|
|
2007 FILMS: FEATURE FILMS | DOCUMENTARIES | SHORT FILMS
shorts
feature films | documentaries | short films
(a long day of) Mr. Calpaccio
Short
7 minutes
Filmmaker:Uruma Delvi
Saturday 10:10a, Sunday 10:10a
Plays in: Family Shorts
Mr. Calpaccio wakes up and takes a breakfast, soon goes to work as usual. Work is his life. No busy no life. He loves work but he never thinks work for what. He may realize the meaning of his life from busy. This film made by UrumaDelvi, Japan's top animation artist. The film is 2D computer graphics in no color, non-speaking for representing what is core, origin and fun of animation.
urumadelvi.jp
The Baseball Card Shop
Short
7 minutes
Director: Kelly Kennedy
Saturday 10:10a, Sunday 10:10a
Plays in: Family Shorts
Opening day of the baseball season may be rained out, but in an empty baseball card shop the heroes of the past will play one more game.
kellykennedy.com
Bass Ackwards
Short
5 minutes
Student/Loyola Marymount University
The Launch Regional Student Film Competition: College Winner
Filmmaker: Jacob Nelson
Sunday 9:30a
Plays in: Locals Only 2
A man tries to get by in a backwards world. College winner of the Launch Regional Student Film Competition.
Before Dawn
Short
13 minutes
Filmmaker: Balint Kenyeres
Friday 6:20p, Saturday 12:20p, Sunday 3:20p
Plays in: Short Stories
Before dawn, the wheat is quietly undulating on the hillside. Before dawn, people will rise and others will take away their hope.
Bound to Silence
Short
4 minutes
Student/Sutherlin High School
The Launch Regional Student Film Competition: High School Winner
Director: Stacey Chamberlain
Sunday 9:30a
Plays in: Locals Only 2
An expressive portrait of social discrimination in the lives of two young homosexual girls. Intended as a microcosm, the film portrays conscious and unconscious alienation faced by homosexual youth in America. Without dialog, the film relies on visual symbolism, body language and music to illustrate its message. High School winner of The Launch Regional Student Film Competition.
By Modern Measure
Short
6 minutes
Director: Matthew Lessner
Thursday 9:40p, Friday 12:40p, Monday 6:40p
Plays with: Low and Behold
October 8, 2006: North Korea detonates its first nuclear weapons test, while half-way across the globe two young Americans meet by chance and embark on an unplanned adventure. Presented within the film are this day's events as observed by an amateur French sociologist. Created as part of an ongoing TV series, By Modern Measure. [subtitles]
montelomax.com
Chicxulub
Short
15 minutes
Filmmaker: Malona P. Voigt
Thursday 6:30p, Friday 3:30p, Saturday 12:30p, Sunday 9:30p
Plays with: Drifting Elegant
Two storylines address the power of fate. A couple receives a phone call informing them that their daughter has been in a serious car accident. A parallel story follows the catastrophic event of an asteroid that collided with earth 65 million years ago. News of their daughter's death brings the couple to the realization of what is most important: the moments we share together with our loved ones. Based on the short story by T.C. Boyle published in The New Yorker in March 2004, and in his collection Tooth and Claw.
chicxulubmovie.com
Dancing Ground
Short
15 minutes
Student/Columbia University
Filmmaker: Tobin Addington
Friday 10:10a, Sunday 6:40p, Monday 9:40p
Plays with: Arctic Son
Firecrackers fly through the sky...ghosts dance in the dust...an old man wanders the prairie with a gun...and a father searches for another chance. Tom, a small-town sheriff, hauls his punk teenage son out across the Montana prairie in search of the kid's grandfather, who has wandered off with a gun on what used to be their ranch land. On a day like today, when anything could happen, Tom might get a chance to learn what it means to be a father and a son.
dancing-ground.blogspot.com
The Danish Poet
Short
14 minutes
Filmmaker: Torill Kove
Saturday 10:10a, Sunday 10:10a
Plays in: Family Shorts
Is it possible to trace the chain of events that led to our own birth? Is our existence just coincidence? Do little things matter? Kaspar, a poet whose creative well has run dry, embarks on a holiday to Norway to find the answers. As the story of Kaspar's quest for inspiration unfolds, it appears that a spell of bad weather, angry dogs, cows that slip from barn planks, careless postmen, hungry goats and other seemingly unrelated factors might play important roles in the big scheme of things after all. Winner of an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Narrated by Liv Ullmann.
nfb.ca/thedanishpoet
Dead End Job
Short
21 minutes
Student/University of California, Los Angeles
Filmmaker: Samantha Davidson Green
Friday 6:20p, Saturday 12:20p, Sunday 3:20p
Plays in: Short Stories
Obituary writer Abigail Slay's uncanny knack for spotting the next scoop guarantees that she will always makes her deadlineóthat is until she becomes the next scoop. Who writes the obituary for the obituary writer?
Dragon's Lair
Short
4 minutes
Student/Willow Wind CLC
The Launch Regional Student Film Competition: Middle School Winner
Director: Rowan Heglie
Sunday 9:30a
Plays in: Locals Only 2
Six knights travel to a dragon's lair to collect its vast hoard of treasure. Upon arriving they discover that they have underestimated the difficulty of the task ahead. Middle School winner of The Launch Retional Student Film Competition.
An Easy Row
Short
6 minutes
Filmmaker: Carl Prufer
Sunday 9:30a
Plays in: Locals Only 2
As in many solo sports, our major competition comes from within. Filmed on Ashland's Emigrant Lake, home of the Ashland Rowing Club.
The Fan and the Flower
Short
7 minutes
Filmmaker: Bill Plympton
Thursday 6:40p, Saturday 6:40p, Sunday 9:40p
Plays with: Wristcutters: A Love Story
An ill-fated and unconsummated romance between a fan and a flower magically creates a fairy tale ending. A very atypical Bill Plympton film; narrated by Paul Giamatti.
plymptoons.com
From the Ground Up
Short
15 minutes
Filmmakers: John Cole, Laney D'Aquino
Sunday 9:30a
Plays in: Locals Only 2
Who knew that a cup of coffee could make or break the fiber of a community? This short film explores how members of a small town support each other, fight gentrification of their treasured hamlet, and learn to recognize opportunities to do the right thing. Shot in Ashland with local cast and crew. Co-director DÃAquino is an AIFF alum filmmaker (2005) in addition to being the official AIFF artist in 2004.
Full Disclosure
Short
16 minutes
Director: Douglas Horn
Friday 3:40p, Saturday 9:40p, Monday 12:40p
Plays with: Expiration Date
Tired of wasting time on relationships that break up when one person discovers something they can't stand about the other, Everett (Brett Sexton) decides to reveal every terrible habit, attitude, and hang-up on the first date. Shockingly, women don't respond as he'd hoped...until he meets Brinn (Judy Greer), who's willing to play his game. [adult content]
Douglas Horn
hornofthemoon.com
Ish
Short
8 minutes
Filmmakers: Gary Goldberger, John Lechner, Peter H. Reynolds
Saturday 10:10a, Sunday 10:10a
Plays in: Family Shorts
Drawing is what Ramon does. It's what makes him happy. But in one split second, all that changes. A single reckless remark by Ramon's older brother, Leon, turns Ramon's carefree sketches into joyless struggles. Luckily for Ramon, though, his little sister, Marisol, sees the world differently. She opens his eyes to something a lot more valuable than getting things just "right." Combining the spareness of fable with the potency of parable, this animated story shines a bright beam of light on the need to kindle and tend our creative flames with care. Based on the childrenÃs book Ish by Peter Reynolds.
