CALL OF THE PEACE PAGODA
A portrait of a Japanese and American Buddhist spiritual community in Leverett,
MA dedicated to the philosophy of nonviolence. Co-produced with and broadcast by
WGBY-TV (PBS, Springfield, MA). Broadcast nationally in Canada by the Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation. Broadcast nationally on Free Speech TV.
28min; USA; 1989
Directed by Robbie Leppzer
CHOOSE LIFE
The historic march for world peace when over a million people gathered in
New York City to call for an end to the nuclear arms race on June 12, 1982.
10min; USA; 1984
Directed by Robbie Leppzer
COLUMBUS DIDN'T DISCOVER US
Indigenous people from North, South and Central America speak out about the
impact of the Columbus legacy—past and present—on their lives. Broadcast by
WGBH (PBS, Boston, MA) and on Free Speech TV. Excerpts broadcast nationally on
the PBS series, The 90s.
24min; USA; 1992
Directed by Robbie Leppzer
COURAGE & STUPIDITY
 This
comedy short, set during the 1970s, spoofs Steven Spielberg's early years as a
director. On the set of Jaws, Steven and his pal, George (based on George Lucas)
accidentally destroy the movie’s main prop, the mechanical shark. As the giant
fish makes a descent to the ocean floor, it looks like Steven's career is also
sinking. He must stop the film’s producers from pulling the plug and find a
way to make his monster movie without a monster.
25min; short; USA; 2004.
Directed by Darin Beckstead
CREE SPOKEN HERE
In this hour-long documentary, Cree filmmakers Ernest Webb and Neil Diamond
focus on the resurgence of the Cree language in Northern Quebec, tracing the
rebirth of the language through three generations. When English and French once
dominated school life, an entire generation began to lose both their language
and their cultural heritage. Young children are now being taught entirely in
Cree.
48min; featurette; Canada; 2000; winner of the 2001 Telefilm/APTN award for Best
Aboriginal Documentary.
Directed by Neil Diamond and Ernest Webb
DAB IYIYUU: ABSOLUTELY CREE
The Cree expression "Dab Iyiyuu" describes those elders who embody
traditional culture. They are living links to the world of the Cree ancestors,
and this film profiles some of these remarkable men and women, showcasing their
stories, traditional skills and knowledge developed over centuries. Originally
made as six 24-minute episodes for APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network).
48min; featurette; Canada; 2003; nominated for an award in 2005.
Directed by Neil Diamond, Philip Lewis and Ernest Webb
DYING TO GET IN
The American dream becomes a nightmare at the only place where the First and
Third Worlds meet. This documentary shows the harsh reality of border crossing,
a journey through what has functionally become a gauntlet of death.
39:45min; featurette; student film; USA; 2005; world premiere.
Directed by Brett Trolley
ECOPARQUE
Tijuana's Ecoparque, completed in 1993, turned a barren dump site into a green
forest. A simple, low-energy system cleans wastewater and reuses it for
irrigation. In the urbanized environs of an arid region, enter a leafy refuge
that is a debtless, community-based alternative providing natural sanitation,
water stewardship, border tension relief, public health and experimental
environmental education.
33min; documentary; USA/Mexico; 2000; student film; winner of three festival
awards
Directed by Michael A. Bedar
FUTBOLITO: A JOURNEY THROUGH CENTRAL AMERICA
A chronicle of five New England young people who travel through Guatemala
and Nicaragua waging peace with “Hacky Sack” to show how a cooperative foot
game can be used to make cross-cultural bridges. Broadcast by WGBY-TV (PBS,
Springfield, MA) and on Free Speech TV. Excerpts broadcast nationally on the PBS
series, The 90s and on The Learning Channel's Amazing America series.
28min; USA; 1994
Directed by Robbie Leppzer
HARVEST OF PEACE
U.S. volunteers travel to a war zone in Nicaragua during the height of the
U.S.-backed Contra war to harvest cotton in a uniquecitizen-to-citizen peace
effort. World premiere, 1985 Telluride Film Festival. Best Nonfiction Film, 1986
San Antonio Cine Festival. Curator's Choice, 1987 New England Film Festival.
Broadcast by WGBY-TV (PBS, Springfield, MA) and on Free Speech TV.
29min; USA; 1985
Directed by Robbie Leppzer
HEAVY METAL
This Canadian documentary examines toxic dumping in the Cree communities of
Northern Quebec. Cree environmentalist Joseph Blacksmith and American geologist
Chris Covel joined forces to expose a major Quebec mining disaster that had been
secretly devastating people and the environment for more than 40 years.
48min; featurette; Canada; 2004; nominated for an award in 2005.
