It's Monday Dec. 7. Films in competition tonight include:
Feature: Hong Kong murder mystery, Jasmine, (by LA filmmaker) at Bear Tooth at 8pm
TwoAlaska Made films in competition at the Alaska Experience large theater: From 7- 8 pm: We Are All Related - Newtok is an Alaska Native village which has to move because of flooding problems, which is, apparently, the focus of the movie. But there is a current court battle between the new village leaders and the old, who refuse to give up their offices. A Law 360 article earlier this year said:
Leaders of an Alaskan Native tribe situated on the Bering Sea coast
are asking a federal court to halt three members of the Newtok
Traditional Council from misrepresenting themselves as members of the
tribe's legitimate tribal governing body, according to a complaint filed
on Tuesday.
Newtok Village and the Newtok Village Council are asking the court for
an injunction that would prohibit Andy T. Patrick, Joseph Tommy and
Stanley Tom from telling any federal, state or private agency that they
are the rightful leaders of the tribe, as well as an order for them to
turn over certain financial records and other property that they have
allegedly wrongfully retained.
The Newtok Village Council claims that the three defendants, all members
of the tribe's former governing body, are attempting to convince state
and federal agencies that they continue to exercise leadership over
tribal members and can rightfully ask for money on behalf of the tribe,
despite decisions by federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs regional office, recognizing the Newtok Village Council as the official governing body.The
dispute arose in 2012. Prior to that time, the governing body of the
tribe was the Newtok Traditional Council. But a tribal election dispute
arose later that year, out of which two groups emerged, each claiming to
be the bona fide tribal governing body, according to the suit. . . .
The dispute arose in 2012. Prior to that time, the governing body of the
tribe was the Newtok Traditional Council. But a tribal election dispute
arose later that year, out of which two groups emerged, each claiming
to be the bona fide tribal governing body, according to the suit."
The Alaska Dispatch had an article yesterday saying a judge had sided with the new leadership Nov. 4 and they are asking the judge to enforce that ruling.
I'm hoping the movie might include some of the players in this struggle not only against the climate change caused flooding, but also against the human actors in the way of the move. The trailer doesn't hint at the human dimension.
The director Brian McDermott is scheduled to be there.
8:30- 10:30: Degrees North - is about freeriding, best as I can tell. The trailer doesn't show as much gliding through the sky or skiing down vertical slopes as I expected, but there's plenty of equipment with sponsor logos. There's some "you really see the true nature of people when they're out here, exposed" and 'one minute without your gloves outside and you can't feel your fingers any more" dialogue but not too much. You get the picture - sponsors pay crazy young men to risk their lives in Norway and Alaska mountains. Sure to have a good audience in Anchorage. (The second trailer shows them near Anchorage in what appears to be the year we had so little sonw.)
This is preceded by a film on the Mt. Marathon race called 3022 ft
Number 1: Circus without Borders was pretty much what was advertised. It focused on a group in the Canadian arctic that developed some acrobatic skills in part to combat suicides in the village - and a group of acrobats in Guinea, in Africa. The leaders of the two groups met, bonded, and brought their groups together. The story was told directly in video by the participants themselves and there was a lot of great acrobatics as well as cross-cultural background on how the acrobatics helped support the local communities.
Yesterday's Madina's Dream got me thinking about how far documentaries have come from the days of the omniscient male narrator with the deliverer of the truth voice. Marina's Dream had no narrator and I could have used just a little help with context. A map would have helped. But basically, the film's job was to get us to see the lives of people fighting for their land and lives. It was about people and emotions, not about facts. It was a point of view story. We never hear from the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir who is repeatedly accused by people in the film of trying to wipeout the Nuba people. That's probably with good reason because Wikipedia's account says al-Bashir is under indictment by the International Criminal Court for a variety of crimes including genocide and there's a Wikileaks document that says he's embezzled $9 billion.
