughter Qin resents their continual absence. Yearning for her own freedom, she quits school to work in a factory herself. Her parents, who see education as their children’s one hope, are devastated.

– Sundance Film Festival 2010

归途列车（纪录片）

导演：范立欣（加拿大籍华人）

影片拍摄地：中国

语言：中文

片长：85分钟

情节摘要：

每当春节来临，全中国都有约十三亿民工加入春运的大潮，他们从各地赶回家乡，在这一年一度难得的假日里与家人团聚。这样大量的人流构成了世界上最大规模的人类迁徙活动。在繁杂的人群中，导演范立欣把镜头对准了外出打工的一对夫妻，Changhua和Sugin Zhang，反映了他们为回家探望子女而经历的两天艰难的旅程。张家夫妇在子女年幼时便离开家乡的农村去城里的工厂打工，他们的女儿琴渐渐长大，心中对长期离家的父母十分怨恨。怀着对自由的向往，琴辍学后也去工厂找了一份工作。张家夫妇把接受教育看作子女得以改变命运的唯一希望，而琴的做法不禁令他们心力交瘁。

6，WINTER’S BONE

Director: Debra Granik

Director’s Home Country: USA

Film Location: USA

Film Language: English

Genre: Narrative

Run Time: 100 min

Synopsis

Deep in the Ozark Mountains, clans live by a code of conduct that no one dares defy—until an intrepid teenage girl has no other choice. When Ree Dolly's crystal-meth-making father skips bail and goes missing, her family home is on the line. Unless she finds him, she and her young siblings and disabled mother face destitution. In a heroic quest, Ree traverses the county to confront her kin, break their silent collusion, and bring her father home.

The spare precision of Debra Granik’s direction is effortlessly profound. Stunningly genuine performances and exquisite visual details capture the textures and rhythms of a world where the mythic and the naturalistic intermingle. – Sundance Film Festival 2010