FEATURE FILMS

Golden Dhow Sandstorm Director: Jag Mohan (India) Based on the true story of a low-caste potter woman who begins working for the government’s Saathin (women’s rights) programme. She is savagely gang-raped by upper-caste elders in her village, but her real rape begins when she is forced to run from pillar to post in a judicial system which is corrupted by chauvinism, sexism, feudalism and political opportunism. Silver Dhow Whispers Director: Parviz Shabazi (Iran) Three young children whisper their way through the towering world of adults looking for someone to carry out a ceremony for their youngest sibling. They survive however they can by selling lemonade or prayer books, but their task is not as easy as they first thought.

SHORT FILMS

Golden Dhow One Evening in July Director: Raja Amari (Tunisia) A brief insight into the relationship between the bitter beautician Saida, and an anxious and uncertain bride-to-be, Miriam. The tension heightens as Saida reveals her hatred for arranged marriages and the groom’s parents begin to intensify the pressure on their daughter-to-be. Silver Dhow The Father Director: Ermias Woldeamlak (Ethiopia) During the period of the Derg in Ethiopia, the artist Alazar shelters his friend, the political activist Jonas, from the military. There is a heavy personal price for both Alazar and his wife Rahel to pay for this action. Alazar is imprisoned and later released, but Jonas is killed and his sister later returns from exile to revisit the chain of horrific events that led to his death.

DOCUMENTARY

Golden Dhow A Female Cabby in Bel Abbes Director: Belkacem Hadj Hadj (Algeria/Belgium) As a widowed mother of three, Soumicha is forced to earn a living by becoming the only female taxi driver in this Algerian city. She takes us around her daily circuit, meeting her regulars and her supporters, in a society where women are seen to be nothing more than housewives. In the course of her travels, we meet other women who, like her, are struggling for more freedom. Silver Dhow When Men Cry Director: Yasmine Kassari (Morocco/Belgium) Every year, thirty thousand Moroccans cross the Straits of Gibraltar: fourteen thousand are turned back, one thousand drown, and fifteen thousand manage to set themselves up. This film follows several of those who made it, but claiming refugee status leaves them with very little in Spain, and nothing but debts back in Morocco.

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD

Yolngu Boy Director: Stephen Johnson (Australia) Sometimes living your dream is the best way to stay alive. Lorrpu, Milika and Botj are three boys linked by ceremony, kinship and a common dream – to become great Yolngu hunters. But their Aborigine laws are not the laws of North East Arnhem Land, and when these two collide, they flee their community and embark on an epic journey to save their dream and themselves. This was the Official Film for 2001 National Youth Week in Australia.

CHAIRMAN’S CHOICE AWARD

T-Shirt Travels Director: Shanta Bloemen (USA) T-Shirt Travels takes us on a journey from a local charity bin in the USA, to the places where these donations are put to use in Southern Africa. Focusing on Zambia, this documentary investigates the second hand clothes business, ‘mitumba’, and seeks to understand and illuminate the growing inequalities between North and South.

GOLDEN DHOW LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Music Dr Remmy Ongala, Tanzania Poetry Haji Gora Haji, Zanzibar/Tanzania

FESTIVAL JURY SPECIAL MENTION

Best Actress Omi Baya for her outstanding performance as Saida in One Evening in July Director: Raja Amari (Tunisia) Montage of African Storytelling Nous ne sommes plus mort / We Are No Longer Dead Director: Francois L. Woukoache (Rwanda/France/Belgium) Artistic Sophistication and Courageous Revelation The Secret Safari Director: Tom Zubrycki (South Africa) Scenario, Mixing Imagination and Reality Sweet Agony Director: Ali-Reza Davudnezhad (Iran) Educational Value and Special Relevance to the Dhow Culture The Maritime Memory of the Arabs Director: Khal Torabully (Mauritius/Oman/France) Treatment of a Sensitive Issue Surrender Director: Celine Gilbert (Tanzania)