MADRID INTERNATIONAL FILM WEEK

Thursday the 21st heralds the  23rd edition of the International Experimental Film Week. It is one of the longest-running festivals in the city of Madrid and aims to promote cinematographic research and act as a springboard to allow those involved in the genre of experimental filmmaking to showcase their talents each year. Created by the great filmmaker José Luis Borau, in whose memory CINEMATEQUE has named its most alternative auditorium, the festival will be looking back over the career of Czech artist Jiri Barta, known the world over for his animated short movies for adults, as well as bringing us a series of films from the emerging Ethiopian film industry and, above all, Japanese cinema as the guest of honour, including “Maborosi”, by renowned Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, who will be attending the event.

FULL PROGRAMME

> Friday 22 November
Short Films from the Austrian Film Academy / Programme 1 Series of short films from the Austrian Film Academy: Conference (Notes on Film 05) by Norbert Pfaffenbichler 8' Unser Lied by Catalina Molina 30' Zounk! by Billy Roisz 6' 366 Tage by Johannes Schiehsl 12' Im Freien by Albert Sackl 23'
Kiseki (Miracle) (Hirokazu Koreeda)
Two children are forced to live apart when their parents get divorced: one lives with their mother in Fukuoka and the other with their father in Kagoshima. They both dream of their parents getting back together again. When they hear that a new train line is to run between the two cities, they pin their hopes on a superstition which says that when the first trains meet up, a miracle will happen. 

> Saturday 23 November
Official Section of Short Films at Madrid International Film Week / Programme 1 Short Films from the Official Section of Madrid Experimental Film Week: #000035189 by Lydia Nsiah (Austria, 2013) 7' The Living Room by Roderick Hietbrink (the Netherlands, 2011) 8' Androginia by Daniel Matesanz (Spain, 2013) 14' Metube: August Sings Carmen 'Habanera' by Daniel Moshel (Austria, 2013) 4' Esto no es una cocina by Ana Ugarte, Marine de Contes and Paloma B. Bielicka (Spain, 2013) 20' Velo Mysterium by Jörn Staeger (Germany, 2013) 7' Linear by Amir Admoni (Brazil, 2012) 6' Language: Various languages with Spanish subtitles

Distrito Quinto (Julio Coll)
This film will have you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end and is a great accomplishment in terms of both the directing and the screenplay. Intelligent use is made of space as well as the anxieties and misgivings of the characters, most of whom are both ambiguous and well conceived, including an experienced criminal who been through it all and is running away from his past, a travelling photographer and trickster determined to strike it big, a wannabe dancer, an insecure young poet, a "femme fatale" seeking to attract an unsuspecting, love-struck mark, and the dancer's girlfriend, perhaps the only one who seems innocent and kind.

Official Section of Short Films at Madrid International Film Week / Programme 2
Short Films from the Official Section of Madrid Experimental Film Week: Nation for Two by Chaja Hertog and Nir Nadler (the Netherlands, 2012) 16' The Parting Dance by Gerard Freixes Ribera (Spain, 2013) 3' Presque vu by Cecilia Araneda (Canada, 2013) 5' Axis by Thiago Taves Sobreiro (Brazil, 2012) 10' El anhelo del cangrejo by Kruruts Begoña (Spain, 2012) 13' Plug & Play by Michael Frei (Switzerland, 2013) 6' The Change by Dijana Protic (Croatia, 2012) 11' De nuevo by Christos Karteris (Greece, 2013) 7'
  Domingo de Carnaval (Edgar Neville)
A detective mystery combining a neorealist style with the trademark humour and irony of its director, Edgar Neville.

Memorias del Desarrollo (Miguel Coyula)
Based on the novel of the same name by Edmundo Desnoes, the second instalment of a two-part saga that began with Memorias del subdesarrollo in 1967. A Cuban intellectual turns his back on the Revolution and underdevelopment only to discover he isn't cut out for his new life in search of development. It is a portrait of a man who feels alienated, with no clear political or ideological beliefs, attempting to cope with the idea of growing old while confronting the desire and impossibility of pertaining to a given society. The narrative is a collage of memories and fantasies, composed of fiction, animation and documentary elements that are manipulated and arranged so as to reveal the workings of our personal subjective memory.  