Number 2: When The Ocean Met The Sky
I'm trying to figure out why this one worked well for me, while Midora in Hawaii yesterday, didn't. Marina is about two sisters who haven't seen each other for a while and now have a week together and their various problems with each other come out in the movie. It was well done, but I got tired of their conflict after a while. Ocean was about three brothers forced on an outdoor adventure with to get their (substantial) inheritance as stipulated in their father's will. Their unresolved conflicts start coming out in the first scene. Yet this film worked for me. Why?
Part may be because I don't understand Japanese and got the dialogue only through the subtitles. It had sisters while Ocean had brothers. I saw Midora after the movie on Sudan so I was already a bit down.
In any case, I really enjoyed When The Ocean Met The Sky. It just worked. The tension among the brothers was real and the confrontations were realistic, as were the eventual resolutions. And one likes to think that the father who put this condition on the will intended that they would work through their differences this way. The three actors who played the brothers and the one who played their guide in the woods were all strong and their chemistry, even when they were fighting, was good.
In a sense this was a story that could have come out of Hollywood, but the way it was done was much more understated. The audience here clearly enjoyed it.
I'm writing this after having seen Children of the Arctic, but I need to hold off on that and post this. Lots of people were in line for the next film - High Treason.
A film festival volunteer told us before the film, that the filmmaker really wanted to audience to send feedback. The film is about an Iranian student who's moved to Sweden to study. His mother gets upset because after two months they have heard nothing from their son. Finally the dad goes to Sweden to find their son. He discovers a world where foreign students of low means are living a different life from the one they write home about.
The volunteer herself is Iranian who went to Sweden as a student before coming to the US, so she found the film very poignant.
In response to the filmmaker's request, I offered my camera to audience members after the film and you can hear their comments below.
Thank you for sending this film to our festival!
The Descendants plays again Wednesday night, December 9 at 8 pm at the AK Exper Large theater.
There's lots of great stuff today. The best option is to go to the scheduling website - click here - where you can see the schedule in different useful ways. Just put your cursor over the Schedule tab for the drop down menu and experiment.
There are just too many interesting films for me to cover and different things will interest different people. So you have to do it yourself.
There's a movie about Tlingit soldiers in Vietnam (Hunting In War Time), a Bangladeshi woman (Under Construction), a 90 something woman who directs her first play (Janey Makes a Play), a horse headed for the glue factory, that's rescued and goes on to be a champion (Harry and Snowman). Children of the Arctic follows the lives of Barrow youth.
There are a number of features - including one about three young men forced to go on an adventure together to fulfill the conditions of their father's will (When the Ocean Met The Sky.)
There's a short documentary program.
And there's an archival movie involving Alaska that was recently discovered (High Treason).
Just pick something and enjoy what an international festival like this offers us.
It's been a hard day. I started out at the Bear Tooth watchingThe Incredible Adventure of JoJo, which wasn't bad. Basically, it was a Little Red Riding Hood story of two very young kids - seven and maybe 18 months - finding their way back to grandma's house after mom drives off the road and doesn't wake up. It started off with some snarky humor for the parents, but that faded away pretty fast and I got impatient. I wondered whether it was a movie I'd take my three year old granddaughter too, and I think not. Probably seven year old boy is perfect.
Then downtown to watch the best film of the day, for me, The Descendants, an Iranian film that tells the story of less affluent students studying in the west from any country. When his son has not contacted the family back in Iran, the father travels to Sweden to find his son and discovers a number of students whose lives are much less successful than the stories they are sending home. Scholarships don't exist, they are working many hours to support their studies, and living precariously from day to day. The father was a strong character as were the students he meets in Upsala. But I think of the much richer presentation of the same basic story that are in books like The Americanah and this film is pretty superficial in comparison. We get told that things are hard, but but didn't get much detail of why.
I do have audience reaction on video for the filmmakers who couldn't be here, but did, through an intro before the film, ask for such feedback. Look for that later - both in English and Farsi.
