Fahimeh’s Story (2004)
81mins & 52 mins
FAHIMEH’S STORY is an observational documentary about a vivacious 47 year old Iranian woman who migrated with her children to Australia after fleeing an unhappy, arranged marriage to a husband who she could not divorce under Iranian law.
Five years on she has fallen in love with and married John, a 77 year old Australian ex-army officer and RSL member.
John is now converting to Islam in order to better relate to his young wife. Both John’s and Fahimeh’s children are unhappy about the marriage.
A few months later, Hossain, the Iranian ex-husband, arrives in Australia looking forward to seeing his wife and family again. He does not know his wife has remarried….
Writer/Director: Faramarz K-Rahber
Producer: Ian Lang
Line Producer/Editor: Axel Grigor
Produced in Association with SBS Independent, Australian Film Commission, Pacific Film Commission, Griffith University & Pro-Cam Digipost.
Faraway Productions Pty Ltd focuses on producing high-quality feature and television documentaries for a global audience.
Our films like to explore the cultural diversity existing on this planet – on a personal level.
We believe that observing the world through someone else’s eyes is an extraordinary opportunity to appreciate and understand the world in a completely fresh and unique way.
We strive to make our films entertaining, surprising, insightful, but above all: human.
– Completed Films –
Donkey In Lahore (2007)
117mins / 2x60 mins / 52 mins
DONKEY IN LAHORE charts the four-year journey of Brian, an Australian Gothic and a puppeteer, who falls in love with a young Muslim woman in Pakistan during a visit to Lahore in 2000.
Upon his return to Australia, he decides to convert to Islam and return to Pakistan to seek her hand in marriage. Despite Amber’s wish to marry Brian, her family is unimpressed by the idea of her marrying an unknown foreigner. And when Brian’s tumultuous past comes back to haunt him, their dream of a life together appears more beyond their reach than ever.
Official Website: www.donkeyinlahore.com
Producer/Director: Faramarz K-Rahber
Line Producer/Editor: Axel Grigor
Executive Producer: Mark Chapman
Developed in Association with the Australian Film Commission
Produced in Association with SBS Independent
Financed by Film Finance Corporation Australia
- Films in Development -
Blind Heroes
Feature Doc & 56 mins
Join the Australian blind cricket team as they travel to Pakistan to try and win the 3rd World Cup of Cricket.
This film looks at the players’ experiences in Pakistan, their extraordinary personal stories and highly individual reasons for playing blind cricket, but also highlights how it is possible for such a diverse group of men to come together and share the dream of becoming the best blind cricket team in the world.
Fair Dinkum Manjit (2006)
26 mins
FAIR DINKUM MANJIT is all about Manjit, an Indian-Australian cab driver who is so proud of being an Aussie that he has composed a music album, singing of his love for Australia and its people.
After selling over two thousand copies of his homemade CD to his cab customers and attracting considerable attention in his hometown of Brisbane, this singing cabbie is now planning to film a Bollywood video-clip
for his most popular song “Song Australia”. And he wants Olympian Cathy Freeman to star in it...
Official website: www.songaustralia.com.au
Producer/Director: Faramarz K-Rahber
Line Producer: Axel Grigor
Editor: Maria Rita Barbagallo
Produced in Association with SBS Independent, Australian Film Commission and the Pacific Film and Television Commission.
Black Magic
Feature Doc & 56 mins
The true story of how Leonard Waters, a poor aboriginal boy, overcame prejudice to become Australia’s first and only Aboriginal fighter pilot during World War II.
Through interviews with those who knew him (including his wife Gladys Waters), dramatisations of key events, archival footage and beautiful aerial photography, ‘Black Magic’ will entice a large global audience to discover a uniquely Australian story, filled with adventure, triumph and tragedy.
Nothing but Nothing
26 mins
A haunting and artistic documentary about an Iraqi artist and actor living in Brisbane, Australia.
Persecuted for his anti-war/anti-Saddam stance, Towfiq Al-Qady came to Australia as a boat refugee in 1999. During his extended stay in an immigration detention centre, he gets access to paint and paintbrushes and soon the walls of the desert camp is abloom with his colourful dreams of life and freedom.
After being granted a temporary protection visa, Towfiq writes and performs in a play in which he recounts the painful memories of his former life in Iraq and his subsequent displacement in Australia.
Granny with Attitude
56 mins
The fascinating story of how a troubled, working class girl in 1950s Liverpool, England, went from being a street criminal to a loving, rapping, Hare Krishna-devoted Australian grandmother.
At the young age of 62, Mary returns to the streets – this time working as a counsellor trying to help street kids build a better life for themselves. She falls in love with Hip Hop and Rap music and decides to use music to spread her message of self-worth, respect and peace.
Since leaving England in 1970, she hasn’t dared to return.
But now Mary feels the time has come to fully confront
her past and reconcile with family and friends.
OFFICIAL COMPETITION
2007 International Documentary Film Festival, Amsterdam
OFFICIAL SELECTION
2007 Brisbane International Film Festival
SCREENED
SBS-TV Australia 2006
WINNER
Independent Spirit Award
2004 Lexus IF Awards
NOMINATED
Best Documentary
Best Direction in Documentary
2004 AFI Awards
OFFICIAL SELECTION
San Fernando Valley Film Festival, USA
Brisbane International Film Festival
SCREENED
SBS-TV Australia 2004
