The following dossier includes information on all 47 submissions for the foreign-language film Oscar.
ARGENTINA
Manuelita
Director: Manuel Garcia Ferre
Producer: Carlos Luis Mentasti
Production company: Garcia Ferre Entertainment in association with Telefe
Distributor: Columbia (Argentina)
Voices: Pelusa Suero, Rosario Sanchez Almada
Festivals and awards: Puerto Rico Film Festival entry
World sales: Patricio Gandolfo, 54-11-4-943-1404
AUSTRIA
Northern Skirts (Nordrand)
Synopsis: Set in contemporary Vienna; a young ethnically and socially mixed group meets and tries to support each other as they pursue their dreams.
Director: Barbara Albert
Producers: Erich Lackner, Martin Hagemann, Rolf Schmid
Production companies: Lotus-Film, Zero Film, FAMA Film
Distributors: Polyfilm (Austria), FAMA Film (Switzerland)
Cast: Nina Proll, Edita Malovcic, Tudor Chirila
Festivals and awards: Venice, M. Mastroianni Award (Nina Proll); Toronto; Pusan; Stockholm; Thessaloniki; HOF; Viennale, Vienna Film Awards; and FIPRESCI Award
World sales: First Hand Films, phone: (411) 862-2106 fax: (411) 862-2146
BELGIUM
Rosetta
Synopsis: A 17-year-old girl living in a trailer park in Belgium becomes obsessed with finding a job and having a normal life.
Directors: Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Producers: Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Michel Petin, Laurent Petin
Production companies: Les Films du Fleuve, RTBF, ARP Selection
Distributor: USA Films
Cast: Emilie Dequenne, Fabrizio Rongione, Anne Yernaux, Olivier Gourmet
Festivals and awards: Cannes, Palme d’Or, actress (Emilie Dequenne);Toronto; New York
BHUTAN
The Cup (Phorpa)
Synopsis: Barely contained excitement over the ’94 World Cup unsettles a Tibetan monastery for boys.
Director: Khyentse Norbu
Producers: Malcolm Watson, Raymond Steiner
Production company: Palm Pictures
Distributor: Fine Line Features
Cast: Orgyen Tobgyal, Neten Chokling, Jamyang Lodro, Lama Chonjor, Godu Lama
Festivals and awards: Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver
BRAZIL
Orfeu
Synopsis: A retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Euridice set among the pageantry of Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival and the poverty of the city’s favelas (slums).
Director: Carlos Diegues
Producers: Paula Lavigne, Renata Almeida Magalhaes
Production company: Rio Vermelho Filmes
Distributors: Colifilms Distribution (France), Warner Bros. (U.S.)
Cast: Toni Garrido, Patricia Franca, Murilo Benicio, Maria Ceica, Zeze Motta
Festivals and awards: Telluride, Toronto
World sales: Warner Bros., phone: (818) 954-6141 fax: (818) 954-8443
CANADA
Set Me Free (Emporte-moi)
Synopsis: Portrait of a young Quebec girl’s coming of age, set in the early ’67s.
Director: Lea Pool
Producers: Louis Laverdiere (exec), Lorraine Richard, Alfi Sinniger, Carole Scotta
Production companies: Cite-Amerique, Catpics Coproductions, Haut et Court
Distributor: Compagnie France Film (Canada)
Cast: Karine Vanasse, Miki Manojlovic, Pascale Bussierres, Nancy Huston
Festivals and awards: Berlin; Namur; Toronto, best Canadian feature, best Canadian first feature (Karine Vanasse)
World sales: TF1 Intl., phone: (33 1) 414-125-72 fax: (33 1) 414-131-76
CHINA
Lover’s Grief Over the Yellow River
Synopsis: An American soldier establishes trust and friendship with a group of Chinese people at the end of WWII.
Director: Feng Xiao Ning
Producer: Yang Yu Bing
Production company: Shanghai Paradise Film & TV
Distributor: Shanghai Paradise Film & TV
Cast: Ning Jing, Paul Kersey
Festivals and awards: Chinese Golden Rooster award
World sales: Shanghai Paradise Film & TV, phone: (86 21) 647-189-49 fax: (86 21) 647-189-58
COLUMBIA
Time Out (Golpe de estadio)
Synopsis: The 1994 World Cup serves as the springboard for a light-hearted commentary on South America’s most enduring armed conflict, between the mountain guerillas and National Army of Columbia.