The last film I saw was Madina's Dream. This is the sort of documentary that everyone who lives comfortably in a nation that sells arms to the rest of the world should see. It's just video of kids and their mom's in the Yiba refugee camp in South Sudan and the men fighting against the Sudan national army to keep their land in the Nuba Mountains. I don't recall any narrative, just subtitles to translate for us. This film didn't create a story to package this for us, like many docs do, and that was refreshing. But it was pretty depressing. And this sort of thing is repeated here and there all over the world.
OK, my last show is about to begin - Midori in Japan. I hope this is a little lighter.
Seeing all the films laid out by time and venue is easier this year with SCHED. I won't have to do as much charting on here as I've done in the past. Here's a screen shot for Noon (when things begin) and about 4:30pm today.
Go To the Actual Grid Here Where You Can See Details For Each Block.
I thought I would just go see the animation (AK Exp Large noon). I know nothing about them, but they are all in the same program, and I like the idea of surprise. And animation is often the most original and interesting category visually. But some folks tipped me off about The Incredible Adventure of Jojo ((and his annoying little sister Avila). (Bear Tooth Noon.)
After that, there's more hard choices. One feature in competition - The Descendantsis an Iranian film at the AK Experience at 2pm - and one documentary in competition, and sure to be very well attended is about romance novel authors - Between the Covers at Bear Tooth at 2:30, plus there's a shorts program, though I'll wait until the Shorts Jury Selection Program which is Thursday. (But as I look at it, it's playing opposite Creditors which is one I really want to see. Lots of hard decisions. You can't have the chocolate chip AND the mango surprise AND the mocha fudge. You have to make choices.
It's been a bizarre and busy day. I woke to a Japanese business man, a rural Alaska mayor, and our house sitter having coffee in the kitchen. Some video on their project coming in the future.
Best thing that happened didn't happen. The car that smashed into the rear end of the car to the right of me at a stop light, in all its wobbling and skidding, never touched my car. It was like watching a slow motion shot in a movie.
My cough/cold was better today, but it's still lingering waiting for me to stop paying attention. So I'm going to keep this brief so I can go to bed and heal more.
Kyle Rideout Q&A after Edward
We got to see Edward at the film festival. Interesting movie. Great subject and two interlocked stories - the first being the use of photography to capture motion, but having a row of cameras take pictures as people walk, jump, etc. The second was his troubled relationship with his young wife, with lots of hints that his earlier carriage accident and resulting frontal lobe injury, had changed him. But were not uallysure what comes from the accident and what would have happened anyway.
As he moved from clothed to nude models, I couldn't help but think about how many people volunteered to pose nude back in the late 1870s. What does it mean about those times? What does it tell us about our naked selfie era? What might it suggest about the social construction of nudity?
There were beautiful shots all through the film. I would have like a little more on the mechanics of how the cameras actually synched. There were lots of ropes, but it was never clear to me how the ropes triggered the cameras. Maybe I just missed it. Given that Eadweard Muybridge is famous because of these photos, and not because of his marriage, a little time explaining that better would have been good for me anyway. And yes his marriage and jealousy are important. A well prepared questioner pointed out that timing in the film different from actual history - that he'd done these action photos before he met his wife. Kyle explained that in the play the chronology was correct, but that the need for constant flashbacks in the film convinced them to portray them as married while he was doing the action shoots. But when he said that, it some things much clearer - why his wife would have known about him and sought him out, that he was already fairly eccentric before they got married, and why he wouldn't use her as a model in the action studies. I recognize that the logistics of flashbacks is tricky, but meshing the time together seemed to take something away from the emphasis on their marriage in his life. We really didn't understand who she was and why she had nothing to do all day but wait for him to come home. That didn't seem to match the progressive, forward young woman who would cross the country to meet and marry this older photographer.
But it was a perfect film to open the festival given it focused on the beginnings of moving pictures. Eadweard plays again Wednesday night at Ak Experience theater.
Afterward I got to talk to several filmmakers and festival folks.
