Festival Awards

Best horror film - "13 Hours in a Warehouse" Best foreign language film - "Punch" Best student film - "First Memories" Best foreign-produced film - "The Stone Angel" Best Native American film - "Standing Silent Nation" Best short film - "English Language (With English Subtitles)" Best documentary - "Vaccine Nation" Jim and Matt's choice (festival directors') award - "The Bilbee Boys" Best feature film - "Minotauro"

Friday, April 25, 2008

Everyone But You dir. by Eric Shiveley Kimball’s Twin Peak Theater, 8pm Independent musician and producer Eric Shiveley spent two years building a tiny home-studio in Colorado’s breathtaking San Luis Valley. Shiveley purchased a cheap camcorder to document the construction, but the house became one small story in a documentary that’s heart-wrenching, funny and excruciatingly authentic. Chihuahuas, tornadoes, and a pretty blond girl in the coffee shop control the quirky, random universe of the independent artist. And Shiveley’s incredible, haunting music reflects the hope and despair of trying to create something timeless under an unreal desert sky. Opening Night Party The Metropolitain, 10pm-12pm VIP Passes Only! When there is a party, there is beer. And not just any beer, but Colorado Springs’ finest locally brewed beer; Laughing Lab. Please join us after opening night selection at the Metropolitain to welcome all the filmmakers who could be a part of the festival this year. This event is being sponsored by Bristol Brewing and will have free pints of their award-winning Laughing Lab. Come on down and mingle with the filmmakers and other film lovers to discuss your choices for Saturday’s line up. If you don’t feel like talking, try some sweet potatoes fries off the menu.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Short Series 1 10am-12pm Edifice Gallery The Travelogues dir. by Dustin Thompson, 7 min. Explorations into the monotonous non-events that comprise and compose the human condition in respect to language, perception, and projection, while re-appropriating the American ideal in travel and the Other. Attendance dir. by Robert Woolsey, 14 min. Jake is on a ‘date from hell’ whose only chance at redemption comes from the bathroom attendant. Jake learns that help is found in the most unlikely of places - and that we can all use a little attendance.... No Goodbyes dir. by Callan Woolcock, 4 min. A young family from the 1940s is forced into a state of depression over the loss of their father figure, a World War II soldier, who is reportedly ‘feared dead’ by a newspaper. When the father suddenly returns home one night, the family’s way of living is changed forever. Direct Mail dir. by Paulo Costa, 12 min. Story of a man that is confronted with a chance of change in his life.... American Piety dir. by Steven Karageanes, 26 min. A self-absorbed man gets hit by a car, goes to Purgatory, and has to choose a religion to get back to Earth. Ordinary Angels dir. by Todd Downing, 37 min. Front line angelic soldiers battle their fallen brethren, while the souls of mortals hang in the balance. One part police drama, one part supernatural thriller, one part mockumentary, Ordinary Angels puts a unique, contemporary spin on ancient angelic lore. Doc Series 1 10am-12pm Antlers Hilton Learning Center On the Edge of Black and White dir. by Sean Laskey, 63 min. In the mid 1960s, the last of the old American television shows converted from black and white to color. At the same time, America was undergoing an epic cultural revolution.The stars from those shows who were children when we were children, witnessed those changes from the ‘inside’ while they were growing up ‘in’ television and growing up in America. That era of Black and White family television didn’t last long and it ended seemingly overnight. It would be the last time that America, in mass, was tied together with the same high-ideal family television. Kick Like a Girl dir. by Jenny Mackenzie, 25 min. Kick Like A Girl is the story of what happens when “The Mighty Cheetahs”, an undefeated third grade girls’ soccer team, competes in the boys’ division. Refreshing and triumphant, Kick Like A Girl reminds us all of the lessons learned in competitive athletics and how sports has been one of the most effective instruments of social change in our lifetime. Two Kenyan Shorts: Being Damaris and Dreams to be Obama dir. by James Nardella, 28 min. Dreams to be Obama - James and his Kenyan classmates were inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech to compose their own dreams for their country. His life proves that not even the tribulations of cancer or the neglect of a father will keep a boy from dreaming once empowered