The Little Matchgirl
Short
7 minutes
Filmmaker: Roger Allers
Saturday 12:00p, Sunday 9:00p, Monday 6:00p
Plays in: Oscar's Short List
This animated short is based on Hans Christian Andersen's tale about a poor young girl with a burning desire to find comfort and happiness in her life. Desperate to keep warm, the girl lights the matches she sells, and envisions a very different life for herself in the fiery flames filled with images of loving relatives, bountiful food, and a place to call home. An emotional tale, set to a new recording by the Emerson String Quartet of Alexander BorodinÃs String Quartet No. 2 in D Major. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
Matters of Life and Death
Short
29 minutes
Director: Joseph Mazzello
Thursday 6:20p, Saturday 3:20p, Sunday 9:20p
Plays with: The Cats of Mirikitani
There was no warning, no planning, not even a real will. After the unexpected death of their parents, three siblings desperately try to maintain control of their lives, forced into adulthood by a tragedy. They are left alone in the aftermath, overwhelmed by their individual grief, struggling to mend the broken remains of their family.
mattersoflifeanddeath.com
A Painful Glimpse into My Writing Process (In Less Than 60 Seconds)
Short
2 minutes
Filmmaker: Chel White
Friday 9:40a, Saturday 12:10a, Sunday 9:10p, Monday 12:10p
Plays with: Big Dreams Little Tokyo
Dark and humorous, this extremely short film is a stream-of-conscious look at the writing process, told with animated images straight from the subconscious…or somewhere. The narrative originates from an unpublished satirical essay by poet Scott Poole about his own writing process.
skysociety.com
Second Thoughts
Short
11 minutes
Director: David Woods
Thursday 3:10p, Friday 6:10p, Saturday 9:10p, Monday 9:40a
Plays with: The Little Things
In this adaptation of the short story, Hi Champ, by acclaimed novelist Hubert Selby, Jr. (Last Exit to Brooklyn, Requiem for a Dream), an insecure man tries to impress a beautiful woman on their first date by enlisting the help of a famous restaurateur. The date goes better than he could have imagined. It’s only later that he begins to have second thoughts.
Tales of Mere Existence
Short
8 minutes
Director: Lev Yilmaz
Friday 6:20p, Saturday 12:20p, Sunday 3:20p
Plays in: Short Stories
A collection of quirky animations about social confusion, sex, and alienation. Narrated and illustrated as they go along, this is the comedy of demented self-obsession… the stuff people think about but never talk about.
talesofmereexistence.com
The Tube with a Hat
Short
23 minutes
Director: Radu Jude
Friday 6:20p, Saturday 12:20p, Sunday 3:20p
Plays in: Short Stories
A boy from a remote Romanian village wakes up his father and convinces him to take their immense, ancient television to the city to be repaired. During their day-long journey together the quest for the old cathodic tube brings the distant father and son together. [language, subtitles]
Vacationland
Short
28 minutes
Student/New York University
Director: Lance Edmands
Thursday 9:30p, Friday 12:30p, Saturday 9:30p, Sunday 6:30p
Plays in: Short Stories
A quest for independence leads two young brothers on a journey across the back roads of Maine on their bicycles, hoping to reunite with their older brother. In this poetic road film they traverse a landscape haunted by clusters of tourists, vacant RV parks and lonely gas stations. But when things don't go as planned, and home is miles away, the meaning of family begins to change.
Lance Edmands
vacationlandfilm.com
What Makes Me Happy: Junjie’s Film
Short
12 minutes
Director: Linfeng Xue
Saturday 10:10a, Sunday 10:10a
Plays in: Family Shorts
Junjie searches the streets of Hefei City, China to collect what look like useless bits of junk that people have thrown away. He comes home with a brightly colored vest, empty plastic bottles, a piece of Styrofoam and some string. What is Junjie going to do with these things?
whatmakesmehappy.tv
The Work of Life
Short
11 minutes
Student/Chapman University
Director: Lincoln Holmes
Saturday 9:20p, Sunday 6:20p, Monday 9:50a
Plays with: Red Without Blue
Returning home for his father’s funeral and subsequent reception, Gus mediates between his distraught sister and his mother who seems to be more concerned about her guests than her children. Torn between consoling his sister, deflecting the pressure from his mother, and coming to terms with his own feelings of guilt and loss, Gus struggles to grieve.
Zombie Prom
Short
36 minutes
Student/University of Southern California
Director: Vince Marcello
Friday 9:10p, Saturday 6:10p, Sunday 3:10p, Monday 6:10p
Plays with: Air Guitar Nation
Zombie Prom is a 1950s horror comic book brought to life as a musical comedy - a rollicking, romp through America’s “Atomic Age� and the Golden Age of horror comic books. Set in the ‘50s, this is the musical tale of a sweet teenage girl named Toffee and her “rebel without a cause� boyfriend, Jonny. The two meet at Enrico Fermi High School and fall in love, but the principal (RuPaul) intervenes, persuading the indecisive young Toffee to break up with Jonny. Tortured by the betrayal, Jonny drives his motorcycle to the nearby Francis Gary Powers Nuclear Plant and flings himself into a nuclear cooling tower. Guilt-ridden and alone, Toffee mourns the loss of her true love, until the day when Jonny returns, risen from the dead—as a teenage nuclear zombie! Adapted from the original stage musical by John Dempsey (book and lyrics) and Dana P. Rowe (music).
zombiepromthemovie.com
documentaries
feature films | documentaries | short films
10 Questions for The Dalai Lama
Documentary
89 minutes
Filmmaker: Rick Ray
Friday 9:30a, Saturday 12:00p
Why do the poor often seem happier than the rich? Must a society lose its traditions in order to move into the future? How do you reconcile a commitment to non-violence when faced with violence? These are some of the questions posed to His Holiness the Dalai Lama by filmmaker and explorer Rick Ray. Ray examines some of the fundamental questions of our time by weaving together observations from his own journeys throughout India and the Middle East, and the wisdom of an extraordinary spiritual leader. This story contains rare historical footage as well as footage supplied by individuals who put themselves at great personal risk, filmed with hidden cameras within Tibet.
