Past Films
Below you will find an alphabetic list of all films from past years. Click on the more information links to see cast, production information, and film media!
3 Ladies
Narrative Short
In 1951, Danville, Kentucky was a picturesque, peaceful small town and it still is today thanks to the grit and determination of three special ladies. Edna L. Toliver, Mary G. Hogsett, and Jennie Rogers weren't handed a place in Kentucky educational lore; they earned it. When the government cheese supply went missing in their elementary schools, the ladies had to get to the bottom of the mystery and fast. Their search led them to Jarvis P. Woodlawn, a nutcase hell bent on the creation of a county school. Edna, Mary, and Jennie had to put their lives on the line to protect their town, their schools, and the future.Film Info:
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7 Years Underground: A 60's Tale
Documentary Feature
In 1964, after spending a one year protracted legal battle, co-club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon were finally granted a 'unique' cabaret license and the Cafe Au Go Go opened its doors on February 7. Six weeks later with mounting legal bills and depleting funds the couple were quickly going out of business. With few options, Howard and Elly made a desperate, late minute attempt to keep the club open and reached out to popular comedian, Lenny Bruce. Two days into Lenny's performance he was arrested and booked for obscenity charges, alone with Howard and Elly. THat historic arrest, and the international press it garnered would put the Cafe Au Go Go on the tnertainment world map.
Film Info:
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778 Bullets
Documentary Short
In November 1970, university, state and local police shot 778 Bullets into an off campus rental house in Carbondale, IL. The residence was rented to a handful of university students, some were assumed to be associated with the local Black Panther Party. Unlike other police raids of known Black Panther residences across the country, the Carbondale Panthers shot back. Using archive material, newspaper accounts, witness testimony and experts in the field, 778 Bullets recovers a little known history of resistance and resilience of the human struggle for self-determination. The dominant memory of the Black Panther Party would have us believe that the Panthers existed only in major urban cities; this story documents a more rural presence of radical politics and the struggle for civil rights.Film Info:
• 18 minutes
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A Far-Off Cry
Documentary Short
A Far-Off Cry is a story of parallels, of opposites--two planets forced off course by the filmmakers. The parallel Pakistan worlds of the untouchables (street children addicted to solvents) and the intellectuals. According to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime publication "Solvent Abuse Among Street Children in Pakistan," there are more than 140 million street children in the world, most of whom are victims of solvent abuse. Their needs, their feelings, their hopes for survival are nonexistent. The goal of this documentary is to give Karachi's street children a platform, to give them a face, a voice, a way to reach out for help. But more than that, it puts them in the same room as Pakistan's doctors, psychiatrists and government officials in an attempt to address this crisis--if not actually together in the same room, at least together on screen through the magic of film making.
Film Info:
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A Finger, Two Dots Then Me
Narrative Short
'A Finger, Two Dots Then Me' is a spoken-word piece based on a popular poem by renowned modern poet Derrick Brown. The film takes a dramatic look at death, life and love through the eyes of Brown, a beat poet who has performed around the world for the last decade both as a headliner and with bands such as the Flaming Lips and the Cold War Kids.
Film Info:
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A Place in the World
Documentary Feature
Right outside Atlanta, Georgia is a small charter school that brings together refugee children from war-torn countries all over the world and teaches them alongside local American children. 'A Place In The World' follows three families with ties to the school, a first year teacher, and the principal of the school over the course of two school years, as they adapt to, and learn from, this diverse and complex social environment. The film asks the question of whether we can all live together in this rapidly changing world.Film Info:
• 1 hour 29 minutes
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Achante'
Experimental
An introduction to Haitian Vodou as told by Vodouisants, Achante is an immersive image-driven portrait of spiritual practices in Haiti.
Film Info:
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All Systems Go, Neil Armstrong
Experimental
A mysterious oblong television set is your personal guide through outer space as it guides us through a series of animated scenes. Along the way, this guide presents a number of downsized robots whose purpose and functions are unknown.
Film Info:
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America's Last Hitchhikers
Documentary Short
In 2008 my friend Michael and I hitchhiked from San Fransisco to New York. That trip forced me to challenge many of my perceptions of this country. This film follows me as I decide to go hitchhiking again, to help work out exactly what it is about hitchhiking that I found so useful and enjoyable in 2008.
Film Info:
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Another Dress, Another Button
Animation
The spare buttons are forever waiting for someone to use them...time to go for a little spin.
Film Info:
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Another Earth
Narrative Feature
On the night of the discovery of a duplicate planet in the solar system, an ambitious young student and an accomplished composer cross paths in a tragic accident. Winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.Film Info:
• 1 hour 32 minutes
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Apocalypse Meow
Narrative Short
A young couple about to embark on their dream vacation discovers they have over packed more than just socks. Weighed down with baggage full of desire, sin and ignorance, they find weakness and obsession are items you can't just leave at home. Winner of the 2012 Paducah 48 Hour Film Project Audience Award and Best Musical Score.Film Info:
• 7 minutes
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Apsis
Narrative Short
A caped demon lost in the limitless expanse of another world realizes his existence through the brief encounter with another.Film Info:
• 16 minutes
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Architect to the Sky
Documentary Short
Discover the art of tree house design and creation through the heart, mind and music of Roderick Romero, one of the great visionaries in his field. Roderick has pushed the boundaries of tree house aesthetics and has redefined what it means to be living with nature. Set to the music of Roderick's longtime band Sky Cries Mary & Futruo, the soundtrack expresses the man behind the architecture. Follow Roderick from start to finish on one of his most pinnacle projects to date, the Moroccan Lantern Tree House. Observe fundamental techniques in tree house construction while exploring the thoughts that shape Roderick's sculptural dwellings. Choosing to use almost 99% all reclaimed materials, Roderick has been a long time supporter of sustainable architecture. This level of consciousness invites a deeper understanding of the spaces we live in and connects us to the beauty of the natural world. His unique perspective illuminates this exciting new art form and translates across disciplines to give elevating insights into the art-making process.
Film Info:
• 34 minutes
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Arithmetic Lesson
Narrative Short
Arithmetic Lesson is a 15-minute dramatic film that illustrates the courage of the human spirit for survival through the eyes of a seven-year-old Chinese American girl, Gracie. Gracie's mother, Mei, is comatose in the hospital. Gracie's father, Yong, hires an au pair from Taiwan, Ah San, to take care of Gracie. Ah San provides the daily care for Gracie, which includes overseeing Gracie as she does her homework and taking care of all domestic chores. Unknown to Yong, Ah San becomes impatient with the care-taking of Gracie and becomes abusive to the young child.
Throughout many events in the course of the film, Gracie finds the courage to tell her father that Ah San has hurt her physically, which results in the eviction of Ah San. Gracie learns to comfort herself instead of constantly seeking comforts from the emotionally unavailable adults around her.
Film Info:
• 15 minutes
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Atroz
Narrative Short
Awful is a singular teddy bear, a worn and curmudgeon one, whose owner is Luna, a little girl who has taken him as her best friend. She doesn't stop harassing him with hugs, kisses and cuddles. Awful itself will tell us in first person all the misfortunes that he will have to live to flee from Luna's ceaseless petting, endearments and games. This short film treats, in a reality and animation blending, classic issues present in children's tales.Film Info:
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Banjo Bill, The Ballad
Documentary Short
Banjo Bill, The Ballad is a look at a unique Kentucky native. Come listen to this Hindman, Kentucky banjo player who served as a state Representative in the 1950's.Film Info:
• 9 minutes
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Baraboo
Narrative Feature
Set in bountiful rural Wisconsin, Baraboo follows six people who have each carved a life out at Petersen's Cabins, a rundown motel/resort. Some are there by choice, others by circumstance. They circle one another with caution, desire, anger and compassion, inching their way toward understanding.
Film Info:
• 1 hour 39 minutes
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Beatboxing - The Fifth Element of Hip Hop
Documentary Short
It was in the late 70s that a youth culture evolved in the poorer parts of New York which combined several disciplines under the name of Hip Hop. Apart from the four classic elements of Graffiti writing, DJing, Breakdancing, and Rapping, the musical side of this culture was enhanced by a fifth element called 'Beatboxing'. From the hardship of poverty and the lack of instruments, a pioneer was inspired to imitate drum rhythms with his mouth - his brilliance creating the term 'Human Beatbox'. The documentary integrally covers a variety of musical technical abilities. Beatboxing has become a multilingual and diverse instrument applied in all genres of music. The documentary shows how this modern style of music has spread and how it continues to enrich the entertainment world.