by education. Dreams to be Obama documents just that: one boy’s hopes to be like Barack Obama. Being Damaris - Damaris, a female student in Southwest Kenya, is from a traditional polygamous family of the nomadic Maasai tribe. Being Damaris accounts for the role this young woman plays in her family’s survival and the gender inequality she faces. Her life argues that education for girls means freedom and an expansion of choices. Doc Series 2 10am-12pm Antlers Hilton Carson Room Nomads of Iran dir. by Saeid Atoofi, 53 min. It seems unimaginable that in the 21st century there still could exist nomads wandering around in our planet. This documentary is a rare glimpse of the gypsies and two of the major nomadic tribes of Iran; Quashquis and Bakhtiaris. Nomads talk about their lives, traditions, weddings, ways of making decisions for their families and tribes, and occasionally complement the beautiful sceneries of their surroundings with singing nomadic songs. This documentary also explores the changes of lives of nomads who preferred to stay put permanently and built a new way of life in small towns. Nomad-settlers explain how settlement has changed the very fabric of their family, way of thinking, and being in the world. Beyond Fear dir. by Michael Perlman, 57 min. Nawang, a 13-year-old Buddhist nun and Bagdro, a 20-year-old Buddhist monk lead freedom demonstrations against the Chinese occupation of Tibet. Following a brutal military crackdown, they endure horrific torture as they struggle to find a way beyond fear. Bagdro and Nawang withstand electric shocks, terrible beatings and are near starvation but refuse to name names of anyone else involved in the democracy movement. Bagdo escapes across the Himalayan mountains, endures temperatures of 40 degrees below zero until he arrives in India and meets the Dali Lama.Nawang repeatedly protests while in prison and receives several extended sentences. They throw her in a dark hole with rats for six months, beat her fellow women inmates to death, but can not break her. She and other nuns smuggle out a secret recording of protest songs that galvinizes the international community into action. Bagdro becomes a relentless advocate for politcal prisoners and helps Amnesty International, International Campaign for Tibet and other human right organizations spearhead an international effort that culminates in her release. Nawang was the longest serving female political prisoneer in Tibet. Through the power of a positive mind and inspired by the Dali Lama, Bagdro and Nawang let go of anger and even forgive their former torturers. Today, they continue to work to free their fellow prisoners and countrymen. Short Series 2 1:00-3:00pm Poor Richard’s Bookstore We Do Monsters dir. by Kent Welling, 11 min. Constructing a machine to advance his ways, a telemarketer accidentally turns his customers into zombies and is forced into a new business opportunity. The Accidental Activist dir. by Andrew Hunt, 14 min. June is a shy, never-been-in-love, thirty-something who still lives at home. She sets off for the library; how could a simple trip to the library go so wrong... and yet so right!? Tesla and the Bellboy dir. by Timothy Ziegler, 3 min. Tesla & the Bellboy is an absurd comedy in the vein of ‘Ed Wood.’ I Just Want to Eat My Sandwich dir. by Julia Radochia, 7 min. Susan tries to eat her lunch at her desk but keeps getting interrupted by her co-workers. LA Actors dir. by Ricardo Halpern, 9 min. Have you ever heard the saying ‘everybody in LA is an actor’? Well it turns out to be true. Aaavocado! dir. by Ken Arnold, 9 min. The true story of one man’s quest to recover his stolen sandwich. Timmy, the Bag Boy dir. by Randy Kent, 23 min. The story of a boy, his bag, and the one man who may just understand. Somewhere Between Here and There dir. by Rachel Goldenberg & Carolyn Pender, 15 min. Sam and Leizah develop a close, often fantastical friendship, meeting in an exciting imaginary world that leads them to self-discovery. Imagination Celebration’s Student Film Festival Winners 6 min. Short Series 3 1:00-3:00pm Edifice Gallery Keys dir. by Christopher Babers, 23 min. Keys is the dramatic story of a broken family that discovers healing within the broken keys of an old piano. Blindness dir. by Helio San Miguel, 32 min. A pathologically shy young man falls for a beautiful blind woman, but an unforeseen turn of events will reveal his much more complex and disturbing side. Homecoming dir. by Josiah Signor, 4 min. A young soldier returns home from war only to find his father unresponsive to him. His father soon realizes all is not as it once was. To the Altar dir. by Erica Sterne, 12 min. It is the much