On the heels of its successful world launch at IDFA, the critically-acclaimed anti-colonial pic “Our Land, Our Freedom,” sold by First Hand Films, has landed a deal with BBC Africa Eye.
“Our Land, Our Freedom,” a Kenyan/U.S./Portuguese co-production, and the upcoming India-set “Kalari,” to be pitched in Visions du Réel docu festival’s Swiss Films Previews showcase, epitomize what First Hand Films stands for.
“What’s important for First Hand Films is defending diversity, minorities, female voices and new talent,” said Esther van Messel, CEO of the doc sales, production and Swiss distribution shingle, ahead of Visions du Réel in Nyon, Switzerland.
“We are so very pleased about this sale, our very first on the film,” said the seasoned doc specialist van Messel.
Co-directed by L.A.-based Meena Nanji and her Kenyan counterpart Zippy Kimundu, the feature tells of Kenyan woman Wanjugu Kimathi’s search for the...
“Our Land, Our Freedom,” a Kenyan/U.S./Portuguese co-production, and the upcoming India-set “Kalari,” to be pitched in Visions du Réel docu festival’s Swiss Films Previews showcase, epitomize what First Hand Films stands for.
“What’s important for First Hand Films is defending diversity, minorities, female voices and new talent,” said Esther van Messel, CEO of the doc sales, production and Swiss distribution shingle, ahead of Visions du Réel in Nyon, Switzerland.
“We are so very pleased about this sale, our very first on the film,” said the seasoned doc specialist van Messel.
Co-directed by L.A.-based Meena Nanji and her Kenyan counterpart Zippy Kimundu, the feature tells of Kenyan woman Wanjugu Kimathi’s search for the...
- 4/7/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mira Nair (“Salaam Bombay!”) has come on board to executive produce “Our Land, Our Freedom,” from directors Meena Nanji and Zippy Kimundu, ahead of the film’s world premiere at IDFA, which takes places in Amsterdam Nov. 8 – 19. The documentary feature will screen as part of the festival’s Frontlight strand.
“Our Land, Our Freedom” follows Wanjugu Kimathi, daughter of the legendary leader of the Kenyan Land and Freedom Army, or Mau Mau Rebellion, Dedan Kimathi. When the resistance figure was hanged by the British authorities in 1957 for possession of firearms, his body was dumped at an unknown location. Now, Wanjugu follows in her mother’s footsteps to look for her father’s remains.
Over the course of the film, Wanjugu’s search becomes an investigation into British colonial atrocities including concentration camps and land theft that left hundreds of thousands of Kenyans destitute. Along the way she meets Mau Mau veterans,...
“Our Land, Our Freedom” follows Wanjugu Kimathi, daughter of the legendary leader of the Kenyan Land and Freedom Army, or Mau Mau Rebellion, Dedan Kimathi. When the resistance figure was hanged by the British authorities in 1957 for possession of firearms, his body was dumped at an unknown location. Now, Wanjugu follows in her mother’s footsteps to look for her father’s remains.
Over the course of the film, Wanjugu’s search becomes an investigation into British colonial atrocities including concentration camps and land theft that left hundreds of thousands of Kenyans destitute. Along the way she meets Mau Mau veterans,...
- 11/9/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
When asked how she felt about this year’s opening film at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) having been supported by the IDFA Bertha Fund (Ibf), the fund’s executive director and IDFA deputy director Isabel Arrate Fernandez beamed with pride, stating it is “amazing, most of all because it’s a beautiful film.”
The film in question is Olga Chernyk’s “A Picture to Remember,” which has its world premiere at IDFA, running between Nov. 8-19. “The film team was involved with IDFA in several ways, not only through financing via the fund but also because Olga and Kasia [Boniecka], the film’s editor, attended the IDFA Project Space earlier this year. From the fund’s perspective, you never know where the films will end up, and when they start their career this way it’s incredible.”
Speaking to Variety, Fernandez recalls how “A Picture to Remember” was...
The film in question is Olga Chernyk’s “A Picture to Remember,” which has its world premiere at IDFA, running between Nov. 8-19. “The film team was involved with IDFA in several ways, not only through financing via the fund but also because Olga and Kasia [Boniecka], the film’s editor, attended the IDFA Project Space earlier this year. From the fund’s perspective, you never know where the films will end up, and when they start their career this way it’s incredible.”
Speaking to Variety, Fernandez recalls how “A Picture to Remember” was...
- 11/9/2023
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
Also programmes IDFA on Stage events, plus Paradocs and queer programme.
International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has selected 35 feature films across its Luminous and Frontlight sections, including new films from Albania, South Africa and Panama.
The Luminous section includes non-fiction titles with a range of styles and formalistic approaches, and consists of 23 films, 22 of which are world or international premieres and 20 of which are features.
Titles include Zikethiwe Ngcobo and Chloe White’s South Africa-uk co-production 1001 Days, about the young mothers struggling to raise their children amid unemployment, poverty, disease and domestic violence in Johannesburg. The film, with Zulu and English-language dialogue,...