Bjørn Olson - Heart of Alaska
Bjørn Olson is a filmmaker from Homer, whose film Heart of Alaska, is in competition among the
Alaska Made Films. His website says:
Hig, Erin and their two children walk out of their comfortable home on a cold March predawn morning and begin a four-month human powered expedition around Alaska's Cook Inlet. While carrying food, camping gear and other necessities for their survival, the family also carries a question – 'what do you think the future of Alaska will look like in 50 years?' Read more: http://www.groundtruthtrekking.org/movies/heart-of-alaska/#ixzz3tRNPAZ5e
We saw a film from Hig and Erin's earlier trek from Seattle to, what was it, the Bering Sea? So this ought to be good. It plays next Sunday (Dec 13) at 11 am.
Scott Ballard's feature, Death on a Rock, is a bout a woman facing death.
Here's the film's Facebook page. It plays this Sunday, Dec. 6, at 8pm at the Alaska Experience theater.
Yeah, the lighting was weird after the movie.
Phillip Thomas, co-wrote and acted in When the Ocean Met The Sky (just remember it's in the past tense) about three brothers whose inheritance is dependent on them doing a treasure hunt together. You can watch the trailer and see him as one of the brothers.
This plays this Sunday (Dec. 6) at 2:30 pm at the Bear Tooth. Here's the trailer:
OK, I need to get to bed now. And get better. Enjoy the festival.
Well, not exactly in the flesh - he's been dead over a 100 years - but appropriately, in a film about his life. From the National Museum of American History:
"Expatriate Englishman Eadweard Muybridge (1830–1904), a brilliant and eccentric photographer, gained worldwide fame photographing animal and human movement imperceptible to the human eye. Hired by railroad baron Leland Stanford in 1872, Muybridge used photography to prove that there was a moment in a horse’s gallop when all four hooves were off the ground at once. He spent much of his later career at the University of Pennsylvania, producing thousands of images that capture progressive movements within fractions of a second."
The film itself begins at 8pm, but it will be proceeded by the opening gala of the Anchorage International Film Festival.
The film is Canadian and simply titled Eadweard. Kyle Rideout, the director will be there for questions afterward.
Looks like a good start for the festival.
With the Gala and all, it's a little pricey, but includes some food, and a chance to meet some of the filmmakers in town for the festival. And, of course, ask the filmmaker about the film right after you watch it.
A discount version (regular festival prices) will Wednesday night at the Museum.
I''d add an additional note. This is a feature film, but it is not in competition. Most films are submitted to the festival by the filmmakers. Some of these are recruited by the festival programmers who hear about good films or see them at other festivals. Some are invited, for various reasons, to show, but not be part of the competition. I'm assuming that that is the case here.
This is a good thing, because in the past, there were several years in a row where the opening night film ended up as the award winning feature. That didn't seem like a great idea to a number of us who regularly attend the festival.
And here's the trailer:
He was a bit of a character, but perhaps that says more about the rest of society and how it imposes rules on all of us, than it says about him.
I started a little ahead this year, but grandchildren rightly claimed my attention this last week. And passed on their germs. So my goal at the festival is to see as many good films as I can while my health improves. I will blog as much as I can and meet those other two goals. Because of the four different programs these films play in, this got a bit complicated. I hope I've made it easier for you to find the films you want. And let me know if there are any typos.
Here are the Shorts in Competition.
Shorts = fictional films much shorter than features. In Competition = films the screeners thought should be up for awards.
Since 'good' is often subjective - a couple of my favorite shorts weren't in competition last year - this doesn't necessarily mean these are the very best. [UPDATED 8:53am: I speculated wrong in the original about what the Jury Selection title actually meant. So I've cut that out and I'm adding the info I got back from AIFF: "These were the shorts and super shorts selected for competition." ]
AIFF 2015: SHORTS IN COMPETITION
Film Title
Director
Country
Length
Nkosi Coiffure
Frederike Migom
Belgium
14 min
Scary Larry
Greg Ivan Smith
USA
13 min
The Bravest, The Boldest
Moon Molson
USA
17 min
The Call
Zamo Mkhwanazil
South Africa
10 min
The Story of a Rainy Night
Mehdi Fard Ghaderi
Iran
23 min
Zawadi
Richard Card
Kenya
12 min
The GOOD NEWS: The will play several times in different programs.