anticipated social event of the season: the wedding between the two ruling families of American Royalty. But can our young heiress, Alessandra Dumont (of the Connecticut Dumonts) make her way from the knave “to the altar” and marry the man of her mother’s dreams? Digits dir. by Sean Gillane, 7 min. An awkward date concludes with a magical, and sinister, discovery. English Language (with English Subtitles) dir. by Tim Plester, 19 min. A tenderly offbeat comedy about love and communication... or the lack thereof. Meet Mulligan (a typically English man), Esther (his Scandinavian girlfriend), and the on-screen subtitles that find themselves along for the ride. Featuring sparkling music by singer/songwriter Barbarossa. Oily Marks dir. by E.J. Vasko, 6 min. A struggling painter distraught with his work, begs the question, ‘What if passion just isn’t enough?’ when visited by his past mentor. Animation Series 1:00-3:00pm Antlers Hilton Learning Center Collywobbles dir. by Ian Helm, 9 min. In a primordial time, Collywobbles are simple creatures, whose only concerns are food and safety from their sole predator, a vicious monster worm, the Quietus. When one collywobble discovers that a simple stick can be used to repel the beast, an enormously rich culture’s seeds are planted - seeds that grow before our eyes. Dilly’s Program for Kids! dir. by John R. Dilworth, 43 min. Sevens animations from John R. Dilworth: 1. Catch of the Day 2. Chicken from Outer Space 3. The Dirdy Birdy 4. Garlic Boy 5. Noodles & Nedd 6. Psyched for Snuppa 7. Mousochist The Space Burger dir. by Sookyoung Choi, 3 min. This story is about a horrific, but comic, situation in a space burger shop. The Cave dir. by Michael Ramsey, 3 min. An adaptation of Plato’s, ‘Allegory of the Cave’ animated in clay. First Memories dir. by Soo Hee Han 4 min. This 3D animation is about a girl’s unique experience that she has in a baby’s dream. The Whole Truth dir. by Gerald Guthrie, 8 min. An animated work that analyzes certain aspects of human interaction by decontextualizing individual contributions to an ‘overly polite’ conversation. Mysterieuse dir. by Samantha Olschan, 3 min. When a local girl is seduced by the arrival of an enigmatic leopard she is left with more than memory. Dinner Table dir. by Song E Kim, 3 min. A couple is having dinner on an ordinary day. The girl casually asks the boy how the food is. He answers. However, his manner of speaking takes her to her psychological journey. Doc Series 3 1:00-3:00pm Antlers Hilton Carson Room National Sacrifice Zone: Colorado and the Cost of Energy Independence dir. by Joseph Brown, 59 min. National Sacrifice Zone: Colorado and the Cost of Energy Independence is a feature length documentary that takes a critical look at the effects of the most current Rocky Mountain energy boom. Starting with stories of Colorado’s secret and unfathomable oil resource --oil shale-- and the trillions of barrels of oil this mysterious rock is said to contain, National Sacrifice Zone looks at the history of energy related Booms and Busts in Western Colorado. From Black Sunday, when Exxon walked away from a 970 million dollar project and left 2300 people unemployed in the small town of Rifle, CO, to attempts to unlock oil and gas through nuclear stimulation technology, and finally to Shell’s new interest in the Rock that Burns, National Sacrifice Zone tells the story of what is shaping up to be a 19th Century type boom and the local worries for the bust that may follow. Heart & Soil dir. by Mara LeGrand, 45 min. ‘Heart & Soil’ vignettes the lives of farming families who inspire us through their efforts to provide for a more sustainable planet. The film clips along to the pace of barefoot children and frolicking livestock, taking us on a journey into the rich landscape of the southwest. Pueblo Indians speak about their meaningful connection to the most important resources needed by all living things: clean air, clean water and clean soil. Water specialists offer a concise understanding of the inter-relationship of the environment and agriculture. The film highlights the importance of small scale farming as a means to cut down on fossil fuel usage, corporate take over of our food supply, and as a means to strengthen communities. Doc Series 4 3:30-5:30pm Poor Richard’s Bookstore Vaccine Nation dir. by Gary Null, 110 min. From the award-winning director of The Drugging of our Children, Gulf War Syndrome: Killing Our Own and AIDS Inc. - comes the latest film of critical social importance: Vaccine-Nation. For most people, vaccinating themselves and their children seems like a good idea. Vaccines are safe, effective and are supposed to protect us against