Pauline Tran Van Lieu

Sarkash: Women's Sharia Court

In a tiny lane of Mumbai's slums, sounds of spirited arguments spill out from a modest storefront. Inside, a young man and woman sit on the floor, and a group of barefoot women preside over the scene from atop a wobbly desk. A divorce negotiation is underway. Overseeing the paperwork of a couple's separation is 63 year-old Khatoon. Few years prior, she opened the first Women's Sharia Court in India. Fed-up with the traditional all-male Muslim councils whose interpretations of Islamic law have discriminated against women, she decided to train herself as an Islamic judge to give women a space for seeking justice. Every day, she welcomes couples in crisis. She listens as they narrate their conflicts before offering advice. Glowering under their veils, the women plaintiffs are indignant and brave. In the form of a courtroom drama, this filmic chronicle showcases the strength with which Khatoon handles, with poise and breathtaking calm, these intense demonstrations of emotions.

Intercepted

Intercepted is a journey through Ukraine that reveals the banality of evil behind the Russian invasion with the shocking juxtaposition of two realities: the Ukrainians who have been suffering and resisting the war violence, and the Russian military, and civilians, who have been perpetrating it.

Acts of Love

When his older boyfriend loses interest in him, the filmmaker relocates to Chicago and uses dating apps to cast new lovers in an amorphous project that his mother hates.

Der große Tag

The big day has come. Grandpa Herbert Maibach has become obsolete. Spending the last years in a coma, he didn’t exactly cover himself in glory. The family gathers to say their goodbyes. Easier said than done…