After the Fire
USA/38 min/Drama
Guido Verweyen/ Michael Huffington/ Anthony Bretti
The story of Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos, freshmen roommates at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, where arsonists set fire to the school, killing three students and injuring 58 more. The film is also about the search for the arsonists and the elaborate conspiracy that nearly obscured the truth. www.afterthefiremovie.com
Tues. Oct. 18, 5:35PM-Block (Malco 1)
Thu. Oct. 20, 4:25PM-Block (Malco 2)
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The Baton (Der Taktstock)
Germany/65min/Music, Experimental
Michael Wende
German w/ English Subtitles
Conductors: their job is an art that is hundreds of years old; the art of creating music through movements of the hands. This documentary feature is about 12 young conductors from all over the world including Japan, Bulgaria, USA, Germany, Italy, Russia, UK, and Ukraine, meeting for 10 days in Bamberg (Germany) to win the World’s most honored conducting battle: The Gustav-Mahler-Conductors-Competition. www.wendeseite.de
Sun. Oct. 16, 10:05AM (Malco 2)
Thu. Oct. 20, 10:05AM...
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Below New York
USA/28min/Music Culture
Matt Finlin
A unique and stylized look at some of New York City's finest subway performers, musicians and artists, the film draws the audience into the lives these local performers lead, and how their quest for a venue and sustenance adds a truly wonderful aesthetic to one of the greatest cities in the world.
Sun. Oct. 16, 3:10PM-Block (Malco 2)
Thu. Oct. 20, 2:50PM-Block (Malco 1)
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Between the Harvest
USA/29min/Environmental
Scott Drucker
This film explores a small town on the coast of Costa Rica that relies on the harvesting of sea turtle eggs for survival. It is exemplary of our complex relationship with the environment, and how there is often a human story behind the environmental catastrophe.
www.betweentheharvest.com
Sun. Oct. 16, 4:40PM-Block (Malco 2)
Thu. Oct. 20, 10:00AM-Block (Malco 1)
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Business of Saving Lives
USA/40min/Animal Rights
Scott Brigante, Juliana Milo – Filmmaker in Person
The story about people going to extraordinary lengths to save the lives of companion animals by rescuing them from pounds and puppy mills and transporting them to no-kill shelters. Along the way the film explores the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of a broken animal welfare system that leaves 5 million dead each year.
Sun. Oct. 16, 4:40PM-Block (Malco 2)
Thu. Oct. 20, 10:00AM-Block (Malco 1)
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The City Dark
USA/82min/Environmental
Ian Cheney
A feature documentary about the loss of night. After moving to NYC from rural Maine, filmmaker Ian Cheney asks a simple question ‘do we need the stars’?, taking him from Brooklyn to Mauna Kea, Paris, and beyond. The City Dark is the definitive story of light pollution and the disappearing stars. www.thecitydark.com
Mon. Oct. 17, 1:00PM (Malco 1)
Thu. Oct. 20, 7:20PM (Malco 1)
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Come on Down and Pick Me Up
USA/9min/Art & Health
Jon Bougher, Nicholas Corrao - In Person
The portrait of Fred Kress - a forty-six-year-old man within weeks of dying from terminal liver disease. After receiving the diagnosis, Fred has turned his room into a neon hallucination, covering the walls and ceiling with fluorescent alien masks, mannequin heads, skulls and animal carcasses, creating his final resting place. Fred's work escapes the devastating reality of his disease while raising eternal questions of life, mortality and the true purpose of art.
Sun. Oct. 16, 9:00PM-Block...
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Damn!
USA/72min/Political
Aaron Fisher-Cohen
The story of Rent is 2 Damn High party founder Jimmy McMillan a Vietnam veteran, black belt Karate master, private investigator, former stripper and 70’s soul singer who became an overnight sensation after his appearance on the 2010 New York gubernatorial debate caught viral success, receiving over 2 million views in the 24 hours after, which left Jimmy going from political obscurity to the international spotlight.