dangerous infectious diseases -- Right? Wrong! What you don’t know can harm you or kill you! In this groundbreaking film, you will see the truth about the dangers of vaccines and their direct relationship to autoimmune diseases, infections, allergies and an unprecedented increase in developmental learning and behavioral disorders in children, such as Autism. Discover the truth about the history of vaccines and how they have NEVER been proven to be safe and effective for anyone. Witness the legacy of governmental deception and cover-ups associated with vaccines. Learn about the corruption within the scientific community and how vaccine studies are seriously flawed. You’ll also follow heart-wrenching, real life stories of the parents and children devastated by the effects of vaccines. Join director Gary Null, PhD., and over 40 of the worlds foremost vaccine experts in this shocking exposé that will shatter the truth as you know it. www.vaccinenation.net Short Series 4 3:30-5:30pm Edifice Gallery Joesph Henry dir. by Phil Allocco, 13 min. This narrative explores innocence and wisdom, hope and regret, through what seems to be an ordinary conversation between two strangers; a man and a boy who meet at a bus stop The Audition dir. by James Augustine, 12 min. When first-year lawyer, Sarah Kettleman, revisits her dream of becoming an actress by auditioning for downtown dance/theater auteur, Donovan Sykes, the truth of Sarah’s painful past brings Donovan’s vision of a woman on the edge to life. Music is Fun for Everyone dir. by Eva Honegger, 5 min. A drama about eight year old Kevin, who discovers his passion for playing the piano. While his mother is very supportive, his father perceives the lessons as an unnecessary expense. Counting the Days dir. by James Notari, 19 min. Thanks to an unexpected connection with a fellow terminally ill patient, hospital-bound Warren Burris comes to discover that even in the twilight of life, each new day deserves to be lived to its fullest. Punch dir. by Sotiris Dounoukos, 11 min. In a city of beauty and noise, a broken man tries to escape his pain and loneliness by playing the clown he feels like... Out of Focus dir. by Angelo Campanile, 18 min. The writer/director wants Luke, the main character in his drama, to commit suicide, but Luke doesn’t quite like the idea, and when he realizes his life is just fiction, he takes over the show and changes his fate... or does he? Film's myspace The Offering dir. by Paul Lee, 10 min. The Offering 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 came into his life, from their initial encounter to their final parting. Native American 3:30-5:30pm Antlers Hilton Learning Center The Enlightened Time dir. by Stephan Galfas, 5 min. Jana embarks upon a journey that finds her looking into the past of her people through the eyes of Sha’kona, the heroine of this song, who lived many generations ago. Standing Silent Nation dir. by Suree Towfighnia, 53 min. What does a family have to endure to create a future for itself? A Native American family plants industrial hemp on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. They put their hopes for a sustainable economy in hemp’s hardiness and a demand for its many products, from clothing to food. But when federal agents raided the White Plume’s fields, the Lakota Nation was swept into a Byzantine struggle over tribal sovereignty, economic rights, and common sense. Good Riddance Chief Illiniwek dir. by Torry Mendoza, 2 min. Finally, after years of fighting for the termination of the dishonorable portrayal of the University of Illinois’ Chief Illiniwek, he will dance his last dance and be retired. Kemosabe Version 1.0 dir. by Torry Mendoza, 3 min. Tonto re-appropriates his identity as ‘faithful sidekick’. Reservation(s) dir. by Torry Mendoza, 4 min. Reservation(s) is the culmination of my disaffection one and a half years into the MFA Film program at Syracuse University. Western Pedagogy tends to clash with Native American cultural views in the academic arena, especially when professors do not possess a comprehension of Native American culture. Human/Nature dir. by Jerry Stein, 49 min. The fascinating life stories of individuals able to live surprisingly successful lives, despite growing up in miserable circumstances, have long puzzled psychiatrists. Human/Nature offers insight into the secret of some of their success. Many are Nature-Nurtured with a lifelong immersion in the out-of-doors. Doc Series 5 3:30-5:30pm Antlers Hilton Carson Room The Hunt for the Texas 7 dir. by Stuart Clarke, 50 min. ‘You haven’t heard the last of us...’ were the chilling words on a note left behind by seven armed and dangerous inmates