Directed by Neil Diamond and Jean-Pierre Maher
HOTEL LOBBY
This film, originally a play by Stephen Keep Mills, was inspired by Edward
Hopper's 1943 painting Hotel Lobby. Three guests are stranded in a hotel
lobby. Reading a book, Diana is divided from the real world by fiction, while
Horace and Colt have lost the key to their room and to each other. Below the
surface reality, a world of fantasy and shadow is unlocked in this drama which
has been compared to the films of Alain Resnais and Harold Pinter.
75min; feature; USA; 2003; winner of seven festival awards.
Directed by Jenny Foster
KING PHILIP AND THE PEOPLE’S WAR
A Q&A session will follow the screening of this work-in-progress
documentary. The film addresses misconceptions surrounding King Philip's War,
the devastating conflict between the colonists and Native Americans in New
England during 1675 and 1676. King Philip was the Wampanoag chief, and the war
ended with the slaughter of scores of Native Americans.
39:06min; featurette; USA; 2005 (work in progress).
Directed by Ann Tweedy, Jonathan Perry and Elizabeth Perry
LIBBY, MONTANA
Mother Jones magazine described this documentary as "incisive and
unrelenting," while Ray Young (Flickhead) reviewed it as "equal
parts mystery, horror film, black comedy, corporate indictment and human
tragedy." It chronicles what the EPA calls the worst case of community-wide
exposure to a toxic substance in USA history. In a small rural Montana town,
hundreds are sick and dying from asbestos contamination. Residents are left to
ask: How did this happen in modern America?
124min; feature; USA; 2004; winner of several awards.
Directed by Drury Gunn Carr and Doug Hawes-Davis
MIND FOREST
 James
R. Prince wrote and directed this fantasy about a young woman haunted by visions
of Plymouth witches from 1631. Unlocking a chest left by her late
great-grandmother opens a doorway to 17th-century Plymouth and sends her on a
strange journey of self-discovery.
61min; feature; USA; 2003; winner of two awards.
Directed by James R. Prince
SEABROOK 1977
Robbie Leppzer's first documentary. A chronicle of a seminal event of 1970s
environmental activism when 1,414 people were arrested in a civil disobedience
protest at a nuclear power plant under construction in Seabrook, New Hampshire
and jailed en masse in National Guard armories for two weeks. Broadcast by WGBY-TV
(PBS, Springfield, MA).
87min; USA; 1978
Directed by Robbie Leppzer
START '05 - PLYMOUTH EXCHANGE
 Independent
film-makers from south west England present their very individual animations,
short dramas and experimental films - an entertaining, thought-provoking and
quirky selection from Plymouth UK's START05 Moving Image Festival.
RT: 85M
STRAIGHT TALK
Vietnam veterans speak to high school students about their first-hand
experiences in war. Excerpts broadcast nationally on the PBS series, The 90s.
Broadcast nationally on Free Speech TV.
31min; USA; 1990
Directed by Robbie Leppzer
THE MOTHERS’ TRIANGLE
Somerville filmmaker Inbal Goldstein, who spent five years making this
feature-length documentary, stated, "Beyond an analysis of the broader
social concerns, I wanted to capture the personal experience of a young mother
as she faces the challenges of her baby’s first years." Filming more than
100 hours, he focused on a Malden, Massachusetts, mother, Mary Borges, 34, and
her 18-year-old daughter, Christina. Conflicts arise when Christina becomes a
teenage mother just as Mary did 18 years earlier. In a fragile battle for
control over the raising of the baby, Cristian, their relationship unravels.
95min; documentary; USA; 2004; world premiere.
Directed by Inbal Goldstein
THE PEACE PATRIOTS
Massachusetts Festival Premiere
An intimate portrait of American dissenters reflecting on their personal
participation as engaged citizens in a time of war. Filmmaker Robbie Leppzer
chronicles the story of individuals living in the Connecticut River Valley of
western Massachusetts who oppose the
U.S. invasion and military occupation of Iraq. The film follows a diverse group
of individuals, ranging in age from 13 to 74, including middle and high school
students, college students, teachers, clergy, community activists, and war
veterans, as they take part in vigils, marches, theater performances, and civil
disobedience sit-ins to protest the war.
78min; USA; 2005
Directed by Robbie Leppzer
NATHAN’S REBELLION
With his father always on the road, lonely 13-year-old Nathan Daniels decides to
literally follow his favorite teacher's assignment and choose "The Road Not
Taken." He accidentally goes back in time to 1786 where he befriends a
lonely farmer, a new friend who is destined to die within a few days. Nathan
must take a stand or leave history as it is written. Official selection of the
2004 Boston Film Festival.
90min; feature; USA; 2004.