Thurs. Oct 20, 6:00PM (Central)
Sat. Oct 22, 8:00PM (Central)
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Darwin
USA/88min/Rural Culture
Nick Brandestini
Darwin is a documentary film about an isolated community at the end of a weathered road in Death Valley, California. Propelled from society by tragic turns, the people of Darwin (population 35) must now find ways to coexist in a place without a government, a church, jobs, or children. The near-ghost town's survival depends on a fragile, gravity-fed waterline that descends from the mountains where top-secret weapons are being tested. One 'accidental' drop of a bomb, they half-joke, could wipe out their entire town.
www.darwindoc.com
Wed....
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Dreaming Nicaragua
USA, Spain, Nicaragua/60min/Family
Marcelo Bukin – In Person
Spanish w/ English Subtitles
This film portrays five children's lives submerged in extreme poverty in Nicaragua. Insurmountable hunger, child labor and violence punctuate their daily struggle for survival. Filmed in verité-style with gut-wrenching honesty, humor and joy, this film witnesses the courage and dignity of the human spirit while facing the darkest side of our modern world. www.dreamingnicaragua.com
Sat. Oct. 15, 7:15PM (Malco 1)
Thu. Oct. 20, 1:25PM (Malco 1)
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Echo of Astro Boy’s Footsteps
Japan/82min/Culture & Art
Masanori Tominaga, Atsuko Ohno
Japanese w/ English Subtitles
Matsuo Ohno is the man who produced the sound design for 'Tetsuwan Atomu', Japan's first television anime created by Osamu Tezuka in 1963. Better known as 'Astro Boy' in the United States, the show was the forefront pioneer of Japanimation in America and became a huge hit worldwide. These days he is primarily working at an institution for the mentally handicapped in Shiga Prefecture.
Tue. Oct. 18, 6:00PM (Central)
Thu. Oct. 20, 1:05PM (Malco 2)
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Gaza Shield
Lebanon/17min/Human Rights, War, Art
Tania Khalaf – In Person
In Lebanon, demonstrations decrying the Israeli-Palestinian conflict fill the streets every day. Lebanese people from all ages call to cease this ongoing conflict. Three Lebanese artists came across a video game that encourages this conflict and rewards its user anytime a hospital in Gaza gets bombed or a child gets killed. The game calls for more violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians. The more lives you kill the more points you get. These artists begin to develop a game of their own in response. The game...
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Grandpa’s Wet Dream
Japan/16min/Erotic Dramedy
Chihiro Amemiya
Japanese w/ English Subtitles
Shigeo Tokuda, a 55-year-old slightly balding family man, is too embarrassed to buy adult videos at stores along the brightly lit downtown streets. In 1991, he visits an adult video production company in a quiet area of Tokyo to buy some copies directly from them. As he frequents the office for new releases, Henry Tsukamoto, a director at FA Pro, casually asks Tokuda if he could act in their upcoming production. Tokuda, now 75, has not told any of his family members about his fifteen-year-long...
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The Grove
USA/62min/Health Medical
Andy Abrahams Wilson
More Americans have been lost to AIDS than in all the U.S. wars since 1900, and 22 million people have died worldwide. But few know about the existence of the National AIDS Memorial, a seven-acre grove and sanctuary hidden in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. The Grove chronicles this garden’s transformation from a neglected eyesore, to landscaped sanctuary, to national memorial. But as the Grove’s stakeholders seek broader public recognition through an international design competition, a debate emerges about what constitutes...
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Happy Tails: A Donkumentary
Canada/7min/Nature
Robyn Watkins & Lauren Cowley
Happy Tails: A Donkumentary tells the story of an animal sanctuary in Eastern Ontario. This is a sanctuary for donkeys. The donkey is an animal overlooked at the best of times, but neglected or worse in some cases. Fifteen years ago, Sheila Burns opened her barn doors to a couple of long ears without a home. Little did she know they would become her passion.
Sun. Oct. 16, 4:40PM-Block (Malco 2)
Thu. Oct. 20, 10AM-Block (Malco 1)
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Hula and Natan
Israel/55min/Comedy, Independent
Israeli w/English Subtitles
The comic-tragic story of the brothers Hula and Natan, two car mechanics from the outskirts of Sderot, a city in the south of Israel constantly bombed by rockets from Gaza. The two live in a caravan in the weedy yard that serves as their garage, surrounded by old jalopies and clunkers. While the situation between Israel and Gaza deteriorates, Hula and Natan's garage, their only source of income, is about to be closed down by the authorities. www.hulanatan.com
Thurs. Oct 20, 9:15PM-Block (Malco 1)
Fri. Oct 21, 10:00PM-Block...
