After 30 years of war and the Taliban’s repression, Afghan Pop Idol is taking the nation by storm. But this is more than just a TV show. In Afghanistan you risk your life to sing.

Pop culture has returned to Afghanistan. Over 2000 people are auditioning for Afghan Pop Idol and even three women have come forward to try their luck. The organisers believe they can “move people from guns to music”. But in this troubled country, even music is dangerously controversial. Many of those taking part are literally risking their lives. Yet millions of people watch the show and vote by text from their mobile phone for their favourite singers.

The Opening Night Gala: Join us at 7.30 pm in the café area of the Empire Slough for the opening of the festival and refreshments.

TICKETS £5.00 CLICK HERE TO BUY

A brilliant film depicting North African immigrants in Sète, a crumbling port town in southern France. Its protagonist is a weary, divorced, impoverished 60-year-old shipyard worker whose fractured family comes together around his dream of opening a floating restaurant based on his former wife’s culinary specialty, fish couscous. The film, which explores generational differences and psychological baggage within this extended family of émigrés, is an extraordinarily rich and human ensemble piece, filmed in a rough documentary style that draws you into this boisterous clan to a degree that few movies ever do.

(Adapted from Stephen Holden, The New York Times)

TICKETS £5.00 (Available on the door)

The Widow Colony takes an in-depth look into the lives of the widows of the Sikh men who were killed in the anti-Sikh massacres of November, 1984. Harpreet Kaur (Director) explores the suffering of these women, their battle for justice and their struggle for survival in India.
“The Widow Colony” borrows its name from the settlement in Tilak Vihar, on the west-side of New Delhi, which is locally called the Widow Colony or Vidhva Colony. The film takes the viewer to the areas of Trilokpuri, Kalyanpuri, Sultanpuri and Mongolpuri, the same localities that suffered the major brunt of the Sikh killings in November of 1984. Along with the testimonies of the widows, the film conveys the intensity of the tragedy that occurred 25 years ago and reminds us why the search for justice continues.

TICKETS £5.00 (Available on the door)

The film that put Reggae on the map. Jimmy Cliff plays Ivan, a character loosely based upon Rhygin, a genuine Jamaican outlaw folk hero of the 1950s. Ivan is a renegade songwriter from the boondocks of Jamaica who comes to the big city looking for dreams and only finds reality. He’s ripped off, beaten up, falls in love with the ward of a minister who hates his guts, peddles drugs on the street, and finally sells a song to the only game in town for a measly $20. Within half an hour, he’s doing battle against the music industry, corrupt police, more corrupt dope dealers, and life in the slums—simultaneously making it to the Most Wanted lists and the pop charts.
Shown in association with Swipe.

TICKETS: Free to under 25s (£5.00 for over 25s)
Tickets available on the door

Warsaw is a film with many storylines, which all play out during a single day in winter. The main characters are linked through one city. They also share the fact that they all come from the provinces, yet each character is there for a different reason. Victoria (Dominika Ostałowska), is on her way to Andalusia, passing through Warsaw when she is held up by her hope for love, something she is actively seeking. Paweł (Łukasz Garlicki), upon coming of age, leaves his orphanage and looks for work in Warsaw. Klara (Agnieszka Grochowska) moves in with her fiancé. Other storylines focus on a fruit-farmer who has come to Warsaw in his van filled with apples to look for his daughter, and a war veteran who loses his way in the city when the street layout of the new Warsaw proves markedly different from that during the time of the Warsaw Uprising. The protagonists pass each other in the streets without noticing, until the evening, when they are all brought together through one traffic accident.

TICKETS £3.00 (Available on the door)

Monday 6 April 2009
Age Concern Cippenham
1.30 pm

Beneath Georgiana’s glamorous façade lay an intelligent, vulnerable woman stranded in a loveless marriage to the Duke, one of the richest men in England. Frustrated by the limitations imposed on her by virtue of her sex and her class, she rebelled, entering into an intense relationship with the beautiful Bess Foster, thereby upsetting the cool balance of her marriage to the Duke and leading to a complex ménage a trois. Georgiana’s rebellion extended to the public sphere where she tore down conventions, becoming a political campaigner for the liberal party and galvanising the nation. In so doing she fell in love with Charles Grey, the future Prime Minister, finally discovering the meaning of true love. But could true love survive the strictures of the Duke, of Bess and of Society – the pressures of marriage and motherhood, of friendship and loyalty, of class and celebrity.

Free to Age Concern Members

Less than two weeks before Election Day, a scandal erupts that threatens to cripple the President’s bid for a second term. But before the incident can cause irreparable damage, a mysterious fixer is called to the White House. The ultimate spin doctor, Conrad Brean has the uncanny ability to manipulate politics, the press and most importantly- the American people.

1pm Workshop: Media Awareness –Find out how to empower yourself to challenge media stereotypes! This interactive workshop will provide practical suggestions on understanding the media, how media can be manipulated and how to communicate with the media in dealing with your complaints.
2.30 pm Refreshments
3.00pm Film Showing: Wag the Dog

Shown in association with Thames Valley University.
Call 01753 574 780 to book a place.

A moving and humorous tale of a Palestinian taxi driver just trying to get home in time for his daughter’s birthday. Without sermonising, Director Rashid Masharawi creates an indelible portrait of ordinary people living in impossible circumstances.

Abu Laila (Mohamed Bakri) used to be a judge, but because the government doesn’t have the means to pay him anymore he is forced to be a taxi driver. On the day his daughter Laila turns ten his wife insists he’ll be home early and bring her a present and a cake. Abu Laila has only one thing on his mind: completing this mission. But daily life in the Palestinian territories has other plans. Abu Laila must explain time after time during his day, “I’m a judge, but actually I’m a taxi driver.” It’s not the humiliation that drives him crazy, it’s the chaos. When at last he makes it home and is asked how his day was, the payoff is just perfect.

TICKETS £5.00 CLICK HERE TO BUY

Organised by:

Aik Saath
Slough Co-operative Film Festival

About the Festival

The Same Difference Film Festival first took place in 2005 and the next festival will be our fifth.

The Same Difference Film Festival is a conflict resolution and anti-racism film festival based in Slough. The aim of the Same Difference Film Festival is to help to explore each other's identities and communities. This helps to create a greater awareness of each other, dispels myths and stereotypes, and increases community cohesion. Film festivals have a long history of facilitating dialogue at different levels of society and it is hoped that this festival will perform a similar function for Slough. Film is an ideal medium for communication across perceived boundaries of race, culture and gender - this festival is an attempt to harness that medium.