Directed by Kathleen Fitzgerald
ONE MORE RIVER: THE DEAL THAT SPLIT THE CREE
Was a $3.5 billion deal between the Cree Nation and Quebec a poor decision or a
visionary foresight of their fearless leader, Ted Moses? Deep inside Cree
territory, there is a battle for the hearts, minds and votes of the people who
will be affected by this decision for the next 50 years.
93min; feature; Canada; 2003; winner of three awards.
Directed by Tracey Deer and Neil Diamond
PROFILES IN ASPIRATION
This documentary from Boston filmmaker Andrew Silver displays portraits of
strong, competent and well-spoken women athletes and explores the mental,
emotional and physical qualities needed to reach high levels of performance in a
variety of sports including track, ultimate frisbee, gymwheel, rowing, water
polo, ice hockey swimming, fencing, triathlon and more. Premiered February, 2005
at Boston's Coolidge Corner Theatre.
45min; documentary; USA; 2004.
Directed by Andrew Silver
PURGATORY HOUSE
 Scripted
by 14-year-old Celeste Davis, this dark comedy-fantasy follows lonely teenager
Silver Strand (played by Davis) who has abandoned her life of drug addiction in
search of unconditional love. She meets God, a drag queen and game-show host
(portrayed by Jim Hanks, the younger brother of Tom Hanks). God doesn't look
kindly on suicide and sentences her to an afterlife limbo at Purgatory House.
The phantasmagoric non-linear film offers a quirky, uncensored glimpse into the
mind of today's American youth. First-time director Cindy Baer and Davis met
when Baer joined the Big Sisters of Los Angeles Program (an organization that
pairs at-risk girls with female mentors). At the LA Silver Lake Film Festival,
Davis won Best Performance, and she was received the Best Screenplay Award at
the San Diego Film Festival.
96min; feature; USA; 2004; winner of six festival awards.
Directed by Cindy Baer
RAGING CYCLIST
In this comic nightmare, man meets myth as a cyclist maps a journey of
self-destruction, fear and paranoia, encountering a gang of evil pre-teen punk
girls, masked demons and a secret society led by the Mystic Man who tells the
legend of the Devil Hunter.
31min; featurette; USA; 2004.
Directed by: Sean McCarthy
RING OF THE BISHOP
Cold and arrogant, Monsignor Pace is unforgiving toward sinners, until one night
when a young prostitute kidnaps him. She forces the priest to a cemetery where
her nightmares began and professes her sins, along with those of the priest.
Though his strength is not what it used to be, his faith carries him through a
battle with the one who wants his soul -- the demon, Taoz. A selection of the
2005 Boston Film Festival, this film was a winner at the Seattle Independence
Film Festival and Cleveland's Indie Gathering Film Festival.
81min; feature;
USA; 2004.
Directed by Kathleen Fitzgerald
TROUBLED WATER
For over 30 years residents of Cape Cod and other Massachusetts towns have
been drinking contaminated water, exposed to a carcinogenic chemical at high
concentrations and no one bothered to tell them. Troubled Water asks the
questions: who knows, who cares.
50min; featurette;
USA; 2004
Directed by Kevin King
VOICES FOR PEACE
A documentary about the first national anti-war demonstrations which took place
in Washington, DC and New York City following the September 11 attacks,
featuring Nobel Peace prize laureates Mairead Maguire and Adolfo Perez Esquivel.
Broadcast nationally on Free Speech TV.
25min; USA; 2001
Directed by Robbie Leppzer
WATER POLO: BENEATH THE SURFACE
Living in New York City, young Wolf Wigo attended a high school minus a swimming
pool, yet he dreamed of making the Olympic Water Polo team. For this
documentary, told from the viewpoint of Wigo's mother, Dawn Young spent eight
years following Wigo as he struggled to achieve his goal.
67min; feature; USA; 2005; winner of one award as work in progress.
Directed by Dawn Young
SHORTS: ANIMATION
(In order of appearance)
GUARD DOG
 Award-winning
independent animator Bill Plympton directed this Oscar-nominated short. Why do
dogs bark at such innocent creatures as pigeons and squirrels? What are they
afraid of? This film answers that eternal question. Music by Maureen McElheron
and Hank Bones.
5min; short animation; USA; 2004.
