(Films are listed alphabetically.)
About Face: The Story
of Gwendellin Bradshaw
Dir. by Mary Katzke
80 minutes; USA; WEBSITE
On a chilly Alaskan summer night in 1980, 10 month
old Gwendellin Bradshaw was placed on top of a campfire
by her mentally distraught mother. Given a 50-50
chance of surviving, she barely made it. Now 24 years
later, Gwen is left with figuring out how to live
with her physical and emotional scars and believes
that finding mom is central to her healing. Her journey
is an emotional path which leads her to find her own
beauty and purpose in life.
American
Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi
Dir. by Sebastian Doggart
90 minutes; USA, United Kingdom; WEBSITE
A hard-hitting portrait of one of the chief players
in the Bush Administration.
Family Fare
Astronaut Goes From Migrant Fields
To Outer Space
Dir. by David Moolten
3 minutes; USA; WEBSITE
Once a child laborer who trekked with his family
each year from Mexico to the fields of California
to pick strawberries, Jose Hernandez recently traveled
into space as an astronaut on the Discovery space
shuttle. His story honors both the desperate struggle
of immigrants and the greatness of which they are
capable. This short film, which features a spoken
word performance by a prizewinning American poet,
is a tribute.
Family Fare
Chickens of the Sea
Dir. by Steve Furman
7 minutes, USA
...a sea of grass, that is. Most of the native
prairie in North America is gone, and prairie chickens
are rare, but if you're lucky enough to find them,
they're fun to watch!
The Children's Empire,
an Angry Dakar Woman
Dir. by Gerard Moreau, Michele Barrault
53 minutes, France
Dakar, Senegal. Forced to beg and victims of violence,
children roam the streets in the thousands. They
live and sleep on the streets, merely surviving,
in extremely difficult conditions. In the face of
this scourge, Anta M'Bow gives way to her anger
and takes up the challenge. With the help of a handful
of artists, she transforms the old Empire cinema
into the Children's Empire. But can a centre for
street children also be a place of real artistic
expression? This is an action film that takes the
viewer through the challenges faced by the Empire.
French, Wolof with English subtitles.
Family Fare
The Devil's in the Details
Dir. by Jean-Pierre Joubert
13 minutes, Canada; TRAILER
The Devil's in the Details, explores the sensory
perspective world view of a nine year old boy named
Josh. It delves into the richly layered tapestry
of his daily life as his brain struggles to find
peace and calm within the myriad of stimuli bombarding
his senses.
A Drop in the Bucket
Dir. by Lauren Shaw
23 minutes, Cambodia; WEBSITE/TRAILER
This film is a timely, hopeful and lyrical tale
about people reaching across international boundaries
to help provide clean water in rural Cambodia.
Over the last two years, I have built fifteen wells
with the help of Sambrothers Clean Water Project,
and Journeys Within Our Community. I returned in
2009 to make a short documentary on the effects
my wells have had on the lives of the people.
By telling this story, some of the complexities
and challenges involved in giving are revealed.
The interviews with Journeys Within Our Community,
Resource Development International, the doctors
at Angkor Children's Hospital, and the Cambodian
people all share the issues of hygiene, education,
water testing, ownership, and ultimately the delivery
of safe water. Although this story is a drop
in the bucket, it is one filled with possibility,
opportunity, and promise.
Student Selection
Extension
Dir. by Tyler Byrne
9 minutes, USA
An electric boy, confined to his house by a power
cord, breaks free and makes a surprising discovery.
Family Fare
From the Badlands to Alcatraz
Dir. by Nancy Iverson
56 minutes, USA; WEBSITE
'From the Badlands to Alcatraz' chronicles the remarkable
journey of five young Lakota as they travel from
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to San Francisco and
prepare for the extreme challenge of swimming from
Alcatraz Island to the San Francisco shore.
The Good Soldier
Dir. by Lexy Lovell, Michael Uys
80 minutes, USA; WEBSITE/TRAILER
What is courage? A profile of what makes a good
soldier, in soldiers' own words.
Student Selection
Lucky Lotus
Dir. by Ken Ochiai
16 minutes, USA; WEBSITE
Cong made her daughter grow up too fast at the 'Lucky
Lotus' hostess bar, but she didn't think it was
a life Lien would outgrow.
Student Selection
Monsters Down the Hall
Dir. by S. Vollie Osborn
15 minutes, USA
Michael, a young boy with a single mom in a tough
situation, copes with his world the only way he
knows how.
Youth Selection
No Pity
Dir. by Drew Morton Goldsmith
18 minutes, USA; TRAILER
A poignant exposé of pity-based fundraising,
as revealed through a disabled teenager’s heartfelt
appeal for respect and dignity.