Director: Sergio Cabrera
Producers: Marianella Cabrera (exec), Gerardo Herrero, Sandro Silvestri, Maura Vespini
Production companies: Tornasol Films, Emme
Distributor: ICAA (Spain-based)
Cast: Emma Suarez, Cesar Mora, Nicholas Montero, Flavio Caballero
Festivals and awards: Toronto
World sales: Tornasol Films, phone: (34 91) 542-9564 fax: (34 91) 542-8710
CROATIA
Red Dust (Crvena Prasina)
Synopsis: A teenage boy idolizes a local boxer.
Director: Zrinko Ogresta
Producer: Ivan Maloca
Production companies: Interfilm-Zagreb, Croatian Television
Distributor: Blitz Film & Video (Croatia)
Cast: Josip Kucan, Marko Matanovic, Ivo Gregurevic, Slaven Knezovic, Mirta Takac
Festivals and awards: Mostra; Haifa, Golden Anchor; Flagstaff, foreign-language film; MedFilm
World sales: Interfilm-Zagreb, phone: 385-146-672-90 fax: 385-146-665-96
CZECH REPUBLIC
Return of the Idiot (Navrat Idiota)
Synopsis: A young man recently released from a psychiatric hospital arrives among distant relatives and through his simple ways unsettles everyone around him.
Director: Sasa Gedeon
Producer: Petr Oukropec
Production company: Negativ
Distributor: Cinemart (Czech Republic)
Cast: Pavel Liska, Tatiana Vilhelmiva, Anna Geislerova
Festivals and awards: Toronto; Montreal; Sao Paolo, Jury Prize; Thessaloniki, Special Prize; Cottbus, Audience Prize
World sales: Negativ, phone: (420 2) 573-250-41 fax: (420 2) 573-250-40
DENMARK
Mifune (Mifunes Sidste Sang)
Synopsis: The latest Dogma 95 variation investigates a yuppie, his mentally disabled brother and a seductive domestic.
Director: Soren Kragh-Jacobsen
Producers: Birgitte Hald, Morten Kaufman
Production company: Nimbus Film II
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Cast: Anders Berthelsen, Iben Hjejle, Jesper Asholt, Sofie Grabol
Festivals and awards: Berlin, Silver Bear (Special Jury Prize); Sochi; Durban; Haugesund, best Nordic film; Motovun; Los Angeles Intl., European Film Award; Camerimage; New Delhi, Lubeck (Baltic Prize)
World sales: Trust Film Sales, phone: 453-686-8788 fax: 453-677-4448
FINLAND
The Tough Ones (Hajyt)
Synopsis: Recently released from prison, two ex-bank robbers are tempted by a life of crime despite the efforts of their former partner, now a lawyer.
Director: Aleksi Makela
Producer: Markus Selin
Production companies: Finnish Broadcasting Co., Solar Films
Distributor: Buena Vista Intl. (U.S.)
Cast: Samuli Edelmann, Juha Veijonen
Festivals and awards: Lubeck, Interfilm Award
FRANCE
East-West (Est-Ouest)
Synopsis: 1946; an invitation from Stalin offering Russians living in the West a chance to return home and help build a new Soviet Union is not all it seems.
Director: Regis Wargnier
Producers: Yves Marmion (exec), Ogpr Tolstunov
Production companies: UGC YM, CNC, Le Studio Canal Plus, NTV-Profit, Gala Films, France 3 Cinema
Distributors: UGC-Fox Distribution (France), Sony Pictures Classics (U.S.)
Cast: Sandrine Bonnaire, Oleg Menshikov, Catherine Deneuve, Sergei Bodrov Jr., Ruben Tupiero, Erwan Baynaud, Grigori Manukov, Tatyana Dogileva, Bogdan Stupka
Festivals: Locarno, Toronto, Mar del Plata
GEORGIA
Here Comes the Dawn (Ak Tendeba)
Synopsis: A powerful statesman leaves it all behind when he runs away with his sick baby.