Directed by Bill Plympton
THE FAN AND THE FLOWER
Paul Giamatti (Sideways) narrates this new animated short from leading
independent animator Bill Plympton. The bittersweet storyline follows an
ill-fated, unconsummated romance that takes place in an elderly woman's house
where an electric ceiling fan falls in love with a flower in a spare room. The
events span years, leading to a magical fairytale ending. This short was
previously shown in New York at the "Animators Attack" screening of
independents and in June at the Annecy Animation Festival (Annecy, France),
where Plympton is a two-time Grand Prix winner for his features I Married a
Strange Person! (1998) and Mutant Aliens (2001). The Fan and the
Flower screenplay is by Dan O'Shannon, a writer-producer for several TV
series (Frasier, Suddenly Susan, Cheers). Since 1977, Bill Plympton has
made more than 30 live-action and animated shorts and features, and he was twice
nominated for the Best Animated Short Academy Award.
7:10min; short animation; USA 2005.
Directed by Bill Plympton
HANDSHAKE
In this animated film, an innocent greeting between two people is quickly
transformed into a sticky, tangled struggle for survival. Animator Patrick Smith
commented, "Handshake was a fun film to draw. I consider myself an
expert on relationships, and it was great to illustrate the emotions and
experiences I've had. The film can be abstract at times, just like real
relationships can be. I was fortunate enough to have the film scored and
orchestrated live, which I think hammers in the romantic/abstract nature of the
story." The film won awards at the Northhampton Film Festival, the Golden
Film Festival (Golden, Colorado) and four other film festivals.
4:40min; animated short; USA.
Directed by Patrick Smith
HOME MOVIES – EPISODE 408: “CHO”
Budding filmmaker and pint-sized third grader Brendon Small (voice of Brendon
Small) enlists neighborhood friends to create short films of not-quite-epic
proportions. Through his work Brendon sorts out the issues that plague his
troubled, eight-year-old mind. This animated TV series had a short run on UPN in
1999 and was picked up by the Cartoon Network in 2001. The first two seasons of Home
Movies are available on DVD.
22:40min; short animation; USA; 2004.
Directed by Loren Bouchard
SHIFT
In the tradition of Godfrey Reggio's Koyaanisqatsi
(1983) and Ron Fricke's Baraka (1992), this animation is expressed through the
use of environment and atmosphere with the camera discovering different cycles
through time.
4:46min; short animation; student film; USA; 2005; world premiere.
Directed by Joshua Marvel
DISPOSITION
 Animated
images are combined with live-action in this short work by 13-year-old filmmaker
Peter Bertoli, a freshman at Oyster Bay (NY) High School. Bertoli's work is on
exhibit this summer at the Saratoga Springs Arts Center.
3:30min; short animation; student film; USA; 2005; world premiere.
Directed by Peter Bertoli
SPIRAL
W.P. Murton explores the subtleties and deconstruction of abstract forms and
avant-garde electronic music. Produced by animator Bill Plympton.
6min; short animation; USA; 2005.
Directed by W.P. Murton
DARFUR
This animated short was made in response to the lack of media coverage of what
is happening in the Darfur region of Sudan. Hand drawn and painted using
charcoal, water color, pastel and acrylic paint, this film cries out to the
injustices and reminds us of the phrase “Never
again.”
1:55min; animated short; student film; USA; 2005; world premiere.
Directed by Joey Frechette
THE MEANING OF LIFE
 Don
Hertzfeldt (Rejected) made this animated short which has been compared to
Disney's Fantasia (1940). A vast and beautiful study of time, life, death
and Tchaikovsky, the film explores evolution on Earth over the course of a
billion years. Jeremy Mathews (Film Threat) reviewed this as "a more
varied and textured work than any of his previous line drawing material... a
sci-fi odyssey with painted and backlit material done entirely in-camera."
Premiering at Sundance 2005, it won the Malibu Film Festival's Audience Award
for Best Animated Short.
12min; animated short; USA; 2005.
Directed by Don Hertzfeldt
SHORTS I
(in order of appearance)
THE OFFERING
 Inspired
by "The Young Man and His Death," a ballet choreography written by
Jean Cocteau, this 35mm Canadian short is an elegiac meditation about the
passing of life, told through the story of love and friendship between a
Japanese monk and the novice who entered his life. Nominated for a Golden Bear
at the Berlin Film Festival, it won awards from the National Educational Media
Network and three film festivals (Ajijic, Cinemanila, New Haven).
10min; short; Canada; 1999.
Directed by Paul Lee
EMMA AND THE BARISTA
In her late twenties, Emma (Anya Beyersdorf) does the corporate thing each
morning in Melbourne where she endures the monotony of train commuting, hurried
walking and dead-eyed waits. She finds refuge (and a romantic connection) in the
urban laneway where she gets her first coffee of the day. The film won an award
for best short drama at the Texas Worldfest International Film Festival.
12min; short fiction; Australia; 2004.