Film Info:
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Beine Brechen (Breaking Legs)
Experimental
Everything seemed to go wrong from within and without. The never-ending official arbitrariness was oppressing, the examining glance outside. But lately, resistance has formed here. With excuses and blinders, the protagonist achieved in building his own world without reacting to the events taking place. But when fate tried to force him into making a decision, he chooses again a facade constructed of lies and spectacle. Breaking legs is a silent movie. It makes room for the linguistic incapability of the protagonist, but the inter-titles try to explore this format.Film Info:
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Being the Diablo
Documentary Feature
Crippled with bipolar disorder, Mickey Mahaffey, a Baptist preacher, abandons his family and faith to search for mental and physical healing and for the strength and honesty needed to repair the wounds left behind in the wake of his childhood. During 12 years of long distance walking, sleeping outside in the wilderness and on the streets among the homeless, Mahaffey thinks he’s found a way to cope with what ails him--living a simple life in direct contact with nature.
An epic walk from North Carolina brings him to Mexico and thus begins an intimate, decade-long relationship with the indigenous Tarahumara Indians of Mexico's Copper Canyons. This rarely documented Native American tribe has lived in the remote canyons for centuries, isolated and largely uninfluenced by the world around them. Mahaffey's genuine interest in their culture resonated with the Tarahumara and he was, in turn, welcomed into their community and invited to participate in their rituals -- a cultural bridge rarely crossed by outsiders.
Mickey’s daughter Stephanie has spent most of her life defending and justifying her father's choices. His quest for a deeper, yet simpler, spiritual life was constantly at odds with what Stephanie's family and friends expected from a father. But Mickey’s search for himself could not be derailed by what people thought of him. His path went from being a preacher to living homeless, to being committed to a mental institution, to finally dancing with Tarahumara Indians at the bottom of a remote canyon in Mexico's Sierra Madre.
Film Info:
• 1 hour 1 minute
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Belittle
Narrative Short
The Little brothers have big problems. Charles Little desperately wants to be an artist, but he's made a comfortable living writing trashy romance novels for his publisher/brother Samuel Little. To add insult to injury, Samuel forces Charles to write under the pseudonym, 'Charlene Little.' When Charles is late on his next draft, Samuel holds him hostage in the hopes that he will write another romance blockbuster. Charles, however, sick of being under his brother's thumb, has plans of his own.
Film Info:
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Between Two Rivers
Documentary Feature
Between Two Rivers is a new documentary film about Cairo, Illinois, a historic town with a dark and troubled past, located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, in the heartland of America. Filmed, edited and directed by artists Jacob Cartwright and Nick Jordan, Between Two Rivers offers a remarkable insight into a community struggling with severe economic, social and environmental pressures.
Film Info:
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Bizarnival: Tuxedos in the Attic
Narrative Short
A brainstorming session for three indie filmmakers turns into a trip down the rabbit hole. Their journey starts in the attic with a magical suitcase full of tuxedos and it only gets weirder from there. An encounter with a confusing puppet and a mysterious mime are some of the obstacles the trio will have to clear if they want to make it home to a notebook full of new ideas.
Film Info:
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Blood & Curry
Narrative Feature
Moments before an anniversary party at his house, an Indian man sits in his back yard in a state of shock. His wife lies dead at his feet. He pulls it together enough to call 911 but the doorbell rings. Family and guests are here for the party. He makes a split second decision, hangs up on 911 and scrambles to hide the body. Reminiscent of Hitchcock's ROPE, guests fill the house not realizing the deceased hostess lies in their midst. Her desperate husband seems willing to go to any lengths to conceal the truth. In the process, significant, sometimes darkly comic differences emerge between his Hindu family and western culture. How long can he possibly keep his morbid secret and why?Film Info:
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Bones
Narrative Feature
Heartwrenching coming of age film set in 1989 blue collar New York. Four teens meander through love and tragedy, bonded by a secret that would seal their fate. Outstanding performances from all drive the film that will engulf the audience in tension and the brutal reality of teenage life from the opening credits.
Film Info:
• 1 hour 40 minutes
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Boom Varietal
Documentary Feature
The buzz among wine connoisseurs and novices alike is one word - Malbec. Originally from France, Malbec found its perfect home, its perfect territory in the dry Argentine climate. Its booming popularity has swept through the U.S. and the world, reviving a varietal that had been nearly lost. Boom Varietal will inspire not only your pallet but also a love for the rich Argentine culture.Film Info:
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Brethren Arise
Experimental
A meditation on physical space and solitude, Brethren Arise is an abstract narrative tone poem in which environments engulf characters in various circumstances. A pilot stranded on a mountain, a grade school custodian and the people at a public park in Brooklyn are featured in this atmospheric assemblage of images and sounds that explores location, isolation and human perception.
Film Info:
• 24 minutes
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Bucksville
Narrative Feature
In a small, wooded town, a young man struggles to leave a secret militia started by his father. With an eerily beautiful tone, Bucksville touches on the timely topics of ethics and the militia movement, within the context of family conflict. It is also a film about love, loyalty, and the loss of innocence.
Film Info:
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Cannonball
Narrative Feature
Tony Dedman and his friends are set adrift when their backyard wrestling careers are brought to an abrupt end. A despised former classmate reveals his goal to live on a Mexican beach, and Tony finds misguided purpose in beating him to the punch. The funding for this trip proves elusive. A veterinarian obsessed with a creature of local legend may hold the key, offering to pay for an expedition into the Kentucky backwoods. Dedman will go to any lengths to make this happen, including being led by Bass Adkins, a recluse farmer who has already used the creature as a homicide defense. It's a coming-of-middle-age tale as their raucous adventure leads to many discoveries, including what it truly means to live.
Film Info:
• 1 hour 39 minutes
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Chasing Water
Documentary Short
Follow the Colorado River, source to sea, with photographer Pete McBride who takes an intimate look at the watershed as he attempts to follow the irrigation water that sustains his family's Colorado ranch, down river to the sea. Traversing 1500 miles and draining seven states, the Colorado River supports over 30 million people across the southwest. It is not the longest or largest U.S. river, but it is one of the most loved and litigated in the world. Today, this resource is depleted and stressed. Follow its path with an artistic, aerial view on a personal journey to understand this national treasure. McBride teamed up with his bush-pilot father to capture unique footage and also shadowed the adventure of Jon Waterman who became the first to paddle the entire length of the river.
Film Info:
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Chi Sei? (Who Are You?)
Experimental
Chi Sei? is an experimental film consisting of re-constructed and stylized images from Italian demonic possession and exploitation films of the 1970's. Its influences are the experimental films of Kenneth Anger, Ken Jacobs as well as European Trash Cinema.
The 17th Century... The Inquisition. A witch is about to be burned on a stake. She looks deep into the eyes of the hooded Inquisitor about to burn her...
Yesterday...Pregnant Jessica is in bed, possessed by the spirit of the Witch. Her son and daughter run around the house unsupervised, and their toys have a life of their own. The children run to check on their mother but...Mommy isn't home...
Film Info:
• 17 minutes
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China: The Rebirth of an Empire
Documentary Feature
China's unprecedented growth has placed it on the verge of overtaking the United States as the world's preeminent power. Meanwhile, Chalmers Johnson, author of Blowback and The Sorrows of Empire, argues that America's preoccupation with militarism has all but sealed its fate as a nation in long-term decline. But if China surpasses the United States, what type of power will it become? In today's interconnected and globalized world, the answer affects each and every one of us.
In Pakistan and Afghanistan, China's humanitarian activities and investment in infrastructure have won it the hearts and minds of the people. Yet in Tibet and Xinjiang, China is reviled as an imperialistic abuser of human rights. Despite trumpeting its vision of an ethnic unity at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government has gone to great lengths to silence dissenting voices such as Rebiya Kadeer, de facto leader of the Uyghur people. Kadeer has replaced the Dalai Lama as Beijing's number one public adversary.
Will China follow in the footsteps of history's other great powers and use its strength to dominate its neighbors, trample ethnic and religious minorities, and become a 21st century empire? Or will a wealthy Chinese youth lead the country towards democracy, much like Taiwan? The international community shares responsibility in this outcome, but is it too dependent on Chinese trade to care? Whether it's a peaceful rise or potential threat, China's 21st century emergence as a great world power will change the lives of everyone.
Film Info:
• 1 hour 26 minutes
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Clemency
Narrative Short
Arthur Poe (Cris D'Annunzio) is a sadistic killer who likes to torture his victims. In 1993 he was captured and subsequently convicted by the state of Virginia for several gruesome murders. Poe received a sentence of death. Years later and days before his execution, the newly-elected governor granted Poe clemency based on the testimony of a forensic psychologist at Poe's murder trial. The testimony convinced the governor that Poe deserved psychiatric care rather than death. Many are outraged by the governor's act of leniency. A reporter (Maury Morgan) confronts Poe in an interview seeking to shed light on the emotionally charged topic. What she learns can never be forgotten.
Film Info:
• 19 minutes
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Cloning Kevin
Narrative Short
Kevin and his roommate start making clones of Kevin to pay the bills around the house. Things take a turn for the worse when neither of them can remember who the real Kevin is. Winner of the 2011 Atomic City Student Film Festival.
