Dirk Vandersypen Award Nominees 2007

Yanara Guayasamin with Cuba: the Value of Utopia (Ecuador 2006)

A generation of Cubans and their leader look back, confronting their dreams and the Cuba of today. Two parallel lines - the personal histories of the main narrators and the story of the revolution in which they took part – raise the questions: What is the price of living a life defined by an ideal? What does humanity lose when we no longer dream of Utopia?

http://www.luciernagafilms.com/html/produccion.html

Alexandra Indaco with El Elefante Blanco (Argentina 2005)

The White Elephant is a big white building in a slum in Buenos Aires. Originally it was meant to be a hospital, for ages now this colossal ruin has been the home of many poor families who squatted there.

Mother and daughter Ramona and Graciela have lived there for decades. Even after the collapse of the Argentine economy in 2001 these women manage to survive. Graciela runs a soup kitchen, her daughter is a student. The documentary follows them in their daily routine. We also see images from the archives of the monstrous building, an ambitious failure that can serve as a reflection of present-day Argentina.

www.interakt.nl

Florence Jaugey with De Niña a Madre (Nicaragua 2006)

Photo : Frank Pineda

“Girls to Mothers” narrates the life of three young girls: Kenia, from a poor neighbourhood of Managua; Blanca, a peasant girl from the northern mountains and Viviana, a Miskito from the Caribbean coast.

When the filming began, they were between 14 and 16 years old and none of the three had expected to be a mother so soon. We get to know them and share their final months of pregnancy, the birth of their babies, their hopes and their doubts about the future.

We discover how these three adolescent mothers are dealing with reality and their new responsibilities. Have they been able to make their dreams come true?

http://www.camilafilms.com/realizaciones.en?idrealizaciones=11

Pamela Yates with State of Fear: the Truth about Terrorism (USA/Peru 2005)

Photo : Vera Lentz

State of Fear takes place in Peru, yet serves as a cautionary tale for a world engaged in a “global war on terror”. It dramatizes the human and societal costs a democracy faces when it embarks on a “war” against terror, a “war” potentially without end, all too easily exploited by unscrupulous leaders seeking personal political gain.

Terrorist attacks by Shining Path guerrillas provoked a military occupation of the countryside. Military justice replaced civil authority, widespread abuses by the Peruvian army went unpunished, and terrorism continued to spread. Nearly 70,000 civilians eventually died at the hands of the Shining Path and the Peruvian military.

http://skylightpictures.com/film/site/film_detail/state_of_fear/

Tomorrow is always interesting. Mañana siempre es interesante. Morgen is altijd interessant." - Dirk Vandersypen