Directed by Greg Gozdz
STRIKINGLY SINGLE
Convinced that true love is eluding her, Shea Thomas (Fay Gerbes) ditches her
boyfriend in hopes of finding someone better but learns the grass isn't always
greener elsewhere. Applying the rules of baseball to her blind dates, they have
three chances to stay in the game. As the umpire of her own love life, it's up
to Shea to make the right call, if and when the right guy steps up to the plate.
Special Recognition at the 2004 Boston Film Festival.
8.5min; short fiction; USA; 2005.
Directed by Lisa G. Hagerty
PLAYDATE
Watching a young girl dressing up in her mother’s clothing is always a sight
to see, but when a young boy dressed in his father’s suit arrives to take the
girl on a play date, the young girl’s father is skeptical. Premiere at the
2005 Brooklyn International Film Festival Kidfest.
1:25M; short; USA; 2005.
Directed by Jennie Jarvis Ostroff
JIMMY’S HOUSE OF HUGS
Welcome to Jimmy's House of Hugs where women come for comfort and hugs. Meet
founder and owner Jimmy, his employees and clients. Made as a school project at
Los Angeles City College, this mockumentary won the Audience Award at the Faux
Film Festival (Portland, Oregon).
5:40min; student short; USA; 2004.
Directed by Julia Radochia
1918: A SHORT FILM
Eighty-six years of heartbreak. Two Boston boys finally have a shot to go to the
World Series with the Sox. But a series of mishaps takes them on a wrong turn.
Based on a true story.
14:40min; short; USA; 2004.
Directed by: Jay Burke
LES LARMES
The story of a despairing girl whose loneliness in an otherwise spiritually
bound world draws her to an unexpected turning point.
5:50min; student short; USA; 2004.
Directed by Thomas Miller
ISOLATION
Three manifestations of loneliness that living in the city can bring:
alienation, reclusiveness and the inability to find companions.
6:52min; short; student film; USA; 2005.
Directed by Andrew Lewis, Jeffrey Luker and Kevin McGrath
CATDID
 A
delusional insomniac's last friend is a hallucinated chicken. What is Casey
doing with his life?
5:05min; short; student film; USA; 2005.
Directed by Michelle Nash
THE DANGERS OF SMOKING CIGARETTES
Emily Elizabeth plays by the river one gloomy day, kicking snow in the water.
Her mother warns her not to play so close to the edge as she turns her head to
light her cigarette. Suddenly, Emily Elizabeth falls into the river… and into
a whole new world.
6:13min; short, USA; 2005; work in progress.
Directed by Stephanie Stender
MAN'S BEST FRIEND
A lonely man's search for fulfillment leads to a dog...someone else's dog.
13:00 min; student short; USA; 2005.
Directed by: Ben Pugh
SHORTS II
(in order of appearance)
CYCLES OF REPETITION: AN HOMAGE IN OBSERVATIONS
 A
series of vignettes document the textile industry in India, showing the
repetitive nature of fiber-based hand work (fabric dyeing, weaving, woodblock
printing).
2:50min; short, USA; 2004.
Directed by Deborah Wing-Sproul
DOCTA KNOW
 Dakar
is the capital of hip hop in West Africa. Docta, a prominent graffiti artist and
rapper, reflects on the intersection of politics, Islam and hip hop’s role in
Senegal.
10min; short; USA; 2004.
Directed by Owen Kohl
THE WEEKENDS ARE FOR US
A day in the life of two homeless persons struggling to survive. Along the way
we find out that they are not who they appeared to be but instead lead double
lives.
26min; short; USA; 2004.
Directed by Frank Turner
CHAPOQUOIT ISLAND: A PERFECT LITTLE PIECE OF CAPE COD
 Ever
stayed on the beach past sunset, when the golden orange vista turns to midnight
blue, and then stayed longer until the world becomes inky black and the ocean's
roar is deafening? Journey to one of the most magical places on Cape Cod --
Chapoquoit Island in West Falmouth. World premiere.
10:32; USA; 2005, World Premiere.
Directed by Brendan McQuaid and Jessica Grogins
THE BOWLERS
This short documentary captures the subtle rhythms and sounds of the bocce court
as Johnny, Peggy, Bobby, Angelo and other North End Boston regulars play
morning, noon and night. World premiere.
8min; short; USA; 2005.
Directed by Kevin McCarthy
THE PLIMOTH PLANTATION
THEATRE I (in alphabetical order)
BRATTLE TRAILERS
In 1953, Bryant Haliday and Cyrus Harvey, Jr. converted Cambridge's Brattle
Theatre into a film arthouse, and two years later they formed Janus Films, a
major distributor of art films. Also in the mid-1950s, they began an annual
tradition of screening Humphrey Bogart films during Harvard exam time, and the
concept of movie revival programs spread nationwide to other theaters in major
cities. Join us for a 90-minute tribute to the Brattle Theatre with this
collection of the best Brattle movie trailers -- from Casablanca and Citizen
Kane to cult classics and independents. Special thanks to Ivy Moylan and Ned
Hinkle.
