DocuWest Featured Film Thieves by Law Director: Alexander Gentelev Run Time: 91 mins
The Russian Mafia: what can't they do? After this insider's
look into the world of, ahem, "hypothetical" crimes, it's pretty clear
that the answer is nyet. Following the stories of three
mafiosi-cum-businessmen, Thieves By Law paints a fascinating
tableau of men that would make Tony Soprano cringe. Most intriguing,
though, are their personal histories interwoven with the evolution of
the Russian Mafia itself. Beginning in Stalin's gulags and slowly
transforming into an international organization, the mafia and Code of
Thieves have always directly correlated to the political struggles of
the Soviet Union---reflecting society back to the government like a
funhouse mirror.
9,000 Needles Director: Doug Dearth - In Person Run Time: 83 mins
One morning Devin Dearth went to the gym to work out, just like he did every morning. A few hours later he suffered a bleed in his brain stem---a stroke that is often fatal. After three weeks in an intensive care unit and 100 days in a rehabilitation center, his care is terminated due to insurance maximums. Even the doctor admits that patient goals are often driven by insurance coverage and an uninsured stay for in-patient care will cost $100,000-$150,000 per month for Devin. Formally a body builder and fitness freak, the condition Devin faces is unacceptable; not just to him, but also to his brother Doug (the film's director) who goes searching online to find other, more affordable treatment options. He discovers a Chinese stroke rehabilitation program based out of the First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin at the University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Following a series of fundraisers, Devin, wife Stacey, and Doug head to China to begin the treatment. After the first day of acupuncture treatments and medicinal herbal baths, he sees more improvement than in many weeks of treatment in the United States. The integration of eastern techniques, including the use of 9,157 acupuncture needles, and western techniques seems to be the ticket. 9,000 Needles is a personal, riveting, and moving story of a family's powerful love and healing, and one man's journey back from the brink.
AutoMorphosis Director: Harrod Blank Run Time: 77 mins
What if you could morph your car into a mobile work of art,
and drive it down the road for all to see? What would it look like?What
would the world think of you?How would
you be changed? AutoMorphosis looks into the minds and hearts of a delightful
collection of eccentrics, visionaries, and just plain folks who have
transformed their autos into artworks. On a humorous and touching journey, we
discover what drives the creative process for these unconventional
characters.And in the end, we find that
an art car has the power to change us---to alter our view of our increasingly
homogeneous world.
The Cats of Mirikitani Director: Linda Hattendorf Run Time: 74 mins
Eighty-year-old Jimmy Mirikitani survived the trauma of WWII internment camps, Hiroshima, and homelessness by creating art. But when 9/11 threatens his life on the New York City streets and a local filmmaker brings him to her home, the two embark on a journey to confront Jimmy's painful past. An intimate exploration of the lingering wounds of war and the healing powers of friendship and art.
Photo by Hiroko Masuike
The Devil Operation Director: Stephanie Boyd Run Time: 69 mins
Father Marco, a humble priest from the mountains of Peru, is being followed. A private security firm is filming and photographing the priest's every move; their meticulous reports are code-named The Devil Operation.Marco's allies are murdered and tortured, but he and his disciples refuse to be victims. They turn their cameras on the spies and develop a counter-espionage plan that leads to South America's largest gold mine, owned by the Newmont Mining Corporation of Colorado. For the past two decades, Father Marco has defended farming communities against the Yanacocha mine's abuses, earning him the nickname The Devil. Peru is one of the world's top gold producers and the state has ceded power to transnational corporations who guard their territory like outlaws in the Wild West. Film-maker Stephanie Boyd has spent 10 years documenting the farmers' struggle and became caught up in this real-life political thriller.
From Ararat to Zion Director: Edgar Baghdasaryan - In Person Run Time: 71 mins
From Ararat to Zion is about the role and destiny of small nations in the history of humanity. The documentary pays tribute to the millions of Armenian pilgrims who, with a deep devotion and willingness to sacrifice, contributed significantly in preserving the spiritual traditions and legacy of the Holy Land. Narrated by Aidan Quin.
Grown In Detroit Directors: Mascha and Manfred Poppenk Run Time: 60mins
Just imagine... Teen moms becoming urban farmers. Utopia? Not in Detroit. The home town of mass production is turning green again. The disappearance of the auto industry was mainly the cause of Detroit's problems. In the last fifty years, one of the wealthiest cities in America has transformed into a villa ghetto, where liquor stores and fast food restaurants, behind bullet-proof glass, are rampant. Amidst all this misery, the city and its residents have surprisingly emerged with their own solution. Nature has taken over and the city is greening from within. This new landscape is creating opportunities and hope for the city and its residents. Land that was used for farming a century ago has again been cultivated, this time by the urban farmer. The urban farmer turns out, whether out of necessity or not, to have a right to exist. Vacant lots in the heart of the city are being returned to fertile land. Some harvest the crops for their own use, some share with the neighbors or community, and some sell their produce at the market. For instance the bee population, almost extinct in America, is flourishing in Detroit. The extensive variety of native flowers on the vacant lots and the lack of pesticides make Detroit's unique environment perfect for the production of very pure honey. In such an impoverished urban environment, it is refreshing to see such ingenuity. This is an image of America that rarely gets shown.