who escaped from a maximum-security prison in Texas in December 2000. Their escape gripped the American public for six weeks and led to the biggest manhunt in Texan history. The dramatic exploits of the seven desperados attracted the world’s media attention and threw a spotlight on the penal system of Governor Bush’s Texas. The criminals became an infamous gang, led by an ex-armed robber, George Rivas. In the weeks following their escape, they defied convention by banding together to commit armed robberies, and to stockpile an arsenal of lethal weapons. On Christmas Eve 2000, the gang signed their own death warrant during a raid on a Dallas sporting goods store. Confronted by a police officer the men let lose a hail of bullets - murdering the officer. The escapees were public enemy number one - no resources were spared, and once caught the Texan authorities vowed the men would go to the death chamber. For six frantic weeks, a massive manhunt turned up dead ends, until a tip came in from a trailer park in Colorado. A witness had realized that seven ‘religious men’, who had just arrived at the park, and who attended local bible meetings, were actually the notorious Texas 7. The Hunt for the Texas 7 is the true story of the escape - told by all those involved. Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story dir. by Jeffrey Schwarz, 80 min. Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story chronicles the last great American showman, filmmaker William Castle, a master of ballyhoo who became a brand name in movie horror with his outrageous audience participation gimmicks. In the 1950s and 60s, Castle treated delighted moviegoers to buzzing seats, flying skeletons, luminescent ghosts, and life insurance policies. His is a rags to riches tale of a larger than life showman who climbed his way up the Hollywood ladder by reinventing himself as a modern P.T. Barnum, all the while driven by a fear of failure and a longing to be respected among his peers. Doc Series 6 6:30-8:30pm Poor Richard’s Bookstore Blame the Woman dir. by John Lazzaro, 25 min. A documentary on why society blames the woman when she is raped or sexually assaulted. Blame the Woman looks at the controversial Maryland Rape Law and the Vermont Cynic Op-Ed piece ‘One Drink Rape’ and answers this question with an assortment of interviews ranging from lecturers to a Women’s Center director as well as the deep and personal stories of two survivors. Beauty: In the Eyes of the Beheld dir. by Liza Figueroa Kravinsky, 55 min. What draws together a pageant queen, a physician, a legal assistant, an exotic dancer, an entrepreneur, and a musician who used to work with Prince? They have all been called ‘beautiful.’ But what does beauty mean to them? Surprising stories emerge as they talk about childhood, careers, relationships, and life happiness. First Period dir. by Allyson Schwarz, 7 min. Being thirteen is the worst thing that could happen to Libby. She is a social outcast in her class, her only friend is living on planet fashion, her crush on Kyp is futile since he is dating the prettiest girl in school and doesn’t even know she exists. To make matters worse, she has to give a presentation in class; which is when she and the rest of her class realizes that Libby has just gotten her first period. Canvas dir. by Arlene Bogna, 1 min. Canvas, produced by the Women In Film PSA Production Program for the charity ‘A Window Between Worlds’, is a powerful, narrative 30 second spot that utilizes powerful imagery, color, and sound to tell the story of a woman and her child who use art to heal. The Romanov’s Last Photograph dir. by Catherine Faris King, 15 min. The Romanovs’ Last Photograph tells the story of the Romanov sisters, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia, in the hours leading up to their execution in 1918. Short Series 5 6:30-8:30pm Edifice Gallery Perfekt dir. by John T. Trigonis, 29 min. Matt has been searching for the ideal woman, but, unable to find her, settles for being with five girls simultaneously. Each of his girlfriends has one aspect of their personality he finds magnificent, and one negative aspect in each that he finds utterly repulsive. So Matt, fatigued by the fiasco and somewhat discontent with his own obsessive-compulsive lifestyle, breaks up with each of his unique girlfriends and heads to his favorite wine bar to forget them when he meets Nellie, his perfect match. But perfection sometimes comes with its own costs. The Tribe dir. by Tiffany Shlain, 17 min. An unorthodox, unauthorized history of the Jewish people and the Barbie doll... in about 15 minutes. Fine. dir. by Jonathan Buiel, 13 min. Matt loves his wife Cameron. Everything with her is just ‘fine.’ In an effort to become more than fine, Matt shows Cameron that love means never having to say you’re fine. Tag dir. by Justin Smith, 22 min. Tag is a non linear film told backwards. Flip, a graffiti artist, struggles to figure out his life, his art, and his love life in the streets of Los Angeles. Robert, a police officer, will go to any length to make sure his daughter, Marina, does not date Flip, including employing Nacho to kill Flip. What happens when Robert’s plan backfires and Marina is accidentally shot? Robert’s hatred for Flip and his intense love for Marina sets up a surprise twist that changes the audience’s viewpoint of the entire meaning of the film. Gods of Light, Idols of Mud dir. by Jeremy Moss, 22 min. Three individuals in the modern world are driven to escape their lives and act out. Colorado College Film Festival Winner 10 min. The winner from the Colorado College International Film Festival will be displayed. Doc Series 7 6:30-8:30pm Antlers Hilton Learning Center Very Young Girls dir. by David Schisgall, 83 min. Very Young Girls chronicles the journey of young women through the underground world of sexual exploitation in New York City. It follows the girls in real time, using verite and intimate interviews with the girls, both when they are still working and when in recovery. The film also uses footage shot by pimps themselves that illustrate exactly how it all starts. Very Young Girls tells the story of girls who spend their teenage years being recruited and brainwashed by predatory pimps, bought and sold on the street, sent to jail, and then recovering from the trauma of sexual exploitation. Recovery occurs through Rachel Lloyd, who runs GEMS, the only survivor-led organization in New York that offers services to sexually exploited girls. Rachel rescued herself from sexual exploitation, and she and her staff are relentless in their mission to help girls sent by the courts to GEMS after being arrested or found on the streets by GEMS staffers, to piece their lives back together in group therapy. But sessions reopen wounds as girls relive memories of the abusive homes they ran away from, pimps who convinced them that they were “in love,” the nightly rapes they endured to make money so their pimp would give them attention instead of a beating, and the fear that they will never be anything but a “ho” in anyone’s eyes, including their own. Very Young Girls’ unprecedented access to girls and pimps will change the way society as a whole looks at sexual exploitation. NORTHLAND: Long Journey dir. by Edie Steiner, 18 min. A meditation on the filmmaker’s quest for new truths regarding her father’s death from occupational illness thirty years prior. A generation later, new scientific evidence amended the original legal and medical judgments. Filmed in and around a small mining community in Northwestern Ontario, the process of making the film became a forensic review and a legal challenge to appeal the refusal of survivor benefits to the filmmaker’s widowed mother. Twenty years after the death, new epidemiological studies finally confirmed the relationship between environmental toxins and the worker’s death. This is a film about family and environment, nature and culture, and how truth is shaped by phenomena over time. Horror Feature 1 6:30-8:30pm Antlers Hilton Carson Room 13 Hours in a Warehouse dir. by Dav Kaufman, 94 min. 13 Hours in a Warehouse is a thriller that spins the tale of five theives who, after a successful heist, spend the night hiding out in an abandoned warehouse to await the buyer’s arrival in the morning. Two of them know this place as the studio that was once thought to be used by their father as a porn studio. But we find that it wasn’t porn Daddy was filming and now our baddies have a big problem. They are not alone in the warehouse. Doc Series 8 9:00-10:00pm Poor Richard’s Bookstore Wal-Mart Nation dir. by Andrew Munger, 61 min. Wal-Mart Nation is a feature length, documentary journey through the complex, layered and revealing world of anti-Wal-Mart activism. The film is access-oriented and strongly point of view. Wal-Mart’s emergence as a global corporate power has inspired a dedicated army of activists, agitators and organizers. Their lives are defined by a determination, bordering on obsession, to fight a quixotic battle against a powerful corporate leviathan. Their struggles are the stories at the core of this film. They are a generation of activists baptized by the fire of anti-globalism. They constitute the Wal-Mart Nation. Philosophically, Wal-Mart Nation shares the spirit of contemporary, political, filmmaker-driven documentaries like Super Size