HOTEL RWANDA
Nominated for three Academy Awards and three Golden Globes, this fact-based
drama tells the story of hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle), who
turned his luxurious Belgian-owned hotel into a sanctuary for a thousand Tutsis
refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda. As the
violence escalated, almost one million were brutally slaughtered during a
three-month period, while two million fled the country.
121min; feature; Canada/UK/Italy/South Africa
Directed by Terry George
LOS ZAFIROS: MUSIC FROM THE EDGE OF TIME
Drawing comparisons with Wim Wender's popular Buena Vista Social Club
(1998), this award-winning documentary explores the memories of Manuel Galban
and Miguel Cancio, surviving members of Cuba's Los Zafiros (The Sapphires), as
they are reunited in Havana 30 years after their breakup. Inspired by such 1950s
vocal groups as the Platters, the Mills Brothers and the Modernaires, the Cuban
band played their first professional gigs in 1962. The sensuality of their
musical and personal style soon brought them a rabid female following and heavy
airplay on national radio, making them very much the Beatles of 1960s Cuba.
79min; feature; USA/Cuba; 2003.
Directed by Lorenzo DeStefano
THE NOMI SONG
Klaus Sperber, a classically trained singer from Essen, Germany, arrived in New
York during the late 1970's. Wearing outrageous costumes and adopting the stage
name Nomi, he soon emerged as an otherworldly figure in New York's underground
art scene. A countertenor who brought opera to club audiences, he made two pop
records before his 1983 death from AIDS at age 39. Winner of a Berlin Film
Festival Best Documentary award.
98min; feature; Germany; 2004.
Directed by Andrew Horn
THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES
Walter Salles (Central Station) directed this film based on diaries that
Argentine revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara's wrote when he was a 23-year-old
medical student (and published in an English translation in 1995). As Che (Gael
Garcia Bernal) motorcycles across South America with his friend Alberto Granado
(Rodrigo de la Serna) in 1951-52, the trek becomes a personal odyssey as Che
finds his life's calling.
128min; feature; USA/Germany/UK/Argentina/Chile/Peru/France; 2004.
Directed by Walter Salles
THE SEA INSIDE
This fact-based film won both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe as Best
Foreign Language Film of 2004. Spaniard Ramon Sampedro (Javier Bardem) fought a
30-year campaign to win the right to end his life with dignity. The story
follows Ramon's relationships with two women: Julia (Belen Rueda), a lawyer who
supports his cause, and Rosa (Lola Duenas), a local woman who wants to convince
him that life is worth living. Despite his wish to die, Ramon taught everyone he
encountered the meaning, value and preciousness of life. Though he could not
move himself, he had an uncanny ability to move others.
125 min; feature; Spain/France/Italy; 2004.
Directed by Alejandro Amenabar
SWEENEYFEST
[Southie and There's Something About Mary each followed by Q&A
with featured guest Steve Sweeney]
SOUTHIE
This film was advertised with the tagline, "The toughest thing about South
Boston is coming back." Irish bad boy Danny Quinn (Donnie Wahlberg) returns
home to South Boston from New York after three years to find his family in
turmoil and his buddies caught up in a turf war. Winner of the American
Independent Award at the Seattle Film Festival.
95min; feature; USA; 1998.
Directed by John Shea
THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY
Rhode Island talents Peter and Bobby Farrelly followed Dumb & Dumber
(1994) and Kingpin (1996) with this critically-acclaimed comedy.
Nominated for a Golden Globe, it is regarded by many as the funniest film of the
1990s. Living in Providence, Rhode Island, nervous Ted Stroehmann (Ben Stiller)
looks back on his high school years, realizes he is still hung up on dazzling
Mary Jensen (Cameron Diaz) and hires private investigator Pat Healy (Matt
Dillon) to track her down. In Miami, Healy becomes so smitten by Mary that he
gives Ted false information to keep him away. However, Healy encounters another
suitor, haughty academic Tucker (Lee Evans), who adores Mary and doubts Healy's
bogus claims designed to impress her.
119min; feature; USA; 1998.
Directed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly
THEATRE II
(in alphabetical order)
A LIFE OF DEATH
While the technology of war has advanced, along with the tools to cover it
(stills/film/digital video), the emotional toll is the same. The faces of the
dead, dying and wounded are interchangeable from WWI to the present. No matter
the year, violence breeds revenge which breeds more violence. World leaders say
they want world peace, but at what price? This award-winning documentary
poetically probes the tragic irony of waging war to establish peace. Selection
of the 2004 UN Festival.
