ABOUT LOVE

Q&A with Director Archana Atul Phadke

Archana Atul Phadke in conversation with Hebden Bridge Film Festival Director Louise Wadley. You can see why Archana Atul Phadke’s affectionate but uncensored exploration of the dynamics of her own multi-generational home in South Bombay has picked up so many awards. Family members jostle and tease each other, arguments flare up and die away, and the house becomes more frenzied as brother Rohan’s wedding approaches. Despite her obvious deep love and devotion for her family, Archana’s frank approach along with her rejection of the old patriarchal values makes for a hilarious and deeply moving family portrait, which reflects the changing values of a modern India. Archana tells why she made this film and gives us some surprising and delightful news regarding her Mother, what she is working on now for Netflix and her plans for her next documentary. One to watch.

WILDFIRE

Q&A with Director Cathy Brady

Cathy Brady, in conversation with Hebden Bridge Film Festival Director Louise Wadley about her extraordinary film Wildfire, which debuted at the Toronto Film Festival before playing at the BFI London Film Festival, where she explores the impact of the Troubles on a family especially two sisters, Kelly (Nika McGuigan) and Lauren (Nora-Jane Noone). Brady who grew up on the Northern Irish Border talks about the aftermath of editing the film starring her close friend the late Nika McGuigan who tragically passed away during post production, the lingering effect of years of violence on generations past and present and why we urgently need to talk about the long term impacts of trauma on mental health. The award winning Director gives a heads up on what she plans to do next with the writing time afforded by her winning the substantial IWC Schaffhausen Filmmaker Bursary, in association with the BFI - including exploring the darker aspects of Eco volunteering. We can't wait to see what she does next. Wildfire is being released in early summer by Modern Films.

GIVE ME LIBERTY

Give Me Liberty Q&A with Director Kirill Mikhanovsky and Writer / Producer Alice Austen

Vic, (Chris Galust) the young Transport Driver who delivers clients to their daycare and medical appointments is always running late due to his kind heart and inability to say no to his pickups’ many and varied needs. Today is a bad day. When a Black Lives Matters demonstration forces him to take a detour and then his grandfather and elderly Russian-Jewish neighbours need a lift to a funeral, which is another detour that's going to make him and all his other passengers even later, especially Tracy a headstrong young black woman in a wheelchair (played by a riveting Lauren"Lolo" Spencer) then you have the recipe for a heart stopping ride that will have you rooting for everyone. This frantic US version of "Sorry We Missed You" will have you on the edge of your seat but their collective ride in the end is one of the most hilarious, authentic, compassionate, and intersectional portraits of American today. Kirill and Alice chat to  Hebden Bridge Film Festival Director Louise Wadley about the wild ride of raising the money, shooting the film and why it spoke to much of America and give us a heads up on some of their future projects.

THE MAN WHO WANTED TO FLY

Q & A with Director Frank Shouldice

​The irresistible story of 80-something bachelor farmer Bobby Coote. He left school at 13 and says his reading and writing isn't great. Bobby fixes clocks and spends a lot of time in his shed making violins from old furniture. But he’s never lost sight of a lifelong dream to fly. Capturing the wonder of one man’s dreams, The Man Who Wanted to Fly is a unique journey into a disappearing Irish border hinterland and shows that it is never too late to live your dream. Frank Shouldice gives us the background of the astounding story of filming Bobby and his brother ernie over 5 years as Bobby pursues his dream and gives us an update on how the brothers are now.​

HARAMI

Q & A with Director Shyam Madiraju, Executive Director Paul Feig and Syima Aslam (Bradford Literature Festival)

Sixteen-year-old orphan Pachpan is the most skilled of the gang of orphan pickpockets who work the train station in Mumbai. Abandoned by their parents to the merciless Sagar Bhai the boys are called by numbers rather than names. One day, Pachpan steals a wallet loaded with money but when he visits the home of the wallet's owner at the address found on an ID card, he begins to feel guilty about the unexpected events caused by his crime. Orphans are the main characters of Harami, but so is Mumbai, a relentless and demanding metropolis. Against the backdrop of this chaotic city unravels a story of crime, punishment, atonement and salvation. HBFF is thrilled to have Executive Director Paul Feig and Harami Director Shyam Madiraju join us live for a conversation with co-presenter Bradford Literature Festival Director Syima Aslam.
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OVERSEAS + THEY CALL US MAIDS

Q & A with Marissa Begonia (Voice of Domestic Workers) and Terry Wragg (Leeds Animation Workshop)

Overseas brings to light the question of domestic slavery in our globalized world, where everything including humans is a commodity. But Yoon's beautifully crafted and insightful documentary does not make her subjects passive victims. Eschewing the lazy choice of wall to wall narration, the women are given the time and space to speak for themselves. Between the laughter and pathos, slowly we discover the individual and unique stories of each woman. Her patient and rigorous filmmaking emphasizes their determination and sisterhood, and the strategies they find to face the obstacles that await them in the near future. Yoon is a major talent to watch out for.

