Música Cubana

Stories of extraordinary lives and extraordinary lands across the globe.

Buenos Aires, November 2001. Argentina is embroiled in crisis, with the Peso plunging deeper and deeper. Julio Färber, the charismatic bandoneon player of the 'Vecinos de Pompeya', a five-piece working-class tango band, is trying to keep his head above water, but every month he is earning less and less from their gigs as well as from the traditional shoe shop he inherited from his father. At the very moment he takes the decision to leave his beloved Buenos Aires forever, it clearly appears that life is conspiring against him: overnight, the government freezes all bank accounts in the whole country, preventing Julio from purchasing the flight tickets and sparking violent protests throughout the town. And Mariela, a witty young woman and feisty cab driver, bumps into his car at full speed, damaging Julio's last possession of value before stealing his heart.

A rare gem of cinematic storytelling that weaves docudrama, fictional reenactment, and experimental photography into a powerful, reflective work on the early days of German cinema. The film tells the story of the Skladanowsky Brothers, the German-born duo responsible for inventing the "bioskop", an early version of the film projector.

María Nieves Rego (80) and Juan Carlos Copes (83) met when they were 14 and 17, and they danced together for nearly fifty years. In all those years they loved and hated each other and went through several painful separations. Now, at the end of their lives, the two dancers are willing to open up about their love, their hatred, and their passion. In "Our Last Tango" Juan and María tell their story to a group of young tango dancers and choreographers from Buenos Aires, who transform the most beautiful, moving and dramatic moments of the lives into incredible tango-choreographies. These beautifully-shot performances compliment the soul-searching interviews and documentary moments of the film to make this an unforgettable journey into the heart of the tango.

Baskaran left India for Dubai with high hopes but came back in a coffin. His widow Sundari didn't believe he committed suicide, so the relatives recruit cousin and filmmaker Jayakrisahnan Subramanian to uncover, what really happened. On his research, Jayakrishnan discovers that his cousin's fate symbolizes the exploited dreams of thousands others and the consequences they have to face when they wake up.

"In 1991, I traveled from Buenos Aires to Germany to study film. Seven years later, I wanted to make this film: Images Of The Absence. The film tells the story of a family that never became one. My family. Images of the Absence is also a kind of diary of my journey from Germany to Buenos Aires to be able to understand the reasons for my parents' separation and for the long absence of my father. It is a film about love and the end of love, about growing old and death." - German Kral