Ethiopian Cinema / Programme 1 A series of Ethiopian films consisting of:  Just for One Day by Yohannes Feleke (10') Melak by Girum Berhanetsehay (110')

>Sunday 24 November
Short Films from the Austrian Film Academy / Programme 2 Series of short films from the Austrian Film Academy: Schneiderei by Kurdwin Ayub 5' Hypercrisis by Josef Daberning The Way to M by Zsuzsanna Werner Flaschenpost by Gabriele Mathes 30' Endeavour by Johann Lurf 16' Sommerurlaub by Kurdwin Ayub 4'

La Calle sin Sol (Rafael Gil)
With a screenplay by Miguel Mihura, this is no-holds-barred film tackles such thorny issues for the censors of the time as immigration, infidelity and happiness as goals in life for the poor and underprivileged. All subtly interwoven within a detective story whose Parisian protagonist, Mauricio, is forced to flee. 

Official Section of Short Films at Madrid International Film Week / Programme 3 Short Films from the Official Section of Madrid International Film Week: Ved'ma (A Video Installation) by Cornelia Eichhorn (France, 2012) 14' Inversible by Elvira Martínez and Emmanuel Pitón (Spain, 2013) 9' Una historia para los Modlins by Sergio Oksman (Spain, 2012) 26' Scales (Escamas) by Mikaela Bruce (USA, 2013) 10' Rupturas deliciosas (Delicious Breakups) by Frank Morales and Amanda Gil (Spain, 2012) 2' Motor by Simone Bennett (the Netherlands, 2012) 9'

Kûki Ningyò / Air Doll (Hirokazu Koreeda) A life-size blowup doll inhabits a modest Tokyo flat. She provides the only company for her middle-aged owner. He talks to her, bathes her and makes love to her every day when he gets home from work. But this routine comes to an abrupt end when the Blowup Doll comes to life and is revealed to have a soul. As she's just been born, she cannot grasp what is happening around her, though she does realise there's another world beyond the confines of their flat. When she finally dares to venture outside, she's fascinated by all she sees. She meets lots of people, but no-one is able to explain what it means to "be alive". One day, she walks into a video club and meets Junichi, who works there, and immediately falls in love... 

Official Section of Short Films at Madrid International Film Week / Programme 4 Short Films from the Official Section of Madrid Experimental Film Week: Vuela by Ana Mª Gómez Caraballo (Spain, 2013) 3' Dunas by Alexander Quezada (Colombia, 2012) 8' Anfang Juni by June Begins and Kerstin Neuwirth (Germany, 2012) 11' Between Regularity and Irregularity by Masahiro Tsutani (Japan, 2012) 8' Colectivo by Daniela Delgado Viteri (Argentina-Ecuador, 2012) 7' Heteróclito by Sebastian Schmidt-Urzua (Spain, 2013) 10' Stringless by Alberto Díaz (Spain, 2013) 14' Orde Van Dienst by Henk Otte (the Netherlands, 2012) 7' Trespass by Paul Wenninger (Austria, 2012) 11' El Cebo (Ladislao Vadja)
An offbeat, highly-rated film about a killer who preys on young girls, in a similar vein to Fritz Lang's M. Here, the killer gains his victims' trust by pretending to be a magician, entertaining them with his tricks before tempting them with chocolate. 

Teza (Haile Gerima)
Filmed in Ethiopia and Germany, Teza looks at the travels of African intellectuals, both at home and abroad, from the 70s to the present day, told through the eyes of Anberber, a young, idealistic doctor. The film portrays his inner struggle to remain loyal to his country and to himself. At the age of seventy, he finally returns to the town where he was born. Despite being overjoyed at seeing his elderly mother again, his long absence makes him feel removed from his people. He is overcome by disappointment and his past comes back to haunt him. 

Aruitemo, Aruitemo / Still Walking (Hirokazu Koreeda)
One summer's day, two men return home to visit their parents. They have both come with their respective families to commemorate the death of their eldest brother, who died in a tragic accident fifteen years earlier. Although the house and the home cooking have barely altered, the passage of time brings to light small changes in each member of the family: love mixes with resentment and everyone has something to hide. 

