The Winners
2024 ALTER-CINÉ GRANT WINNERS
In 2024, the Alter-Ciné Foundation received 150 documentary submissions from countries of the Global South.
At the present time, we can’t reveal the identity of the documentary’s director.
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The first $10,000 grant is awarded to the project Rebel Love.
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PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The film examines the activities of Nicaraguan political activists Dora María Téllez and Ana Margarita Vijii following their lives in exile while healing wounds inflicted during their imprisonment in 2021, a year marked by physical and psychological torture. Set against the current political background, the documentary sheds light on the battles they’ve waged as women living in a patriarchal system under a violent and oppressive regime. They dream of returning to Nicaragua to reconstruct their country.
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Rajan Kathet, recipient of a 10,000$ Alter-Ciné Foundation grant
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Nepalese filmmaker Rajan Kathet is awarded the second $10,000 grant for his project
Quiet Flows the Bheri River |
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Bheri river bears witness to the century’s old caste-based discrimination in Nepal. Following an incident that shocked the nation, the story unfolds through affected communities along the Bheri River, capturing their struggles for justice and resilience. It is the story of an epic battle fought in court houses, the streets and in the minds of people on both sides of the caste divide. With unfiltered access, the film tracks every twist and turn in this battle, while an intimate story of prejudice and love, frailty and resilience, loss and triumph unfold through people in whose lives these dramatic events play out.
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Erhan Arik, recipient of a 10,000$ Alter-Ciné Foundation grant
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A third grant of $10,000 goes to Turkish filmmaker Erhan Arik for his project Our Seeds
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PROJECT DESCRIPTION
In northeastern Turkey, a farming couple — who are still keeping a 1,500-year-old ancestral seed alive —face the fact that they cannot leave the fate of the seed in the hands of their children. ORUC and GUNES’s faith in nature begins to be tested by the emerging dreams of their children and the test deepens as the harvest of this year is harder than usual. A dark picture has emerged due to the changing and indistinct climate and the clearer fragmentation of the family, the incredible rise of inflation, the political instability in the country and accompanying agricultural policies that do not support the production of farmers. It is painful for both of them to imagine that the family-seed will not be planted when they are gone, and it gradually turns into a nightmare for them. The farming couple starts looking for other ways to keep the seed alive.
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Michaël Andrianaly, recipient of a 10,000$ Alter-Ciné Foundation grant
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A fourth grant of $10,000 goes to Malgache filmmaker Michaël Andrianaly for his project
Mande ny Mande (Whoever lives will see)
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PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Sonia worked as a prostitute for almost 30 years on the streets of Toamasina, on the east coast of Madagascar. At 46, she is exhausted, worried about her health and concerned about the future of her two teenage children. She then decides to lead a more stable life by starting a small sewing business. But to launch her new activity she needs to find money and Sonia is often caught up in her night owl habits...
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Gretel Marin Palacio, recipient of a 5,000$ Alter-Ciné Foundation grant
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Cuban filmmaker Gretel Marin Palacio receives a $5,000 grant for her project
La tierra espesada
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PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The island where I live is sinking. Most of my friends prepare to flee to the mainland. I film desperately in order to capture the painful memories of their last days in Centro Habana. While keeping up a written correspondence with a friend who has already departed, daily events take on unsuspected meaning.
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Francısco Marquez, recipient of a 5,000$ Alter-Ciné Foundation grant
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Argentinian filmmaker Francisco Marquez receives a $5,000 grant for his project
Un deseo imparable
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PROJECT DESCRIPTION
A free public film school opens in San Juan, a small city in an isolated region of Argentina, thus allowing a group of teens from working class and farming backgrounds to escape daily tedium and dream of potentially wider horizons. Combining interviews with students, their daily activities and sequences they film, the documentary promotes the idea that art should be accessible to everyone.
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Ivonne Serna, recipient of a 5,000$ Alter-Ciné Foundation grant
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Mexican filmmaker Ivonne Serna receives a 5,000$ grand for her project Green Gold
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PROJECT DESCRIPTION
In the heart of Mexico, local communities face a dire challenge: the tightening grip of organized crime over the booming avocado industry threatens their environment and livelihoods. Madero, a village on the frontline, sees its lush forests surrounded by rapidly expanding farms. As these operations encroach on Madero’s land, illegally deforesting and stealing water reserves, a brave group of land defenders—María, Memo, and Julio—fight back, risking their lives to secure their community’s sustainable future against armed patrols who will stop at nothing to profiteer from the 'Green Gold' rush.
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Edris Abdi & Warman Saeed, recipients of a 5,000$ Alter-Ciné Foundation grant
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Kurdish and Iranian filmmakers Edris Abdi et Warman Saeed receive a $5,000 grant for their project Childhood in the Mist
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PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Ayham, a 12-year-old Kurdish Yazidi boy, was taken by ISIS at age 3, along with his mother and brother. They were freed after three years, but Ayham’s mother, Wazira, remains missing. Ayham and his brother live with their uncle in a half-built house at a refugee camp. They must leave when it’s finished, but decorate it to make it feel like home. Ayham cares for puppies in another half-built house. His uncle, Tahsin, wants to apply for a humanitarian visa, but Ayham refuses to leave until he finds his mother. Despite searching, Ayham doesn’t get any leads and finds out his dogs are gone. Forced to leave their house again, they return to the half-built house where the poppies have been.
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