Three Asian films will be screened during the DocPoint Helsinki Documentary Film Festival which will take place from January 30 until February 4, 2024, in Helsinki, Finland.

And, Towards Happy Alleys by Sreemoyee Singh – India | 2023 – 75 minutes | Documentary
Fascinated by Iran’s film culture and the poetic works of the feminist poet Forough Farrokhzad, Indian filmmaker Sreemoyee Singh sets out in search of the protagonists of Iranian cinema. The numerous interviews she conducts over a period of six years with filmmakers Jafar Panahi, Mohammad Shirvani and human rights activist Nasrin Sotudeh, among others, show the precarious situation in which critics of the regime find themselves, including the constant threat of imprisonment and being banned from practising their profession. With a keen eye for unusual situations, she documents the effect of the Islamic Republic’s strict and omnipresent censorship on the daily lives of Iranian women whose uncompromising struggle has put them at the forefront of the protests that are currently rocking the country.

And, Towards Happy Alleys is a passionate declaration of love for the cinema and poetry of Iran which also provides a frank view of daily life, and bears witness to a fearless generation raising its voice and implacably demanding its civil liberties. (Berlinale 2023)

Trailer:

Tokyo Uber Blues by Taku Aoyagi – Japan | 2022 – 93 minutes | Documentary
Taku AOYAGI, a young documentary filmmaker, has just graduated when the Covid-19 pandemic breaks out in spring 2020. Debt-ridden, he decides to take a job as an Uber Eats delivery man. Riding through the empty streets of Tokyo on a bicycle, he documents his own precarious working conditions, as well as a deadlocked metropolis filled with loneliness. (Nippon Connection 2023)

Trailer:

Total Trust by Jialing Zhang – Germany, Netherlands | 2023 – 97 minutes | Documentary
The first major film about the Chinese surveillance state is a disturbing tale of technology, abuse of power and (self-)censorship in the 21st century. Two women each fight for justice from within the digital prison. (Mubi)

Trailer:

For more information, please visit: https://docpointfestival.fi/en/