Houston, We Have a Problem Director: Nicole Torre - In Person Run Time: 85 mins
Step inside the energy capital of the world to hear the truth about oil, straight from the hearts of the Texas oilmen themselves. See decades of American presidents who have warned against the dependence on foreign oil, and how the U.S. Energy Policy has always been a strategy of Defense, not Offense. Today, in the midst of Global Warming and Peak Oil, the world's energy demand is skyrocketing.Aggressive strategies for securing Crude now go to the highest bidder or the biggest bully.Hear the confessions of oilmen, who work in the trenches every day, scrambling to feed America's ferocious appetite.Even they know that being addicted to cheap oil is the drug that will be the nation's downfall. The world is moving fast, and the country that is the most energy-independent will lead the 21st century.As America's new administration faces the standard government gridlock on these issues, both Wall Street and Main Street are rallying to build a clean-energy economy. See new forms of Wildcatting in renewable energy and Algae fuel production. Houston, We Have a Problem makes it crystal clear that we must embrace all forms of alternative energy in order to save the planet and ourselves.
My Run Director: Tim
VandeSteeg Run Time: 85 mins
After tragically losing his wife to breast cancer and
struggling to raise three young children on his own, Terry Hitchcock seized on
an idea. He wanted to accomplish the impossible: run 75 consecutive marathons
in 75 consecutive days to bring attention to the incredibly difficult lives of
single-parent families. Narrated by Billy Bob Thornton.
The Secret to a Happy Ending: The Drive-By Truckers Director: Barr
Weissman Run Time: 102 mins
The Secret to a Happy Ending does for Athens-based band the
Drive-By Truckers what I Am Trying To Break Your Heart did for Wilco and Some
Kind of Monster did for Metallica.Like the terrific all-access,
behind-the-scenes band documentaries that preceded it, The Secret to a Happy
Ending shows the Drive-By Truckers at their most vulnerable, a three critical
year chronicle of touring and recording a band overcoming trauma and surviving
a near breakup---all while also searching for an ever-elusive happy ending.
Queen of the Sun Director: Taggart
Siegel Run Time: 122 mins
Without bees, Albert Einstein said, "man would only have
four years of life left." Seen through the eyes of passionate beekeepers,
scientists, farmers, and philosophers we examine the global bee crisis and
explore the profound world of bees. In an alarming inquiry, 10,000 years of
beekeeping is unveiled, highlighting how our historic and sacred relationship
with bees has been lost. Featuring Michael Pollan, Vandana Shiva, Gunther Hauk
and the heart-felt struggles of colorful beekeepers from around the world,
Queen of the Sun weaves a dramatic story complemented by unusual animation and
stunning cinematography, uncovering the problems and solutions in renewing a
culture in balance with nature.
A Life Ascending Director: Stephen Grynberg - In Person Run Time: 57mins
A Life Ascending chronicles the life of acclaimed ski mountaineer and mountain guide Ruedi Beglinger. Living with his wife and two young daughters on a remote glacier in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia, Beglinger has built a reputation as one of the top mountaineering guides in the world.
The film follows his family's unique life in the mountains and their journey in the years following a massive avalanche that killed seven people.Documenting the sublime beauty and ever-present risk of a life lived on the edge, the film ultimately explores the power of nature as both an unforgiving host and profound teacher.
Greenlit Director: Miranda Bailey - In Person Run Time: 50mins
The documentary explores the damaging effects of the film business on the environment. Greenlit follows Miranda, an indie producer, to the realization that making movies has a tendency to be extremely wasteful. The documentary explores films that have wreaked havoc on our environment and poses the question: What can we do to soften our carbon footprint as filmmakers? Miranda follows the cast and crew of the indie feature film, The River Why, starring Zach Gilford (Friday Night Lights), as they bring aboard a Green Consultant, Lauren Selman, and watch her struggles to Green their film. The task proves to be extremely challenging, even in a town as eco-conscious as Portland where one would think the film crew would be receptive to environmental issues...but instead we see how film crews and film unions maintain that there is no place in the line of filmmaking for someone who's job description is Environmental Consultant. Both entertaining and humorous, this documentary is filled with compelling and important facts about filmmaking and sustainability.
