PRESS

39 Pounds of Love
“39 Pounds of Love” is the inspirational and humorous true story of
a remarkable man and a remarkable journey. Ami Ankilewitz was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) -- an extremely rare and often fatal form of muscular atrophy that severely limits his physical growth and movement. Ami, who weighs only 39 pounds, works in Israel as a 3D animator creating a beatiful love story. His zest for life make this film a heart-felt and beautiful study of how a human being can create and love. This is a deeply emotional film.

USA 2005 • Directed by Dani Menkin • Documentary • 70 minutes

All In This Tea
A guided tour through the wondrous world of tea, the latest film from distinguished documentarian Les Blank and Gina Leibrecht follows American tea importer David Lee Hoffman to some of the most remote regions of China in search of the world’s finest teas. A passionate supporter of sustainable, environmentally sound practices, Hoffman is a champion of the independent tea farmers who adhere to ancient, handcrafted methods. Explaining the delicate balance between art and science in tea leaf cultivation, Hoffman strives to bring China’s teas to the world market, but is frustrated by the business politics of giant tea factories.

USA 2007 • Directed by Les Blank, Gina Leibrecht • Documentary • 70 minutes

The Cats of Mirikitani
This is the story of Japanese-American painter Jimmy Mirikitani who is over 80 years old, and living in the streets of lower Manhattan. He was born in Sacramento and raised in Hiroshima. His artwork is exeptionally skilled and beautiful. He has an angry and defiant artistic personality. Much of that anger comes from being interned with other Japanese Americans during World War II. His internment took place in Tule Lake, California. The film shows Mirikitani as he attends a reunion of Japanese Americans who suffered from being locked away. This reunion transforms Jimmy Mirikitani into a forgiving and loving man.

USA 2006 • Directed by Linda Hattendorf • Documentary • 74 minutes

Encounter Point
A clash of civilizations: suicide bombers and kidnappers on one side spewing hateful, nihilistic rhetoric, and one of the world’s most powerful armies on the other, reining down its massive force to subdue the local population and maintain its occupation. These are the archetypes that characterize coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Caught in the crossfire are thousands of Palestinian and Israeli civilians who reject violence and who seek to build a secure, peaceful future for their children. Rather than finger-point and blame, both Palestinian and Israeli bereaved parents are working together to understand how to create peace. This is a hopeful and uplifting true story.

USA 2006 • Directed by Ronit Avni • Documentary • 85 minutes

Gypsy Caravan
American promoters persuaded five noted bands of gypsy musicians to join forces for what was billed as “the Gypsy Caravan Tour.” As the tour wore on, the artists began to interact both musically and socially, and their different takes on gypsy music began to inform one another in new and interesting ways. Gypsy Caravan offers a look at the music these artists performed on stage as well as their interaction after the shows and on the road. The film also features individual interviews with the musicians back home after the tour was completed.

Romania 2006 • Directed by Jasmine Dellal • Documentary • 111 minutes

In The Shadow of the Moon
“In The Shadow of The Moon” is an intimate epic, which vividly communicates the daring and the danger, the pride and the passion, of this extraordinary era in American history. Between 1968 and 1972, the world watched in awe each time an American spacecraft voyaged to the moon. Only 12 American men walked upon its surface and they remain the only human beings that have stood on another world. The film combines archival material with interviews with the surviving astronauts, who emerge as eloquent, witty, emotional and very human. While watching the planet Earth from their spaceship, many of these men had a deeply spiritual experience.

UK 2007 • Directed by David Sington • Documentary • 100 minutes

Na Kamalei - The Men of Hula
Due to the ban on men dancing during colonial rule in Hawaii, female dancers have long dominated hula. This engrossing and lively documentary explores renegade Robert Cazimero’s mission of reclaiming the lost masculinity in hula. This led him to create Halau Na Kamalei, one of Hawaii’s oldest and most prestigious male hula groups. Experience their camaraderie as they prepare for the world-renown hula competition, the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival. “Na Kamalei - The Men of Hula” displays beautiful dance with deep cultural meaning. It is a visual feast.

