Alternativa Film Festival 2024

Coming of age story of a 12 year old girl with albinism.

A woman tries to cling onto dimming links to her past after inheriting a pygmy slow loris from her long-estranged husband. Meanwhile, her niece prepares for marriage as the young couple ponders their gloomy future together. The present and the complex echoes of Vietnamese history are entwined before a contemplative and poetic perspective.

Melina is a young Iranian girl with divorced parents, living with her grandparents. Celebrating her 9th birthday, Melina legally comes of age in Iranian society, allowing her to take her custody case to court to get the legal permission to live with her mother. Melina is growing up much too fast having to deal with these adult issues. As she starts to realize her mother doesn’t want to take her in, Melina decides not to bring her case to court, knowing it won’t solve her problems. Instead, she holds her own trail of her mother in an intimate but hard confrontation.

When a 21-year-old girl falls in love with a boy from an oppressed caste, her infuriated family believes that she is possessed by his love spell. They ruthlessly drag her to a distant village shaman to break the spell and erase all her memories of him until she forgets his face by performing witchcraft and sacrificing a rooster. The girl’s innocent future is now dictated by the violent misogynistic patriarchs and their regressive ideologies. This one-day travel exposes the dangerous influence of caste, religion and chauvinism on an average Indian family. Will the girl and the rooster survive this lunacy or will they be victims to their belief system?

Withering Tree and Dying Ashes is a poignant short film that contrasts the innocence of youth with the harsh realities of aging. It follows a kindergarten teacher who, used to nurturing the young, becomes a caregiver for her father with dementia. As she navigates this emotional journey, the film delicately explores themes of decay, loss, and resilience. Through its sensitive portrayal of caregiving, it offers a deeply moving reflection on the fragility of life and the complexities of familial love - a triumph in cinema to offer people something more lasting.

This debut short film focuses on bullying and revenge among young adults during their training courses for the navy academy. Added by fantastic elements, it reveals a miniature of contemporary Indonesian society in which masculinity is required and a cycle of violence is anticipated. Bold in the message and professional in the cinema language, it is a strong and
well-crafted piece of art that takes the issue seriously and touches the nature of beast inside
every human being.

Set in Sabah, particularly in Kota Marudu, where socio-cultural development is influenced by a rich tapestry of indigenous traditions, cultural diversity, and economic challenges, the mother's unwavering determination highlights the importance of familial ties and the deep-rooted values of community, ultimately advocating for understanding and reconciliation across faith divides. The performances are heartfelt and authentic, accentuating the resilience of elderly women and their confidence in self-expression

In a Malaysia National Service camp, a Chinese trainee is ordered to lead her multiracial female comrades in washing the stained sanitary pads in the middle of the night.