電影癮發作，在第比利斯參觀國際電影節

我哋一向喺香港都有去國際電影節，每年無睇哂啲戲都會睇十部。十二月嚟到格魯吉亞首都第比利斯，適逢其第十四屆電影節，而且睇戲好平，約每人每套戲戲票約三十元，我哋當然唔客氣。離開咗首都去酒區卡其提一星期都會返嚟睇戲。有幸梳化主人魯卡斯肯收留我們，就算他不在家，仍然留低鎖匙俾我哋入屋。況且佢屋企嚟播放電影院很近，我哋一於老實不客氣，一連睇咗十幾套戲*。

老實講，我哋覺得香港電影節辦得井井有條: 預早一個月已經知道時間表、可以郵遞或上網買飛、有影迷通行証和多場講票優惠等。呢啲嘢喺辦咗十幾年嘅第比利斯國際電影節全部欠奉。網頁講到天花龍鳳，喺開始前一星期喺網頁都未有時間表及電影資料，我哋寫電郵問，兩日後有個人回答話正準備中。睇嚟好似係一個人做哂所有嘢咁踢腳。特顯呢個國家做嘢風格: 講就天下無敵，死沖爛沖，之後甩甩漏漏。終於喺網上出咗個時間表，但係居然得兩間電影有放映，仲要只可以喺嗰間影院買嗰間放嘅戲。可想而知，開始買飛當日排龍不特止，原來時間表印刷本只係當日先開始喺嗰兩間戲院先派，瞬間派哂 ! 個買飛電腦只係睇到格魯吉亞文，唔知道我哋買嗰場戲時間嘅戲名。甩漏一路嚟: 原本話英文字幕變咗俄文、遲到放映、入場數目多個戲院坐位、甚至試過放錯戲 ! 算啦，大部份時候都無乜題。

講番啲電影，我哋認為以後可以睇番國際電影，所以揀啲本地製作。以下幾套是深刻的:

Full Speed Westward (Stefan Tolz) 講述最近新政府交替，之前政府崇洋崇發展，起埋哂啲超現實政府建築；新政府由一本地富商(但喺俄羅斯辦銀行發蹟)開頭的政黨透過選舉代替，好似比較務實。個導演好似左右逢源咁能夠訪問前總統及富商，當晚戲院好似坐滿名流鄉紳。

Disorder (Archil Kavtaradze) 講述一真人真事: 中產司機撞傷一對偷食戀人，變拘留監禁和罪犯為伍，要份精神病才能轉至較自由的病房，但又看到另一班被社會遺棄的邊緣人。最後作結是把格魯吉亞自古民族所處的艱苦和他所受的比較。難道兩者都是人禍嗎? 比較本身有點勉強，但一貫高加索民族的强悍。呢套戲喺今屆被選為其中最佳電影。

這一星期我們如在香港般跑戲院跑得不亦樂乎，有時為了趕時間，只有出街吃飯，我們的快餐就是像大款小籠包的Khinkali !

下載 - 第十四屆第比利斯國際電影節時間表

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3/12

13:30 Amirani 2 For Marx… – Svetlana Baskova, 100’, Russian with Eng. subtitles

16:00 Amirani 1 Paradise: Love – Ulrich Seidl, 120’ , German-English-Swahili with Eng. & Geo. subtitles, Q&A

21:30 Rustaveli 4 Imagine – Andrzej Jakimowski, 105’, English-French with Eng. & Geo. subtitles
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4/12

11:00 Amirani 1 Disorder – Archil Kavtaradze Georgia, 2013, 90’, Georgian with English subtitles, Q&A

13:30 Rustaveli 4 For Those in Peril – Paul Wright, 93’, English with Geo. subtitles

16:00 Amirani 2 I Am a Little Georgian – Levan Adamia, 52’, with Eng. subtitles
The King – Shalva Shengeli, 58‘, with Eng. subtitles, Q&A

19:00 Amirani 1 Paradise: Faith – Ulrich Seidl, 115’ German-Arabic with Eng. & Geo. subtitles, Q&A