Film Info:
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Cultures of Resistance
Documentary Feature
In 2003, on the eve of the Iraq war, director Iara Lee embarked on a journey to better understand a world increasingly embroiled in conflict and, as she saw it, heading for self-destruction. After several years, travelling over five continents, Iara encountered growing numbers of people who committed their lives to promote change. This is their story.
Film Info:
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Dislecksia: The Movie
Documentary Feature
About one in seven Americans has some degree of dyslexia. It's a condition that makes it hard to read the way other people do. But by using special techniques, taught or self-invented, most dyslexics can learn to function normally. A lot of dyslexics are brilliant, talented, and successful. The documentary 'Dislecksia: The Movie' will present the latest scientific knowledge about dyslexia, and the experiences of dyslexics. Viewers will come to know dyslexics — and those who teach and study them — not just as statistics or talking heads, but as people. They'll also learn a lot about dyslexia: its causes, its effects, and what can be done about it.
Film Info:
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Dreamworld
Narrative Feature
Oliver Hayes, an aspiring animator whose confidence is at a low point, meets the captivating and impulsive Lily Blush, who encourages him to drop everything and go with her to Northern California in the hopes of fulfilling his fantasy of working for Pixar Animation Studios. As they travel up the coast, Oliver falls deeply in love but upon making certain startling discoveries he must decide if he wants to face reality or stay in dreamworld.
Film Info:
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Educating Cooper
Narrative Short
A young man returns from his mother's funeral expecting to resume the daily high school routine only to have the direction of his life changed by learning lessons in the power of both love and truth.
Film Info:
• 15 minutes
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Empty Cache
Experimental
Empty Cache adopts archival footage of Alaskan big game hunts, weaving together an ironic eerie aura of humans hunting for the mount, not for the meat.
Film Info:
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Extinction II- Quadrature of the Circles
Narrative Short
A married couple dresses up to attend a ceremony.
Film Info:
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Fanny, Annie & Danny
Narrative Feature
Filmmaker Chris Brown has been compared to director John Cassavetes for his ability to peel back the skin of his characters in a way that feels both disturbingly intimate and deeply real. In Brown's latest, finely-crafted feature, Fanny, Annie & Danny are three troubled adult siblings brought together by their horrific mother for the Christmas holiday. Like just about everything in Brown's work, what seems commonplace on the surface becomes riveting in the details. We first meet Fanny, an obsessive-compulsive who lives in a group home and works at a candy factory about to go bankrupt. Fanny brings this secret to the Christmas dinner, where she reconnects with her self-absorbed sister Annie and their too-perfect-to-trust brother Danny. Mother Edie hosts the party with an iron fist, insisting at an ever-increasing pitch that everyone have fun. Their Vietnam vet father may act like his emotions died with his friends on the battlefield, but director Brown continually lets his audience glimpse the last few pulses of compassion the broken man has for those around him. As with a tsunami building strength silently offshore, we sense the impending climax without knowing exactly when or where it will hit--or how hard.
Film Info:
• 1 hour 22 minutes
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Finding Jenua
Narrative Feature
Finding Jenua is about love, loss and finding your place in the world. A drama with mystery that's told in an unconventional way, unraveling like a memory and tying us back together with the simple beauty of human connection.
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Fully Loaded
Narrative Feature
A dark comedy that follows Lisa and Paula, cool single moms out for a night on the town. When Paula's sexy hook up with a total stranger turns out to be a sketchy confrontation with reality, the women hit the road a little drunk, but very high on love/lust and what could have been. This 'vancentric' indy comedy offers a rare opportunity to spy on susceptible people in absurd circumstance. The banter is quick, the sound track is killer and the women are real.
Film Info:
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Game Reset
Narrative Short
Andy, a 30-something video game buff, eagerly anticipates the release of the new shoot 'em up INDESTRUCTIBLE. When he makes plans to play the game with his best friend Mick, a massive power outage sends the two friends on a DIY sci-fi mission to build an electrical generator that will give them enough juice to experience the latest and greatest digital war fantasy.
Film Info:
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Hank Cochran: "Livin' for a Song"
Documentary Feature
Livin' for a Song is a feature length documentary on the life and music of legendary Nashville songwriter Hank Cochran. A remarkable story that starts in the cotton fields of Mississippi then moves on to California where he partnered with Rock legend Eddie Cochran for much of the 50s then on to Nashville in 1960 where he wrote classics such as 'Make the World Go Away', 'I Fall to Pieces', 'She's Got You' and many more. The film includes intimate performances by Elvis Costello, Brad Paisley, Lee Ann Womack, Ronnie Milsap and others as well as appearances by Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Jeannie Seely to name just a few. After watching this film you will understand why they called Hank: 'The Legend'.
Film Info:
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Hardwater
Documentary Feature
What's more 'Maine' than lobster, rocky coastlines, blueberries, or moose? Ice fishing! HARDWATER chronicles quintessential Mainer Bob Foster, the last in a dying breed of winter anglers. Through rich, on-ice storytelling and reflection on a long outdoor life, 77-year-old Foster paints a picture of Maine's ice fishing history, while introducing us to key players in the tribal community today. His anecdotes illuminate controversial environmental issues, and in between stories he tends traps and attempts to catch the storied landlocked salmon - Maine's official fish and the species most susceptible to the changing environment. Ultimately, HARDWATER is a film about a treasured Maine tradition, shared passion for storytelling, and the ways in which ice fishing brings people together during the harshest of seasons.
Film Info:
• 1 hour 15 minutes
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Hip Hop Maestro
Documentary Short
Hip Hop Maestro begins with an overture of kinetic concert footage that reveals linebacker sized maestro, Geoff “Double G” Gallegos, his symphony, Reepus II in A Minor, and the young, vibrant Los Angeles musicians who willingly give their time and talent to this orchestra known as daKAH. Told in first person narration, Double G chronicles his amazing journey as a young composer whose epic vision of bringing elements of hip hop, jazz, funk and reggae into the symphonic audience despite great odds- a.k.a no $. In three movements, this ‘daKUMENTARY’ shall demonstrate how Double G’s unique leadership and single- minded determination propels daKAH from the Los Angeles nightclub scene to the magnificent stage at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.Film Info:
• 40 minutes
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How Do You Write a Joe Schermann Song
Narrative Feature
An award-winning movie musical that critics are calling “a crowd-pleaser”, “witty and extremely well performed” and “utterly fantastic”. When Joe (Joe Schermann) lands an opportunity to write for an Off-Broadway show, he is forced to cast either the love of his life, Evey (Christina Rose) or his newly discovered muse, Summer (Debbie Williams). The realities of show business prove to Joe that writing is easy, living is hard.Film Info:
• 1 hour 44 minutes
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I Don't Know Alaska!
Narrative Short
Trapped in suburban limbo is Maggie, a recent college grad with dreams of greatness on the stage. However, a degree in drama doesn’t pay the bills, as Maggie’s mother, a righteous community leader, won’t let her soon forget. Instead of applying for jobs, Maggie gets cast as the lead of a controversial new musical -- about abortion! -- in hopes of pleasing her mother. But when her mother vows to shut down the leftist parade of sin, Maggie must choose between her responsibilities and her dream.
Film Info:
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Illumination
Narrative Short
Alex, a flawed family man, is forced to endure a personal journey of enlightenment under extraordinary circumstances.
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Jules and Candy
Narrative Short
It's the mid-1970s in rural upstate New York, and idealism crashes head on into practicality in the form of Jules and Candy. The artistic and esoteric Jules is out for a ride in his bitchin' muscle car, enjoying a couple of brews with his more down to earth girl, Candy. Jules recounts tracking down money owed to him by a less than reputable employer, Larry Craig. All is well for the self-satisfied Jules with his tale of payment, until the car runs out of fuel. Candy, on fire with a couple of beers under her belt, berates Jules for their "broke down" situation. Making light of their plight, Jules suggests a respite down by the riverside. Together at the scenic water's edge, Jules pontificates on his world view, contrasting himself with the slimy local contractors upon whom he depends for income. Candy, frustrated by his 'head in the clouds' smug self imagery, stalks off, leaving Jules with some stunningly dismissive personal criticisms. Candy hitch-hikes away in anger. A helpless Jules watches his girl ride off with a seemingly more upscale other guy. Knowing she would end up in only one place, Jules tracks her down to the local watering hole where her now inebriated driver attempts to wow her by making some hilariously inept attempts at billiards. Jules approaches Candy, unsure of his present standing. Candy faces the choice of going back to the same old, same old or going with something new and possibly far worse.
Film Info:
• 9 minutes
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Keepers
Agbo, a previously-deported, Nigerian immigrant, runs the streets of downtown LA after smuggling her way back into America. From a church to a shelter to a bus station, she tries to stay hidden while being pursued. When she is finally cornered, Agbo is forced to make a decision that will alter her future like none before.