10questionsforthedalailama.com
Air Guitar Nation
Documentary
78 minutes
Filmmaker: Alexandra Lipsitz
Friday 9:10p, Saturday 6:10p, Sunday 3:10p, Monday 6:10p
Plays with: Zombie Prom
ìTo err is humanÖto air guitar is divine.î ItÃs time to rock and roll ñ air guitar style. AIR GUITAR NATION is the feature documentary about the year that air guitar swept America - from New York to Los Angeles and then all the way to northern Finland. AIR GUITAR NATION chronicles the birth of the US Air Guitar Championships and the personal journeys of those talented contestants who are vying to become the first World Air Guitar Champion from the United States. Every August, the Air Guitar World Championships bring thousands of fans all the way to Oulu, Finland to see the worldÃs best air guitarists battle it out for 60 seconds of mock stardom. For years, the USA was missing in action. Enter the first official US Air Guitar Championships. What starts as a friendly contest above a New York strip club becomes a battle of naked ambition played out on the national and, ultimately, the world stage. Full of triumph and disappointment, patriotic spirit and political tension ñ and of course invisible guitars ñ this tension filled competition quickly turns very real as the contest becomes even more fierce as the contestants work hard to win the title of World Air Guitar Champion. [language]
airguitarnation.com
Arctic Son
Documentary
76 minutes
Filmmaker: Andrew Walton
Friday 10:10a, Sunday 6:40p, Monday 9:40p
Plays with: Dancing Ground
In the tiny Native Gwitchin village of Old Crow (pop 250), 80 miles north of the Arctic Circle, a father and son are reunited after 20 years apart. They share a name and a bloodline, but their worlds are as different as their respective hometown climates. Stanley Sr. is a hunter, a rugged man of the land steeped in tradition. Seattle-raised Stanley Jr. immerses himself in hip hop music, video games and partying. As their worlds collide, this moving father-son journey becomes a larger exploration of the complex relationship between tradition and modernity; nature and pop culture; addiction and independence; and the bigger quest we all embark at some point--the need to know who we are and where we belong.
artsengine.net/arctic_son
Beyond the Call
Documentary
71 minutes
Filmmaker: Adrian Belic
Friday 9:00p, Saturday 3:00p, Sunday 12:00p
Plays with: Preacher With An Unknown God
In an Indiana Jones meets Mother Teresa adventure, three irreverent, middle-aged men, former soldiers and modern-day knights, travel the world delivering life-saving humanitarian aid directly into the hands of civilians and doctors in some of the most dangerous yet beautiful places on Earthóthe front lines of war. Their specialty is going where death from landmines, bullets, or bombs is as frequent as death from hunger, disease, or the elements. Their personal convictions and courage drive them to places such as Afghanistan, Albania, Chechnya, Cambodia, Burma, Thailand, Rwanda and the southern Philippines, often when few, if any, other humanitarian aid organizations are around. The camera follows this trio as they take us on a journey into the heart of humanity and the soul of courage. [language]
Filmmaker Adrian Belic will receive an AIFF Rogue Award at the Awards Celebration. Check out the Oscar nominated film Genghis Blues (1999) which Adrian co-produced and filmed with his brother Roko.
beyondthecallthemovie.com
The Blender Blues
Documentary
5 minutes
Student/Walker Elementary
The Launch Regional Student Film Competition: K-5 Winner
Filmmakers: The Blenders
Sunday 9:30a
Plays in: Locals Only 2
Sit in with Blue Day, the Walker Elementary school ìBlendersî band, as the eight of them record their song The Blenders Blues. K-5 winner of The Launch Regional Student Film Competition.
The Blood of Yingzhou District
Documentary
39 minutes
Director: Ruby Yang
Saturday 12:00p, Sunday 9:00p, Monday 6:00p
Plays in: OscarÃs Shorts
No one knows how old Gao Jun is. Whatever his biological age, he has none of the verbal babble or ready tears of a child. The film tracks this orphan for a year as his extended family weighs what to do with him. His uncle's dilemma: if he allows his own children to live intimately with Gao Jun, who is HIV-positive, they will be ostracized by neighbors. The film reveals how traditional obligations of family and village collide with terror of infection, and how these forces play out in this young boyÃs search for a family to call his own. Winner of an Academy Award for Best Documentary: Short Subject. [subtitles]
chinaaidsmedia.com/en/international.html
The Cats of Mirikitani
Documentary
74 minutes
Director: Linda Hattendorf
Thursday 6:20p, Saturday 3:20p, Sunday 9:20p
Plays with: Matters of Life and Death
"Make art not war" is Jimmy Mirikitani's motto. This 85-year-old Japanese American artist was born in Sacramento and raised in Hiroshima, but by 2001 he is living on the streets of New York City. Jimmy sits alone on a Soho corner drawing whimsical cats, internment camps, and the angry red flames of the atomic bomb. When a neighboring filmmaker stops to ask about his art, a friendship begins. Tales spill out in a jumble: childhood picnics in Hiroshima, ancient samurai ancestors, lost American citizenship, Jackson Pollock, Pearl Harbor, Americans imprisoned in WWII desert camps, a boy who loved cats. What begins as a simple veritÈ portrait of one homeless man changes on September 11 when Jimmy is once again thrust into a world at war and the filmmaker is challenged to move from witness to advocate. JimmyÃs story comes full circle when he returns to the West Coast to reconnect with a community of former internees on a healing pilgrimage to the internment camp at Tule Lake, California. Blending beauty and humor with tragedy and loss, the film is an intimate exploration of the lingering wounds of war and the healing power of art. [subtitles]
thecatsofmirikitani.com
Christmas at the Bait Shop
Documentary
6 minutes
Filmmaker: Judy Irving
Saturday 10:10a, Sunday 10:10a
Plays in: Family Shorts
A short documentary about a San Rafael bait shop owner and his feathered friends ó herons, egrets, and a gull named Ahab. Some of Keith FraserÃs best friends are birds. Join him at the famous Loch Lomond bait shop as he distributes Christmas presents to some of his favorite snowy egrets Wee Willie and Wee Willie Jr., great blue herons Nasty and Nasty Jr., and his closest buddy, an endearing HeermanÃs gull named Ahab.
pelicanmedia.org/baitshop.html
A Controversy of Art
Documentary
6 minutes
Student/St. MaryÃs School
Filmmaker: Ryan Rambach
Sunday 9:30a
Plays in: Locals Only 2
ìBefore the debate over freedom of expression and the issue of conformity ever came up, there was a boy in Ashland who just wanted to paint.îóOregonian In the summer of 2006, 15-year-old Dillon McCord painted a rain forest mural on the garage door of his familyÃs home in an Ashland subdivision. The mural, created for a contest in Cricket magazine, sparked a state-wide debate over public art. This short documentary examines the stir caused by DillonÃs artwork through interviews with neighbors and community members, and reveals the ultimate fate of the infamous door.