Donations can be made to The Voice of Domestic Workers who support domestic workers especially in time of COVID
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SOUFRA

Q & A with Nabila Alzaeem (Rotary Peace Fellow Bradford University )

​Soufra follows the unlikely and wildly inspirational story of intrepid social entrepreneur Mariam Shaar – a generational refugee who has spent her entire life in the Burl El Barajneh refugee camp just south of Beirut, Lebanon. The film follows Mariam as she sets out to change her fate by launching a catering company, “Soufra,” and then expanding it into a food truck business with a diverse team of fellow refugee women who now share this camp as their home. Together, they heal the wounds of war through the unifying power of food, while taking their future into their own hands through an unrelenting belief in Mariam, and in each other. In the process, Mariam is breaking barriers, pulling together Syrian, Iraqi, Palestinian and Lebanese women to work side by side and form beautiful friendships, while running this thriving business.
To support the women of SOUFRA you can donate to this agency directly or buy the cookbook full of the mouth watering recipes for the beautiful food you saw in the film - yes they deliver to the UK but please only buy from this link not Amazon etc if you wish to support Mariam and the women of SOUFRA.

LUNANA: A YAK IN THE CLASSROOM

Q&A with Director Pawo Choyning Dorji

A young teacher in modern Bhutan, Ugyen, shirks his duties while planning to go to Australia to become a singer. As a reprimand, his superiors send him to the most remote school in the world, in a glacial Himalayan village called Lunana, to complete his service. He finds himself exiled from his Westernised comforts after an arduous 8 day trek just to get there. There he finds no electricity, no textbooks, not even a blackboard. Though poor, the villagers extend a warm welcome to their new teacher, but he faces the daunting task of teaching the village children without any supplies. He wants to quit and go home, but as he learns of the hardship in the lives of the beautiful children he teaches, begins to be transformed through the amazing spiritual strength of the villagers.
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REAL LIFE: THE CHALLENGE OF DOCUMENTARY

Panel Discussion moderated by Anna Kime with Jeanie Finlay, Abigail Scott Paul and Carol Salter. 

Panel discussion Jeanie Finlay is one of Britain’s most distinctive documentary makers. She creates award-winning work for cinema and television, telling intimate stories to international audiences. She has made films for HBO, IFC, BBC as well as four commissions for the acclaimed BBC Storyville strand, including BIFA nominated The Great Hip Hop Hoax and BIFA Award-winning Orion:The Man Who Would Be King. All of Jeanie’s films are all made with the same steel and heart, sharing an empathetic approach to bringing overlooked and untold stories to the screen.

​ Carol is an award winning documentary director who specialises in telling intimate stories from around the world. Her debut feature documentary Almost Heaven won Best Documentary at BIFA, nominated for Best Documentary and a Crystal Bear at Berlin International Film Festival 2017. A graduate of the National Film and Television School, Carol’s previous films have screened worldwide and won numerous awards, including at IDFA, Edinburgh and Sheffield Doc/Fest. Her most recent films, Left Coast was part of The Uncertain Kingdom anthology and Breadline was premiered at Sheffield Doc Fest 2020.
 Abigail works at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation alongside poverty activists and campaigners, content creators, cultural partners and the media to drive JRF's strategy and tell a new story about people in poverty. She led JRF's award-winning Talking about Poverty work and is passionate about the role of authentic storytelling for systems change, and recently collaborated with Sean McAllister on the critically acclaimed documentary A Northern Soul.

 Moderator Anna Kime is an artist and consultant based in Sheffield where she works on film, art and community projects. Previously Anna set up Film Hub North, devising audience development strategies for film exhibitors across the North of England. She also founded This Way Up, the UK’s only cultural cinema exhibition conference. Anna currently represents Birds’ Eye View’s Reclaim the Frame for Sheffield and recently exhibited at Bloc Projects in Sheffield.

BELOVED

Beloved Q & A _ Director Yaser Talebi in conversation with Louise Wadley and Narguess Farzad (SOAS) as interpreter.

​82-year-old Firouzeh is fiercely independent and passionately devoted to her cows. She resists calls to give up the punishing  life of a nomadic cow herder in the mountains and to retire to a more appropriate and sedate life in one of the lower villages. Married off as a young girl to an older man and bearing 11 children, widow Firouzeh now prefers the company of  her beloved cows to other humans. With stunning cinematography and filmed over a period of two years in the extremely remote and rugged mountains of Northern Iran, Yaser Talebi's memorable portrait combines lyricism, humour and poetry and offers us a rare insight into the disappearing world of this unique and powerful woman.
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THE BLACK TREE -Q&A

 The Black Tree Q & A with Jessie Gibbs (HOME) and Dr. Ignacio Aguiló (University of Manchester)

With a host of awards and stunning cinematography, this beautiful and poetic documentary follows Martín, an indigenous goat farmer from the Qom (or Toba) community in Argentina who is trying to find out why his precious goats are dying. Their sickness is a metaphor for his people's land, which is being bulldozed and destroyed by huge multinational agribusinesses. In their fight for land rights, the Qom organize demonstrations and conduct roadblocks, mostly in vain, and still the goats keep dying. Martín turns to an ancient and magical solution: a pilgrimage to the elusive Black Tree, with its mythical power to break a curse. Will he find the answers there?​
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SHORT FILMS - Q&A

Q&A with Directors: ​

​In conversation with the Directors of all 8 films:
Magicland - Emily Stein & Celia Wills
Fine - Maya Yadlin
Mind Yersel - Bonnie Macrae - 2nd Prize
The Daring Young Girl on the Flying Trapeze - Nina Ross -1st Prize
Veni Etiem (I Shall Come Again) -Alex Hai & Mahtab Mansour
Inner Self - Mohammad Hormozi
Saeed- Joan Stein Schimke
Anatomy of a Crooked Spine - Kate Morrison
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