Film Info:
• 8 minutes
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Kidnap
Animation
A little chicken is late to school, but her excuse is too wild to believe: getting kidnapped on the way to school. Believe it or not, this chicken is a really good actress and Kung fu master! After her explanation, you have to believe that her adventure is actually true. She was kidnapped by chickens first, then gunmen, then aliens and finally Jesus saved her life and sent her to school.
Film Info:
• 4 minutes
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La Salle de Jeux (The Play Room)
Narrative Short
Two tortured souls spend a leisurely afternoon lamenting life, cheese and their mere existence, unaware of the imminent danger of their predicament.
Film Info:
• 5 minutes
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Last Rain
Narrative Short
He arrives in a discotheque confused and without so much conviction. Suddenly, he sees Irene. He realizes that while he observes her he experiences unique and indescribable feelings. The young guy will predict a succession of events which will gradually become true, intriguing Irene more each time.
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LIN
Narrative Short
A woman arrives at a port town in an unknown country at dawn. Her recounted stories begin to contradict themselves as she travels across the landscape. She is searching for something, a shape or a structure, which we are not even sure exists. Along the road she is eventually forced into initiating the process of self-reckoning. As her artifice begins to fall away she finds herself continuing her journey but now with a sense of resolution.Film Info:
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Lino Tagliapietra: Glass Magician
Documentary Short
This film documents the creative process of maestro Lino Tagliapietra, widely considered to be the world's best glass blower, through a playful nonlinear narrative.
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Look to the Cookie
Documentary Short
A baker prepares the daily goods at his family's one hundred year-old business as he reminds us of the past, the importance of community, and to appreciate the simple things in life.
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Lost Harmony
Documentary Feature
Taka grew up in the countryside of Japan, always dreaming of living in America--the land of freedom and opportunities. But after living in the U.S. for more than a decade, he realizes Japan has its own unique qualities. When he traveled back home, he discovered that Japan is losing some of its culture due to outside influences. The film captures his journey in search of Japan's lost identity.
Film Info:
• 1 hour 10 minutes
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LowerTown Paducah
Documentary Feature
Not long ago, artists from faraway places moved to the unlikely town of Paducah, Kentucky. Down by the river, its LowerTown district is a close community of artists who moved into beautiful old houses, transforming a troubled neighborhood, pioneering the largest artist relocation program in U.S. history. From an egg carver, to a print maker, to a sculptural ceramicist, to an art quilt master, this feature-length documentary profiles the life and work of some artists showing that great art can come from the most unlikely of places.
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Marion Stoddart: The Work of 1000
Documentary Short
Marion Stoddart lived next to one of America's most polluted rivers and transformed herself from a 1960s housewife to a citizen leader and environmental hero honored by the United Nations. The Work of 1000 is the documentary film chronicling her life, achievements, setbacks, and unwavering belief that one person can make a difference in the world.
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Mary's Friend
Animation
Melancholy mixed-medium animation about a lonely girl and her friend.
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Meherjaan
Narrative Feature
Meherjaan is a film about loving the Other. Meherjaan gives away with the unitary masculine narrative in order to usher in emotional multiplicity of feminine emotion and sensibility. This film critiques certain pitfalls of nationalism that create conditions to justify war, killing and violence. Finally, Meherjaan attempts to offer an aesthetic solution to war and violence by taking refuge in love and spiritual submissionFilm Info:
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Mississippi Damned
Narrative Feature
Wanting to escape was the easy part. Taking place in 1986 and 1998 and based on a true story, three poor, Black kids in rural Mississippi reap the consequences of their family's cycle of abuse, addiction, and violence. They independently struggle to escape their circumstances and must decide whether to confront what's plagued their family for generations or succumb to the same crippling fate, forever damned in Mississippi. Bitterly honest and profoundly subtle, writer/director Tina Mabry successfully captures growing up in a world where possibilities and opportunities seem to die in the face of the suffocating reality of physical and sexual abuse, obsession and a myriad of destructive compulsions.
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Moment of Truth: The Andy Meyers Story
Narrative Feature
Andy Meyers, the subject of the film, has decided he wants to end his life in front of a camera for the world to see. His depression and array of ailments from his bout with diabetes have driven him to the edge. His idol, Bud Dwyer, who also killed himself in front of cameras during a press conference, gained much notoriety for his suicide, and Andy feels this is his only chance "to be somebody". Andy recruited his counselor-turned-filmmaker to document the suicide and also his last day. Andy's last day consists of walking his dog one last time, a short visit to the ocean, a Chinese food dinner, sex with a hooker, eating a lot of candy and death. However, things take an unexpected turn when the hired crew decides they cannot witness Andy killing himself. The crew quits production, leaving the director and producer/investor in a major bind. Can they finish the film without the crew? Does Andy Meyers kill himself?
Film Info:
• 1 hour 30 minutes
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My Brother, My Brother
Narrative Short
A family. A piece of land. A depression sweeping the country. When a prodigal returns, when both brothers are desperate, how can a severed tie be bound again? Are sins ever forgotten? This film explores the relational dynamics between two brothers with very different lives.
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Necking
Documentary Short
“Necking” is a meditation on love, dating, and the longevity of relationships from the perspective of those who know the subject better than anyone else—our elders. In this film, we’ll hear from three couples (all of whom have been married for over fifty years) and one widow as they muse over their relationships and offer some wise words about how to make a marriage work. These vignettes remind us that despite all the odds, true love really is still alive and kicking.
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North South
Experimental
'North South' is a travel log of a two-month cross-country trip I took in the summer of 2009. The progression of the imagery reflects the subtle changes in my relationship with the unfamiliar landscape: at first overwhelmed by the magnitude of the space, I begin to feel a connection to the land, which results in a more personal lensing. All the footage was shot during the trip, on a bolex using 16mm reversal film. The footage was edited in 2011.
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Ostrander
Narrative Short
Ostrander, a lonely, awkward theatre critic, life is transformed when he sees a one woman show staring Anne Hathaway. Instead of being a cynical crusher of dreams, he sets on a path to become an artist himself. The art form: Screenwriter. The script: Bride Wars 2. Under the guise of 'writing an profile' he manages to snag a meeting with Anne Hathaway herself. Will she be wowed by his opus to her, or will she be creeped out?
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Passenger Pigeons
Narrative Feature
Set among the Eastern Kentucky Coalfields, Passenger Pigeons quietly interweaves four separate story lines over the course of a weekend as the town copes with the death of a local miner. When his brother dies in a mining accident, Moses drives cross country in his beat up Dodge Dart to bury him. He spends his weekend aimlessly wandering around the town he tried to forget, while reconnecting with his sister-in-law and young nephew. Buck and Nolan, two suits from the coal company, arrive in town to oversee the mine inspections. On the eve of his retirement, Buck trains his replacement, Nolan, on the ins and the outs of the coal business. After a mix up with the motel reservations, the odd couple finds themselves out of their element, camping in the woods.
With the mines shut down and the effects looming over, two young lovers, Elva and Jesse, go on a 'vacation' a few counties away. Trying to forget the endless tragedy that comes with working in the mines, Jesse seeks escapism while Elva can only think of the dangerous possibilities if Jesse returns to work. When a mountain top removal protest gets canceled, a young activist from Washington D.C. takes it upon herself to spread the message around town. Finding her attempts to explain the dangers of surface mining to be a lost cause, Robin is surprised when a retired miner takes an interest in what she has to say.
Film Info:
• 1 hour 37 minutes
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Pay No Attention to the Man in a Bear Suit
Narrative Short
An insecure and uncertain writer tries to draw a line between himself and his body, represented by a man in a bear suit. With the help of the bear, a medical student and his mostly imaginary crush, he re-evaluates his ideas about himself and finds even more reasons to be insecure and uncertain.
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• 15 minutes
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Pechorin
Narrative Feature
Based on the Russian classic novel. While maintaining all the main plot lines of the novel, it follows the events not as they happen but as they are reflected in the mind of the dying hero. Thus make a chain of recollections about the life he had lived through, now seen as a series of irrevocable mistakes and interpreted anew: it is either reconsideration or repentance. Recollections make main hero torment himself over his own past pretenses that seem ridicules now agonize and despair over his perfect indifference to everything except himself, see the horrible aspect of killing his friend, a greenhorn and a show-off. The final action of an intelligent and outstanding man is judging oneself without mercy.
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Pennipotens
Animation
Pennipotens' is based on the Flemish fairytale 'White Caroline and Black Caroline', first recorded by Edmund Dulac in 1916. Out of spite, a mother repeatedly tries to kill her 'beautiful' daughter, although her attempts are always secretly foiled by her beloved 'ugly' daughter.
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Pilgrim Song
Narrative Feature
Seeking escape from his stalled relationship and unhappy place in the world, a recently pink-slipped music teacher sets out to hike Kentucky's Sheltowee Trace Trail. Among the verdant hills of Appalachia, he encounters various strange characters and becomes the reluctant companion of a gregarious father and son who ultimately help him rediscover what he's been missing.