Sponsored by
Ingelore Director: Frank Stiefel Run Time: 40 mins
Ingelore Herz Honigstein is a deaf Jewish women born in Germany. She says her first word at age six and completes her first sentence at twelve. She offers a unique prospective to the events leading to the Holocaust and her escape to America. Her story includes a brutal rape by Nazi cadets, a kind NYC doctor who performs an illegal abortion in 1940 and her lessons of personal freedom.
Next Year Country Director: Joseph
Aguirre Run Time: 56 mins
Struggling to survive the worst drought since the dustbowl,
three desperate Montana families hire a rainmaker---a retired New York cab
driver---in a last ditch effort to save their farms. Like Burt Lancaster's
magnetic character in the 1950s film The Rainmaker, who barnstormed the
windswept tumbleweed towns of the drought-ravaged American prairie selling
empty promises of rain, the rainmakers of popular imagination are never quite
what they claim to be. But what about the rainmaker stories that appear from
time to time in farm journals and rural newspapers across the American farm
belt---personal accounts from farmers who claim success with rainmakers? Set
against the backdrop of the rapid decline of the American family farm, and a
prolonged period of drought which has U.N. climate scientists calling for a new
understanding of what constitutes normal weather, Next Year Country is an
exploration of an old American legend set in the contemporary American West.
Scribble.08 Director: Mark Murphy Run Time: 32mins
Murphy Fine Art Films presents Scribble.08, a documentary film inspired by the art movement of Southern California. Directed by a author and curator, Mark Murphy, Scribble.08 features 8 significant artists of our time: Joe Sorren, Martha Rich, Jeff Soto, Kevin Christy, Camille Rose Garcia, Tim Biskup and Rob and Christian Clayton. Scribble.08, (the "08" is a reference to the number of artists involved in the project), is a documentary film filled with inspirational, self-motivational insights into the creative process. Artist interviews feature intimate conversations complimented with hundreds of images and original music by MANUOK, Tim Biskup's Big Butter, The Lyle and the Sparkleface Band, featuring Joe Sorren and UKEFINK, featuring Jason Holley.
The Wayman Tisdale Story Director: Brian
Schodorf Run Time: 60 mins
The Wayman Tisdale Story gives a detailed account of the
life of former basketball star and jazz musician, Wayman Tisdale. Told through
his own words in two exclusive interviews captured in May of 2009, Tisdale
leads a journey through his own life story, from his childhood as a preacher's
son to his recent battle with cancer that led to the amputation of his right
leg. Tisdale's life approach of compassion, courage, and optimism is embodied
in this program.Includes interviews
with Michael Jordan and Toby Keith.
We Live by the River Director: Karin Williams Run Time: 52mins
When their lands, waters and wildlife were contaminated by military, mining and municipal waste, indigenous nations of the YukonRiver basin joined forces to protect and heal the watershed. Melding traditional ecological knowledge with science, they collected data and forged partnerships with supporters---and the polluters---to clean up their own backyard. Their work has become a global model for ecosystem protection. This is inspiring the story of their crusade for clean water in the northern wilderness of Canada and Alaska, filmed over more than a decade.
Academy-Award Nominated Shorts China's Unnatural Disaster: Tears of Sichuan Province Directors: Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill Run Time: 38 mins
On May 12, 2008, a catastrophic earthquake hit Sichuan
Province in rural China, killing nearly 70,000 people, including 10,000
children. In town after town, poorly constructed school buildings crumbled,
wiping out classrooms filled with students, most of them their parents' only
child. But when grieving mothers and fathers sought explanations and justice,
they found their path blocked by incompetence, corruption and empty
promises.
Academy-Award
Nominated Shorts The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant Directors: Steve Bognar and Julia Reichart Run Time: 39 mins
On Dec. 23, 2008, the General Motors assembly plant in
Moraine, Ohio shut its doors. As a result, 2,200 workers and 200 management
staff were left without jobs, while the closing is also sure to trigger the loss
of thousands of related jobs and businesses. But the GM workers lost much more
than jobs, including the pride they share in their work and the camaraderie
built through the years. To the natives of Moraine and the greater Dayton area,
General Motors wasn't just a car company---it was the lifeblood of the community.
The Last Truck views the final months of the plant through the workers'
eyes as they reflect on their work and consider their next steps. In interviews
with people who considered themselves more family than co-workers, the film
reveals the emotional toll of losing not just a job, but a sense of self.
Academy-Award
Nominated Shorts Music By Prudence Director: Roger Ross Williams Run Time: 37 mins
Prudence lives in Zimbabwe, and for a long time almost no
one knew about that hauntingly beautiful voice. No one knew the strong,
resilient woman that owned it. They were unable to overlook her body: born with
a debilitating condition called arthrogryposis. When Prudence was born, her
paternal grandmother wanted her dead. In Zimbabwe, disabled children are
sometimes believed to be the result of witchcraft. In extreme cases, families
kill them---to remove the curse from their family. Music by Prudence traces the
path of this little girl, and her remarkable transcendence from a world of
hatred and superstition into one of music, love, and possibility.
