Megacities 1998

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Megacities is both fascinating and shocking at once – a contradiction the inhabitants of Bombay, New York, Mexico City, and Moscow must live with day in and day out. The film is a tale in twelve episodes about people struggling to survive with resourcefulness, humor, and dignity, and yet there is one illusion they all share: the dream of a better life. A film about human beauty.

Credits

Written and directed by: Michael Glawogger
Cinematography: Wolfgang Thaler
Editing: Andrea Wagner
Sound: Ekkehart Baumung
Line Producer: Peter Wirthensohn
Protagonists: Shankar Loutakke, Babu Khan, Uttam Siram Bhalera, Modesto Francisco Rodriguez, Dolores “Lola” López Castro, Augustin Garcia Alba, Ernesto “El Cuquín” Martínez Rivera, Herminio “El Gato” del Barro Velázquez, Ivan “Chango” Silva Osorio, Superbarrio Gómez
Languages: Englisch, Russisch, Spanisch, Hindi (with subtitles)
Distribution: Polyfilm (Austria)/FAMA FILM (Switzerland)
Format: Super 16mm (blowup 35mm), 1:1.66, Dolby SR
Producers: Erich Lackner, Rolf Schmid
Production Companies: Lotus Film, Fama Film (CH)
Support: Austrian Film Institute, Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (film and TV agreement) , Eurimages, BAK, Teleclub AG
Premiere: Locarno Piazza Grande 8/12/1998
World sales: www.ptd.lu

Festivals

MARSEILLE („Sunny Side of the Doc“, 7. Internationaler Dokumentarfilmmarkt) 
MARSEILLE (“Sunny Side of the Doc”, 7th International Documentary Market)
LOCARNO (51st International Film Festival)
TORONTO (23rd International Film Festival)
SAN SEBASTIAN (46th International Film Festival)
PUSAN (3rd International Film Festival)
SÃO PAULO (22nd International Film Festival)
VIENNA (Viennale)
HOF (32nd Internationale Filmtage)
DUISBURG (22nd Filmwoche)
AMSTERDAM (11th International Documentary Filmfestival)
SAARBRÜCKEN (20th “Max Ophuels Preis” Film Festival)
PARK CITY (Sundance Film Festival)
GÖTEBORG (22nd Film Festival)
GHENT (5th Documentary Film Festival “Viewpoint: Documentary Now”)
SANTA BARBARA (14th International Film Festival)
PARIS (21st “Cinéma du Réel,” International Documentary Film Festival)
ALES (17th Festival Cinéma – Itinérances)
THESSALONIKI (1st Documentary Festival – Images of the 21st Century)
HONG KONG (23rd International Film Festival)
BUENOS AIRES (1st Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)
Minneapolis/St. Paul (17th International Film Festival)
BARCELONA (Goethe Institute) 
SAN FRANCISCO (42nd International Film Festival) 
PHILADELPHIA (Festival of World Cinema) 
CANNES (7th Academie du Documentaire) 
EMDEN (10th Internationales Filmfest) 
SYDNEY (46th Film Festival) 
KARLOVY VARY (34th International Film Festival) 
MOSCOW (XXI International Film Festival “Interfest”) 
MELBOURNE (48th International Film Festival) 
COPENHAGEN (European Film College) 
HELSINKI (12th International Film Festival “Love & Anarchy”) 
VANCOUVER (18th International Film Festival) 
AARHUS (2nd Festival of Festivals) 
ODIVELAS (10th International Documentary Film Festival “Amascultura”) 
MONTREAL (2e Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire) 
BRATISLAVA (TOURFILM Festival) 
CRANBERRA (Multicultural Festival) 
STOCKHOLM (TEMPO Documentary Film Festival) 
THESSALONIKI (“The City”) 
PÄRNU (Doc Film Festival) 
ROME (MEDFilmfestival / Competition) 
RIGA (Arsenal Film Festival) 
TAIWAN (TIDF / Competition) 
SINGAPORE (European Film Week) 
TORINO (CinemAmbiente) 
JIHLAVA (Doc Film Festival) 
LONDON (Reel Time) 
ISTANBUL (“TÜRSAK” International Meeting of Cinema) 
WASHINGTON (Environmental Film Festival) 
SERRA DA ESTRELA, Portugal (Festival Internacional de Cinema de Ambiente) 
BILBAO (Filmfestival ZINEBI) 
LISBON (Indielisboa – Retrospective) 
Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF)

Awards

BEST DOCUMENTARY AWARD, São Paulo International Documentary Festival 1998
www.mostra.org

VIENNA FILM AWARD, Viennale 1998
www.viennale.at

GOLDEN SPIRE AWARD, San Francisco International Film Festival 1999
sffilm.org

NFB AWARD for Best Documentary, International Film Festival Vancouver 1999
www.viff.org

AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTOR, Arsenal Film Festival Riga 2000
www.latfilma.lv/ars

Environmental Anthropology Award and Best Documentary Award 
CineEco International Environmental Film and Video Festival 2002 
cineeco.pt