USA 2006 • Directed by Lisette Marie Flanary • Documentary • 57 minutes

The Rape of Europa
In a journey through seven countries, “The Rape of Europa” takes the audience into the violent whirlwind of fanaticism, greed, and warfare that threatened to wipe out the artistic heritage of Europe. For twelve long years, the Nazis looted and destroyed art on a scale unprecedented in history. But young art professionals as well as ordinary heroes, from truck drivers to department store clerks, fought back with an extraordinary effort to safeguard, rescue and return the millions of lost, hidden and stolen treasures. Tragically, unique masterpieces were destroyed and lost to posterity forever. Art restoration and the finding of lost gems is still taking place today.

USA 2006 • Documentary • 117 minutes • Directed by Richard Berge, Bonnie Cohen, Nicole Newnham

Sofia
“Sofia” is a masterful story about following your dreams and never giving up. Constantly troubled by social unrest and poverty, Peru is an emerging Third World country that is in dire need of role models. Little did she know Sofia would become one of the biggest role models in Peruvian history, simply by doing what she loves, surfing. We follow her quest to her possible first World Title crown in Hawaii. Sofia embodies Peru’s new wave toward progress, proving the statement, “Si se puede!” (Yes, you can!)

USA 2005 • Directed by Peter Goetz • Documentary • 53 minutes

Women of Tibet: Gyalyum Chemo - The Great Mother
This is the compelling life story of Dekyi Tsering, the mother of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The Tibetan people call her “Gyalyum Chemo” or “Great Mother.” During the course of her extraordinary life, she gave birth to sixteen children, seven who survived, two of whom were recognized as incarnate lamas, and one who has been recognized by millions around the globe as one of the world’s leading ambassadors for peace. By following the journey of her life and times, we can see the gifts that mothers can and do give when there is nothing left to give. As the Dalai Lama states, “Our first real teacher of compassion is our Mother.”

USA 2006 • Directed by Rosemary Rawcliffe • Documentary • 57 minutes

Avenue Montaigne
“Avenue Montaigne” centers around Jessica a beautiful young woman from the provinces who comes to Paris and lands a job waiting tables at a chic bistro on fabled Avenue Montaigne, the city’s nexus for art, music, theater and fashion. Jessica’s customers include a popular TV actress who is courting a major Hollywood director (Sydney Pollack), a wealthy art collector who is about to liquidate a lifetime’s worth of treasures, and an illustrious classical pianist who is at odds with his manager/wife as to where his career is headed. Jessica’s good natured innocence has a transforming effect on themand ultimately herself.

France 2006 • Directed by Daniele Thompson • Feature Film • 106 minutes

Bab’Aziz
Two figures, lost in an ocean of sand. Ishtar, a lively little girl, and her grandfather Bab’Aziz, a blind dervish. Their goal is the great reunion of dervishes that takes place every thirty years. But to find out where it is held, one must have faith. One must listen to the infinite silence of the desert with one’s heart. As they cross the endless expanse of burning-freezing sand, they encounter other people. The desert is the dervish’s friend, however, and in due time it unlocks its secret to Bab’Aziz: the gathering place. During their journey Bab’Aziz relates fables that contain simple wisdom. What makes this film so special is it’s mythological quality of simple storytelling. It warms the heart.

Tunesia 2005 • Directed by Nacer Khemir • Feature Film • 96 minutes

The Gymnast
The talented Jane Hawkins was an impressive gymnast at the top of her game until a devastating injury ended her career. A chance meeting leads Jane on a new path: performing a Cirque du Soleil style aerial act with a mysterious and beautiful dancer named Serena. Each of them are illuminated by the presence of the other. A visually compelling film that challenges notions of both ability and identity, “The Gymnast” is foremost a story about hope and taking the necessary risks to fully become yourself.