The BAD NEWS: Keeping track of when and where is tricky.
So, I've tried to make it a little easier for you to find when they play. You still have to think a bit.
Program (right)
Film (below)
LOVE & PAIN
Saturday
Dec 5, 2015
2-4 pm -
AK Exper Large
SHORTS JURY SELECTION
Thursday. Dec 10
5:30-7:30PM
BEAR TOOTH
SHORTS REAL LIFE
Saturday Dec. 12
2-4 pm
Snow Goose
GLOBAL VILLAGE
Sunday, DEC. 13
1PM-2:45PM
AK Exper Large
Nikosi Coiffure
√
√
√
√
Scary Larry
√
Bravest,Boldest
√
√
√
The Call
√
√
√
Story of Rainy Night
√
√l
Zawadi
√
√
Nkosi Coiffure Frederike Migom
Belgium
14 Min
Showing all four programs in table above
"During a fight with her boyfriend on the street in Brussels’ Congolese neighbourhood, Eva escapes into a hair salon. The African women in the salon initially support her, seeing a woman in distress. But when they find out what the fight is about, opinions differ…"
Over Columbus Day weekend, Middlesex was thrilled to have Greg Ivan Smith back on campus shooting his original short film, "Scary Larry." The movie is set on a college campus in the early 1950's and follows the story of four coeds in the first year the college adds women to its ranks. Greg wrote the movie to feature the talents of the ensemble of the Theatre 80 acting class.
Greg has been named by indiewire.com as one of “Ten Short Filmmakers You Should Know." Greg's short films have screened on five continents in over 35 film festivals.
This is NOT the slasher movie by the same name.
One Take Films suggests Greg is a pretty flexible film maker:
"I am currently seeking new representation, and would love to write and direct and edit your next zillion dollar movie, independent film, commercial campaign, television series, web series, music video, actor reel, or other exciting project..."
The Bravest, The Boldest Moon Molson
USA
17 Min
Showing three programs (not Global Village)
You can look at the trailer - two army officers knock on a Harlem door to make an unwelcome announcement. This film has been to a lot of festivals in the last two years, including Sundance.
"Story of a Rainy Night" was praised for using a different approach in presenting filling the gap between the reality of family relations in Iran and the West's demonizing media reports with sincere emotion and empathy.
Fard-Qaderi's 24-minute film is produced by Iran's Youth Cinema Association and narrates the story of an elderly man who is celebrating his birthday and takes a new look at the relationships among his grown children.
It has been screened and awarded in numerous international film festivals, including the Hollywood Festival of New Cinema and the 9th annual Colony Film Festival in Marietta, Ohio.
Mehdi Fard-Qaderi is one of Iran's promising filmmakers who has directed several successful short films so far. His films have been screened in numerous national and international festivals."
Zawadi Richard Card
Kenya
12 min
Showing Jury Selection and Global Village
"RICHARD LIVES IN LOS ANGELES BUT IS STILL A PROUD TEXAN. HIS STYLE AND TECHNIQUE HAS BEEN SHAPED BY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE BUT ALSO BY WORKING WITH AND STUDYING UNDER MANY INDUSTRY SHAPING DPS INCLUDING BILL POPE ASC (THE MATRIX TRILOGY), ROBERTO SCHAFER ASC (THE KITE RUNNER) AND DANA GONZALES (SOUTHLAND). A NOMAD AT HEART, RICHARD FINDS GREAT INSPIRATION IN OTHER CULTURES AND TRAVEL. IF HE IS NOT SHOOTING A MOVIE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY HE IS TRAVELING THERE WITH A STILL CAMERA TO DOCUMENT ITS INTRICACIES.
RICHARD BELIEVES NOTHING GREAT IS MADE WITHOUT PASSION, HE APPROACHES ALL OF HIS WORK WITH THIS MENTALITY.
