Cultural Ambience

Budapest, like many other European cities, has loads of cultural activities to offer. I have only recently taken advantage of these opportunities. There are dozens of free museums, cinemas, galleries, and of the like. This past weekend was the fourth Verzio International Film Festival in Budapest, which showcased quite a few interesting flicks. Although I had ten lined up on my "to watch" list, I only made it to four.

The first film I attended was Between the Lines: India's Third Gender, about Hijras within Indian society. Hijras, a growing third gender, are previously men who get castrated to become this gender. What is unique about this particular gender is that they self-identify not as women or men, but simply as Hijras and are known for spiritual blessings or curses. Within Indian society, these individuals appear to be not only discriminated by somewhat accepted at the same time. Many of those within the film interviewed appeared to live very poverty-stricken lives, begging for money on a constant basis, selling their bodies to men for money, or dancing in clubs. Walking through the streets of Mumbai, it appeared the Hijras attracted stares of not only difference, but of disbelief and disgust. Despite these types of non-acceptance by the Indian society, they are heavily relied on--both for their supernatural powers and their bodies as objects for men--within Indian society. The film captures this sub-culture within India and reveal both the pains and joys of a minority class.

Two out of the three other films are worth mentioning. One of which is Exile Family Movie, a story of exiled Iranians throughout the globe. The film takes us through Arash T. Riahi's personal history of his own family, both nuclear and extended, who have either left Iran for political reasons or remained within the suppressive regime. The film begins in 1994 in Vien, Austria, where his nuclear family resides. Images and clips depict the pain his family members face as they are torn apart by politics, displaced across the globe, and separated by cultures. It has been years since the family has been together until they decide to meet in Mecca, in Saudi Arabia. Arash takes us through a personal journey filled with cultural differences, family connections, sorrow and ecstasy. This film encapsulates not only a personal journey, but reflects the notions of political subordination, determination, understanding, and most importantly love.

In Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, plagued by war, famine, disease witnesses the rise in Evangelical Christianity. Many of the Congolese are inflicted by deep poverty, AIDs, unimaginable hardships, looking for a way out of this life. Thanks to a handful pastors who claim they are God's messengers, preaching what the poor Congolese wish to hear, are not only creating a sense of false belief, but also a rise within their own bank accounts. The sad reality remains in the continuity of this practice, where individuals infected by AIDs and other detriments truly believe that through the prayers of these prophets to God, their ailing will heal. The film concludes with a very powerful scene, as one Congolese women lies frail and ill, flies circling her body, perhaps infected by cancer or AIDs, repeating that God will save her from her condition.

The wonders of international film festivals, such as these, is that it allows one to visualize the varying cultures, struggles, issues throughout the world. Simply reading a newspaper or an online article is indeed informational, but with this visualization, one is able to conceptualize the realities of the conditions of individuals. Taking a peek, even if only a minute one, into the lives of these people, we can move beyond the vague understanding we might initially possess.