Dear Talula
Documentary
34 minutes
Filmmaker: Lori Benson
Thursday 3:30p, Friday 9:30p, Saturday 6:30p, Sunday 3:30p
Plays with: The Journey of Vaan Nguyen
Lori Benson is diagnosed with breast cancer 14 months after the birth of her daughter Talula. With only ten days between diagnosis and surgery she must make critical medical decisions as well as deal with great emotional concerns. With humor and grace, Lori brings us alongóas her camera, her support system, her inner circleóand shares her most intimate thoughts, discoveries and vulnerabilities. This profound experience leaves her to stand in the reflection of her own mortality, ultimately earning her a stronger connection to her true self. [adult content]
deartalula.com
Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox
Documentary
Filmmaker: Sara Lamm
Saturday 9:00p, Monday 10:10a
YouÃve read the label; now see the film! Find out what all that ranting means and meet the man behind the words. Dr. Emanuel Bronner was a master soapmaker, self-proclaimed rabbi, and, allegedly, Albert Einstein's nephew. In 1947, after escaping from a mental institution, he invented Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap, a peppermint-infused, all-natural, multi-purpose liquid that can be found today in every American health food store. On each bottle of soap, he printed a set of teachings called The Moral ABC, designed, in his words, "To unite spaceship earth!" Through archival footage of Dr. Bronner and contemporary footage of his eccentric son Ralph, we meet four generations of soapmakers. We grow to understand the inspiring legacy of the countercultureÃs favorite cleaning product, the socially responsible company and the family that runs it.
magicsoapbox.com
The Edge of Eden: Living with Grizzlies
Documentary
89 minutes
Filmmakers: Jeff Turner, Sue Turner
Saturday 3:40p, Sunday 12:40p
This film is what Grizzly Man would have been if the subject was as sweet and smart as Canadian bear expert Charlie Russell. Through beautiful footage and amazing access we follow Charlie as he rescues two orphaned cubs from a squalid Russian Zoo and takes them to his cabin in the picturesque remote Russian wilderness. Over the course of one season Charlie is the cubsà surrogate mother as he teaches them everything he can about life in the wild: the lay of the land, what plants to eat, how to catch fish and how to escape from predatory male bears. Through his work Charlie has learned that grizzly bears are not the fearsome aggressive killers that so many believe but rather are gentle, peaceful creatures. Although our misplaced fear is driving them to the edge of extinction, it is possible for man and bear to live together peacefully and safely, sharing this earth. [family friendly: age 8+].
cloudline.org
Emile Norman: By His Own Design
Documentary
55 minutes
Filmmaker: Will Parrinello
Saturday 9:00p, Sunday 3:00p, Monday 3:00p
Plays with: I Just Wanted To Be Somebody, Reporter Zero
Self-taught California artist, Emile Norman, at age 88, is still working with the same passion for life, art, nature, and freedom that inspired him through seven decades of a changing art scene and turbulent times for a gay man in America. This is the story of EmileÃs independent spirit: how it developed from his early days on a ranch in the San Gabriel Valley; brought him success in New York City in the 1940's and 50's, and gave him the confidence to leave the New York art scene and find freedom in Big Sur where he and Brooks Clement, his partner of 30 years, built a house and created a haven for a circle of friends that is still growing today. EmileÃs art includes both small and intimate pieces and massive projects like the commissioned ìglass muralî in the Masonic Temple in San Francisco. His work will be on display at Housto's Custom Framing and Fine Art, April 12-16 10a-6p.
Everything's Cool
Documentary
94 minutes
2007
USA
Filmmakers: Daniel B. Gold, Judith Helfand
Friday 10:00a, Saturday 3:00p, Sunday 10:00a
YouÃve heard the facts, now witness the personal tales behind the ìheatî. For two decades researchers, activists, scientists, and progressive politicians have struggled to rouse the public and the federal government to take action on global warming. During the same period, industry funded think-tanks and lobbyists worked to challenge and dismiss the issue as hysteria. Everything's Cool features a cadre of passionate peopleófrom 18 to 80óworking to stop global warming, each in their own unique way. Stories range from behind the scenes with the Weather ChannelÃs climate expert Dr. Heidi Cullen, to the saga of Rick Piltz, the brave whistle blower who left his job as Senior Associate at the U.S. Climate Change Science Center when the Bush administrations edited his research. Piltz, now Director of Climate Science Watch, will attend the screenings and offer Q & A.
everythingscool.org
Fridays at the Farm
Documentary
19 minutes
Filmmaker: Richard Hoffmann
Thursday 9:30p, Friday 12:30p, Saturday 9:30p, Sunday 6:30p
Plays in: Short Documentaries
Feeling disconnected from their food, Richard and his family decide to join a CSA- Community Supported Agricultureóon an organic farm in suburban Philadelphia. Using a digital still camera, Richard takes nearly 20,000 pictures of vegetables and herbs, insect life, and human activity. When the farm loses its intern due to budget cuts, he moves from passive observer to active participant in the planting and harvesting of vegetables and discovers the joy of working with the earth. The film is an intimate visual and aural diary of his personal experience as a member of a community farm.
coyopa.com
Genghis Blues
Documentary
88 minutes
Filmmaker: Roko Belic
Friday 3:00p, Saturday 9:30a
After attending a concert by touring Tuvans, the deep-voiced bluesman breaks into his own self-taught style, serenading the musicians with Tuvan traditional songs. Amazed, they insist he travel to their homeland near Siberia for the next national throatsinging contest. Pena is honored by the Tuvans, not only because he masters their cultural tradition, but also because he learns to speak their language and his friendship with the people flourishes. Nominated for an Academy Award. Co-producer and co-cinematographer Adrian Belic will receive an AIFF Rogue Award at the Awards Celebration. Check out his documentary Beyond the Call.
genghisblues.com
Gesture Down (I DonÃt Sing)
Documentary
10 minutes
Filmmaker: Cedar Sherbert
Thursday 9:20p, Friday 12:20p, Saturday 9:50a, Monday 3:20p
Plays with: Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary
"Before you teach the clouds your past, or learn new names in Mayan ruins, call me amigo, break old women down to gestures of love, a quick Pase adelante, jovencito, pase!" Going back to his roots, a Native American man reclaims his heritage. A graceful and personal adaptation of the poem Gesture Down to Guatemala by the late Native American writer James Welch.
Gimme Green
Documentary
27 minutes
Student/University of Florida
Filmmakers: Isaac Brown, Eric Flagg
Thursday 9:30p, Friday 12:30p, Saturday 9:30p Sunday 6:30p
Plays in: Short Documentaries
Lawns are undeniably an American symbol. But what do they really symbolize? Pride and prosperity? Or waste and conformity? Employing an engaging blend of gravity and levity, this is a glimpse at the US obsession with the residential lawn: a desert sod farm; a lawn of the month contest; an artificial turf factory; and a city code enforcement officer who monitors unkempt lawns. ItÃs estimated that Americans use approximately 50 % of their household water on their yards, which require more than 30,000 tons of pesticides each year. By examining the social, commercial, and environmental pressures surrounding the green grass aesthetic, we begin to understand how a non-edible, resource-intensive plant could become our nation's largest irrigated crop.
gimmegreen.com
Going Home
Documentary
20 minutes
Student/Loyola Marymount University
Filmmaker: Hung P. Nguyen
Thursday 9:30p, Friday 12:30p, Saturday 9:30p, Sunday 6:30p
Plays in: Short Documentaries
Set against his motherÃs haunting recollections of their familyÃs escape from Vietnam, Nguyen reveals an intimate family decision that is at once painful and redeeming for the entire family.[subtitles]
Going to School in a Mud Desert
Documentary
10 minutes
Filmmaker: Aseem Misra
Saturday 10:10a, Sunday 10:10a
Plays in: Family Shorts
Children in India enjoy going to school in a tent in a mud desert, finding joy and wonder in their unusual surroundings. Twelve year old Ramesh takes us to his simple desert classroom made of mud where he and his classmates find joy and wonder in their unusual classroom. Part of the Going to School in India series - a celebration of what school can be.