USA 2006 • Directed by Ned Farr • Feature Film • 98 minutes

Ira and Abby
A sweet, hilarious and slightly subversive romantic comedy that examines the issues of marriage, monogamy and whether “I do” is the only path to life-long love and happiness. Ira Black is brilliant, neurotic, Jewish and has so many issues he can’t fit them into 12 years of analysis. Abby Willoughby is a free spirit who works in a gym and is better at solving her friends’ problems than selling memberships. When the two meet, the impossible happens: they fall in love, meet each other’s parents and decide to get married, all in a few breathless hours. And life is good, for a while, until a series of comic misadventures force the couple to rethink their strategies.

USA 2006 • Directed by Robert Cary • Feature Film • 105 minutes

La Vie en Rose
From the slums of Paris to the limelight of New York, Edith Piaf’s life was a battle to sing and survive, live and love. Raised in poverty, Edith’s magical voice and her passionate romances and friendships with the greatest names of the period--Yves Montand, Jean Cocteau, Charles Aznavour, Marlene Dietrich, Marcel Cerdan and others--made her a star all around the world. But in her audacious attempt to tame her tragic destiny, the Little Sparrow--her nickname--flew so high she could not fail to burn her wings.

France 2007 • Directed by Oliver Dahan • Feature Film • 140 minutes

Men At Work
A handful of men prove their masculine determination brings them nothing but trouble in this playful satiric comedy from Iran. Four longtime friends, all well into middle age, are returning to Tehran from a weekend skiing trip when they discover a large rock is stuck in the middle of a road winding around a mountain. The tall stone shaft (which appears just a bit phallic) is preventing them from going forward, so they try to push it over, with no success. They try to persuade an elderly man to help them move the rock with the help of his donkey. Their plan still fails to move the stone. Their middleclass problems and the absurd phallic rock venture gives rise to great humor.

Iran 2006 • Directed by Hani Haghighi • Feature Film • 75 minutes

Owl And The Sparrow
“Owl and the Sparrow” is a tiny tale, as gentle as the little girl who searches for a family she can call her own. Ten-year-old Thuy is down on her luck. So she runs away from her uncle’s bamboo factory, where her work is never good enough, to the big city. A flower girl on the streets of Saigon, she discovers two other castaway hearts, a man who takes refuge as a zookeeper and a flight attendant who’s looking for love. This is another example of a great low-budget American Independent Film.

Vietnam 2007 • Directed by Stephane Gauger • Feature Film • 97 minutes

The Secret Life Of Words
“The Secret Life Of Words” is an intensely perceptive, cathartic love story about the need for human interdependence and the power of silence and speech to transcend trauma. Hanna (Sarah Polley), a mysterious young nurse, accepts a job caring for Josef (Tim Robbins), a burn victim, on an oil rig in the Irish Sea. As Hanna tends to Josef’s wounds, it becomes clear he’s desperate to divulge secrets–as if words and transparency will free him from his sightless, immobile state. Meanwhile, Hanna remains silent, listening but revealing little. Incrementally, a sense of mutual recognition and empathy unfolds between them, gently evaporating shields of distrust and cynicism.

Spain / Ireland 2005 • Directed by Isabel Coixet • Feature Film • 115 minutes

Ten Canoes
A man teaches his younger brother an important lesson through an ancient fable in this comedy-drama shot in Australia. This is the first feature film made in the Aboriginal language of Ganalbingu. It is the distant past, tribal times. Dayindi covets one of the wives of his older brother. To teach him the proper way, he is told a story from the mythical past, a story of wrong love, kidnapping, sorcery, bungling mayhem and revenge gone wrong. In English storytelling and subtitled Ganalbingu language, “Ten Canoes” is a film unlike any you have ever seen.

Australia 2006 • Directed by Rolf de Heer • Feature Film • 90 minutes

Rose
Little Travis lives for one day a year, the day he goes into the woods to meet his best friend Rose. Rose however, doesn’t even know his name. The ghost of a murdered teenage girl, Rose returns to the woods once a year to relive her final hours to the last detail. Each year Travis joins her, not warning her of her fate. Loving and losing a girl who never remembers him takes its toll on Travis. He realizes he has the power to intervene, but should he? An American fairy-tale.

USA 2006 • Directed by Hoku Uchiyama • Short • 34 minutes