Director: Zaza Urushadze
Producer: Revaz Chkheidze
Production company: Georgia Films
Distributor: Georgia Films
Cast: Zurab Begalishvili, Guram Pirtskhalava, Nino Lezhava, Nino Koberidze
Festivals and awards: Alma-Ata, screenplay; Montpellier
World sales: Selesta, phone-fax: (70 95) 420-3891
GERMANY
Aimee & Jaguar (Aimee und Jaguar)
Synopsis: Two desperate and courageous women trapped in Berlin at the close of WWII share a forbidden love, and must contend with the Gestapo.
Director: Max Farberbock
Producer: Hanno Huth, Gunter Rohrbach
Production company: Senator Film Produktion
Distributor: Senator Film (Germany)
Cast: Maria Schrader, Juliane Kohler, Johanna Wokalek, Heike Makatsch, Elisabeth Degen, Detlev Buck
Festivals and awards: Bavarian Film Award, actress (Kohler, Schrader), direction (Max Farberbock); Berlin, Silver Bear (Kohler, Schrader)
World sales: Senator Film, phone: (49) 308-809-1756
GREECE
From the Edge of the City (Apo tin akri tis polis)
Synopsis: The lives of a group of young Greek-Russians living in a poor Athens neighborhood crumble as they attempt to overcome their ruthless environment.
Director: Constantinos Giannaris
Producers: Dionyssis Samiotis, Anastasios Vassiliou
Production company: Greek Film Centre
Cast: Stathis Papadopoulos, Dimitris Papoulidis, Theodora Tzimou
Festivals and awards: Berlin, Istanbul, Ankara, Stuttgart, Sydney, Pesaro, Jerusalem, Edinburgh, Helsinki, Toronto, Flanders, Chicago, Valencia, Pusan, Montpellier, Stockholm
World sales: Greek Film Centre, phone: (01) 363-4586
HONG KONG
Ordinary Heroes (Qian yan wan yu)
Synopsis: The story of social protesters in Hong Kong throughout the 1980s.
Director: Ann Hui
Producer: Ann Hui
Production company: Class Limited
Distributor: None as yet
Cast: Rachel Lee, Anthony Wong, Lee Kang-Sheng, Tse Kwan-Ho
Festivals and awards: Berlin, London, Montreal
World sales: Class Limited, phone: (852) 2302 1662 fax: (852) 2376 1300
HUNGARY
The Lord’s Lantern in Budapest (Nekem lampast adott kezembe az ur pesten)
Synopsis: Episodes in the lives of a pair of street-savvy gravediggers.
Director: Miklos Jancso
Producer: Jozsef Bojte
Production company: Kreativ Media Muhely
Cast: Zoltan Mucsi, Peter Scherer, Miklos Jancso, Gyula Hernadi, Emese Vasvari, Virag Csapo
Festivals and awards: Berlin, Karlovy Vary, Moscow, Jerusalem, Montreal, Bitola, Tallin, Trieste
World sales: Hungarofilm, phone: (361) 332-8729 fax: (361) 353-1317
ICELAND
The Honour of the House (Ungfruin goda og husid)
Synopsis: The tale of two sisters living in a family strictly motivated by pride and honor.
Director: Gudny Hallsdorsdottir
Producers: Halldor Thorgeirsson, Snorri Thorisson, Erik Crone, Christer Nilson
Production companies: Umbifilm, Pegasus, Nordisk Film Prods., Gota Films
Distributor: Nordisk Film Intl.
Cast: Ragnhildur Gisladottir, Tinna Gunnlaugsdottir, Egill Olaffsson, Rurik Haraldsson, Agneta Ekmanner, Rene Brynjohsson
INDIA
Earth (1947: Earth)
Synopsis: Depicts the lives, loves and religious feuds of a group of working-class friends living in the city of Lahore before and after the partitioning of India and Pakistan.
Director: Deepa Mehta
Producers: David Hamilton (exec), Jhamu Sughand (exec), Anne Masson, Dilip Mehta, Deepa Mehta
Production companies: Cracking the Earth Films , Goldwyn Films
Distributors: Friends India (India), Zeitgeist Films (U.S.)