Programming provided by KIDS FIRST!
Hear and Now
Documentary
86 minutes
Filmmaker: Irene Taylor Brodsky
Thursday 12:20p, Friday 3:20p, Sunday 12:20p, Monday 9:20p
In this deeply personal memoir, filmmaker Irene Taylor Brodsky documents her deaf parents' complex decision to leave their world of silence and undergo a dangerous surgery to get cochlear implants. At the age of 65, Paul and Sally Taylor decided they wanted to hear their first symphonies, hear their children's' voices, and talk on the phone. Sally was a retired teacher and Paul was an engineer who had helped develop the TTY machineótheir lives were full but they wanted more. How will this operation transform them, their relationship with each other, and the deaf world they might leave behind? This is a story of two people taking a journey from silence to sound. The question is, what will they make of it, and what might they gain- or lose- forever?
I Just Wanted to Be Somebody
Documentary
10 minutes
Director: Jay Rosenblatt
Saturday 9:00p, Sunday 3:00p, Monday 3:00p
Plays with: Emile Norman: By His Own Design, Reporter Zero
What do the religious right and the gay liberation movement have in common? Both were fortified by the efforts of one woman: Anita Bryant. Through archival footage and poetry we are transported to the late 1970Ãs to reflect on BryantÃs life and the impact she had.
Sponsor: Equity Foundation
jayrosenblattfilms.com
The Journey of Vaan Nguyen
Documentary
56 minutes
Filmmaker: Duki Dror
Thursday 3:30p, Friday 9:30p, Saturday 6:30p Sunday 3:30p
Plays with: Dear Talula
In her blog, Vaan Nguyen unfolds the absurdities of her life as an Israeli-born Vietnamese. Her father, Hoiami was one of the many ìboat-peopleî who fled Vietnam after the fall of Saigon in 1975 and one of the few who were given asylum in Israel. Vaan is caught between her wild and stormy Israeli spirit and the expectations to be a modest and obedient Vietnamese daughter at homeóan unbridgeable abyss. When her father returns to his family in Vietnam, Vaan joins him and finds herself absorbed into his tragic storyóa cruel tale of loss and survival. HoiamiÃs dream of returning for good sends Vaan to look for a brighter future in the new-old country. She joins her father in trying to reclaim the lands of the family, in the remote village at the heart of the Vietnamese jungle. Their journey becomes a parable on loss of identity and on the universal hope of refugees to return home. [subtitles]
zygotefilms.com
lot 63, grave c
Documentary
10 minutes
Director: Sam Green
Thursday 6:10p, Friday 12:10p, Saturday 9:40a Sunday 12:10p
Plays with: Prison Town, USA
Teenager Meredith Hunter was killed by the Hell's Angels at the Rolling Stonesà notorious Altamont concert in 1969. Altamont was supposed to have been the west coast version of Woodstock, the huge peaceful rock festival that had happened in New York a few months earlier. Instead, the concert turned into a spiral of poor planning, bad trips, overzealous rock fans, and violence. It culminated with the HellÃs Angels, who had been hired to do security, brutally murdering Meredith Hunter in front of the stage as the Rolling Stones played. Altamont came to symbolize for many the end of the 1960sóthe end of a hopeful era. Meredith Hunter is the central character in that narrative, and yet he has always been an enigmatic figure. Although the newspapers at the time recorded his name, there was never anything moreóno photo, no quote from his devastated mother. He was a mystery then, and now has been all but forgotten.
samgreen.to
Manufactured Landscapes
Documentary
90 minutes
Filmmaker: Jennifer Baichwal
Thursday 3:00p, Sunday 6:00p, Monday 12:00p
Renowned artist Edward Burtynsky makes large-scale photographs of manufactured landscapes- quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines, dams. He photographs civilizationÃs materials and debris, but in a way people describe as ìstunningî or ìbeautiful,î so that it raises questions about ethics and aesthetics without trying to easily answer them. Here Burtynsky travels to China photographing the evidence and effects of their massive industrial revolution. Manufactured Landscapes extends the narrative streams of BurtynskyÃs photographs, allowing us to meditate on our profound impact on the planet and witness both the epicenters of industrial endeavor and the dumping grounds of its waste. What makes the photographs so powerful is his refusal in them to be didactic. We are all implicated here, they tell us: there are no easy answers. The film continues this approach of presenting complexity, without trying to reach simplistic judgments or reductive resolutions. In the process, it tries to shift our consciousness about the world and the way we live in it.
Sponsor: Bloomsbury Books
edwardburtynsky.com
Our Daily Bread
Documentary
92 minutes
Filmmaker: Nikolaus Geyrhaltertria
Friday 12:00p, Saturday 6:00p, Monday 9:00p
A silent meditation on the industrial production of food as a reflection of our society's values: plenty of everything, made as quickly and as efficiently as modern technology permits. In sealed rooms, as sterile as computer microprocessor factories, chicks hatch while being closely monitored. A huge hose sucks salmon out of a fjord. Metal teeth chomp up fields of sunflowers which, thanks to chemicals, have withered at just the right time. In a series of visually stunning, continuously tracking, wide-screen images that seem right out of a science-fiction movie, we see the places where food is cultivated and processed: surreal landscapes optimized for agricultural machinery, clean rooms in cool industrial buildings designed for maximum efficiency, and elaborate machines that operate on a “disassembly line� basis. Our Daily Bread unfolds on the screen like a disturbing dream: an endlessly fascinating flow of images, an insistent gaze, accompanied only by the persistent industrial soundtrack—whirring, clattering, booming, slurping—of the ingenious marvels of mechanization employed by agri-business.
Sponsor: Ashland Food Co-op
ourdailybread.at
Phoenix Dance
Documentary
16 minutes
Filmmaker: Karina Epperlein
Thursday 12:30p, Friday 6:30p, Saturday 3:30p, Sunday 12:30p
Plays with: Purvis of Overtown
In March 2001, Homer Avila―who had been dancing with Twyla Tharp, Bill T. Jones, and Mark Morris―discovered that the pain in his hip was cancer. One month later, his right leg and most of his hip were amputated. What unfolds is the story of the pas de deux called “Pas�, which the renowned Alonzo King choreographed for Homer, now missing one leg. Through interviews, studio rehearsals, and theatre performances, we witness a deeply moving collaboration. The process of “strength-building� by overcoming challenges in life, interdependence, and trust comes visually alive. “For me a pas de deux is a microscopic look into relationship,� Alonzo King says in the film, “and relationship could mean you with yourself... It could mean a part of you that’s dying. It could be you and your God, you and nature... wherever there is two negotiating or becoming one or struggling.�
karinafilms.us
Preacher with an Unknown God
Documentary
16 minutes
Filmmaker: Rob VanAlkemade
Friday 9:00p, Saturday 3:00p, Sunday 12:00p
Plays with: Beyond the Call
Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping are on a ten-day “Stop Big Boxes� tour of California. Their goal is to spread a message to Americans to learn to seek the unknown and to “put the odd back in God� by cutting back on consumption. During the tour, the Church conducts cash register exorcisms, (resulting in LA County jail time for the Reverend), parking lot revivals, and hypnotizing sermons, where the Reverend occasionally loses consciousness from absorbing the evil living inside congregants’ credit cards. “We burned fuel to get here today, children," says Reverend Billy. "We're all sinners, it's complicated..." A new short film by the cinematographer of Burning Man: Beyond Black Rock (AIFF 2006).