International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has selected 35 feature films across its Luminous and Frontlight sections, including new films from Albania, South Africa and Panama.
The Luminous section includes non-fiction titles with a range of styles and formalistic approaches, and consists of 23 films, 22 of which are world or international premieres and 20 of which are features.
Titles include Zikethiwe Ngcobo and Chloe White’s South Africa-uk co-production 1001 Days, about the young mothers struggling to raise their children amid unemployment, poverty, disease and domestic violence in Johannesburg. The film, with Zulu and English-language dialogue,...
- 10/10/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The Sundance Institute has announced this year’s grantees for the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund, with a total of 1,396,500 in unrestricted grant support bestowed upon 35 projects.
“As we celebrate the Dfp’s 20th anniversary, it’s an exceptional achievement that Sundance has been able to provide documentary filmmakers robust and sustained financial support, from development through post-production, for two decades,” said Carrie Lozano, director of the Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program. “Thanks to our incredible funders, supporters, staff, and external reviewers, the Documentary Fund has been able to realize its top priorities during a tumultuous time: supporting underrepresented stories, directors and producers; providing much needed resources to urgent international projects; and elevating human rights and social, civic and environmental justice, all while foregrounding bold and artistic approaches. I am constantly amazed by the breadth and depth of our grantees.”
This year’s grant recipients have roots in 31 countries, with...
“As we celebrate the Dfp’s 20th anniversary, it’s an exceptional achievement that Sundance has been able to provide documentary filmmakers robust and sustained financial support, from development through post-production, for two decades,” said Carrie Lozano, director of the Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program. “Thanks to our incredible funders, supporters, staff, and external reviewers, the Documentary Fund has been able to realize its top priorities during a tumultuous time: supporting underrepresented stories, directors and producers; providing much needed resources to urgent international projects; and elevating human rights and social, civic and environmental justice, all while foregrounding bold and artistic approaches. I am constantly amazed by the breadth and depth of our grantees.”
This year’s grant recipients have roots in 31 countries, with...
- 10/6/2022
- by Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
Previously supported projects have included American Factory, Collective, Fire Of Love, The Mole Agent.
Projects from Armenia, Chile, Uganda and Palestine are among grantees of the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund, which in the 20th anniversary year of the Documentary Film Program (Dfp) has made 1.4m available in unrestricted grant support to 35 projects.
Of the recipients, five are in development, 15 in production, 10 in post, and the filmmakers behind five are actively pursuing support for audience engagement and social impact campaigns.
Some 57 of the current cycle’s submissions hail from outside the US. Among the 14 US films receiving support, all are directed...
Projects from Armenia, Chile, Uganda and Palestine are among grantees of the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund, which in the 20th anniversary year of the Documentary Film Program (Dfp) has made 1.4m available in unrestricted grant support to 35 projects.
Of the recipients, five are in development, 15 in production, 10 in post, and the filmmakers behind five are actively pursuing support for audience engagement and social impact campaigns.
Some 57 of the current cycle’s submissions hail from outside the US. Among the 14 US films receiving support, all are directed...
- 10/4/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The 22nd San Diego Asian Film Festival (Sdaff) announced the winners of its competition categories at the Sdaff Awards Gala, held virtually on Saturday, November 6, 2021.
Top honors went to I Was A Simple Man for the Grand Jury Prize, Manzanar Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust for Best Documentary Feature, and 7 Days for Best Narrative Feature.
The full list of winners is as follows:
Asian American Juried Competition
Jurors include Peter X Feng, Keisha N. Knight, Phuong Le, and Meena Nanji
Grand Jury Prize
I Was A Simple Man
Directed by Christopher Makoto Yogi
Best Documentary Feature
Manzanar Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust
Directed by Ann Kaneko
Best Narrative Feature
7 Days
Directed by Roshan Sethi
Best Documentary Short
An Uninterrupted View Of The Sea
Directed by Mika Yatsuhashi
Best Narrative Short
Americanized
Directed by Erica Eng
Best Experimental Short
Rumi And His Roses
Directed by Navid Sinaki
Special Jury Mention
To...
Top honors went to I Was A Simple Man for the Grand Jury Prize, Manzanar Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust for Best Documentary Feature, and 7 Days for Best Narrative Feature.
The full list of winners is as follows:
Asian American Juried Competition
Jurors include Peter X Feng, Keisha N. Knight, Phuong Le, and Meena Nanji
Grand Jury Prize
I Was A Simple Man
Directed by Christopher Makoto Yogi
Best Documentary Feature
Manzanar Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust
Directed by Ann Kaneko
Best Narrative Feature
7 Days
Directed by Roshan Sethi
Best Documentary Short
An Uninterrupted View Of The Sea
Directed by Mika Yatsuhashi
Best Narrative Short
Americanized
Directed by Erica Eng
Best Experimental Short
Rumi And His Roses
Directed by Navid Sinaki
Special Jury Mention
To...
