This Prison Where I Live

Director: Rex Bloomstein

Year: 2006

When the story of the unspeakable has been told a thousand times, when the images of the unimaginable have been shown a thousand times, when the mind is numb - where do you go from there? You have to start anew. That is where this film begins. On the banks of the River Danube, surrounded by the beautiful landscape of Upper Austria, lies the picturesque town of Mauthausen. Two kilometres from its town centre is a place that attracts busloads of tourists, parties of schoolchildren, people from all over the world. Tour guides come to work here every day while nearby the locals go about their daily lives. This is a place where thousands upon thousands of people from over 30 nations were tortured and murdered. How does it feel to be a tourist at a former concentration camp? How does it feel to work here as a guide, day in, day out? How does it feel to live here as a local with the dark secrets of the past? And what of those who've chosen this town to be their new home?

Director: Rabie Mustapha

Year: 2026

In this participatory documentary, filmmaker Rabie Mustapha works with a group of children living in Northern Ireland to tell stories about their family life and cultural backgrounds. Despite the children’s globalised nature, they manage to bring in an insight to specific cultural journeys from Al-Nuba, Halab and the Northern Irish countryside. We see Maya, an inquisitive 9 year old girl whose hobby is to deliver shocking facts within a deadpan and to ask deep philosophical questions. Through an interview with her mom we learn about her Nubian heritage and a long history of generations displacement. Mahmoud and Khalid on the other hand are more calm and observant. Through their filmmaking journey we learn about their Syrian and Turkman heritage. With Mila we see the countryside of Limavady and learn about a more relaxed way of living where children are more connected to nature and where the girl’s artistic abilities are developing. Through this pluralistic film Northern Ireland is portrayed as a changing place with more than one face.

Director: Benjamin Wigley

Year: 2022

Can one footprint imprint on our collective consciousness and create change? A walk; a pilgrimage, an odyssey…for the planet. Five hundred miles from London to Glasgow Cop26: Eight weeks, 56 days and more than 56 host organisations, over a thousand walkers and thirty rolls of 16mm celluloid film. Official Selection Encounters Film Festival 2022