IN 2008 RICHARD RECEIVED 2 DEGREES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS BOTH BACHELORS OF SCIENCE FOCUSING IN FILM PRODUCTION AND PHILOSOPHY."
There's also a Vimeo video there from the film, but I couldn't find a share link. And it doesn't have subtitles, so I'm guessing it is not a trailer. There's a kid collecting bottles. You can see it here. Looks to have promise.
It's been a good almost two weeks with both kids and the grandkids together for Thanksgiving in Seattle, but my body is not 100%. My granddaughter's gift of a cough has slowed me down.
This was after a trip to Elliot Bay bookstore the other day, getting back to the ferry.
Taking my son and his family to the airport yesterday we went through total fog down to the water on the ferry, to surreal sun pierced fog with giant tree shadows. But I was driving so can't show you that. This was later. Seatac was in the blinding, early morning sunshine, but going back downtown, there were intermittent pockets of sun and fog.
And unnatural fog.
Here's a different Seattle view from the ferry.
And for people like me, who have searched for unsweetened cranberry juice, it exists. My son-in-law had some students who make it at Starvation Alley Farms. It's organic, and I need to mix it about 1/5 cranberry juice and 4/5 water. Mostly they sell it to bars that use it for mixed drinks, but it's also available in a few markets in the Northwest. I know the name's a bit strange for a food product, but that was the name of the farm before they bought it.
We're excited to get home for the Anchorage International Film Festival that starts Friday. I'm taking
these last couple of days to catch up a bit on important things that haven't gotten done yet. Like writing thank you notes to friends of my mom's. I feel bad about how long this is taking me to do, but it's hard, and I want to let people know how important they've been in my mom's life as well as mine.
I think my original post was just too long for Feedburner to send out to blogrolls. So I'm going to give you the list of films in competition here, and a link to more details about these films in the original post.
The Documentaries have been one of the strongest parts of the Anchorage
International Film Festival and this year looks like no exception. I've
been working on this post on and off for two weeks now and I need to move on to
other parts of the festival.
"In competition" means these films were selected by the screeners to be
eligible for awards at the festival. "Features" are 'stories' that are
full length. While there are always other features which different folks
like better than those in competition, it's a good bet these are among
the best features at the festival. This year's picks are all from
outside the US.
The point of this post isn't to tell you what each of the features in
competition are about, but rather to just give you a glimpse of
something about the film I found interesting.
I've added when the films play with the overview of each film. (Let me
know if you catch any errors.) If you have to make hard decisions, I'd
recommend going to the films where the filmmakers will be present, which
I've marked in red. When you're using the festivals schedule program -
you need to put the name of the film into search to be sure you're
seeing all the times it's playing (usually two.)
Here's the whole list and below I look at each film.
Children of the Arctic Nick Brandestini Switzerland √
99 min 1. Sun Dec. 6:00-7:00 pm 5pm Filmmakers Attending Bear Tooth
2. Wed Dec. 9
6:00- 8:00pm Filmmakers Attending
Museum
Outsiders coming to a place are often derided by people who live there.
They don't really understand what is happening. They don't know the
history. But outsiders also see things that insiders take for granted.
Last year's Shield and Spear was a wonderful film by a Swede, Petter
Ringbom, who spent a relatively short time in South Africa looking at
the fringe art scene. Children of the Arctic is a
" is a year-in-the-life portrait of Native Alaskan
teenagers coming of age in Barrow"
Below is a Santa Barbara tv interview with director Nick Brandestini
that includes the trailer. Having a Santa Barbara perspective gives it
an extra twist.
Lost & Found
Nicolina Lannie, John Choi
Canada √
82 min
1. Wed. Dec 9
5:30am – 7:30pm Filmmakers Attending
Bear Tooth
2. Sun Dec. 13
11:30 am - 1:30 pm
AK Experience Small
I'm sure the filmmakers are sick of hearing about Ruth Ozeki's book, A Tale For The Time Being
about a Canadian woman who finds a diary on the beach that has come over
from Japan along with other tsunami debris. But it's what I thought of
as I saw the trailer of this film, which tells the story of people
finding the debris in the US and Canada and getting some of it back to
the people it belonged to. But the novel and this film appear to treat
these events very differently. Looks like a film worth watching.