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Imagineer; A Sort of Road Movie..
Czech Republic/18min/Road Trip, Art
Hedvika Hlavackova
Czech w/ English Subtitles
It all started in Zlin, a city in the east Czech Republic. Petr Nikl was born there exactly fifty years ago. He was highly influenced by his mother, a toy designer. He studied art in college and since then he touched pretty much every form of art. He is a painter, sculptor, performer, dramatist and musician. This film is focused on his improvised performances, on his music and on a breaking point in his life that happened during filming.
Sun. Oct. 16, 9:00PM-Block...
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Into Thin Air – US Premiere
Iran/26min/Political
Iran w/English Subtitles
Mohammadreza Rarzad
A short film about the bloody massacre of innocent Iranian people on September 8, 1979. It concentrates on less than a minute of horrifying footage of the bloody killing of people who were unaware of an official curfew.
Tue. Oct. 18, 5:35PM-Block (Malco 1)
Thu. Oct. 20, 4:25PM-Block (Malco 2)
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A King in Milwaukee
USA/27min/Music, Aging
Nicole Brown
Artist David Greenberger, the creator of Duplex Planet, talks to elderly people with speech problems or dementia, and turns those recorded conversations into a periodical, a CD, and a live performance.
Thurs. Oct 20, 4:00PM-Block (Central)
Sun. Oct 23, 11:40AM-Block (Malco 2)
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Miss South Pacific: Beauty and the Sea
USA/39min/Environmental
Mary Lambert
A short documentary film about the 2009-2010 Miss South Pacific Pageant that brought contestants, or Queens, from all the major Pacific Island Nations to compete in a week-long pageant for the crown of Miss South Pacific. Addressing the theme of climate change and its impact on Pacific Island countries, the Queens eloquently and passionately implore judges, spectators, and the world at large to reduce global carbon emission lest their island homes will be lost to rising seas.
Thurs. Oct 20, 4:00PM-Block (Central)
Sun....
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Pee Wee Marquette: The Sunny Side of the Street
USA/6min/Music, Biography
Julie Zimmermann – In Person
A short documentary about New York jazz legend, Pee Wee Marquette.
Sun. Oct. 16, 3:10PM-Block (Malco 2)
Thu. Oct. 20, 2:50PM–Block (Malco 1)
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Peep Culture
Canada/59min/Post-Modern
Sally Blake
Why are we tripping over ourselves to get on reality television, post intimate secrets on-line, or drop our drawers for amateur non-profit porn? Peep Culture is an insightful romp into a world where the Internet and reality TV can make you a star. In the age of Peep, the challenge isn't to protect your private life but how best to capitalize on it.
www.thepeepdiaries.com
Wed. Oct 19, 7:30PM (Malco 2)
Thurs. Oct 20, 5:50PM (Malco 1)
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Puppet
USA/74min/Art
David Soll
Puppet interweaves a broad look at the fraught history of American puppetry (its marginalization as children's theater and its sudden explosion as high art) with an intimate thread following Dan Hurlin, a puppeteer who is creating a complex puppet work about an eccentric, Depression-era Arkansas photographer named Mike Disfarmer.
www.thepuppetfilm.com
Sat. Oct. 15, 11:45AM (Malco 2)
Thu. Oct. 20, 11:45AM (Malco 1)
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Slow Southern Steel
USA/89min/Arkansas, Music
David Lipke, Chris Terry – In Person
Slow Southern Steel is a film about heavy metal music in the modern American South, as told by the very people who have created this music during the last two decades. Shot in back alleys, parking lots, and the seedy green rooms of the dirtiest clubs that the Bible Belt failed to snuff out, these diehard musicians discuss their love of music and the South, as well as the difficulties, contradictions and insanity that haunt every Southern artist.
Thurs. Oct. 20, 7:00PM (Malco 2)
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Stan Versus Squirrel
USA/23min/Humor
Lilly Boruszkowski
What is 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?
Sun. Oct. 16, 9:00PM-Block (Malco 1)
Thu. Oct. 20, 4:20PM-Block (Malco 1)
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