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Poi Dogs
Narrative Short
Poi Dogs is the story of two local Hawaiian teenagers and their awkward attempts at expressing a budding romantic interest in each other. Toa, a tough-acting lineman on a crappy high school football team, has just lost the big game. Distraught and alone, he drives home on his old ramshackle moped, which breaks down in the shadow of an abandoned sugar mill. Anela, the tough-acting tuba player on his team’s marching band, walks up and tries to console him. Ashamed, Toa pushes her away. After a tense fight, Toa and Anela find common ground by overcoming their pride and accepting each other's help. In the end, Poi Dogs illustrates the first small step towards love by two guarded teenagers.
Film Info:
• 12 minutes
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Portiragnes
Experimental
I approach the editing process as a means of reflection through the reinterpretation of what I have lensed. Looking through my footage, I distance myself from my initial attachment to the material and use the people and places as symbols of the sentiment I want to explore. 'Portiragnes' is a lyrical portrait of a small working-class town in the south of France where I spent a month every summer for fifteen years. I consider it a parting film from my childhood haven. It was shot over the summer and winter of 2010-2011, using a Bolex.
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Pow Pow Pow
Narrative Short
After losing a series of menial jobs, Danny, 39, a sometimes artist, launches himself as BOBO, a children's birthday clown, and gets a gig at a large house in the suburbs where he has a moment of unexpected self-reckoning.
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Prevention of Injury (P.O.I.)
Narrative Short
Based on the detaining of Wikileaks whistle blower, Bradley Manning. A detainee in a military brig undergoes harsh treatment while he awaits trial on undisclosed charges. As his case garners public attention and resistance, the conditions of his detention worsen. He is denied access to outside information as well as to his legal council, as those holding him upgrade the punitive characteristics of his detention to what amounts to psychological torture. Under outside pressure from concerned citizens, higher authorities visit the brig to ensure the safety of the detainee and to intervene where necessary.
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Private Sun
Narrative Short
Mariam is instructed by her doctor to sunbathe in order to reverse the vitamin D deficiency that is causing her a bone illness. But with nosy neighbors, an overbearing sister-in-law and Israeli surveillance planes, private moments under the sun are precious and rare.
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Proposal
Narrative Short
Haunted by memories of a love lost, a lonely man finally decides to move on with his life. With family wedding ring in hand, he gathers the last bit of courage he needs before asking the biggest question of his life. Based on a true story.
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Protect the Nation
Narrative Short
In the spring of 2008, a shocking wave of xenophobic attacks against foreign immigrants spread across South Africa, leading to the deaths of sixty-two people and the displacement of over 40,000. “Protect the Nation” is a tender and intimate look inside the struggles of a community and the consequences of greed, miscommunication and hate. When faced with the unexpected kindness of a stranger, a young boy begins to question himself. Does he have the courage to do what's right?Film Info:
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Question One
Documentary Feature
A Documentary Film on the Battle for Same-Sex Marriage in America On May 6th, 2009 Maine became the first state in this country to legislatively grant same-sex couples the right to marry. Seven months later, on November 3rd 2009 Maine reversed, becoming the thirty-first state in this country to say 'no' to gay and lesbian marriage. Filmed from within both campaigns, 'Question One' chronicles the fierce and emotional battle that took place in Maine during that time, a battle whose political symbolism is a bellwether for the greater ideological battlefield in American politics.
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Quirk of Fate
Narrative Short
'Anyone who doesn't believe in miracles isn't a realist!' - Billy Wilder A quirk of fate leads Luke Hallow to risk violating his parole and losing his newly won freedom. He has to save the life of his nine-year-old daughter, Noel, who urgently needs a donor heart. Only a miracle keeps him from losing everything forever.Film Info:
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Raftbag
Narrative Feature
Franklin and Pierce spend yet another typical atypical weekend in the small town of Paducah, Kentucky. Renting out costumes and working at a coffee shop to get by, they drift through bizarre normalities and uncanny coincidences, until Lucy moves to the town for the Summer.
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Rebel
Narrative Short
When a rebel flag is posted in town, a magazine must take a stand on what is truly right when it comes to national symbols. Even in the face of overwhelming prejudice, what will one writer do to remain an honest, unbiased voice? Featuring actor Jim Malinda (Korg, 70,000 B.C.), this short is an examination of controversy within our present perspectives. This film was submitted to the 2012 Paducah 48 Hour Film Project.
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Restive
Narrative Feature
RESTIVE (Director and screenwriter: Jeremiah Jones) - An intensely bizarre tale of a mother who inhabits her husband's suffocating behavior before falling into her own flawed maternal instincts. Cast: Michael Mosley, Marianna Palka, Christopher Denham, Ivan Sandomire, Connor Hill.
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Reverberation
Narrative Short
A photographer obsessed by Belchite, a village bombed down during the Spanish civil war, meets there a mysterious woman.
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Roadmap to Apartheid
Documentary Feature
Ana Nogueira is a white South African and Eron Davidson a Jewish Israeli. Drawing on their first-hand knowledge of the issues, the producers take a close look at the apartheid comparison often used to describe the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Their film breaks down the rhetorical analogy into a fact-based comparison, noting where the analogy is useful and appropriate, and where it is not. There are many lessons to draw from the South African experience relevant to conflicts all over the world. This film is as much a historical document of the rise and fall of apartheid, as it is a film about why many Palestinians feel they are living in an apartheid system today, and why an increasing number of people around the world agree with them.
Film Info:
• 1 hour 35 minutes
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Rojin
Narrative Short
Rojin is a maid at a chic hotel in London. When she overhears a hotel guest, memories of her past in Iran, a country she fled long ago, come rushing back. Finding herself In a position to wreak revenge on her torturer, Rojin must consider the ultimate question: Can she forgive if she can never forget? Kurdish women in Iran suffer abuse and a form of double-discrimination, due their ethnicity and their gender. Perpetrators of this abuse are rarely caught and even more rarely punished. Rojin is the latest short film from award-winning production company Poisson Rouge Pictures.
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Rook-Scarer
Narrative Short
A young boy's fears are realized when a seemingly innocent Halloween decoration terrorizes him and his family.Film Info:
• 11 minutes
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Rooney's World
Narrative Short
Following the cancellation of a 'Blues Clues' style kid's show called 'Rooney's World,' Dave, the genuine and sweet-natured host, attempts to put his life together in the real world with the help of newfound love interest, single-mom Jenny. Things get complicated when Rooney, his jealous animated co-host who only Dave can see, shows up causing trouble in his dating life. Dave has to make a choice of whether to stay with Rooney, his life-long best friend, or to put his childish ways behind him and become the man Jenny needs him to be.
Film Info:
• 21 minutes
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Route 30, Too!
Narrative Feature
A Visitor from another planet mixes it up with the locals along Route 30, in South Central Pennsylvania. Veteran Film Maker John Putch's ROUTE 30, TOO! is the 2ND installment of the Route 30 Trilogy. A stand-alone backwoods comedy.
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Salam Rugby
Documentary Short
In 2004, the first women's rugby class was organized in Tehran. A few months later, Ahmadinejad was elected president of Iran. Over a 7000 kilometer journey, we meet some of the women who are trying to learn this new game, despite the Talibanization programs, introduced by the new president. Salam rugby is not only about rugby...
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Sand Mountain
Documentary Short
Setting off with a borrowed video camera, Kathryn McCool drives alone through the American South to meet reclusive musician Cast King and attempts to find the America she had, as a youth, re-created and photographed in her own backyard in rural New Zealand. Comparing what she finds with what was for so long imagined, this film is about a journey into her borrowed culture. Was reality going to make mockery of her painstakingly conjured up South? Sand Mountain is a road movie that drives into personal territory as well as the back roads of Alabama.
The meeting of Cast King offers a dignified portrait of this somewhat exploited figure; it is also an attempt to locate and connect with the essence of the South its musical heritage, its people. To this end the film is every bit as interested in the sublime and sometimes eccentric portraits of the people that are encountered on the way. Her camera is always attuned to iconographic America: the diners, motels, gas stations...
Ultimately the film conveys nothing specifically, but what appears in the midst of this generous silence are moments of emotion - of sadness, loss, resilience and pride as they are merely witnessed by the filmmaker. The dignity is without manufacture; it is a short story given to the filmmaker by the people. In the end, under the weight of reality, we see the filmmaker's daydream begin to fade. America is contextualized against something bigger than the myth of popular culture.
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Schlafende Hunde (Sleeping Dogs)
Narrative Feature
Jim is haunted by visions of his own violent death and is convinced he doesn't have long to live. He sets out on a journey to find his son Tom and reconcile with him. At first Tom rejects his father but then they grow closer and it seems that everything might turn out well. But past events re-emerge in the form of an old friend with an ax to grind, and Jim's visions become more and more menacing. When Tom disappears Jim is certain everything is playing out exactly as he foresaw. He sets out to rescue Tom. This time his search leads him to a showdown with his past - finally he understands what his visions mean.