Cast: Nandita Das, Kitu Gidwani, Aamir Khan, Rahil Khanna, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Eric Peterson, Maaia Sethna, Raghubir Yadav, Arif Zakaria
Festivals and awards: Toronto 1998, Seattle, Karlovy Vary, Melbourne, Auckland
INDONESIA
Sri
Synopsis: Drama of a young wife’s devotion to her dying husband
Director: Marselli Sumarno
Producers: Kemala Atmojo, Moetaryanto, Maselli Sumarno
Cast: Rina Ariyant, ARM. Ronosuripto, Sardono W. Kusumo
Festvals and Awards: Pusan
IRAN
The Colours of Paradise (Rang-e Khoda)
Synopsis: A spirited young blind boy is a burden to his father, who seeks to remarry and start a new life.
Director: Majid Majidi
Producer: Mehdi Karimi
Production company: Varahonar Film
Cast: Mohsen Ramezani, Hossein Mahjub, Salime Feizi, Elham Sharifi, Farahnaz Safari
Festivals and awards: Fajr; Gijon, Special Jury Award; Montreal, Grand Prix des Ameriques; Toronto
World sales: Varahonar Film, phone: (98 21) 800-0345 fax: (98 21) 802-8853
ISRAEL
Yana’s Friend (Hachaverim Shel Yana)
Synopsis: Three parallel stories of immigrants in Tel Aviv during the Gulf War about coming together while sealed in a room during Scud missile attacks.
Director: Arik Kaplun
Producers: Moshe Levinson, Uri Sabag, Anant Bikel, Marek Rozenbaum
Production companies: Transfax Films, Paralite Prods.
Distributor: Transfax Films (Israel)
Cast: Evelyn Kaplun, Nir Levi, Shmil Ben-Ari
Festivals and awards: Israeli Film Academy Awards, cinematography, director, editing, film, screenplay; Jerusalem, best Israeli feature; Karlovy Vary, actress (Kaplun); Toronto
World sales: Transfax, phone: (972 3) 566 1484, fax: (972 3) 566 1450
ITALY
Not of This World (Fuori dal mondo)
Synopsis: The lives of three strangers are forever changed when a baby wrapped in a sweater is found in a park.
Director: Giuseppe Piccioni
Producer: Lionello Cerri
Production company: Lumiere & Co.
Distributor: Entertech (U.S.)
Cast: Margherita Buy, Silvio Orlando, Carolina Freschi
Festivals and awards: David di Donatello Awards, film, screenplay, actress, producer; Montreal, Special Jury Prize; AFI, Grand Jury Prize, Audience Award; Chicago, Silver Hugo
World sales: Intrafilms, phone: (39 6) 807-7252 fax: (39 6) 807-6156
JAPAN
Railroad Man (Poppoya)
Synopsis: A miracle in the life of a lonely stationmaster.
Director: Yasuo Furuhata
Producer: Sunao Sakagami
Production company: Toei
Distributor: Toei
Cast: Ken Takakura, Shinobu Otake, Ryoko Hirosue
Festivals and awards: Montreal, actor (Ken Takakura); Pusan; Shanghai
World sales: Toei, phone: (81 3) 3535-7621 fax: (81 3) 3535-7622
LEBANON
Around the Pink House (Autour de la maison rose)
Synopsis: A local battle erupts when an old mansion is transformed into a commercial center.
Directors: Khalil Joreige, Joana Hadjithomas
Producers: Anne-Cecile Berthomeau, Edouard Mauriat
Production company: Mille et Une Prods.
Distributor: 7e Art (Canada)
Cast: Mireilla Safa, Joseoh Bou Nassar, Hanane Abboud, Maurice Maalouf, Zeina Saab de Melero, Asma Andraos
Festivals and awards: Montreal
World sales: Mille et Une Prods., phone: (331) 477-794-479 fax: (331) 477-044-71
MEXICO
No One Writes to the Colonel (El Coronel no tiene quien le escriba)
Synopsis: An old man blindly waits for the military pension he was promised.
