'Darbareye Elly' (About Elly) Islamic Republic of Iran
Directing: Asghar Farhadi
Asghar Farhadi was born in Isfahan, Iran in 1972. Whilst at school he became interested in writing, drama and the cinema, took courses at the Iranian Young Cinema Society and started his career as a filmmaker by making super 8mm and 16mm films. He graduated with a master's degree in film direction from Tehran University in 1998. During his studies, he not only wrote and directed student plays, but also wrote plays for national radio and directed for television with such shows as the hit series Tale of a City. In 2001, Farhadi wrote the screenplay for Ebrahim Hatamikia's box-office and critical success Low Heights. His directorial debut was with 2003's Dancing in the Dust. This film went on to participate in the Moscow Film Festival, where it won both the Best Leading Actor and Film Critics awards. Farhadi made his second feature film, Beautiful City, in 2004 which won the Best Feature Film award at the Warsaw Film Festival 2004, the India International Film Festival and Moscow's Faces of Love Film Festival. Fireworks Wednesday, his third feature, award winner at the Locarno International Film Festival 2006, has also been successful in other international festivals. The film has been released in both Europe and the USA. 2009's About Elly is his fourth feature film.
'Nanjing! Nanjing!' (City of Life and Death) People's Republic of China
Directing: Lu Chuan
Considered one of the most talented directors in China, Beijing Film Academy graduate Lu Chuan started his career as a scriptwriter for television drama series. His feature film directorial debut, Missing Gun (2001), was presented at the Venice Festival in 2002. His sophomore feature, Kekexili: Mountain Patrol (2004), won the Grand Jury Prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival and Best Picture at the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan. Lu’s third film, City of Life and Death, depicts the worst battle of the Sino-Japanese War in his unique cinematic vision.
‘Ahasin Wetei’ (Between Two Worlds) Sri Lanka / France
Directing: Vimukthi Jayasundara
Vimukthi Jayasundara was born in Sri Lanka in 1977. After making The Land of Silence, a documentary in black and white about victims of civil war, which participated in several international film festivals (Marseille, Rotterdam, Berlin), Vimukthi Jayasundara studied in France at Le Fresnoy Art School. He was selected by the Cinefondation of the Cannes Film Festival in 2003 to participate in their residency program. His directorial debut, The Forsaken Land was officially selected for the 2005 Cannes Film Festival (Un Certain Regard), where it won the Camera D’Or for Best Debut Feature. Vimukthi now lives between Paris and Colombo. Between Two Worlds is his second feature film.
'Dev.D' India
Directing: Anurag Kashyap
Anurag Kashyap made his writing debut with the gritty gangster flick, Satya (1998), directed by Ram Gopal Verma, which went on to become a cult classic. His directorial debut was an edgy, psychological drama, Last Train to Mahakali, followed by the violent, angst ridden rock band film Paanch. He wrote and directed the internationally acclaimed, Black Friday (2004), a film about the terrorist attacks that rocked Mumbai in 1993. British director, Danny Boyle, has cited Black Friday as an inspiration for his 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire saying that its opening scenes were based on Black Friday’s twelve-minute police chase through the crowded Dharavi slum. In 2007, he adapted the Stephen King novel, Quitters Inc. into a feature film titled No Smoking which he also directed. This was followed by the Hindi animated film, The Return of Hanuman. He is also the co-writer of Deepa Mehta’s 2005 Academy-Award nominated film, Water (2005).
'Ai No Mukidashi' (Love Exposure) Japan
Directing: Sion Sono
Sion Sono was born in Toyokawa City, Japan. Prior to becoming a filmmaker, Sono made his debut as a poet at the young age of 17. His poems appeared in such publications as Eureka and The Modern Poem Book. He began making 8mm films when he enrolled at Housei University. In 1985, his 30-min short Ore wa Sono Sion da!! was screened in competition at the prestigious Pia Film Festival, and two years later, he won the Grand Prize for Otoko no Hanamichi. Consequently, he received a fellowship from Pia and then wrote, directed, and starred in a 16mm feature entitled Bicycle Sighs. The film toured the festival circuit for two years and played at more than 30 venues in Europe and Asia. In 1994, The Room won the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in Tokyo, and then went on to screen at 49 festivals around the world, including Berlin and Rotterdam. While continuing to make films (such as Keiko Desukedo in 1996), Sono also staged a controversial, guerrilla performance art project called Tokyo Ga Ga Ga, which combined experimental poetry and street performance. Sono's recent film work includes 0cm4, a short film produced by fashion designer Shinichiro Arakawa, Utsushimi a documentary/fiction hybrid feature and Suicide Club, his biggest commercial success to date which won the 2001 Fantasia Festival Grand Jury Prize for Most Groundbreaking Film. Sono’s 2006 film Noriko’s Dinner Table won a special award at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival and was critically acclaimed worldwide. Hair Extensions (2007) was also highly acclaimed and screened on the world festival circuit including Sitges International Film Festival of Catalonia and Montreal's Fantasia Film Festival