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Seven Signs
Documentary Feature
Described as both “dignified and disarming” by author Bill Friskics-Warren, the new film Seven Signs” focuses on the music, mythology and faith that persist, despite heavy modernization, in the American South. The documentary also marks the directorial debut for J.D. Wilkes, the artist/musician lauded by Alarm magazine as “the closest thing there is to the Ambassador of Genuine, Traditional Southern Culture.” Wilkes also contributes to the chilling Seven Signs soundtrack... alongside the rawest talent The Delta and Appalachia have to offer. With these strong southern roots, the filmmaker has made a profound, empathetic statement that celebrates the eccentricities and traditions of an increasingly marginalized area of America. Yet it is an area whose cultural identity stubbornly continues to thrive in the underground today. Fresh from a sold out premiere in Nashville, TN, Seven Signs is currently setting up new screenings across the country and is even being solicited to appear throughout the film festival circuit. Soliciting events include: The Raindance Film Festival (the UK’s largest film festival), The FantastiaFest in Montreal, The Deep Blues Music/Film Fest in Wisconsin, and The Backseat Film Fest in Pennsylvania.
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Shoot the Moon
Narrative Short
Marcy Meyers is down on her luck. Faced with piling bills, the remnants of a failed marriage, and now an imminent home foreclosure, she has nowhere to turn but to the hope of a miracle. That miracle she find in Shoot the Moon, a national game show that promises a once-in-a-lifetime chance to win it all. But Marcy's faith in the show comes with a price as her relationship with her daughter, Alice, is put to the test as the clock ticks towards a seemingly inescapable fate. Shoot the Moon tells the story of miracles and the extraordinary places they're found.
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Shuffle
Narrative Short
'Sins of the father, sins of the son.' Bigsby, known as 'Big Boss' to his men, is the Seattle crime lord who raises a glass of whiskey with these words to Bodhi in SHUFFLE, whom he saved as young a boy from a life on the streets but raised to become a professional killer within his criminal empire. Bodhi has come to confront Big Boss after his last 'job' was witnessed by a young Boy who is now in danger himself because of what he's seen. Needing to be released from the control of this nefarious father figure so he can move on from his criminal lifestyle, Bodhi must play a high stakes hand of poker with a manipulative man who really only plays solitaire, regardless of the name of the game. Acclaimed actor Denis Arndt (BASIC INSTINCT), Aron Michael Thompson and Brent David Fraser (WILD AT HEART) star in this powerful and thrilling drama about the challenges faced when trying to break free from the corrupting chains that bind the vulnerable to their unfortunate upbringing. How well will we play the cards we are dealt by life when the stakes couldn't possibly be raised any higher than they are already?
Film Info:
• 17 minutes
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Siebter Tag (Seventh Day)
Narrative Short
Away from home, the Kongo, Michel seeks Asylum in Germany. Sophie is nine years old and today shes misses the School Field Trip and is forced to return home alone. The Chronology of different events will let these two people come together in a very tragic way. For Michel nothing is the same no more. Hes is searching for an answer, that is impossible to give, and so hes is confronted with Sophie`s mother.Film Info:
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Sixty in 60
Experimental
Sixty in 60 is an experimental art film featuring sixty one-minute works of many types. Genres represented include abstract, animation, documentary, experimental, narrative, stop-motion, time-lapse and video art.
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Sixty-Six Summer Showboat
Experimental
A young man is violently displeased when he is confronted by a mirrored image of himself while WTOP's Bill Diehl gives us the unabashed mid-morning news.
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• 2 minutes
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Sneeze Me Away
Animation
A young boy named Thomas accidentally finds a way to enter into a magical, fantastic, parallel world. He then meets up with a strange little talking creature who offers to help him get home, but who ultimately betrays Thomas in the end. On top of this, they are chased by a huge beast known as a mancor. Thomas must now fend for himself in getting back to his world before he is captured.
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Spirit of the Bluebird
Animation
Using spray paint on a garage where Aboriginal mother and grandmother Gloria Black Plume was brutally murdered in 1999, Cree artist Jesse Gouchey paints a large scale animation of a bluebird in flight. The beauty and freedom of the bluebird's motion is contrasted with remembrances of Gloria's surviving family members, who give an emotional glimpse of a woman lost to violence and the injustice of the legal system.Film Info:
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Stan Versus Squirrel
Narrative Short
What’s a man to do when he wants to feed the birds but the squirrels keep stealing their food? Watch as Stan engineers a variety of devices to foil his furry opponents. Who will prevail in the battle of man versus squirrel?
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Stepping into the Stream
Documentary Short
Stepping into the Stream is not just about women and fly fishing. Intrinsically, it is about women connecting with nature and a deeper part of themselves. It's about our being willing to take risks to learn something new that will allow us to commune with rivers and wildlife. It's about finding an adventure all our own and relishing it. Six women are interviewed in the film, and the topics range from how we, as women, got into the sport, how fly fishing is different things for different people, how we found our way into the sport as women in a man's domain, how fly fishing helps us with life's challenges and the spiritual connections we make through this sport. There are also brief interludes in the film that celebrate rivers and how they teach us about life. The film is geared towards anyone who has ever had a passion for doing something that enriches the person inside. My hope is that Stepping into the Stream will also inspire other women to find the courage to do something new.
Film Info:
• 43 minutes
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Stitched, the Film
Documentary Feature
Stitched is a fun-filled documentary that follows three controversial art quilters as they compete for the coveted Best of Show prize in the annual Houston quilt show, an event that attracts more than 50,000 people. Tiara-wearing women and crooning quilters attend these zany festivals. With its quilts depicting male nudes and painted quilts, Stitched isn't your grandmother's quilting film. One quilter wants to make social changes with her artwork. A male quilter wants to compete in a female-dominated industry. And the grand dame of quilting runs a major quilting tourist business out of her home while trying to find time to quilt. Can these artists win in a prize in the traditional quilting world?
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Stolen
Documentary Feature
Australian-based filmmakers Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw originally set out to make a documentary about an under-reported land dispute in Northern Africa. Once they started shooting, however, they gradually stumbled on a story about modern slavery that has become hugely controversial.
In 2007, Ayala and Fallshaw were drawn to the cause of the Polisario Liberation Front, which represents the Sahrawi people (meaning “people of the Sahara”), who have long struggled for control of the Western Sahara against the competing interests of Morocco and other factions. The two spent several weeks in a refugee camp controlled by the Polisario. Inside the camps, a complex hierarchy exists between the white Arabs and blacks, all of whom consider themselves Sahrawi. The filmmakers focused on a black woman in her thirties named Fetim Sellami, who is reunited with her mother through a United Nations programme. Sellami has a noticeably servile relationship with an older white woman named Deido. Upon further questioning, the filmmakers recorded persuasive testimony that a form of slavery continues to be practiced. The existence of modern slavery has been detailed in books like Kevin Bales's Disposable People, but rarely has it been covered on film as intimately as in Stolen.
The Polisario staunchly maintains that it forbids slavery. When Ayala and Fallshaw raised the topic in the camps, they soon found themselves unwelcome. Fearing that their tapes would be seized, the filmmakers buried them in the desert and fled. Stolen turns into a tale of suspense and political intrigue as the filmmakers struggle to recover their tapes. Placing themselves in the story, Ayala and Fallshaw document their own moral quandaries. They include a statement by Sellami maintaining that she's not a slave, contradicting what others say. The filmmakers don't purport to have all the answers, but they do raise important questions. You can expect a heated discussion after each screening.
Reviews
"Pacy, exciting and hugely engrossing" Variety
"Riveting stuff" The Toronto Star
"Stolen is a dramatic and complex exploration of modern slavery, not to mention a fascinating study of the perils of documentary filmmaking" The Globe and Mail
"You really have to see it to believe it. It’s like a spy story." ABC Movie Time
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Storytime Time
Narrative Short
The story of a story of a man who took the time to believe in time. Winner of the 2011 Louisville 48 Hour Film Project.
Film Info:
• 6 minutes
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Sunset to Sunset
Experimental
In a city known for its love of cars, one pedestrian with a Super 8 camera walks across Los Angeles, coming face to face with the metropolis instead of watching it blur by through a windshield. The day-long walk down culturally-diverse Santa Monica Boulevard, beginning at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard at sunrise and ending at Santa Monica Beach at sunset, inspires filmmaker Kent Hayward to contemplate the changing nature of the city, motion pictures and himself.
Taking one frame of film every 20 steps, the filmmaker condenses a 12-hour walk into three minutes of film. As a result, the short experimental documentary ironically speeds by so quickly that the audience can only absorb snatches of the commentary subtitles, which linger on Hayward’s memories of certain street corners, focus on the people he passes and question what his future in the City of Angels may hold.