>Monday 25 November
Short Films from the Austrian Film Academy / Programme 3 Series of short films from the Austrian Film Academy: Kreis Wr. Neustadt by Johann Lurf 5' Hatch by Christoph Kuschnig 19' Heldenkanzler by Benjamin Swiczinsky 13' Arcana by Henry Hills 30' Abgestempelt by Michael Rittmannsberger 11'

Jirí Barta Retrospective / Programme 1 A look back over the career of Jirí Barta, including a collection of his short films: Hádanky za bonbón (1978) 8' Projekt (1981) 6' Diskjockey (1981) 9' Zaniklý svet rukavice (1982) 17' Balada o zeleném drevu (1983) 10' Poslední lup (1987) 22'

Atletu / The Athlete (Rasselas Lakew and Davey Frankel)
This tells the story of legendary Ethiopian marathon runner Abebe Bikila, combining fiction and archive footage. In 1960, he arrived in Rome to compete in the Olympic Games as a complete unknown. But this shepherd's son ran barefoot to win the gold medal. Four years later, he repeated this feat at the Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first marathon runner to win successive Olympic golds. A few years after this incredible achievement, a traffic accident left him quadriplegic. He died four years later. 

>Tuesday 26 November
Hana yori mo naho (Hana) (Hirokazu Koreeda)
Set in 1702, the film describes a time when Samurai clans offered rewards to those Samurai who successfully carried out vengeance killings. The protagonist is a young Samurai called Sozaemon Aoki who arrives in Edo (now Tokyo) to revenge his father's death. He searches for his father's killer all over the city but, apart from being useless with a sword, he also has little desire to see his mission through to the end. Sozaemon finds lodging in a poor home, yet rich in human relationships. He begins to appreciate life and to question the sense of his quest for revenge. 

Jirí Barta Retrospective/ Programme 2 A series of Jirí Barta films: Krysar (The Pied Piper of Hamelin) 53' Klub odlozených (The Club of the Laid Off) 24' Tyran a dite 13'

>Wednesday 27 November
Ethiopian Cinema / Programme 2 A series of Ethiopian short films: Adamt / Listen by Zelalem Woldemariam 18' Just for One Day by Yohannes Feleke 10' Lezare by Zelalem Woldemariam 14'

Jirí Barta Retrospective / Programme 3 A series of Jirí Barta films: Dopisy z Ceska 10' Domecku, var (Cook, mug, cook!) 10' Na pude aneb kdo má dneska narozeniny? (In the Attic: Who Has a Birthday Today? - also known as Toys in the Attic) 73'
Wandafuru Raifu / After Life (Hirokazu Koreeda)
Halfway between Heaven and Earth, the recently deceased are welcomed by guides who help them to go through their memories in an attempt to recall a decisive moment in their lives. Each of them must choose a single memory to be put on film so they can take it with them to Heaven.

Dare Mo Shiranai / Nobody Knows (Hirokazu Koreeda)
Four children, each from different fathers, live happily with their mother in a small Tokyo flat, though they have never been to school. One fine day, their mother disappears, leaving a small sum of money and a note telling her eldest son that he must take care of his siblings. Condemned to a life of hardship of which no-one else is aware, they are forced to organise their tiny world around a series of rules that allow them to survive. However, contact with the outside world destroys the fragile balance which they had achieved. 

>Thursday 28 November
Distance (Hirokazu Koreeda)
Henchmen from "The Ark of Truth", an apocalyptic sect, cause a massacre that leaves over a hundred people dead. Three years later, the killers' relatives hold their annual reunion at the lake where the victims used to live in order to commemorate their deaths. But they cannot return to the city without first visiting the house where their relatives planned the attacks. There they meet a young man who once belonged to the sect, but deserted at the last minute to avoid having to take part in the slaughter.

This is my Austria, which is yours?
Screening of the finalists in the short film category.

>Friday 29 November
Ethiopian Cinema / Programme 3 Screening of the film: Felashaw by Girum Berhanetsehay (110') Language: Amharic with Spanish subtitles

Maborosi no hilari / Maborosi (Hirokazu Koreeda)
Loneliness, love and death are all reflected in this story of a young couple who, shortly after their wedding, are ripped apart when the groom tragically dies.