Director: Arturo Ripstein
Producer: Jorge Sanchez
Production companies: Producciones Amaranta, Gardenia Producciones, Tornasol Fims, DMVB, Imcine, Tabasco Films
Distributor: William Morris Agency, attn.: Cassian Elwes
Cast: Fernando Lujan, Marisa Paredes, Salma Hayek, Ernesto Yanez, Rafael Inclan
Festivals and awards: Cannes, Toronto, Tokyo, Habana, Pusan
World sales: World Sales Christa Saredi, phone: (411) 201-1151 fax: (411) 201-1152
NEPAL
Caravan
Synopsis: In a Himalyan village, a young man defies the oracles by inciting the other village youth to lead the yak caravan with him, causing his chieftain father to retaliate.
Director: Eric Valli
Producers: Jacques Perrin, Christophe Barratier
Production companies: Galatee Films, France 2 Cinema, Bac Films, Les Productions J.M.H., Antelope, National Studio Limited (Nepal)
Cast: Thilen Lhondup, Lapka Tsamehoe, Gurgon Kyap, Karma Tensing Nyima Lama
World sales: President Films, France, phone 1-45-62-82-22; fax 1-45-63-40-56
NETHERLANDS
Scratches in the Table (Krassen in het Tafelblad)
Synopsis: A girl discovers her grandmother’s secret life.
Director: Ineke Houtman
Producer: Hans de Weers
Production companies: Egmond Film & TV, VPRO-TV
Distributors: RCV (Netherlands); First Look Pictures (U.S.)
Cast: Madelief Verelst, Rijk de Gooijer, Margo Dames
Festivals and awards: Berlin; Montreal Children’s Fest, Jury Prize; Utrecht
World sales: MDC Intl. Media Distribution and Film Consulting, phone: (49) 302-649-7900
NORWAY
The Prompter (Sufflosen)
Synopsis: A shy woman who works prompting singers at the opera struggles to find a place in the world outside her tiny prompting box.
Director: Hilde Heier
Producer: Christian Wildhagen
Production company: Wildhagen Produksjon
Cast: Herge Schoyen, Sven Nordin, Philip Zanden, Anne-Lise Berntsen, Liv Tandberg
Festivals and awards: Montreal
World sales: BV International Pictures, (47 52) 84-64-60 fax: (47 52) 84-64-61
PERU
Captain Pantoja and the Special Services (Pantaleon y las visitadoras)
Synopsis: An exemplary captain in the Peruvian army is commissioned to organize a special brigade of prostitutes to placate the soldiers in distant Amazon posts.
Director: Francisco J. Lombardi
Producer: Jose Enrique Crousillat
Production company: America Producciones
Distributor: None as yet
Cast: Salvadordel Solar, Angie Cepeda, Monica Sanchez, Pilar Bardem, Aristoteles Picho, Gianfranco Brero
Festivals and awards: Peru
World sales: Cinevista Intl., e-mail: renefuenteschao@netscape.net
PHILIPPINES
The Kite
Synopsis: A boy sees his drunken father kill and is unsure what to do about it.
Director and producer: Gil M. Portes
Production company: Teamwork Prods.,
Distributor: Quantum
Cast: Ricky Davao, Lester Llansang, Jennifer Sevilla, Mark Gil, Sinig Blanco, Daryl Reyes, Connie Lauigan-Chua, Nanding Josef, Roy Alvarez, R.R. Herrera, Aleth de la Cruz, Diding Andres, Nonon Talbo
Festivals and awards: Manila, picture, actor, child actor, story, screenplay, theme song; Cinemanila; Hawaii; Montreal
POLAND
Pan Tadeusz
Synopsis: National epic rich with nostalgic elements from Napoleonic times.
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Producer: Lew Rywin
Production companies: Heritage Films, Canal Plus Poland, Les Films du Losange, Le Studio Canal Plus, Wizja TV, TVP, Vision, AFP
Distributors: Vision (Poland), Filmart (U.S.)
Cast: Boguslaw Linda, Daniel Olbrychski, Grazyna Szapolowska, Andrezej Seweryn, Marek Kondratm, Krzysztof Kolberger, Michal Zebrowski, Alicja Bachleda-Curus
World sales: Le Studio Canal Plus (Paris), phone: (33 1) 4443-9800
PORTUGAL
The Mutants (Os Mutantes)
Synopsis: Tales of the “special homes” in Lisbon offering shelter to the homeless teens arriving daily in the nation’s capital.