The film may also be watched frame by frame, so that viewers may fully examine the text elements, map and individual images. By stepping through each frame instead of watching it at full speed, the viewer experiences the film in a way that's akin to walking through a city instead of driving through it, echoing Hayward’s step-by-step pace and revealing all the details of his secret daydreams surrounding the city he calls home.
Film Info:
• 3 minutes
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Table 7
Narrative Short
A couple has an intimate conversation in a restaurant unaware that their every word is being closely monitored.
Film Info:
• 5 minutes
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Terao - Shinki - Takeda
Documentary Short
Still, do you call it outsider art? Experience the art-making process of three Japanese artists. Terao deeply loves iron and calls his work 'plan.' Everything he sees is converted into an iron structure in his mind. Shinki is an avid fan of combat sports. He draws the muscular bodies of fighters and recreates dynamic matches. Takeda draws his pictures inspired by magazine advertisements. Every factor on the page is resolved into a new order. Three of them work at Atelier Incurve, studio for artists with intellectual impairments, drawing day after day. It is the movie that captured their creative force for the first time.
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The Ah of Life
Experimental
In a world where time is vertical, mathematician Nigel Kline, stumbles upon himself. Sorting his past, present and future seems the least of his worries when his mother falls for him. The weaving of time lays the foundation for Nigel’s acceptance of his own immortality.
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• 1 hour 22 minutes
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The Crocodile's Wife
Animation
The Crocodile's Wife grows resentful of an ever-cheerful monkey; a newcomer to the riverbank. Her husband arranges a meeting between them, confident she will see the error of her judgment- but will she like him?Film Info:
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The Desperate
Narrative Short
On a rainy night near a concentration camp being bombed during the waning years of WWII, the son of a top-ranking and fearsome Nazi General is mortally wounded. With the camp's doctor having been transferred to the eastern front, the only doctor who is available to perform the life-saving surgery is a condemned, elderly Jewish inmate at the camp. Upon summoning the man, the General commands the Jewish doctor to perform the surgery, but the doctor refuses, saying that he will not help his enemy to continue to massacre his own people. The General threatens the doctor's life, and the camp's Commandant is only too happy to oblige, but the doctor still replies that his life will end soon in the camp's ovens anyway. The General then offers freedom to the doctor if he cooperates. The doctor still refuses. The General then begs the doctor to save his only son, but the doctor then objects that the Nazis did not save his only son but hanged him for smuggling food in to starving ghetto children. Then all the General's hopes are dashed as the distant sounds of a prison train can be heard approaching the camp. With the General at an impasse, he discovers that he must connect with the underlying humanity that connects them both as fathers before there is to be any hope for his son.
Film Info:
• 33 minutes
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The Drummond Will
Narrative Feature
A black comedy set in decaying rural England, a collision between old and new.
It follows estranged brothers Marcus and Danny Drummond as they find themselves on a surprisingly dangerous undertaking to unravel the mystery surrounding their father’s very unlikely wealth.
A deeply affectionate modern retelling of the classic comedies and murder mysteries from the Ealing era of British cinema, The Drummond Will imagines what it would be like to be stuck in a world where the strange rules of Ealing cinema apply. A world where life continues quite as normal in the face of escalating body counts, where sleepy English villages invariably harbour any number of dark secrets, and where you only really know who the murderer is when everybody else has been killed. The thoroughly modern Danny and Marcus are trapped in just such a world, and are quickly swept out of their depth. As they realise they’ll need to rely on each other if they are to survive, and modern ideas like forensics, cell phones and common sense won’t help them, it quickly becomes clear that, inevitably, nothing is what it seems.
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The Dynamiter
Narrative Feature
All fourteen-year-old Robbie Hendrick ever wanted was a family. Yet as another Mississippi summer begins, his wayward mother has run off again fearing a breakdown and he's left to burn the days caring for his half brother, Fess. As the deep days and nights pass without her return and with older brother Lucas dangerously in their lives again, Robbie must face the fact that his dream of a family may only be a dream and he might just lose the only family he's ever had: Fess. Filmed on location in the Mississippi Delta town of Glen Allan, MS with all non-actors from the region, The Dynamiter is a story of family in the forgotten America, uncompromisingly told by the very people who live it everyday.
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The Empress
Animation
Loneliness, Desire, Love, Hesitation, Mis-communication, Fear, and Loss with a touch of alcoholism for comic relief. Trevor and Martha see each other across a dingy bar and fall in love. The couple's shyness is only overcome in a mutual dream where their shadows dance together. Inspired by the song "˜The Empress" by the Montreal band BRIGA, the film is about the first hesitant motions of meeting and the fragility of falling in love.
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The Farminator
Documentary Short
Art Mitchell, 74 is still a full-time Virginia farmer years after surviving a horrific accident that doctors doubted he'd live through. Later, he escaped another brush with sudden death. Though he was pushed to the limit and farming poses special challenges for him, he and his wife retain the sense of humor that helped them pull through, and a sense of mission that helps others. This is a farmer who can't be stopped.
Film Info:
• 19 minutes
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The Gray Seasons
Documentary Feature
Facing overwhelming odds and difficult competition, a newly hired, up-and-coming coach and her new recruits attempt to build a winning Division I Women's basketball program. Over the course of 4 years, things begin to unravel, but the players that remain continue to fight for success.
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The Harvey Girl From Shanghai
Narrative Short
The Harvey Girl From Shanghai is a fictional short documentary about a film Orson Welles started to make with Judy Garland but was stopped mid-production. Told through a series of vintage interviews, missing footage and television reenactments, this short film explores a legendary Hollywood murder that may or may not have happened.
Film Info:
• 18 minutes
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The Hunt
Narrative Short
As Christmas approaches in the small rural Kentucky town of Fancy Farm, the townsfolk are brought together as an unknown evil terrorizes the community. Faced with the senseless slaughter of friends and family, these brave hunters take to the forest in search of the unknown. Produced by the award-winning A Goodsize Productions, this jump-a-minute romp is a thrill ride of carnage that will leave you wanting more.
Film Info:
• 13 minutes
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The Iran I Remember
Documentary Short
When I went back to Iran, after seventeen years to attend a wedding, my family history became intertwined with the history of the city and the country I grew up in. This video is about Iran from a personal perspective; my memories mixed with her history, literature, art and architecture. It is an attempt to introduce a country that seems so enigmatic to the West.
Film Info:
• 50 minutes
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The Island
Narrative Short
The world as we know it has ended, and Thomas survives each new day locked up alone inside his missing neighbor's fallout shelter. The oppressive boredom is occasionally punctuated by the pleas of survivors outside, but Thomas greets them with indifference and even hostility. In a brief moment of "weakness" he allows a young girl inside his world, but is his desire for companionship enough to overcome his instinct to survive? In this followup to his successful 2009 release Beyond the Wall of Sleep, Nathan Fisher takes us into a world gone mad and into the mind of one survivor as he tries to determine what makes a life worth living.
Film Info:
• 25 minutes
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The Lift
Animation
Everyone has been guilty of small misdeeds at one point or another. The Lift explores the consequences of one all too common act of not holding the elevator door open for someone eager to get on or worse, pushing the close button. An elevator interaction goes wrong, prompting a young woman to learn about being insensitive and to hold open the elevator door the next time around.
Film Info:
• 6 minutes
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The Outhouse
Experimental
The story of a 60-something woman and her backyard outhouse.
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• 5 minutes
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The Red Box
Narrative Short
An inattentive boyfriend struggles to win back his ex-girlfriend when he discovers a 'magic' Redbox that spits out her favorite movies.Film Info:
• 9 minutes
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The Things My Father Never Taught Me
Narrative Short
Melvin gives useless dating advice to his three-year-old son. He teaches him to dress well, act with confidence and spend time in the right places. Everything goes horribly wrong, until Melvin meets Mary, an attractive single mother. After a clumsy romantic advance, Melvin is shot down and forced to reconsider his role as romance expert.
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The Triangle of Death
Documentary Feature
This is the story of the riflemen of Echo company 3rd platoon; they went through a life changing experience; through the hellishness of war innocence is shattered. Mission accomplishment is the number one goal under all circumstances they endured. Boys are broken and men are made in the mist of war. This is the story of marines in Iraq's forbidden triangle of death.Join the Marines of 2/24 as they take you on a journey through one of Iraq's deadliest regions known as The Triangle Of Death. Feel what it's feels like to survive through a tour of duty during the largest combat engagement since the Vietnam war. Struggle through all the hardship of daily life in a combat environment through a country without law and order as the Marines struggle to keep order. They must survive all that is thrown at them fire fights, car bombs, roadside bombs, snipers, the Marines are relentless. They will only expect mission accomplishment of securing The Triangle Of Death for the first Iraqi election. The Marines of 2/24 have bolted the hardships of their deployment onto the Corps ethos of unremitting toughness, they secured The Triangle of Death for Iraq's first election.Film Info:
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The Valley of Dawn
Documentary Short
Imagine a Brazilian religious community numbering some 20,000 people where the inhabitants dress like a cross between characters in Star Trek and the Egyptians of 2,000 years ago. According to the doctrine, 32,000 years ago, a fleet of spacecraft arrived in South America from the planet Capela bearing an alien race. From this civilization came the spirit of Pai Seta Branca, who chose Tia Nieva, a female Brazilian truck driver to construct and complete a temple, lakes, shrines and, most importantly, an entire religion on 22 hectares of dusty ground in the middle of Brazil.