7thart.com
Prison Town, USA
Documentary
75 minutes
Filmmakers: Katie Galloway, Po Kutchins
Thursday 6:10p, Friday 12:10p, Saturday 9:40a, Sunday 12:10p
Plays with: lot 63, grave c
Susanville, California, population 17,500, tried to revive its economy by building a prison—with devastating consequences. To many locals the town has become unrecognizable: the new Susanville is a world of “cops and cons� where nearly everyone lucky enough to have a job works for the prison; local businesses have shut down by the dozen; and cliques at school are formed of guards’ kids and inmates’ kids. Over the course of two years the film weaves the tales of a laid-off mill worker turned guard, a struggling dairy owner fighting “Prison Industries� and a marooned inmate family. With these engrossing narratives and a background chorus of vivid voices, the film reveals the impact on families, jobs, the economy and the community.
Purvis of Overtown
Documentary
67 minutes
Filmmakers: Shaun Conrad, David Raccuglia
Thursday 12:30p, Friday 6:30p, Saturday 3:30p, Sunday 12:30p
Plays with: Phoenix Dance
A dilapidated warehouse, a threadbare sofa-chair, glass jars full of brushes and turpentine rest alongside empty plastic pill bottles, stacks of canvases, debris. Look through the glaze of age and diabetes, and see in a man’s eyes the darkness of ghetto poverty and fallen dreams. Stare deeper to the flickers of hope, religion, freedom and the ever-present twinkle of humor and mischief. The paintings share the same colors—hues of oppression, social failure, cultural devastation, and yet, at the same time, angels, saints, and wild horses racing toward freedom. Now step back and realize you're standing in the Smithsonian Museum of Art, a well-known art gallery, or perhaps a millionaire's home. That is where these paintings hang, touching the lives of those who will never experience the reality of what he paints. This is the story of Purvis Young.[language]
purvisofovertown.com
Recycled Life
Documentary
39 minutes
Director: Leslie Iwerks
Saturday 12:00p, Sunday 9:00p, Monday 6:00p
Plays in: Oscar’s Short Program
From the toxic depths of the largest landfill in Central America arises a beautiful story of the human spirit. For over sixty years, children have been born and raised here, parents and grandparents eat and survive here. Thousands of families have thrived in the largest and most toxic and dangerous area in all of Central America. For decades, the Guatemala City Garbage Dump and its inhabitants (“guajeros�) who recycle the city’s trash have been shunned by society and ignored by the government. Through this compelling story, the filmmakers have captured the beauty, humor and remarkable contrast that resonates throughout this vast wasteland of garbage, as generations of families struggle through an ongoing cycle of life. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary: Short Subject.
recycledlifedoc.com
Red Without Blue
Documentary
77 minutes
Directors: Brooke Sebold, Benita Sills, Todd Sills
Saturday 9:20p, Sunday 6:20p, Monday 9:50a
Plays with: The Work of Life
In 1983, identical twins Mark and Alexander Farley were born two minutes apart in Montana. Their early lives were seemingly perfect: picturesque holidays, cabin by the lake, supportive parents cheering them on. By age 14, their parents were divorced, they came out as gay, and a joint suicide attempt led to a forcible separation of the twins for three years. Today, Mark is studying in San Francisco, and Alex is living as a woman named Clair in New York. Exploding our notions of selfhood and sexual identity, this is a deeply personal look at the unconventional relationship between two brothers as they mature into adulthood and cease to be identical. This is the story of a family's redemption from a dark past, and ultimately, its revival to the present. [adult content]
redwithoutblue.com
Reporter Zero
Documentary
25 minutes
Student/University of California, Berkeley
Director: Carrie Lozano
Saturday 9:00p, Sunday 3:00p, Monday 3:00p
Plays with: Emile Norman: By His Own Design, I Just Wanted to Be Somebody
While most publications ignored what was considered a “gay disease,� Randy Shilts, the nation’s first openly gay major journalist, reported from the frontlines of the AIDS crisis. Shilts sounded the alarm in the San Francisco Chronicle and in his best-selling books And the Band Played On: Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic and The Major of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk. The media, federal institutions, and scientists continued to downplay evidence of the devastating spread of AIDS, but Shilts understood that the disease would become a global crisis.
His story exemplifies the power of journalism, represents a critical moment in the history of gay rights, documents massive institutional failure, and reminds us that in spite of flaws and psychic struggles, one person can make a difference. Student Academy Award winner: Best Documentary.
Sponsor: Equity Foundation
reporterzero.com
Scaredycat
Documentary
13 minutes
Director: Andy Blubaugh
Thursday 9:30p, Friday 12:30p, Saturday 9:30p, Sunday 6:30p
Plays in: Short Documentaries
In 2004 five young homeless men known as the “Portland Riders� staged a three-day strike on downtown Portland, Oregon choosing random victims and savagely attacking them. In all, seven people were attacked before police stopped them at gunpoint. Filmmaker Andy Blubaugh was their first victim. Although he escaped relatively unharmed, he lost his bicycle, his backpack, and his sense of comfort. Through a “hybrid� documentary style utilizing animation, interviews and re-creation, Blubaugh examines the inevitability and justness of fear following his beating through personal exploration.
scaredycatmovie.com
The Storytellers
Documentary
28 minutes
Director: Jelly Helm
Thursday 12:00p
Plays in: Locals Only 1
Each year, 360,000 people travel to a small town in the Rogue Valley of Southern Oregon to hear stories. They come to see what Time magazine called one of the top five theatre companies in the country, the Tony Award winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Here are the stories behind the storytellers, a look into the lives of six actors, their commitment and struggles. This is a documentary about people who believe in the importance of story in helping us to understand what it means to be human. [language]
The Trials of Darryl Hunt
Documentary
107 minutes
Directors: Ricki Stern, Annie Sundberg
Thursday 3:20p, Friday 9:50a, Sunday 9:50a, Monday 6:20p
North Carolina, 1984. A brutal crime leaves a white woman dead, and a young black man accused. This exclusive portrait of a harrowing wrongful conviction offers a provocative and haunting examination of a community—and a criminal justice system—subject to racial bias and tainted by fear. The film chronicles this capital case from 1984 through 2004. With personal narratives and exclusive footage from two decades, the film frames the judicial and emotional responses to this chilling crime—and the implications surrounding Hunt's conviction—against a backdrop of class and racial bias in America. This unique look at one man's loss and redemption challenges the assumption that all Americans have the right to unbiased justice. [language, violence]
breakthrufilms.org
The Tribe
Documentary
18 minutes
Director: Tiffany Shlain
Thursday 9:30p, Friday 12:30p, Saturday 9:30p, Sunday 6:30p
Plays in: Short Documentaries
What can the most successful doll on the planet show us about being Jewish today? Narrated by Peter Coyote, the film mixes old school narration with a new school visual style. Using archival footage, graphics, animation, Barbie dioramas, and slam poetry we are taken on an electric ride through the complex history of both the Barbie doll and the Jewish people— from Biblical times to present day. By tracing Barbie’s history, the film sheds light on what it means to be an American Jew in the 21st Century.