Director: Teresa Villaverde
Producer: Gabriela Sequira
Production companies: Mutante Filmes, with JBA Prods. (France) and Pandora (Germany); Icam; RTP; Eurimages; Canal Plus; La Sept Cinema; Cinelibre
Cast: Alexandre Pinto, Nelson Varela, Ana Moreira, Helder Tavares, Samuel Costa
Festivals and awards: Cannes 1998; Taormina, actress (Ana Moreira); Bastille, actress (Moreira); MedFilm Festival, United Nations Award
World sales: Mutante Filmes, phone-fax: 351 213-952-975
ROMANIA
The Famous Paparazzo (Fantasticul Paparazzo)
Synopsis: In order to get compromising photos of a senator, a tabloid reporter befriends a middle-age prostitute.
Director: Nicolae Margineanu
Production companies: Ager Film, Romanian TV, Dakino Studio, National Film Office
Distributor: Romaniafilm RADEF
Cast: Marcel Iures, Maria Ploae, Gheorghe Dinica, Valeriu Popescu
World sales: Romaniafilm, phone: (40 1) 210-7930
RUSSIA
Moloch
Synopsis: In spring 1942, Hitler and his cronies make a visit to a remote castle built for the fuehrer’s personal needs.
Director: Alexander Sokurov
Producers: Victor Sergeev, Thomas Kufus
Production companies: Lenfilm Studios, Zero Films, Fusion Product
Distributor: Lenfilm Studios
Cast: Elena Rufanova, Leonid Mozgovoy, Elena Spiridonova, Leonid Sokol, Vladimir Bogdanov
Festivals and awards: Cannes 1999, screenplay
World sales: Celluloid Dreams, phone: (331) 4970-0370 fax: (331) 4970-0371
SLOVAKIA
All My Loved Ones (Vscaronichni moji blizci)
Synopsis: The story of a tragic death in an already miserable family.
Director: Matej Minae
Producers: Jioi Bartoscaronka, Rudolf Biermann
Production companies: In Film, Czech Television, TV Markiza, Sting, Titanic
Distributors: Falcon (Czech Republic), Tatra Film (Slovakia)
Festivals and awards: Bratislava
World sales: In Film Praha, Panska 1, 110 00 Praha 1, Czech Republic
SPAIN
All About My Mother (Todo sobre mi madre)
Synopsis: After the death of her son, Manuela goes to Barcelona to search for his father, Lola the Pioneer.
Director: Pedro Almodovar
Producers: Agustin Almodovar (exec), Esther Garcia (line), Michel Rubin (associate)
Production companies: El Deseo, Renn Prodictions, France 2 Cinema
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Cast: Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Penelope Cruz, Antonia San Juan, Candela Pena
Festivals and awards: Cannes, director, Ecumenical Award; New York; AFI; British Independent Film Awards, foreign film; Camerimage; FIPRESCI Awards, film; Jerusalem; Edinburgh
World sales: United Artists, phone: (44 171) 333-8877
SWEDEN
Under the Sun (Lender Solen)
Synopsis: A farmer’s home and heart is gradually taken over by a young housekeeper.
Director: Colin Nutley
Producer: Colin Nutley
Production companies: Sweetwater, AB Svensk Filmindustri, SVT Drama Gotberg, Film i Vast
Cast: Rolf Lassgard, Helena Bergstrom, Johan Widerberg
Festivals and awards: Svenska Filminstitutet
World sales: AB Svensk Filmindusri, phone: (46 8) 680-3500 fax: (46 8) 710-4422
SWITZERLAND
Beresina, or The Last Days of Switzerland (Beresinaoder die letzen tage der schweiz)
Synopsis: The unexpected career of a Russian call girl living in Switzerland.
Director: Daniel Schmid
Producer: Marcel Hoehn
Production companies: T&C Film, Pandora Films, Prisma Film
Distributor: Columbus Film (Switzerland)
Cast: Elena Panova, Martin Benrath, Geraldine Chaplin, Ulrich Noethen, Ivan Davis, Marina Canfalone, Stefan Kurt
Festivals and awards: Cannes, Locarno, Moscow, Montreal, Rio de Janeiro, Pusan, Vancouver, Las Vegas
World sales: T&C Edition, phone: (41 1) 202-3622 fax: (41 1) 202-3005
TADJIKISTAN
Luna Papa
Synopsis: The strange and fantastical journey of a rural father and daughter who embark on a trek with the very man who raped the young woman.