8min; short; USA; 2003.
Directed by Dawn Westlake
THOROUGHLY MODERN MILI
 International
hero or immoral thug? You be the judge! Join international hard news network BBS
as it uncovers the secrets of Milicent-Therese (“Mili-Teri” to her friends),
the first female French Foreign Legion Captain to be invited to the USA by the
Bush Administration to carry out a top secret mission. Larry David (Seinfeld,
Curb Your Enthusiasm) commented, ”I watched Thoroughly Modern Mili last night
while brushing my teeth. Very enjoyable. It’s very funny stuff.”
6min; short; USA; 2003.
Directed by Dawn Westlake
THE PAWN
After losing her journalist husband in Iraq, a widow trades in her faith and her
soul at a surreal pawnshop in the ultimate attempt to escape her grief. Director
Dawn Westlake commented, "My husband was sent to Kuwait and Iraq for 3.5
months in 2003 to cover the war for a major network news organization. He came
back safe and sound, but I've been haunted by the fact that some of his
colleagues' wives and companions around the world were not as lucky as I. This
film is basically an artistic expression of my worst nightmare. It is not an
upbeat film, to be sure, but I felt it was important to paint a realistic
picture of the grief and despair one could face if left behind in a world that
seems to be more and more surreal."
10min; short; USA; 2004.
Directed by Dawn Westlake
BENJAMIN AND HIS BROTHER
Years of war and ethnic conflict in the Sudan have created a generation of young
men, the Lost Boys, who have spent more years in refugee camps than in their
home communities. Sudanese brothers Benjamin and William Deng are separated when
one is accepted into a U.S. resettlement program while the other remains in a
Kenyan refugee camp. This award-winning documentary from British filmmaker
Arthur Howes focuses on the brothers' dreams and reality, as it explores war and
suffering in their beloved South Sudan, lost childhood and innocence, the trials
of life as a refugee in foreign lands and the existing realities of survival.
Selection of the 2004 UN Festival.
87min; feature; UK; 2002.
Directed by Arthur Howes
SIN EMBARGO: NEVER THE LESS
After the revolution of 1959 and the U.S. embargo that followed, the people of
Cuba were deprived of basic goods, so they scavenged alleyways and scrap heaps,
giving new vitality to discarded items. Their recycled products are remarkably
ingenious and creative. For Andrs the sculptor, Tomas the canary breeder and
others in this documentary, even the greatest pressure -- whether levied by
government or circumstance -– cannot crush the spirit nor quash the desire to
forge a better life for themselves and their families. Shot entirely in Cuba by
Australian filmmaker Judith Grey, Sin Embargo is a look into the hearts and
dreams of struggling peoples and a tribute to their optimistic and resourceful
determination to survive. Selection of the 2004 UN Festival.
49min; featurette; Cuba/USA; 2003.
Directed by Judith Grey
A KALAHARI FAMILY
Spanning 50 years of Namibian history, this five-part, six-hour series documents
the Ju/'hoansi (pronounced "jhu-wahnsi") people of southern Africa as
these once independent hunter-gatherers experience dispossession, confinement to
a homeland and the chaos of war. As hope for Namibian independence and the end
of apartheid grows, the Ju/’hoansi struggle to establish farming communities
and reclaim their traditional lands. Director John Marshall, who devoted his
life to filming and helping the people of the Kalahari, received a lifetime
achievement award from the Society for Visual Anthropology before he died on
April 22. His award-winning series, edited from a million feet of 16mm film and
hours of video, is shown in its entirety:
Friday, Part I – 90min
Saturday, Part II, III and IV – 180min
Sunday, Part V – 90min.
Directed by John Marshall
FARMINGVILLE
In the late 1990s, when the promise of work in greenhouse, masonry and
landscaping industries lured 1500 workers from Mexico to the Long Island town of
Farmingville (population 15,000), longtime residents complained about dozens of
workers living in a two-bedroom house, noise violations and large groups of men
waiting for work on street corners. As tensions between the newly arrived
immigrants and the locals escalated, frustrations erupted into hatred and
violence with two young Mexican men beaten nearly to death. Winner of the 2004
Sundance Special Jury Prize.
78min; feature; USA; 2004.
