The Psiphon Oscars
Once a year, all eyes are on Hollywood for the Academy Awards, or Oscars as they are known. One of the prize-winning categories is for "Best Foreign Film". The winning movies often get remade by Hollywood - this year's nominated Toni Erdman from Germany will be remade starring Jack Nicholson for example. But the originals themselves often are overlooked by a wider audience. So we asked some Psiphon users to recommend us a film from their part of the world that deserves a wider audience.
From Lebanon: West Beirut and Mamnou3
By Yas from Lebanon
West Beirut is the coming-of-age story of Tarek, a high-school student living in the Muslim west side of war-torn Beirut in 1975. Tarek is thrilled by the chaos as schools are closed and he can spend his time filming movies with his best friend Omar, discussing politics and meeting Christian girls. As tensions rise, Tarek is faced with the tragic reality of his world.
I love this movie because it's smart, human and warm, and the storytelling is beautifully crafted. To generations of youths in Lebanon, Tarek's experience remains timeless, even thirty years later, in the aftermath of the war. I can tell you that is how me and my friends experienced our coming-of-age in Beirut. You can find the whole movie on Youtube.
I also wanted to recommend Mamnou3, a web series from 2012. Its a mockumentary web-series that captures the mundane life and inner-workings of the country's censorship bureau.
I cannot help but laugh, hard and often, as I watch this delightful series because it is so spot on. The censorship bureau in Lebanon often finds itself over its head, grossly failing to keep up with to the times and obstinately trying to contain and discipline art and culture in a globalized world.
You can watch the series in full online here
From Uganda: Queen of Katwe
By Girma in Kenya
A young girl from a slum in Uganda's capital accidentally learns how to play chess. She rises up the ranks to be a global champion. The journey to the top brings with it hard choices, dilemmas and revelations on identity and fate. More info about the film, including how to get the DVD or rental, is available here. I live in Kenya and this film is from Uganda, which borders Kenya to the west.
From Tunisia: Hedi
By Mehdi in Tunisia
The movie turns around the character of Hedi who works as a sales representative. After he loses his father, his mother takes the lead to manage the family. She finds a woman who meets her criteria and organizes a wedding for her son. However, during a work trip, Hedi meets another woman and takes the opportunity to control his own life. You can get a flavour of the movie from the trailer.
From Mexico: Rudo y Cursi
By Paola from Mexico
Rudo y Cursi (Rude and Corny) is a Mexican dark comedy about two siblings with a dream to become professional football players. There's some money involved, bets, love and failures. I like it because it's funny, because of the way Gael Garcia and Diego Luna act together and the song gets stuck in your head.
You can see a trailer and buy this movie from the Google Play Store or try Netflix in your region.
From China: Great Wall and Nirvana in Fire
By Psiphon User from China
I have a couple of recommendations. The first is The Great Wall, a new movie starring Matt Damon, Jing Tian and Pedro Pascal. Its an action adventure movie and the biggest film ever shot entirely in China.
I also want to mention a great TV drama called Nirvana In Fire. I like it because it talks about old historical China. It is a good option for other people to know what historical China looked like and how the old family intrigues and feuds played out. We found this series online at viki.com.
From Iran: Please Do Not Disturb
By Psiphon User from Iran
For my recommendation, I decided to go with a lesser-known Iranian film which I really like, Please Do Not Disturb (2010). By no means is it the best film, but I find it refreshing and very entertaining. The film has three independent storylines that occur in a single day in Tehran: A famous TV-show host who is trying to talk his wife out of going to police to report physical violence. A cleric pleading over the phone to the thief who stole his wallet and important documents on the train, while having to deal with his chaotic office. Finally an elderly couple, who are too frightened to let a young-infant-carrying repairman enter their apartment even though they need him to fix their TV.
Wrapped in dark comedy, this 80 minute film gives us a glimpse of the dysfunctional structures of contemporary Iranian society.
You can see the trailer here and pay to watch it on imvbox.com
From Hong Kong: Cold War 2
By Sophia from Hong Kong
If I had to recommend a must-watch film from Hong Kong, it would definitely be Cold War 2. It is a sequel to Cold War that first came out in 2012, a police thriller film starring the most famous Cantonese actors including Tony Leung, Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok and Charlie Yeung. Cold War 2 is even better with Chow Yun Fat joining the film, the lead actor of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon who is best known for his police or criminal roles in the Hong Kong Cinema. This film is a long-awaited return of him to the thriller genre. If you like the action scenes in Jackie Chan’s Police Stories from the 80s, or the exciting plot twist in the recent Infernal Affairs, Cold War 2 is a hit that will not disappoint you.
You can rent or buy this movie from the Google Play Store.
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