- 11/8/2021
- by Suzie Cho
- AsianMoviePulse
Meena Nanji’s experimental short “It Is a Crime” deals with British colonialism and cultural imperialism in India and more precisely, the erasure of South Indian languages by the British and its long-lasting consequences.
It Is a Crime is screening on Prismatic Ground
Nanji’s short consists of brief shots from different British and American movies which rehash a few of cliched tropes about India as a place of mystique, violence, and exoticism. On top of this barrage of cliches is shown an excerpt of Shani Mootoo’s poem “It Is a Crime” that reads “it is a crime that I should have to use your language to tell you how I feel that you have taken mine from me. something brews inside me No language can describe but when I find my voice I must take great care not to shout so loudly in your direction so that I...
It Is a Crime is screening on Prismatic Ground
Nanji’s short consists of brief shots from different British and American movies which rehash a few of cliched tropes about India as a place of mystique, violence, and exoticism. On top of this barrage of cliches is shown an excerpt of Shani Mootoo’s poem “It Is a Crime” that reads “it is a crime that I should have to use your language to tell you how I feel that you have taken mine from me. something brews inside me No language can describe but when I find my voice I must take great care not to shout so loudly in your direction so that I...
- 4/13/2021
- by Martin Lukanov
- AsianMoviePulse
The International Documentary Association has unveiled 13 films receiving $850,000 in funds as part of its Enterprise Documentary Fund production grants.
The titles, announced Monday at the Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival in Washington, D.C. are “After Sherman,” “Aftershock,” “Body Parts,” “Driver,” “Free Renty: Lanier v. Harvard,” “Hossain,” “Magic & Monsters,” “Razing Liberty Square,” “Riotsville, USA,” “Testament,” “Untitled Amazon Documentary,” “Untitled Free Speech Project” and “Untitled Stasi.”
Nausheen Dadabhoy and Jialing Zhang were named as recipients of the Logan Elevate Grants of $25,000 each. Supported by The Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, the Logan Elevate Grants support emerging women filmmakers of color.
“With unique vision and voice, these grantees confront us with complicated truths about our pasts, presents and futures, recalling for me Maya Angelou’s famous quote: Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better,” said Carrie Lozano, who was director of the Ida Enterprise Documentary Fund...
The titles, announced Monday at the Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival in Washington, D.C. are “After Sherman,” “Aftershock,” “Body Parts,” “Driver,” “Free Renty: Lanier v. Harvard,” “Hossain,” “Magic & Monsters,” “Razing Liberty Square,” “Riotsville, USA,” “Testament,” “Untitled Amazon Documentary,” “Untitled Free Speech Project” and “Untitled Stasi.”
Nausheen Dadabhoy and Jialing Zhang were named as recipients of the Logan Elevate Grants of $25,000 each. Supported by The Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, the Logan Elevate Grants support emerging women filmmakers of color.
“With unique vision and voice, these grantees confront us with complicated truths about our pasts, presents and futures, recalling for me Maya Angelou’s famous quote: Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better,” said Carrie Lozano, who was director of the Ida Enterprise Documentary Fund...
- 10/19/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
The Dutch gathering’s Forum will take place online from 16-20 November and will host a total of 63 new projects. The International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (Idfa) has announced the 63 projects selected to be pitched at the 28th edition of the Idfa Forum, the festival’s co-production and co-financing market. Traditionally, the section welcomes both established filmmakers and new voices to the international stage. Notable filmmakers in the selection include Maria Ramos, pitching the new investigative project Justice Under Suspicion, on state rule in present-day Brazil, and Andrei Ujica with his new found-footage project Things We Said Today, revolving around daily life in New York during the summer of 1965, when The Beatles first came to town. Alongside the established names are emerging directors and producers ready to join the pitch line-up. Among them are Meena Nanji and Zippy Kimundu with the project Testament, tracing the colonial atrocities of Kenya; and...
- 10/13/2020
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
Still from Here and Away
Here and Away, an India-us production directed and produced by Meena Nanji, will be screened at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. The 29th edition of the festival will be held from May 2-12, 2013 in Southern California.
The 12 minute Hindi film touches on the subject of urbanization and its impact on the minds of children. A 10 year old boy from a village near the Indian capital city looks at the visible skyscrapers on the horizon and contemplates on his past, present and the future.
Started in 1983, the festival has presented nearly 4,000 films and videos by Asian international and Asian Pacific American artists.
In 2012, Musa Syeed was awarded with the Grand Jury Award and Special Jury Awards for his feature film Valley of Saints.
Here and Away, an India-us production directed and produced by Meena Nanji, will be screened at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. The 29th edition of the festival will be held from May 2-12, 2013 in Southern California.
The 12 minute Hindi film touches on the subject of urbanization and its impact on the minds of children. A 10 year old boy from a village near the Indian capital city looks at the visible skyscrapers on the horizon and contemplates on his past, present and the future.
Started in 1983, the festival has presented nearly 4,000 films and videos by Asian international and Asian Pacific American artists.
In 2012, Musa Syeed was awarded with the Grand Jury Award and Special Jury Awards for his feature film Valley of Saints.
- 4/2/2013
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
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