Student Selection
The Paradigm Shift
Dir. by Jon Barr
26 minutes, USA; WEBSITE
The repercussions are immediate when activist/history
professor Arthur Collins assigns his class to plan
an assassination of the President. Life becomes
particularly tough for the professor's teaching
assistant T.K., whose reluctance to choose a side
plants him right in the middle.
Family
Fare
A Simple Question: The Story
of STRAW
Dir. by Kevin White, David Donnenfield
35 minutes, USA; WEBSITE;
TRAILER
A Simple Question: the Story of STRAW is an inspiring
35 minute film about the STRAW Project (Students
and Teachers Restoring a Watershed) starting from
its origins in 1992 as a fourth grade class-project
into a remarkable program that has restored over
20 miles of creek-side habitat, galvanized the
local community, and led to educational innovation
by connecting classrooms with nature.
Slice of Pie
Dir. by Tim Reischauer
35 minutes, USA; TRAILER
Carter’s a middle-aged divorcee with his eye
on Juanita, the waitress at the local diner. In
an attempt to woo the girl of his dreams he waxes
philosophical about the merits of pie. But when
James, the used car dealer of dating, makes his
move on Juanita, subtlety is out the window. Carter
pops the question, “You wanna go to the ham
and bean dinner at church tomorrow night?”
Juanita accepts and Carter thinks he has the wind
at his back. But in the open prairieland of central
Illinois , the wind can change direction rather
quickly.Slice of Pie is a cinematic slice of life
chock full of the bittersweet moments set against
a back drop of quirky locals that Carter grew up
with. Oh yeah, and a dead dog named Burt. Humorous
and heartfelt, this touching film reminds you to
always save room for a Slice of Pie.
Speed Grieving
Dir. by Jessica Daniels
12 minutes, USA; WEBSITE;
FACEBOOK
Is it possible to process grief through a
whirlwind scientific study? Malia attempts to answer
the question in record time.
Family Fare
This Is My Family
Dir. by Stephen Stolee
17 minutes, USA
The irresistible effect of children's art is the
starting point in this movie in which kids reflect
on our culture using their original artwork to explore
how the idea of FAMILY shapes and defines our lives.
Between 8 and 14 years old, they describe and comment
on the influences of their families-- the good,
the bad, the past, present and future. Inter cutting
interviews with beautiful and vibrantly expressive
original art, the kids share their understandings
of what makes a family; their families' origins-
the mixed ancestry that connects Americans so inextricably
with the rest of the world's cultures; their images
of their future families; and ends with some poetically
insightful utterings on the meaning, power and importance
of being part of a family.
The Three-Body Solution
Dir. by Alison Marek
12 minutes, USA; WEBSITE
A theoretical physicist finds herself pitted against
a handsome young adjunct who claims to have solved
the 'three-body problem.' If she proves him wrong,
she may jeopardize her academic career. How far
will she go for science?
Student Selection
Unfamiliar
Faces
Dir. by Michael Wright
15 minutes, USA
Two best friends discover that the truth can be
more damaging than a life-long lie.
English with subtitles.
Student Selection
We Are All Here
Dir. by Yonghwa Choi
2 minutes, USA
An animated story about the Earth we live on, and
how we treat it.
English with subtitles.
DELAWARE
MADE!
Youth Selection
What's Really Hood?
Dir. by Shaquille Jackson & L. Burner
12 minutes, USA; MYSPACE
In August 2007, 14 year old Shaquille Jackson was
brutally attacked by 5 men and left with a broken
jaw. As a result he took the streets of Wilmington
for 2 years to investigate the violence with his jaw
still wired. The resulting documentary is a grassroots
but compelling and sobering account of the gritty
streets of the small city. With impromptu street interviews
and lawmakers and lawbreakers,survivors and citizens
from 5 to 65 all weighing in on the crisis.
Years in the Making
Dir. by Martin West
66 minutes, USA
A visually beautiful and joyous film! Working
artists, all between 70-95 years old, share insights
into the creative process as they face the challenges
of aging. The film captures their passion
for art and for life...an inspiration to old and
young, artists and art lovers.
Yellow Cake
Dir. by Nick Cross
9 minutes, Canada; WEBSITE
A fantastic funny animal cartoon featuring geopolitical
bullying, social unrest, worker revolt, and some
tasty yellow cakes.
You
Better Run
Dir. by David Beier
33 minutes, USA
Josh is not having a good day. He's late for
a job interview; he can't find his tie; and he just
missed the bus. Things get a lot worse when
Josh crosses paths with Doc, a small time drug dealer,
and unwittingly causes him a major inconvenience.
Soon, Josh finds himself in a whole world of trouble
and the one thing he can't do is run. You
Better Run, a modern-retelling of a tale from The
Arabian Nights, is a fast-paced coming of age fable
set on the wrong side of the tracks.