Directed by Catherine Tambini and Carlos Sandoval
THIRST
Is water a human right for all people or a commodity to be bought, sold and
traded in a global marketplace? In Bolivia, India and Stockton, California,
people are fighting corporate takeovers of water supplies. Over a billion people
lack access to safe drinking water, and each year, millions die of diseases
caused by unsafe water. With potentially huge profits attracting global water
companies, citizens fear rising rates, poor service and increased pollution. In
addition to many film festival showings, Thirst was screened in Congress in the
fall of 2004 and at the World Social Forum in January 2005.
60min; feature; Bolivia/India/USA; 2004.
Directed by: Alan Snitow & Deborah Kaufman
FARMING THE SEAS
Market demand for seafood now far exceeds the ocean’s ability to keep pace,
and the crisis is deepening. Raising fish under controlled conditions in our
oceans, or aquaculture, has serious risks. Aquaculture was supposed to take the
pressure off ocean fish stocks and help avert a global food shortage, but some
forms of fish farming are actually creating more problems than they are solving.
As the aquaculture industry expands, fisheries experts are engaged in an intense
debate over the environmental, socio-economic, and health and food safety
consequences.
56min; featurette; Canada/Japan/Thailand/UK/USA; 2004.
Directed by Steve Cowan
A GREAT WONDER: LOST CHILDREN OF SUDAN
This documentary, an award winner at the Seattle Film Festival, traces the
journey of three young Sudanese orphans who left a life of warfare, disease and
starvation when they relocated in Seattle. For 18 months these youths recorded
their own experiences and memories using digital video cameras. These video
diaries, interwoven throughout the film, contrast their war experiences with
their new lives as immigrants in America.
61min; feature; Ethiopia/Kenya/Sudan/USA; 2004.
Directed by Kim Shelton
CRAPSHOOT: THE GAMBLE WITH OUR WASTES
 Billions
of gallons of water flowing through municipal sewer systems carry unknown
quantities of metals, solvents, heavy metals, food and human waste. Where does
it all go? What effect does it have on us? Contaminants resurface in our food
chain. Fish swim through waste dumped into rivers, while sewage sludge is spread
on farmland as fertilizer. Winnipeg filmmaker Jeff McKay's third documentary for
the National Film Board of Canada was filmed in Italy, India, Sweden, the US and
Canada.
52min; featurette; Canada; 2003.
Directed by Jeff McKay
GOD’S CHILDREN (KAMI NO KO TACHI)
A selection of both the 2004 UN Festival and the Museum of Modern Art's New
Directors/New Films series, this feature was described by Stephen Holden (New
York Times) as "an unblinking documentary portrait of hell on earth."
In the Philippines, on the outskirts of Quezon City, 3000 tons of garbage arrive
daily at the immense Payatas dump where 18,000 families subsist by pouring
through the trash in search of items to sell. The camera follows three of those
families in this sequel to director Hiroshi Shinomiya's Scavengers: Forgotten
Children (1995), which examined life around an even larger garbage dump outside
Manila.
105min; feature; Japan; 2001.
Directed by Hiroshi Shinomiya
FREE SCREENING!
LOCATION: Historic Waterfront, Downtown Plymouth
DATE: Saturday, July 24.
TIME: Sundown
Evening film schedule:
Friday, July 22: Citizen Kane, 8:30PM, 119M
 Multimillionaire
newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane dies alone in his extravagant mansion,
Xanadu, speaking a single word: "Rosebud". In an attempt to figure out
the meaning of this word, a reporter tracks down the people who worked and lived
with Kane; they tell their stories in a series of flashbacks that reveal much
about Kane's life but not enough to unlock the riddle of his dying breath.
Saturday, July 23: Courage and Stupidity, 8:35PM, 25M
 Much
praise has been heaped on Spielberg's use of Hitchcockian suspense, which builds
up the unbearable tension. And, while Spielberg is happy to take credit for
employing this device, he is the first to admit that circumstances dictated why
Jaws doesn't actually appear until 82 minutes into the movie. The main reason
was that the shark didn't work. The Courage & Stupidity concept puts
a comical spin on a true story imagining “What if Spielberg himself had broken
the shark but just never told anyone.”
“When I think of Jaws, I think of a period when I was much younger than I am
right now. And, I think because I was younger I was more courageous or I was
more stupid – I’m not sure which. So, when I think of Jaws, I think of ‘Courage
and Stupidity’, with both things existing under water.” – Steven
Spielberg
Saturday, July 23: Jaws, 9:00PM, 124M
 The
peaceful community of Amity island is being terrorized. There is something in
the sea that is attacking swimmers. They can no longer enjoy the sea and the sun
as they used to, and the spreading fear is affecting the numbers of tourists
that are normally attracted to this island. After many attempts the great white
shark won't go away and sheriff Brody, with friends Hooper and Quint decide to
go after the shark and kill it.
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