"We're All in This Together" Shorts Forget Me Nots Director: Dempsey
Rice Run Time: 17 mins
Forget Me Nots is a film about remembering. The act of
remembering is so intrinsic to our experience that we usually don't even notice
it, but remembering is the key to our identity: it opens doors through which we
access the stories and experiences that make up our lives. Forget Me Nots acts
as a turnkey that opens viewers to the glimpses of the people, places and ideas
that make up our remembrances but it also challenges the very nature of those
remembrances. Memory is not fixed; it is an ephemeral mutable thing that is in
flux.
"We're All in This Together" Shorts Likhaya Director: Aaron Kopp - In Person Run Time: 15 mins
An amazing group of people live on a small sustainable farm in Swaziland in southern Africa, the country with the world's worst HIV/AIDS rate. This documentary paints a serene portrait of the woman and children who are, in their own small way, turning the epidemiological tide.
"We're All in This Together" Shorts Namaste Director: Sarah Miller Run Time: 7 mins
A personal comparison of a Southern Californian suburban teenage girl's life with her peers she met in Nepal. In this short documentary, Sarah R. Miller narrates her discovery, finding different definitions of necessity, wealth, and happiness, learning what it means to be a global citizen.
"We're All in This Together" Shorts No Good Reason Director: Michael Mierendorf Run Time: 12 mins
Musicians and singers from around the country, people who have never met and who are currently or recently homeless, gather in Boston to record a song written by a 15-year girl who was homeless when she wrote it. Natalie Merchant (formerly of 10,000 Maniacs) has less than three days to arrange and record the song---in a process that normally takes weeks or months. Working with several artists who have never set foot in a recording studio, Ms. Merchant completes the track, which winds up on a new CD featuring artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Jewel, Bonnie Raitt and many others partnering with unknown artists who are currently or recently homeless. The goal: to increase awareness of homelessness in America.
"We're All in This Together" Shorts Prayers for Peace Dustin Grella Run Time: 8 mins
Pastels on a slate chalkboard underscore life's impermanence as the artist confronts the memory of his younger brother killed in Iraq.
"We're All in This Together" Shorts Pups Director: Denise Bennett - In Person Run Time: 29 mins
In 2005, University of Idaho professor Denise Bennett began following four high school football players in Washington state. From freshman through senior year, the players reveal themselves, talking about everything that obsesses high-school boys: winning and losing, parties and girls. Sometimes profane, often irreverent (particularly toward the star of the film Rudy) and always real, the players come across as boys heading fast toward a man's world, underscoring the double meaning of the film's apt title. (Profanity, adult themes)
"We're All in This Together" Shorts Sunset to Sunset Director: Kent Hayward - In Person Run time: 3 mins
In a city known for its love of cars, one pedestrian with a Super 8 camera walks across Los Angeles, coming face to face with the metropolis instead of watching it blur by through a windshield.
DNC Mediamockracy Director: Mitch Dickman - In Person Run Time: 60 mins
The camera rolls as Listen Productions sets out to create an original play that will explore how the relationship between media and politics impacts the American people and our democracy.Using footage shot during the 2008 Democratic National Convention Producer/Director Mitch Dickman and fellow collaborators Karen Slack, William Hahn and GerRee Hinshaw try to write and produce and original play in 4 weeks.Co-Director Zachary Armstrong captures the anxiety and stress from just days before the DNC through the run of the entire play.
Mortal Lessons Director: David Liban Run Time: 57 mins
Death is inevitable, yet we spend most of our lives trying
to ignore that fact. We use euphemisms like passing on, as if to talk about
death would make it happen sooner. On the surface this film is about death and
dying, yet it's really about living, and about learning to face our own
mortality.
Sole Journey Directors: Kate Burns and Sheila Schroeder - In Person Run Time: 59 mins
SoleJourney tells the stories of brave families and individuals from across the United States who have joined the Soulforce Colorado Springs, Colorado. The film begins by examining the hateful actions of Dr. Dobson in 2004 and the movement to confront the dangerous political policy making and anti-LGBT rhetoric of Dr. James Dobson and Focus on the Family, headquartered in Soulforce efforts to negotiate with him. The 2005 MAYDAY! direct action illustrates the Soulforce principles of relentless nonviolent resistance in action and the subsequent arrest of action participants, Phil, Jake and Randi Reitan is testimony to that strategy. With commentary by Souforce co-founder, Rev. Dr. Mel White; Soulforce Executive Director Jeff Lutes; Judy Shepard of the Matthew Shepard Foundation; and Hollywood actor and activist Chad Allen we witness this powerful act of civil disobedience.