Director: Baktiar Khudojnazarov
Producers: Thomas Koerfer, Philippe Avril, Igor Toulstonov
Production companies: Prisma Films, Pandora Film, Thomas Koerfer Film, NTV-Profit, Les Films de l’Observatoire, Euro Space
Cast: Chulpan Khamatova, Moritz Bleibtreu, Ato Mukhamedshanov, Merab Ninidze, Nikolai Formenko
Festivals and awards: Tokyo, artistic contribution; Toronto
World sales: World Sales Christa Saredi, phone: (41 1) 201-1151 fax: (41 1) 201-1152
TAIWAN
March of Happiness (Tian ma cha fang)
Synopsis: Set in 1945, a tale of a strong-willed teenage girl struggling for personal and political freedom as Japanese occupation of Taiwan reaches an end.
Director: Lin Cheng-sheng
Producer: Yeh Chin-sheng
Production companies: Green Apple, Formosa TV
Cast: Lim Giong, Hsiao Shu-shen, Leon Dai, Chen Kun-Chang, Grace Chen
Festivals and awards: Toronto
World sales: Taiwan Film Center, phone: (886 2) 2239-6026 fax: (886 2) 2239-6501
TURKEY
Mrs. Salkim’s Diamonds (Salkim hanimin taneleri)
Synopsis: The story of injustices toward non-Muslims in Istanbul during WWII.
Director: Tomris Gintlioglu
Cast: Derya Alabora, Zafer Algoz, Hulya Avsar, Guven Kirac, Ugur Polat, Zuhal Olcay
UNITED KINGDOM (WALES)
Soloman and Gaenor (Soloman a Gaenor)
Synopsis: The tragic love story of a young Jewish man and a Welsh woman in the beginning of the century
Director: Paul Morrison
Producer: Sheryl Crown
Production companies: APT Prods., September Films
Distributor: Film Four
Cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Nia Roberts
Festivals and awards: Troia, director; Verona, feature
World sales: Film Four, phone: (171) 868-7700
VENEZUELA
Glue Sniffer (Huelepega)
Synopsis: The painful reality faced by countless homeless children in Latin American cities, and their deep connection to the world of drugs.
Director: Elia Schneider
Producer: Jose Novoa
Production companies: Unity Films, Filmart, Tango Bravo, Credesca
Cast: Jose G. Rivas, Luis Campos, Pedro Lander
World sales: Unity Films, phone: (582) 793-1267 fax: (582) 793-5658
VIETNAM
Three Seasons (Bamua)
Synopsis: Examines the new face of Vietnam; told through the perspective of four characters passed over by the “improvements” of Western progress.
Director: Tony Bui
Producers: Tran Thanh Hung, Tony Bui, Jason Kliot, Joana Vicente
Production companies: Glai Phong Film Studio, Open City Films
Distributors: Mars Films (France), Arthaus Filmverleih (Germany), October Films/USA Films (U.S.)
Cast: Don Duong, Ngoc Hiep Nguyen, Manh Cuong Tran, Harvey Keitel, Zoe Bui
Festivals and awards: Sundance, Audience Award, Grand Jury Prize, cinematography; Berlin; Karlovy Vary; Deauville; Athens; Reykjavik; Buenos Aires; Portland; Miami; Santa Barbara; Cleveland; San Francisco; Palm Beach; Tahoe; Philadelphia; Houston; Brussels(2000)
World sales: Good Machine Intl., phone: (212) 343-9230
YUGOSLAVIA
The White Suit (Belo odelo)
Synopsis: On the train ride home to his mother’s funeral, a middle-aged soldier falls for a young prostitute.
Director: Lazar Ristovski
Producer: Lazar Ristovski
Production company: Zillion Prods.
Cast: Lazar Ristovski, Radmila Shchogolyeva, Dragan Nikolic, Velimir Bata Zivojinovic, Danilo Bata Stojkovic
Festivals and awards: Montreal
World sales: The Sales Co., phone: (44 171) 434-9061 fax: (44 171) 494-3293
