Petr Lom

On a Tightrope

Petr Lom

From director Petr Lom comes this metaphorical documentary that follows four Xinjiang province orphans learning the ancient practice of tightrope walking -- a tradition handed down by the Uighurs, China's biggest Muslim minority. But the government forbids the children from professing their faith, leaving them torn between Islamic values and those of atheistic communism. The film is the first in a trilogy about human rights in oppressive regimes.

Angels on Diamond Street

Petr Lom

Its about three women fighting for social justice in an African-American church in Philadelphia. We follow head cook Mamie, former Black Panther Barbara and Pastor Renee at the soup kitchen of the Church of the Advocate. When a Mexican immigrant, Carmela, asks the church for sanctuary, she and her children are welcomed with open arms. Pastor Renee courageously defies the ICE immigration authorities in an act of civil disobedience. A documentary about compassion that invites us to forget about all borders, be they of race, nationality or religion.

Back to the Square

Petr Lom

A year after the euphoria on Tahrir Square, the demonstrators' goals have not even come close to being reached. The country is ruled with an iron fist and there is still no democracy. The 'eye of the world' has moved elsewhere. How things have been in Egypt since 25 January 2011 is explained using five portraits of people from various walks of life.

Letters To The President

Petr Lom

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Iran, 2008. As President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's motorcade creeps through the teeming streets of Qom Shrine, thousands of people jam hand-written letters into the hands of his handlers. Hearing their President deliver a speech is a thrill, but more promising to these men and women is the hope that their letters - expressing pleas for loans, medical attention, housing and jobs - will be answered. Since his 2005 election on a populist, "man of the people" platform, Ahmadinejad has encouraged Iranians to send him such letters; according to a staff member, he has received about 10 million of them, and has been able to respond to nearly 76 percent. In one letter, a 16-year-old boy says his family has no money and goes to bed hungry every night. According to the staff member, the boy will be helped. As other letters are read, the worker says that "In Islam, charity is a necessity."

Ana Ana

Corinne van Egeraat, Petr Lom

ANA ANA is a cinematic poem about four young creative Egyptian women. Most of the material is filmed by the characters themselves, who worked with the film’s directors in a process of collaboration and mentorship over a course of two years. The four main characters find creative ways to express what is hidden within their hearts: speaking of their dreams and desires in an extraordinarily open and intimate way, and using metaphors, and cinematic storytelling to transform the every-day struggles of their lives into the sublime. Set in the overwhelming chaos of Cairo, the film also oscillates back and forth between an empty and abstract desert, which might be real or unreal.

Burma Storybook

Petr Lom

Maung Aung Pwint, Thukkamein Hlaing

Burma Storybook is a parade of characters, poems and cinema verité scenes set in this enchantingly beautiful land trying to recover from six decades of fear and suffering. The main story is of Maung Aung Pwint, Burma’s most famous dissident poet, who has spent more than 30 years behind bars for his political activism. The yearning for his lost son, who lives in political exile in Finland, and his long-awaited return home after 20 years, are at the heart of the film.