Myanmar born, US-raised music student Jaden, makes his way through the crowded streets of Yangon, Myanmar to research his thesis on Burmese traditional music. His guide; beautiful and proud Burmese dancer Hnin Thuzar, accompanies him as he travels through the unique landscape of Bagan, Mandalay and Inle Lake in Shan State.
When he asks for her help locating his birth parents, their journey takes on another dimension. As he gets to know her, their cultural divide becomes more apparent, but it takes a tragic accident to make him realize he’s falling in love with her.
Directed by Christina Kyi, “Mudras Calling” is both a personal exploration of birth roots and a love story. Even as he is entranced by Hnin’s beauty, strength and sense of self, his world is thrown into turmoil. As he explores Myanmar, discovering the timeless landscapes and the deep rooted faith of its many tribes, he finds out unexpected truths about himself. While Jaden is provoked to question his own world view, Hnin fights for her life after a terrible accident. By saving her, he’s able to save himself.
Whether they can overcome their differences is an open question, but the ‘mudras’ of the title - hand gestures that call out to Buddha, seem to beckon him back to Myanmar. From the medicine man to the musicians, as the love story unfolds against life and death, we travel in our own way through the history of this long hidden country – Myanmar.
Myanmar
Djata is a care-free 12-year-old growing up in a brutal dictatorship shut off from the outside world. When the government imprisons his father, Peter, and Djata and his mother Hannah are labeled traitors, the boy will not rest until he sees his father again.
Cocktails provided by Cayman Spirits Company
United Kingdom
Joe goes up to Big Bear to tell his three buddies (Adam Brody, Tyler Labine and Zachary Knighton) that his wedding is off, and thus so is his bachelor party. So they do what any good friends would; they throw darts at his head until he spills the whole truth. When Joe admits that his fiancé is in love with some other Dude they insist that what he needs is to stay the course and party, like a bachelor. It’s the next day that things really take a turn when Joe finds that his friends have kidnapped the Dude and now he’s tied up in the basement.
Adam Brody, Tyler Labine and Zachary Knighton all grew mustaches for the film, some came in better than others!
United States
'At some point,' Rafael tells Arzu, 'people walk together ... and then their ways part ... each destined to follow the labyrinth of their own inner city ...'
Arzu, a young girl growing up in contemporary Azerbaijan, falls in love with Rafael, her piano teacher's son, a veteran of the Karabakh War. Twice her age and unable to escape from the ravages of war, Rafael is forced to live on the edge of a society that sees him as a 'cripple.' Arzu, desperate to escape from the same repressive society which confines women to a strict, narrow path, chooses Rafael over her family and friends - but threatened by Arzu's mother, and guided by the wisdom born out of his own brokenness, Rafael makes the supreme sacrifice of love ...
Azerbaijan