SAHARA PRESSE SERVICE

SAHARA PRESS SERVICE

SPS
SADR/FESTIVAL/CULTURE
Arrival to Aousserd of participants to the International Festival of the Cinema of the Sahara

02.03.05

Aousserd (refugees camps), 02/03/2005, (SPS) The participants to the International Festival of the Cinema of the Sahara, which will take place from the 3rd to the 6th March, arrived Tuesday evening to Aousserd, to take part to this "international cultural" event that is organised for the second time in Saharawi refugees camps, declared to SPS Mr. Sid Ahmed Derbal, delegate of the Saharawi representation to Madrid and member to the organising Committee of the Festival.

This event, "will from now on an occasion to maintain a cinematographic and cultural tradition in Saharawi refugees camps" and is now counting with the participations of more than 280 foreign visitors including Spanish movie stars, "who came here explicitly to animate the festival with the Saharawi public from the camps", indicated Mr. Derbal.

"We planed this year for the projection of 17 films from Spain, India, Denmark, Mauritania and Senegal" (…) "chosen from more than 37 films proposed to the Committee", he stressed.

The organisers of this Festival had already started, Today morning, the works of the Documentary film workshop, which forms another aspect of the Festival, added to two other workshops of sound and for cartoons.

Round tables of discussions between the public, specialists of the cinema and actors of the projected films will be organised to exchange "points of view and impressions of the Saharawi public on the films". A Saharawi jury will have the last word in designating the winner in the three categories, knowing that this same public "is in fact the Committee of arbitration that will designate the winning film of each category", added Mr. Derbal.

This Festival, will also count on the projection of Spanish movie, "Mar adentro" (The sea inside), by Alejandro Amenabar, in 2004, which recently won the Oscar of the best foreign language movie.

This festival, which will count with the participation of Spanish stars of the Cinema such as Iciar Bollaín, Mercedes Sampietro, Angel de la Cruz, José Coronado, Lola Dueñas, Javier Freser and Chuz Gutiérrez.

It is an occasion to "introduce Saharawi population of the refugees' camps to cinema as a mean of attraction and culture", it was said.

Documentary films such as, "El milagro de Candeal", by Fernando Trueba, or Spanish movies such "La rosa del desierto" and "Flores de otro mundo" (respectively, Rose of the Desert, and , Flowers of another world), which speaks of the problems of immigration, in addition to Indian and Danish films, will be showed on a great screen out in the open.

The organisers also planed that the famous Director Angel de la Cruz (winner of the Rose of the Desert 2003, the symbolic price of the festival) will produce a cartoon with the paintings of Saharawi children of the refugees' camps.

In the programme there will also be other movies such as, "En el mundo a cada rato" (In the world in each moment), a collective project realised in 2004, "Salvador Allende", by Patricio Guzmán, or "Crimen Perfecto" (perfect crime) by Alex de la Iglesia.

"Heremakono", by Abderrahmane Sissako (Mauritania) and "Madame Brouett", by Mousa Sene Absa (Senegal) will form with Indian movie, "Devdas", the section of the cinema of the world, while the Saharawi children will have the occasion to see children movies such as "Vampiros en La Habana" (Vampires in Havana), a film by Juan Padrón (Cuba), "La gran aventura de Mortadelo y Filemón" (The Great adventure of Mortadelo and Filemon), by Javier Fresser and "Zafir" (Denmark).

After the Festival a second video library in Aousserd, already proceeded by another one in Smara after the end of the first edition of the Festival, was dedicated by the organisers to the refugees.

"A project that aims at creating a net of cinematographic projection to generate a permanent and scheduled programme that have a cultural goal", it was indicated.

The first edition of the International Festival of the Cinema of the Sahara was organised in the 21 November 2003 in the Wilaya of Smara, it should be recalled. (SPS)

060/090/000 021204 MAR 05 SPS

SPS
SADR/MARATHON/IMPRESSION
The Association of Itlian Handicapped expresses its solidarity with the Saharawi people

Smara (refugees camps), 02/03/2005 (SPS) The President of the Association of Italian Handicapped Athletes, Mr. Andréa Mazuchi, expressed on Tuesday his "unconditioned support" to Saharawi people support for freedom and independence, after his participation to the competitions of the 5th edition of the "Sahara Marathon", which took place Monday starting fro, El Aaiun camp to Smara's.

In his statement to SPS, Mazuchi estimated that "the handicapped must participate to sports competitions to surmount the obstacles that separate this group of people from the society".

The competition was marked by a very strong send and wind storm, which reduced the visibility to few meters and which attained the speed of more than 90 Km per hour. As a result to this bad weather conditions five athletes and three Saharawis lost their way to be found few hours after.

"I was absolutely sure that Saharawis are going to find us, but this did not help stop been a little anxious", said the German, Mrs. Andréa Kinchmann, adding that she will come back next time "as a sign of solidarity with the Saharawi people until they got their independence".

On his side the American, Alan Lee, was "a little bit anxious especially when the night got close" in the desert, but he "assured" that this race allowed him "realise the hard conditions Saharawi people are living".

"Personally, I lost patience at a certain moment, but I can assure you I will come for the next edition", declared the Norwegian, Oddvar Roesten.

"Sahara Marathon" is an annual competition jointly organised by the Saharawi Republic and Committees of support to Saharawi people through the world. The first edition of this event of solidarity took place in 2001, under the supervision of Jeb Carney, American, in collaboration of "US Western Sahara Foundation", and which start was given by American Congressman, Joseph Pitts. (SPS)

020/090/000 TDR 021723 MAR 05 SPS

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