Festival 2009Donkey in Lahore

DONKEY IN LAHORE PĂPUŞARUL
Documentary Specifications	Biography / Biografie
View Trailer / Official Website DONKEY IN LAHORE PĂPUŞARUL Donkey in Lahore Faramarz K-Rahber Australia 2007 117' Director/Writer : Faramarz K-Rahber Editor: Axel Grigor, John Bailey Photography: Faramarz K-Rahber World Distribution and Sales: Andrew Herwitz Faraway Productions Pty Ltd Film Sales Company PO Box 1602 Address : 165 Madison Avenue, Suite 601 Carindale, QLD 4152, AUSTRALIA New York, NY 10016, USA Phone: +1 212-481-5020 Phone: +61 414 339 796 Fax: +1 212-481-5021 E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it	FARAMARZ K-RAHBER Art studies at Queensland College of Art. Lecturer in documentary and film production at Griffith Film School, Griffith University. Studii de artă la Facultatea de Artă Queensland. Lector universitar de film documentar şi producţie cinematografică la Şcoala de Film Griffith, Universitatea Griffith.
	Filmography / Filmografie
	2006 - Fair Dinkum Manjit 2004 - Fahimeh’s Story 2001 - Spent 1999 - Road to Ability
	Awards / Premii
	Best Documentary, Ismailia Film Festival (2008) Cultural Identity/ Integrity Award, Ourense International Film Festival (2008) Independent Spirit Award, IF Awards (2004) Silver Award, ACS Queensland (2001) Best Short Doc, Queensland New Filmmaker Awards (2001)

Synopsis / Sinopsis

What can you do when you are an Australian puppeteer, who hopelessly fell in love with a Pakistani Muslim girl from Lahore? Seek her hand in marriage and hope for an instant „yes”? For Brian, things were not so easy. He met Amber on a puppet-show tour in Pakistan, and it was love at first sight. Despite Amber's wish to marry Brian, her family is totally unimpressed with her suitor. They do not know him, he comes from a foreign country, and, above all, he is not a Muslim. But Brian is determined to marry Amber. So, he is ready to convert to Islam, to learn the lines and to understand the substance of the Koran, and to ultimately win the trust of his family-to-be. The film follows the tedious process of Brian’s transformation into an eligible suitor for Amber, with the hope for a happy ending.

Ce te faci dacă eşti un păpuşar australian, irecuperabil îndrăgostit de o fată musulmană pakistaneză din Lahore? O ceri de soţie şi speri să-ţi spună imediat „da”? Lucrurile n-au fost atât de simple pentru Brian, care a întâlnit-o pe Amber la un spectacol de teatru de păpuşi într-un turneu în Pakistan şi s-a îndrăgostit de ea la prima vedere. Amber era gata să se căsătorească cu Brian, dar familia ei n-a fost deloc impresionată de pretendent. Nu-l cunoşteau, venea dintr-o ţară străină şi, mai ales, nu era musulman. Dar hotărârea lui Brian a fost de neclintit. Va face totul: se va converti la religia ei, va învăţa pasaje din Coran şi, în cele din urmă, va câştiga, poate, încrederea rudelor prin alianţă . Filmul urmăreşte procesul transformării lui într-un pretendent potrivit pentru Amber, cu speranţa unui final fericit.

ASTRA FILM FESTIVAL 2009

Programming / Programare
Wednesday 28 - Hall B - 21h45 / Joi 28 - Sala B - 21h45
Saturday 31 - Hall A - 20h00 / Sâmbătă - Sala A - 20h00

Films in International Competition / Filme in Competitie - International
THE ABSENCE, Ricardo Greene, Chile/UK
A BLOOMING BUSINESS, Ton Van Zantvoort, The Netherlands
BRIDES OF ALLAH, Natalie Assouline, Israel
DONKEY IN LAHORE, Faramarz K-Rahber, Australia
GANDHI'S CHILDREN , David MacDougall, Australia
GEARING UP , Sheetal S. Agarwal, Hong Kong
GLORIOUS EXIT , Kevin Merz, Switzerland
HORSEMEN , Nancy Muquing Wu, China
THE LAST RITES OF THE HONORABLE MR. RAI , Jayasinhji Jhala, USA
MONTI MOMENTS:MEN'S MEMORIES IN THE HEART OF ROME,Michael Herzfeld,USA
NORTH-SOUTH.COM , Francois Ducat, Belgium
ROUGH CUT , Firouzeh Khosrovani, Iran
SWEETGRASS , Lucien Castaing, Taylor & Ilisa Barbash, USA
THE TALE OF NICOLAI & THE LAW OF RETURN , Ofek David, Israel

FESTIVAL PROGRAM

film screenings

AFF09 Film Program (.pdf)

Mo.26 | Tu.27 | We.28 | Th.29

Fr.30 | Sa.31 | Su.01

events

Mo.26 - Su.01

FILM ARCHIVE

ASTRA FILM manages an extensive documentary film collection with public screening facilities. The ASTRA FILM archive started in 1990, and it has collected since thousands of documentaries produced in over 70 countries.

Due to our focus on the Eastern European and Romanian production, the ASTRA FILM archive holds a unique collection of documentaries documenting the issues of post-communism and transition in the region.