Circus Without Borders Susan Gray, Linda Matchan United States √
69 min 1. Sunday, Dec. 6
12:00pm - 2:00pm
Bear Tooth 2. Thursday, December 10
7:00pm – 8:45pm
AK Experience Small
"CIRCUS WITHOUT BORDERS is a documentary about Guillaume Saladin
and Yamoussa Bangoura, best friends and world-class acrobats from remote
corners of the globe who share the same dream: To bring hope and change
to their struggling communities through circus. Their dream unfolds in
the Canadian Arctic and Guinea, West Africa, where they help Inuit and
Guinean youth achieve unimaginable success while confronting suicide,
poverty and despair.
Seven years in the making, this tale of two circuses — Artcirq and
Kalabante — is a culture-crossing performance piece that offers a portal
into two remote communities, and an inspiring story of resilience and
joy." [from CWB website]
Love Between the Covers Laurie Kahn Australia, United States √
83 min 1. Sat Dec. 5
2:30pm – 4:30pm Filmmakers Attending
Bear Tooth 2. Sat Dec 12
8:00 - 9:45
AK Experience Small
"Christyna: What prompted you to make the documentary Love Between the Covers? Laurie: I want to bring the lives and work of
compelling women to the screen, because any industry dominated by women
is typically dismissed as trivial and “merely domestic.” My previous
films — A Midwife’s Tale and Tupperware! –
are very different from one another, but they were both shaped by my
desire to look honestly at communities of women who haven’t been taken
seriously (but should be), who deserve to be heard without being mocked.
I think there’s a lot to be learned by looking at the communities
that women build. As you and your readers know better than I do, the
romance community has been dismissed for decades, even though romance
fiction is the behemoth of the publishing industry."
I'd note today's (Nov 14) LA Times story about a romance novel cover model that says,
"The debate over the relative merits of the romance genre
is so tired it’s not even worth having anymore. The market is huge,
generating an estimated $1.4 billion, making it by far the top-selling
literary genre, outperforming mysteries, inspirational books, science fiction and fantasy, and horror. Romance has spawned an academic
discipline with its own forum, 'The Journal of Popular Romance Studies,'
which describes itself as 'a double-blind peer reviewed
interdisciplinary journal exploring popular romance fiction and the
logics, institutions, and social practices of romantic love in global
popular culture.'”
I'm guessing these showings will be packed.
Here's the trailer:
Screenshot from trailer
Madina’s Dream
Andrew Berends
United States √
80 min
1. Sat. Dec. 5
4:00pm – 6:00pm
AK Experience Small
2. Wednesday, December 9
AK Experience Large
6-8pm
"Berend's film follows the inhabitants of the Nuba Mountains, who are
under a constant barrage of attacks from the Sudanese government (the
instruments of war are so commonplace, that the children even mold toy
models of RPGs and machine gun-mounted tanks out of clay). This
unflinching look at a war-torn group of people focuses on Madina and her
fervent dream to return home -- if only a pair of ruby slippers could
do some magic here.
Short Docs - colors show which programs they're in
Bihttoš Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers Canada √
14 min Short Docs Program Tuesday, Dec. 8 7:00pm – 9:00pm AK Experience Small
Warning: This is the only showing I see for this one.
Everywhere I look they have the same description of the film. So I'm going with a bit of description about the film maker from her website.
"Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers is an emerging filmmaker, writer, and actor. She
is both Blackfoot from the Kainai First Nation as well as Sámi from
Norway. After studying acting at Vancouver Film School in 2006, she went
on to work in film and TV with credits in Not Indian Enough, White Indians Walking, The Guard, The Reaper, Shattered, and Another Cinderella Story. In 2009, she appeared onstage in the Presentation House Theatre’s production of Where the River Meets the Sea."
