Festival 2009Prisoners of a white god

films in competitions | special programs | panorama | films A-Z

PRISONERS OF A WHITE GOD PRIZONIERI AI ZEULUI ALB
Documentary Specification	Biography / Biografie
View Trailer / Official Website PRISONERS OF A WHITE GOD PRIZONIERI AI ZEULUI ALB ZAJATCI BILEHO BOHA Steve Lichtag Czeh Republic 2008 52 min. Director: Steve Lichtag Photography: Matěj Cibulka, Jan Bělohlavý, Tomáš Ryška Editor: Radim Kotěšovec Production Company: Steve Lichtag / Twin Star Productions World Distribution & Sales: Twin Star Productions Address: Steve Lichtag / Twin Star Productions, Milady Harakove 107, Prague 6, 160 00, Czeh Republic Tel./ Fax: 00420233321294 E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it	Steve L. Lichtag Literary dramatic arts studies. Founder and manager of independent Film production company Comfact. President of Crystal Planet Foundation. Several awarded documentaries on wild life. Studii de Arte dramatice. Fondator şi director al Casei de producţie de film independent Comfact. Preşedinte al Fundaţiei Crystal Planet. Regizor şi producător de documentare despre viaţa animalelor.
	Filmography / Filmografie
	2000 - Searching for Crystal World I. 2000 - Searching for Crystal World II. 2001 - Carcharias – The Great White 2004 - Dance of the Blue Angels 2006 - Bizzare World 2006 - A Myth Called Shark
	Awards / Premii
	IFF Envirofilm 2008 - Slovakia, Special Award RFAF 2008 - Russia, Grand Prix IFF Ekofilm 2008 - Czech Republic, Grand Prix IFMF Poprad 2008 - Slovakia, Grand Prix EKOTOPFILM 2008 - Slovakia, Main Prize TSTTT Uherske Hradiste 2008 - Czech Rep., Grand Prix (among many other awards)

Synopsis / Sinopsis

The Czech anthropologist Tomáš Ryška spent a few years in the mountains from Thailand and Laos, integrating himself into the day-to-day life of the Akha population. Trying to understand their problems, the scholar got so close to them that he ended by being accepted as one of them. However, the Akha population is gradually falling victim to the development programmes initiated by the western states. The poverty and lack of hope are the worsened by major problems such as opium (thousands of people are executed without a trial in the war against drugs) and malaria (on forced relocation to the lower lands, one of the five aborigines falls victim to this fatal disease). Also, the intentions of the missionaries in what regards the Akha children are not always that Christian. To this disadvantaged population, “progress” – as westerners see it – only brings about pain and fear. Based on an investigation of terrible conclusions, the film shows in true light many of the civilizing heroes of the present days.

Antropologul ceh Tomáš Ryška a petrecut câţiva ani în munţii din Tailanda şi Laos, integrându-se în viaţa de zi cu zi a populaţiei Akha. Încercând să le înţeleagă problemele, cercetătorul s-a apropiat foarte mult de membrii tribului, care au sfârşit prin a-l accepta ca unul de-al lor. Însă populaţia Akha devine treptat victimă a programelor de dezvoltare iniţiate de statele occidentale. Mizeria şi lipsa de speranţă sunt accentuate de pericole majore precum opiul (mii de persoane sunt executate fără proces în războiul împotriva drogurilor) şi malaria (la relocarea forţată în zonele mai joase, unul din cinci aborigeni cade victimă acestei boli fatale). În plus, intenţiile misionarilor cu copiii Akha nu sunt chiar creştineşti. Pentru această populaţie vitregită de soartă, „progresul” – aşa cum îl văd occidentalii – nu aduce decât durere şi spaimă. Bazat pe o investigaţie cu concluzii cutremurătoare, filmul ne arată în adevărată lor lumină mulţi eroi civilizatori ai zilelor noastre.

ASTRA FILM FESTIVAL 2009

Programming / Programare
Saturday 31 - Hall A - 17h00 / Sambata 31 - Sala A - 17h00

Films in PANORAMA / Filme in PANORAMA
DOLLS – A WOMAN FROM DAMASCUS , Diana El Jeiroudi, Syria
FLYING ON ONE ENGINE , Joshua Z Weinstein, USA
PRISONERS OF A WHITE GOD , Steve Lichtag, Czech Republic
THE SPEAKING TREE , Natasha de Betak, USA
TESTIMONY/TESTIMONIAL , Razvan Georgescu, Germany / Romania
UPSTREAM BATTLE , Ben Kempas, Germany
ZEN , Takahashi Banmei, Japan

films in competitions | special programs | panorama | films A-Z

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.