tribethefilm.com
The Turning Point
Documentary
71 minutes
Director: Ross Williams
Thursday 12:00p
Plays in: Locals Only 1
The Turning Point is a homemade documentary completed with almost no budget. Ashland filmmaker Ross Williams captures crucial, personal moments as he and his wife Kristan journey towards parenthood. Nine months of pregnancy and the birth of their first baby throw their lives into chaos. Raising a new child means three life-altering years as each member of the Williams family grows.
myspace.com/theturningpointmovie
War/Dance
Documentary
105 minutes
Directors: Andrea Nix Fine, Sean Fine
Friday 6:00p
Across the country, Ugandan children are getting ready for the biggest event of the year: the annual Kampala Music Festival. 56 schools will compete, but only one will go home the champion. Students from the Patongo refuge camp pour their hearts into the competition against all odds. “The music helps them forget,� sighs their head teacher. The war has stolen so much: their homes, their parents and their childhoods. Patongo’s refugee camp packs 60,000 people in its endless squalor. There is no electricity, running water, and no safe place. Close to half of the primary school students are escaped child soldiers from the Lord’s Resistance Army. You can see the horror in the eyes of these children; but when the music starts, expressions shift. After a lifetime of trauma, this year Patongo Primary School students have something magical to anticipate.[subtitles, violence]
shineglobal.org
We’re Saving the World
Documentary
12 minutes
Director: Claudine Jordan
Sunday 9:30a
A fifth grade class in Southern Oregon decides to send copies of a book to all the governors in the USA. Why? Because one day Sharon Mehdi sat down and wrote an inspirational story for her granddaughter, a fable about the Women in Black standing silently for peace. The Great Silent Grandmother Gathering is a children's story for adults that shows how each person can make a difference. And that's just what happened. Encouraged by others to self-publish, the little pamphlet soon took on a life of its own and was purchased by a major publisher.
cezeproductions.com
Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary
Documentary
87 minutes
Director: Arturo Perez Torres
Thursday 9:20p, Friday 12:20p, Saturday 9:50a, Monday 3:20p
Plays with: Gesture Down (I Don’t Sing)
More than 3,000 Latin Americans from Central America and Mexico embark upon on an extremely dangerous journey to North America everyday. Fewer than 300 make it to their destination. Nayo, Milton, Luis, Oscar and Ana join one of the largest migration movements in history. Their motivation is a life with dignity. Their disadvantage is that none of them have legal traveling documents. The film begins in Nicaragua and takes us on a journey through five borders and many other dangers. Border control tightens as the migrants move north. Gangs in Mexico and vigilantes in the US are some of the obstacles they face. Through amazing access to the film’s subjects, we witness the immigrant paradox: the closer they get to the ‘free world’, the less free they are and the more illegal they become. [subtitles]
opencityworks.com/wetback
features
feature films | documentaries | short films
Big Dreams Little Tokyo
Feature
93 minutes
Filmmaker: David Boyle
Friday 9:40a, Saturday 12:10p, Sunday 9:10p, Monday 12:10p
Plays with: A Painful Glimpse Into My Writing Process (In Less Than 60 Seconds)
Boyd is an American with an uncanny ability to speak Japanese. He aspires to succeed in the world of Japanese business but finds himself mostly on the outside looking in until he begins teaching English to a young Japanese woman and romance blossoms. Meanwhile his roommate, Jerome, is a Japanese American who has always felt too American to be Japanese but too Japanese to be American. He wants to be a sumo wrestler but finds his weight and blood pressure are thwarting his dreams. Together, Boyd and Jerome passionately and comically struggle to find their place in a world where cultural identity is seldom what it seems.
bigdreamslittletokyo.com
Colma: The Musical
Feature
107 minutes
Filmmaker: Richard Wong
Friday 9:20p
Saturday 6:20p
Monday 12:20p
Set in the suburban town of Colma, California, where the dead outnumber the living 1500 to 1, this fresh musical takes a personal look into the ups and downs of early adulthood. Best pals Rodel, Billy, and Maribel find themselves in a state of limbo; fresh out of high school, they are just beginning to explore a new world of late-night small-town romps while also being broadened by glimpses of a bigger life. As newfound revelations and romances challenge their relationships with one another and with their parents, the trio must assess what to hold onto, and how best to follow their dreams. They begin to wonder if the only thing permanent in their lives is Colma. Woven into the story are 13 musical numbers that will leave you singing along. [adult content, language]
colmafilm.com
Drifting Elegant
Feature
87 minutes
Filmmaker: Amy Glazer
Thursday 6:30p, Friday 3:30p, Saturday 12:30p, Sunday 9:30p
Plays with: Chicxulub
The complex racial and class dynamics in the US are exposed through the story of Victor, a young Arab-American man convicted of rape, and three people whose lives he affects: Nate, a white journalist with stubborn ideals; Nate's wife, who is starting to question those ideals; and Nate's best friend, an African-American housing developer. Tension builds in a small San Francisco apartment as the characters confront their blind spots and the ways in which sexual desire and prejudice collide. Outside the apartment, the landscapes of the educated urban elite and the working class are vividly contrasted. [adult content, language]
trft.org/driftingelegant
Expiration Date
Feature
94 minutes
Filmmaker: Rick Stevenson
Friday 3:40p, Saturday 9:40p, Monday 12:40p
Plays with: Full Disclosure
This fable revolves around Native American Charles Silvercloud III whose grandfather and father were both killed by milk trucks on their 25th birthdays. Oh, and Charlie is about to turn 25. Having accepted his fate, Charlie is responsibly going about preparing for his death (buying a casket, selecting a grave plot, selling his furniture, etc.). Things take an unexpected turn when he meets a young woman who wonÃt let him die in peace. Interwoven in this romantic comedy is Charlie's return to his indigenous roots through traditional dance.