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5/12

13:30 Amirani 1 Paradise: Hope – Ulrich Seidl, 92’, German with Eng. & Geo. subtitles, Q&A

16:00 Rustaveli 4 F5 Alexander Koridze, 78‘, Georgian with Eng. subtitles, Q&A

19:00 Amirani 1 Full Speed Westward – Stefan Tolz, 90’, Georgian with Eng. subtitles, Q&A

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6/12

12:00 Amirani 2 Burning Bush – Agnieszka Holland, 234’, Czech with Eng. & Geo. subtitles

16:00 Amirani 3 Almost 18 – Maarit Lalli, 110’, Finnish-swedish with Eng. & Geo. subtitles

21:00 Amirani 3 Rat King – Petri Kotwica, 93’, Finnish with Eng. & Geo. subtitles, Q&A

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7/12

12:00 Amirani 3 Medeas – Andrea Pallaoro, 98’, English with Geo. subtitles, Q&A

16:00 Rustaveli 4 As If there Was a Sea – Levan Sikharulidze, 13‘ Crossroads – Zurab Demet My Friend Iliko – Nino Zhvania, 10‘ One Man Loved, 12‘ The Queue – Anna Tsimintia, 11’, with English subtitles, Q&A

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8/12

12:00 10 Films Amirani 2, Festival of Animated Films TOPUZI presents 10 Films

16:00 Rustaveli 4 Ida – Pawel Pawlikowski, Poland/Denmark, 2013, 80’, Polish with Eng. & Geo. subtitles 

Our first day in La Paz enjoying the Gran Poder parade

Slept for a few hours, we woke up at 9am, made some breakfast and enjoyed a chat with Daltry, our host in La Paz.


He was kind and gentle, with an intense interest in people and pay much attention when talking with everyone. We enjoyed chatting with him. As a translator, Daltry also speaks excellent English. In fact, we are told there was not many translator in La Paz (and in Bolivia as well) and he was one of the few.


We took a walk at noon for the market and the annual Gran Poder, a big street parade, supposingly praising Jesus for his mighty power but turns out a 65 groups parade, showing off how rich people are by their expensive costume and getting drunk until 3am. Daltry was not interested in the event and he stayed home for rest and work.


When the minimum wage in Bolivia is B$1000 per month, those fancy costume at Gran Poder cost at least US$500 and took long time to handmade.


We walked along Avenue Camacho and Avenida 16 de Julio for the parade, which was just one block away from where we stayed.

The road was blocked and there are chairs around the street. Groups danced and played instruments while walking down the slope. Hawkers were selling caps, food, beer all along the area and we managed to squeeze in the performance zone to walk along with the performers for a while, until we were stopped by the police.

It was a one-day-only performance, and performers danced with fancy costume, with music and drumming, people also grasped the chance to get drunk. It was rather ironic with its background of the parade celebrating the mighty power of Jesus. The costumes were fancy but the parade, frankly, was nothing compared to Sombodromo's in Rio.


We watched a while and tried to go to nearby market but they were all closed. We returned at 4pm and Adley managed to make some fried rice out of the kitchen resources. 

We head out at 6pm and Daltry showed us Mirador Killi Killi, a place that we are able to see views of the town,but need to walk slowly, first because the crowd ion Avenida 16 de Julio were still there, people were drinking and music were loud in the street, secondly, due to the altitude, it's 3800m above the sea surface here.

More attraction in Potosi

After the mine tour, we went to the The Casa Nacional de la Moneda, which used to be the National Mint in Colonial time and now a museum.


We reached there at 3pm and was informed that there was an English guided tour just started. The admission was B$40 each but those taking photograph and video have to pay extra.


The door was locked everywhere after we visited and a security guard followed. I guess the exhibits worth so much, in monetary and historic value that only guided tour is allowed.


It contains ancient coins, wooden minting machines that was kept in the best condition around South America, precious stones and coin making equipments, showing the dark history of how indigenous and the black slaves had work here all day, dying of mercury poison.

The English guide explained in fine details, but didn't have much information about how many people worked here or how many hours they worked. The casa was probably locked up when it's was in production, without much written record apart from the standard of the silver coins, which was most important at the time.