From what I got out of reading that same description over and over
again. I can tell you it's short, about a woman and her father, And
there's animation.
Superjednostka Teresa Czepiec Poland √
20 min 1. Short Docs Program Tuesday, Dec. 8 7:00pm – 9:00pm AK Experience Small 2. Martini Matinee Friday Dec 11 2:30 - 4:30 pm Bear Tooth
If you're like me, as you wander the world, you wonder about things
like, "who lives in this town, in this building, in this house?" Well
this film answers that question, apparently, for a large block of
apartments in Poland.
Superjednostka to ogromny blok mieszkalny zaprojektowany zgodnie z ideą
Le Corbusiera jako "maszyna do mieszkania". Na 15 kondygnacjach
budynku może mieszkać nawet 3 tysiące ludzi. Winda zatrzymuje się co 3.
piętro więc mieszkańcy, żeby dojść do swoich mieszkań, muszą pokonać
prawdziwy labirynt korytarzy i schodów. Głównymi bohaterami filmu
dokumentalnego są ludzie zamieszkujący wnętrze Superjednostki i
przeżywający w niej ważne chwile swojego życia. Tu pulsują ich emocje,
rodzą się oczekiwania i spełniają się - lub nie spełniają- ich
pragnienia.
"Superjednostka a huge block of flats designed in the spirit of Le
Corbusier as a "machine for living" . At 15 floors of the building can
accommodate up to 3000 people. The elevator stops at the third floor so
the inhabitants to come to their homes , they must overcome a maze of
corridors and stairs. The main characters of the documentary are people
living in the interior Superjednostka and surviving in the important
moments of your life . Here are flashing their emotions , raise
expectations and meet - or not fulfilling their desires ."
From an interview with the film maker at Polish Docs:
Before shooting the film, I spent a year meeting the inhabitants. The
formal assumptions behind the film were already agreed upon. I knew that
we were looking for interesting people of various ages, from children
to the elderly. What worked was chance and methodical actions. The first
person I met was Zbigniew, one of the conservators, who was busy
closing the window of his workshop. At first he was reluctant, but in
the end he was persuaded to allow us to shoot here for the
documentation. We were also looking for the protagonists by going from
door to door. Sometimes it happened that we had already arranged to meet
someone, and they changed their plans and declined. But going to the
corridor or to the lift, we met someone else, an equally interesting
person, who wanted to participate in the documentary film. I know that I
did not include some of the stories, but it was impossible to do so,
taking into account the huge number of them. What is in the film is the
result of months of preparations and of chance, of what we managed to
observe on location and during editing. Paradoxically, it seems to me
that it reflects the substance of the case rather faithfully.
The House is Innocent Nicholas Coles United States √
12 min 1. Short Docs Program - Sun. Dec. 6 5:30pm – 7:30pm AK Experience Large 2. Martini Matinee Friday Dec 11 2:30 - 4:30 pm Filmmakers Attending Bear Tooth
Here's another film that explores who lives in the house you pass
walking down the street. This house was owned by a serial killer and
now there are new owners trying to make it their home. They'll be on the
same program at the Martini Matinee, Friday at 2:30 at the Bear Tooth.
Man in the Can Noessa Higa United States √
38 min Short Docs Program - Sun. Dec. 6 5:30pm – 7:30pm AK Experience Large
Warning: This is the only showing I see for this one.
"While the film focuses on the tight-knit rodeo community and
small-town America, it tells a more universal story about following your
dream, second chances and the sacrifices that can come from following
your passion.
“Ronald was really open to the process of being filmed,” Higa said.
“He gives people a glimpse into rodeo culture, which is fascinating and
wildly entertaining. Everyone can relate to having a dream, and I think
audiences will be pulling for him to get into the PRCA.”
According to Ronald Burton's website, he performed at a rodeo in Anchorage SEPTEMBER 5 & 6. State Fair maybe? Anyone see him there?
[Once again, reposting because of Feedburner problems, sorry. But there's lots in this post so if you saw it already, I bet there's stuff you skipped the first time.]