expirationdatethemovie.com
The Glenmoore Job
Feature
53 minutes
Filmmaker: Greg Williams
Thursday 12:10p, Saturday 3:10p Sunday 9:40a Monday 3:10p
Plays with: Stranded
Warren steps out of prison and straight into a parole-mandated self-help group whose idea of therapy is to play board games. Meanwhile he has to deliver on a promise he made to his cellmate. One last job. Should be straightforward. But the support group doesnÃt know how to deal with Warren. They havenÃt had a new member in years, let alone one who is a real criminal, and it turns their cozy world upside down. Allegiances get tested, secrets come out, things go missing. And somebody in the group wants Warren gone. Warren would rather be gone himself, but itÃs not easy to get the job done with group member Sally, a cat burglar in training, following him around. She has big career plans, and they involve Warren. HeÃs not getting away easily. [language]
Jindabyne
Feature
123 minutes
Director: Ray Lawrence
Thursday 6:00p
On an annual fishing trip in isolated Australian high country Stewart, Carl, Rocco and Billy find a girlÃs body in the river. ItÃs too late in the day for them to hike back to the road and report their tragic find. The next morning, instead of making the long trek back, they spend the day fishing. Their decision to stay on at the river is a little mysterious ó almost as if the place itself is exerting some kind of magic over them. When the men finally return home to Jindabyne, and report finding the body, all hell breaks loose. Their wives canÃt understand how they could have gone fishing with the dead girl right there in the water. As details filter out and Stewart (Gabriel Byrne) resists talking about what has happened, his wife Claire (Laura Linney) is unnerved. ClaireÃs faith in her relationship with her husband is shaken to the core. As public opinion builds against the actions of the men, their certainty about themselves and the decision they made at the river is challenged. Based on the short story So Much Water, So Close to Home by Raymond Carver.
april.com.au/jindabyne/index.php
The Little Things
Feature
90 minutes
Filmmaker: Stephen Padilla
Thursday 3:10p, Friday 6:10p, Saturday 9:10p, Monday 9:40a
Plays with: Second Thoughts
Miranda, a second grade teacher, has a comfortable, if unsatisfying, life with her boyfriend, until she meets Michael. Michael opens Miranda up to his world of intimacy, intensity and vulnerability, the likes of which sheÃs never before experienced, but always secretly desired. The problem is that Michael is otherwise entangled in a relationship of his own. As Michael and Miranda begin to negotiate the complexities of their budding relationship, they are forced to deal with the realities of their individual circumstances. In this veritÈ style, character-rich portrait of life and love among late twenty-somethings in New York City, Miranda and Michael question if circumstance, timing and fear will win out or if all the little things they share along the way add up in the end to something real, substantial and lasting. [language]
afamilyaffairfilms.com
Low and Behold
Feature
89 minutes
Director: Zack Godshall
Thursday 9:40p, Friday 12:40p, Monday 6:40p
Plays with: By Modern Measure
Turner Stull, an uninspired young man trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life, arrives in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans to work as an insurance claims adjuster. Greeted by his Uncle Stully, a seasoned claims adjuster and an ambitious group of adjusters, he is quickly immersed into the routine: move fast, don't get emotionally involved, and make a lot of money. But Turner, not prepared to deal with people who have lost everything, is totally overwhelmed. Turner's lack of experience and uncertainty only makes things worse. In a moment of crisis, he agrees to help Nixon, a local man, find his lost dog. In exchange for Turner helping look for the lost dog, Nixon lends a hand with Turner's insurance claims. Turner and Nixon begin to navigate their way through the storm-ravaged city, a journey that will change Turner's life. Powerful real life interviews with local residents are integrated into the story.
lowandbeholdmovie.com
Room 314
Feature
100 minutes
Director: Michael Knowles
Thursday 9:10p, Friday 3:10p, Sunday 6:10p, Monday 9:10p
How many stories can one hotel room tell? Here are five different stories about five couples in various stages of their relationships. Longing for connection, underlying tensions and the need for understanding all swirl about as these couples struggle to say what they want and occasionally succeed. Nick and Stacey wake up and find they have to get to know each other again. An unexpected visit forces Harry to confront Gretchen. Jack and Kathy discover that their physical attraction could be something far more significant. Matt and Tracey push a game a little too far. And David and Caly struggle to redefine their relationship. Room 314 gives the audience a look at these characters that’s so close as to be uncomfortable at times, but shows a universal truth: wanting connection with someone else and knowing how to achieve it are two entirely different things. [adult content, language]
room314.org
Steel Toes
Feature
90 minutes
Directors: Mark Adam, David Gow
Thursday 12:40p, Friday 9:40p, Monday 3:40p
Academy Award nominated David Strathairn portrays Danny Dunkleman, a Jewish liberal humanist, and the court-appointed lawyer representing Mike Downey (Andrew W. Walker), a Neo-Nazi Skinhead on trial for the racially motivated murder of an East Indian immigrant. Steel Toes takes us into the intense and fiery relationship that develops between these two men as they explore their emotional and intellectual differences. This provocative exploration addresses the inescapable and insidious presence of racial and religious intolerance in our society. Based on the play Cherry Docs by screenwriter David Gow. [language, violence]
steeltoesthemovie.com
Stranded
Feature
52 minutes
Director: Stuart McDonald
Thursday 12:10p, Saturday 3:10p, Sunday 9:40a, Monday 3:10p
Plays with: The Glenmoore Job
How long does it take before the abnormal seems normal? Death, love and family values are all up for re-negotiation in this dark and unusual black comedy about a girl trying to start a new life for herself after the loss of her mother. Claudia lives and fights with her loving but inept father Rex and little sister Penny. When two children are dumped on the family, Claudia moves into her mother’s abandoned car in the driveway. She plans to fix it and take off—that’s if she can sidestep the Christian do-gooders and avoid falling in love with the cute kleptomaniac who works at the local supermarket. [adult content, language]
Ten Canoes
Feature
92 minutes
Director: Rolf de Heer, Peter Djigirralia
Thursday 9:00p, Monday 9:30a
'Bout time to tell you a story, eh? It is longtime ago, our time, before you other mob came from cross the ocean. Ahh, it'll make you laugh, even if you're not a blackfella. Might cry a bit too eh? But then you laugh some more...cause this story is a big true story of my people. True thing.
Ten Canoes was shot in the forests of Australia's remote far north and is the first feature film in an Aboriginal language. In the distant past, tribal times, Dayindi covets one of the wives of his older brother. To give him direction, he is told a story from the mythical past: a story of wrong love, kidnapping, sorcery, bungling mayhem and revenge gone wrong. Indigenous people from the area were involved at most levels of the production: from input into the script, editorial control, casting and selection of locations. Special Jury Prize—Cannes Film Festival. [Adult Content, Subtitles]
tencanoes.com.au/tencanoes
Wristcutters: A Love Story
Feature
91 minutes
Director: Goran Dukic
Thursday 6:40p, Saturday 6:40p, Sunday 9:40p
Plays with: The Fan And The Flower
From the moment Zia (Patrick Fugit) cuts his wrists and enters a bizarre afterlife reserved for suicides, this film becomes a strangely uplifting, darkly comic tale about a journey through the hereafter. This is a world where everyone still bears the scars earned from the manner in which they “offed� while the everyday reality is a twisted mirror image of our own mortal world. When Zia begins his search for his long lost love, he forms an uncommon bond with two others and together they set out on a journey across the afterlife in search of what they could not find in their previous lives. Along the way they encounter a variety of memorable individuals, among them Kneller (Tom Waits). Based on the short story Kneller’s Happy Campers by Etgar Keret which was also made into a graphic novel Pizzeria Kamikaze. [adult content, language, violence]
wristcutters.com
|
|
|
|