The next day, before we left, we went to the plaza for a walk and found that there was a line of student parade in full fancy local costume. They were probably celebrating a Don Bosco festival

 Then we took a micro and left for the terminal.

現場報導 - 體育會主場迎戰歌利亞, 雙方打成平手

如果唔係呢場波, 我哋可能一早離開La Plata。場波啲飛要當日走去球場先買到 (球會會員可以之前兩日買)，仲要好似買藥咁喺個好細嘅窗度買，麻鬼煩。 最後買'general'企位 (男嘅60peso女嘅40peso,因為要吸引多啲女球迷入去呢個一向陽剛味重嘅活動)，希望可以感受下氣氛。小部份在瑒側嘅座位係俾VIP,但d觀眾較靜，只會乖乖哋坐。

球隊主場對當地係大件事，差不多成個La Plata城嘅人都去支持，球場附近迫得水洩不通。一個個排隊入場，要搜身，唔准帶樽 (玻璃免問)驚人飛樽入場。我哋企喺石屎板凳的看台睇波。點解石屎? 因為我哋會不斷跳，唔跳就代表你唔係自己人 (其實無乜嘢，只係啲人會以為你係遊客)。

 

球賽開始前，球迷會不斷唱球會歌，又會有旗海示威，當然又會不斷跳，跳到啲石屎凳震哂。男女老幼都大聲唱，好熱鬧。當然時不時都聞到草味。

講番場波，其實係乙組賽事，實力有限，主隊位居第五，和客隊位居榜首打成拉鋸戰(其實都有啲悶)，我哋覺得客隊實力較強，交波較準，主隊只有拼勁攔截，射門把握麻麻(這個當然唔會同主隊粉絲Leandro講)。（M:但主隊個龍門截得好，仲好似幾靚仔。）最係互交白卷，我哋志不在球賽，而是睇下啲球迷點用粗口鬧球証及對方球員。如果佢哋認為球証唔判，男女都會問候佢娘親。

賽事完畢，魚貫離場，另加節目食燒腸包，街邊檔生意滔滔不絕。賣成10peso賺死佢，老婆口痕難抵引誘光顧。其實睇球賽喺阿根廷也是賞心樂事，有得瘋狂有得鬧人發洩有得食，過癮。(M:場內仲有不少青春少艾的美女睇波，曾先生當然高興！）

The Brazil Carnival in Rio de Janeiro

We have heard so much about the Brazil Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, and it's truely amazing.

A world annual event, taking whole year to prepare, with international tourists flying all over the world to participate, with accommodation - from hotels, youth hostels to camping on roof top charging at least 3 times higher than usual, flocks of tourist paying a handsome amount for Sambadomo tickets and Carnival packages or to the extend of being a part of the parade - all of these reflect a great economic drive around this very established world event.
 
It's our first time in Brazil and it's our first carnival. We don't know much about it. Just the homepage about Sambadomo, or sites selling expensive carnival packages.

Actually, we found Carnival and parade not only happened in Rio de Janiero but in many other South American cities during the week or month of the forty days before Easter Sunday. It had a long tradition, related to Christianity, European culture, African culture and Aboriginal culture . It happens in Sao Paolo, Salvador (Brazil), Barranquilla (Colombia), Oruro, Santa Cruz, Tarija and La Paz (Bolovia), Montevideo (Uruguay), Los Tambores de Bariovento and Los Diablos de Yare (Venezuela) and so many more, all at the similar time, some bigger or smaller in scale and others longer or shorter in duration.

Carnival in Rio include free parties and parades in the street, where people dressed up in costumes, dancing and drinking, with live music, drumming and dancing.  While the Sambadomo is the show of the year, in four consecutive days, from 7pm till the next morning, where expensive tickets are sold, for each night individually and there will be live TV show all night long.

 Locals who cannot afford the expensive tickets could either watch the match in from afar in the streets, riverside or flyover, or on TV.
 





We managed to find a second hand tickets at 3am in the morning for one of the night, got a very good seat on ground level, next to the judges and got these beautiful pictures.