Adrienne leaves London to go and discover this outrageous community which manages to combine spirituality and glamour. Maybe she will be able to get a fabulous dress while she is there. She meets Genisvalda and Marlete. Marlete is the Queen of the Gypsy Group in the Valley. Genis is a seamstress. More than just the spectacle of pageantry and ritual that regularly fascinates Brazilians, Adrienne goes inside the religion, and through her blossoming friendships with these two women she learns about the extraordinary life of people who live in this Kingdom.
This is the story that will open your mind in a heartfelt and humorous way to the powerful, magical and unusual experiences that surround us daily. It is a beautifully shot film and opens us to the possibility that those things which we may perceive as too peculiar, outrageous and eccentric to understand may simply be wonderful.
Film Info:
• 24 minutes
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The Violinist
Narrative Short
Michael, a down on his luck, love-less bag boy, learns that world-famous, concert violinist Nicholas Rentz is going to be performing for a few nights in his home town. Bearing a resemblance to the musician (a well-known bachelor with female fans around the globe), Michael hatches an elaborate plan to impersonate him with the hope that he can trick a woman or two into thinking he's the genuine article and get lucky. But when he meets a classy young woman at a ritzy nightclub and is poised to seal the deal, things take an unexpected turn.
Film Info:
• 20 minutes
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Today We Saw the Face of God
Narrative Feature
In January of 2010, a team of 23 volunteers set off on what should have been an ordinary medical mission. They had no way of knowing the devastation to come. On their final evening, they treated their last patient and set off towards their sleeping quarters. Suddenly they felt a jolt of panic as the world began to shake violently beneath them. Within hours, the entire team was thrust into the center of one of the worst natural disasters in modern history. The documentary film, Today We Saw the Face of God transcends viewers from their comfortable homes into the poverty-stricken world that Haitians navigate daily. As the team journeys back, they recount the harrowing reality of being first responders in an unprecedented medical crisis.
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Torn
Narrative Short
For his 21st birthday party Derrek and some friends escape for the weekend to an isolated cabin in the middle of the woods. Derrek's brother, Ethan gatecrashes the party and after a malevolent prank goes wrong resulting in the death of Derrek's girlfriend. Reactions vary from calling the police to disposing of the body, sides are taken and they question what they would do to survive.
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Tramonto (Sunset)
Narrative Short
Old west. A man desperately wanders in the desert. His legs don’t hold him anymore, he’s completely dehydrated, and he’s dying of thirst. Once arrived to a stream, he puts his hands in the cool water. He carries them to his mouth; he’s so close to finally drink… when a rough voice coming from the other side of the stream stops him. It’s the voice of a gunman. The gunman’s name is Daniel…
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True Beauty This Night
Narrative Short
Last night Rhett Somers, so far scraping by on good luck or just plain old ignorance, met the love of his life. He's sure of it. She doesn't know. Now the only thing left to do is convince her that she's the one. Not an easy feat considering how they met.
Film Info:
• 10 minutes
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Twirl
Animation
A childlike speaker dances joyfully to energetic music. It finds out, however, that its wire prevents it from dancing as much as it would like. It finally disconnects itself only to find out that the wire was its source of music and joy.
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Vacationland
Documentary Short
As the lobster industry moves more toward commercialization and unions, the lobstermen in Southern Maine are the last of a dying legacy. Vacationland follows two lone lobster boat captains in the Southern towns of Maine, coping with the lawless and dangerous territory that comes with independent fishing in Maine.
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Walking Peace
Narrative Short
Walking Peace is a 3-minute film about the complexities of daily existence and the need to take the time to balance what is happening around us. This concise, powerful film shows a young man moving through his world, shedding burdens and seeking a place of peace.
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What I Meant To Tell You: An American Poet's State Of The Union
Documentary Feature
This film is the story of an 86-year-old, war veteran poet, Peter Kane Dufault, as he comes to terms with his past and the collective sense of a threatened future. This is a story about connection and loss, both personal and political. Through on-screen interactions with his son, two Nobel laureates and the actor Chris Noth, Peter reveals how poetic language and imagination can bridge the rifts that open between individuals and the larger political, environmental and emotional landscape of their lives. The actor Chris Noth pays a visit to the poet, who was once his American history teacher and soccer coach. He recalls the formative influence the old man had on his life. They play soccer together. Peter and his son travel to Cape May to find the declining American kestrel. Peter recites a poem about his deceased daughter who brought him a fledgling kestrel to raise. A kestrel appears as if "quarried out of a rainbow," the symbol of all that is vanishing from what's left of the American wilderness. He expresses his outrage at the past administration's piecemeal demolition of the Constitution in a poem called "Blues Recitative," and acknowledges his disappointment with the present administration. In the end, Peter admits that he's glad that he doesn't have to teach American history any more. He observes a colony of seals plunging into a stormy surf, reflecting on the mortal entity that the earth has become. He walks away, alone, vanishing into the mist.
Film Info:
• 58 minutes
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Why Quilts Matter: History, Art & Politics
Documentary Feature
'Why Quilts Matter: History, Art & Politics,' a nine-part documentary series, explores what some say is the largest mass movement people don't know exist -- more than 21 million quilters are currently active in the US. The documentary reveals the influence quilts have today, a four billion dollar economic impact annually, and talks about the important role quilts have played over the last two centuries, when quilting was one of the few ways women could convey political views, record their personal stories and express their artistic sides.
Film Info:
• 1 hour 34 minutes
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Why Quilts Matter: History, Art & Politics
Documentary Feature
'Why Quilts Matter: History, Art & Politics,' a nine-part documentary series, explores what some say is the largest mass movement people don't know exist -- more than 21 million quilters are currently active in the US. The documentary reveals the influence quilts have today, a four billion dollar economic impact annually, and talks about the important role quilts have played over the last two centuries, when quilting was one of the few ways women could convey political views, record their personal stories and express their artistic sides.
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Wid Winner & the Slipstream
Narrative Short
Wid Winner & the Slipstream is a coming of age story of Wid Winner, an auto parts store worker whose life never lived up to his own expectations. After one particularly disenchanting day, Wid's store is robbed by a traveling scientist named Kenneth who is convinced he can build a time machine. Together, the two lonesome men embark on a cross-country road trip in search of glory, redemption and a chance to not be forgotten.
Film Info:
• 50 minutes
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Winged
Experimental
Her horoscope quoted from the poet Federico Garcia Lorca: 'His heart was growing full of broken wings and artificial flowers. In his mouth, just one small word was left.' The horoscope assured her that her mouth would soon be full of vivid words. In this experimental short film, the filmmaker expresses her concern about her ability to protect her two young sons during a time of emotional upheaval.
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Worlds Apart
Animation
Part science fiction, part thriller and part cautionary fairytale, Worlds Apart encompasses the universal themes of innocence, friendship and the possible fate of humanity. Set in the not so distant future, Earth is visited by extra terrestrials on a peaceful mission to find sentient life. Landing near a central California farm home, they discover a desolate, polluted world where little life remains. As they search the abandoned farm home, they find a lone teddy bear that emits signs of life. With the aid of their futuristic technology, they extract the memories of the teddy bear and thus unravel the mystery of humanity's demise. Worlds Apart asks the questions, is there hope for what remains of humanity?
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Zeitgeist: Moving Forward
Documentary Feature
Zeitgeist: Moving Forward, by director Peter Joseph, is a feature length documentary work which presents a case for a needed transition out of the current socioeconomic monetary paradigm which governs the entire world society. This subject matter works to transcend the issues of cultural relativism and traditional ideology and move to relate the core, empirical 'life ground' attributes of human and social survival, extrapolating those immutable natural laws into a new sustainable social paradigm called a 'Resource-Based Economy'. On Jan 15th 2011, Zeitgeist: Moving Forward was released independently via volunteer groups in over 60 countries and in 30 languages making it the largest non-profit independent theatrical release in history. On Jan 26th 2011 it was release free online for public viewing and has achieved over 5 million views in 2.5 months.
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شاه توت (Black Mulberry)
Experimental
This is the story of a husband and wife. The woman tries to save the marriage, but it's not working. Their relationship has a serious problem.