Rainbow Collective Film Festival

A festival of films by the Rainbow Collective film company, dealing with human resilience, economic development, exploitation, racism and resistance

Hosted by Leeds University School of Media and Communication, Centre for World Cinemas and Digital Cultures, Centre for African Studies, Centre for Global Development, Dept. of Arabic, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies

Tuesday October 27th, 18:30 - 20:00

Amazulu: The Children of Heaven
Velabahleke (Come with a Smile) High School in Umlazi township outside Durban may be the only school in the country that starts at 06h30am and finishes at 4pm and where students are racing to get there on time! Mbongeni Mtshali the principal, has created an oasis of excellence for hundreds of learners, and where students, staff and community are doggedly determined that they not ‘be slaves to their backgrounds’.

Bafana
Bafana is a 20 minute documentary, looking at the lives and experiences of Cape Town's street children. The film delves into the global crisis of street children, while offering a ray of hope in the form of Gerald and all his colleagues who are fighting to make a better future for the children in their care.

Wednesday, October 28, 17:00 - 20:00

Children’s Shorts
For many years we have developed film training programmes with young people from under-represented and deprived communities, providing the skills, equipment and training they need to enter the industry as artists on their own terms, whatever their background. In this film, stories from the inner city youth of Kingston, the homeless children of Dhaka and young film makers from around the UK can be seen together for the fist time in a remarkable programme of powerful and cinematic short films.

Thursday, October 29, 17:00 - 20:00

The Process
Filmed in Israel and Palestine, the Process is the human tale of a political story. Three lives, framed by bold cinematic observation and reflective criticism, reveal a new perspective on the Middle East peace process.

Tears in the Fabric
In Savar, Bangladesh, Razia struggles to raise two grandchildren after losing her daughters in the Rana Plaza factory collapse, a disaster which claimed the lives of over 1000 garment workers. One year on, Tears in the Fabric follows Razia as, amidst the struggle of raising and educating her grandsons, she searches for resolution and answers through protest on the streets of Dhaka and amongst the rubble and torn fabrics of Rana Plaza. Tears in the Fabric offers a starkly honest and deeply moving view of the human cost of high street fashion

Friday, October 30, 17:00 - 20:00

Mass E Bhat
One young man struggles to grow up and achieve his goals in modern Bangladesh. As we follow the 20 year old Nasir, now a social worker in the slums, he reflects on his life, from childhood in a rural village and his families migration to the city, through his early years working in the rubbish dumps and sweatshops and finally how he has achieved his dream of an education and respect within his community. As Nasir recounts his life, we meet a series of children, parents and employers, who mirror his past but are all real in the country's present.
Udita (Arise)
Udita follows 5 years in the lives of the women at the grass roots of the garment workers struggle. From 2010, when organising in the workplace would lead to beatings, sacking and arrests, through the tragedies of Tazreen and Rana Plaza, to the present day, when the long fight begins to pay dividends. We see this vital period through the eyes of the unions’ female members, workers and leaders.

http://www.rainbowcollective.co.uk/