Me, Fahrenheit 911, and The Corporation. The documentary blends satire, intervention, actuality, POV, graphics, text, and music, judiciously leavened with humor and irony. The film is structured as an eighteen month long, first person journey through the world of anti Wal-Mart activism. The filmmakers blend actuality sequences, one on one interviews, archival film and photos, confrontation, constructed sequences, animation, text and graphics. The result is a provocative, engaging, and entertaining documentary imbued with a clear and critical point of view, leavened with irony and parody. Our stories are set in relief against the colourful landscape of Wal-Mart’s unusual corporate culture. As well, we’ll examine how Wal-Mart has perfected the template for 21st century, post-industrial, global capitalism. Doc Series 9 9:00-10:00pm Edifice Gallery Sink Faze dir. by Grant W. Graves, 63 min. A freediving adventure. Follow three athletes as they explore the very edge of human potential. Martin Stepanek, Mandy-Rae Cruickshank, George Lopez, and their coach Kirk Krack embark on a project to break world and national records in competitive freediving. Freediving is the ultimate extreme sport where failure means unconsciousness. Join in as the athletes push their own physical and psychological limits while pursuing the ultimate test - World and National records. Special appearance made by David Blaine while training for his Drowned Alive stunt. Shot in Grand Cayman in 2006, the day to day struggles and victories of each athlete are followed. Spectacular underwater footage allows the audience to join in as the athletes train and play. This non-traditional documentary tells each of their stories as its own chapter. At the elite level freediving is a psychological challenge. Performances are based on how physically ready an athlete is, but more so on where they are mentally. Follow the rise and fall of two world class athletes as they fight to reach their goals. Never before has the inside story of the mental part of the game been so fully documented. One athlete arrives sick and wondering if they can dive, while another has a better start than they ever have before. Where they end up may surprise you. Feature 1 9:00-11:00pm Antlers Hotel Learning Center The Garage dir. by Carl Thibault, 93 min. A man reflects on his childhood and of working at his dad’s garage during the late seventies. Two best friends plan to leave the small town they grew up in but leaving home isn’t always that easy. Matt, 18, works at his dad’s garage, smart, sensitive, just graduated from high school. Schultz, 21, works for his dad in construction: strong headed,high school dropout. For Matt it’s getting out of the garage and pursuing his passion. For Schultz, it’s simply survival: to get away from his abusive father. But leaving the garage turns out to be more difficult than Matt realized. Matt has a strong loyalty to his dad, despite his father’s drinking problem, and he knows the impact leaving the garage will have. Plus Matt’s just met a girl who will rock his world. A devastating incident occurs and Matt will now have to find his true direction in life. The Garage was written with heart and passion. It is a story that evokes thought, emotion, and having your whole life in front of you with all your hopes and dreams still possible. It’s about sometimes thinking only ‘if things had been different." When, in reality, they were just the way they were supposed to be. Horror 2 9:00-11:00pm Antlers Hotel Carson Room Wasting Away dir. by Matthew Kohnen, 96 min. Ever feel like life is just passing you by? That love, career, or sometimes just survival are out of reach, and it would be great if something came along to kick start your Destiny? For Mike, Tim, Cindy, and Vanessa, four twenty-something friends in various stages of their formative years, that kick comes in the form of a barrel of Toxic Green Goo, compliments of a wrecked Military truck that wasn’t exactly an ‘accident.’ Filled with the Toxic Leftovers of a misguided Military project designed to create a new breed of Super Soldier, all it’s ever done is turn young Soldier/Guinea Pigs into horrible, Brain-munching Zombies. And when it seeps into the Soft-Serve Ice Cream that Mike mixes up for them, it gives them a hell of a lot more than Brain Freeze. In any other Movie, that would be the end of their story. But in Wasting Away, it’s just the beginning...The World looks very different through the eyes of a Zombie, and it seems like everyone else has gone mad. Confused, scared and convinced they’re the only sane ones in a sea of Infected Humans, they struggle to set things right. Along the way, they’ll find what they’ve been searching for! Love, Destiny, and a Sense of Purpose. But most of all, they’ll find that in so many ways, all the ones that matter, life begins at death. Wasting Away is here to say, Zombies are people, too... Psycho Hillbilly Cabin Massacre! dir. by Robert Cosnahan, 17 min. Sophie is an innocent college girl who wants to be in an Ivy League Secret Society, mainly because she has a crush on Spencer, an elite member. During an initiation ritual deep in the woods, Sophie, Spencer and the affluent society kids, Brad and Gillian, take a detour and encounter an ominous hillbilly cabin. When an angry, shotgun-wielding hillbilly threatens them, a bloodbath erupts the likes of which Sophie has never seen. Sophie must face a terrible enemy if she wants to make it out of the woods alive in this chilling, dark-humored chronicle of evil made in the best ‘grindhouse’ horror tradition.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Feature 2 10:00am-11:30am Pikes Peak Center Main War Eagle, Arkansas dir. by Robert Milazzo, 94 min. War Eagle is a character-driven drama about a young man’s choice of whether to leave his family and friends for a career in baseball or stay and redeem his struggling community. The story takes place over a few pivotal weeks in the summer after Enoch Cass’s senior year, and is set against the backdrop of Arkansas’ beautiful Ozark Mountains. Q&A afterwards with Producer Vincent Insalaco www.wareaglearkansas.com Feature 3 10:00am-11:30am Pikes Peak Center Studio Bee Freezer Burn dir. by Charles Hood, 94 min. Virgil is a thirty-year-old scientist developing technology to permanently preserve human organs for transplant. However, his obsession with his work takes a toll on his marriage. Virgil’s only distraction is Emma, a fourteen-year-old student in his wife’s high school art class. His sanity hangs in the balance as he struggles to suppress his taboo attraction to the girl. Virgil decides to use his experimental technology to freeze himself in order to align his age with the young girl’s. But his plan doesn’t turn out the way he’d hoped. Feature 4 12:00-2:00pm Pikes Peak Center Main 305 dir. by David Holechek and Daniel Holechek, 84 min. A comedy of epic proportions! Based on the online smash hit, 305 is a mockumentary detailing the misadventures of five not-so-brave members of the Spartan army charged with guarding a seemingly ordinary goat path. But when their actions lead to the death of King Leonidas and his army of 300 men, the five are shamed throughout the land and forced into hiding. But with Sparta cowering under the threat of Persian invasion, the five must band together once more and become true warriors. Do the five have what it takes to save the day? Feature 5 12:00-2:00pm Pikes Peak Center Studio Bee Broken Fences dir. by Troy McGatlin, 103 min. Joe lives a life of solitude by choice on a ranch in the mountains of Colorado, asking no one to feel sorry for him. A widower, he has his daily routine of ranch chores interrupted one evening by a call from his just paroled son, Dylan. Dylan is a good kid that has a dark cloud that seems to follow him wherever he goes. He hasn’t spoken to his father in years and has nowhere else to go. Reluctantly, Joe takes Dylan in under the condition that he has changed his ways. The two slowly start to repair their rocky relationship when the ill fortune that follows Dylan strikes again. The ensuing incident sets forth a chain reaction of events that will cause dire consequences for everyone involved. www.brokenfences.org Feature 6 2:30-4:30pm Pikes Peak Center Main The Stone Angel dir. by Kari Skogland, 116 min. With her life nearly behind her, the witty, quick tempered, and fiercely proud Hagar Shipley sets out in search of a way to reconcile herself to her turbulent past. Through her reflections we come to know a passionate and rebellious young bride, her love for her two sons, the freedoms she claimed, and the joys she denied herself. As her mind wanders in and out of the present, we experience with her the defining moments and characters of her past: her affluent but demanding father whose suffocating love drives her to rebel and marry the opposite of the man he would have chosen for her; her husband Bram Shipley, a man who unleashes her passion for love and life yet refuses to meet the rigid social standards she is driven by; and her children, Marvin and John. While hiding out in a dilapidated house by the ocean, Hagar meets Leo, a young man hiding from a different past, who accidentally forces her to face the one big secret she must take to her grave. Her thoughts evoke not only the rich pattern of her past, but also the meaning of what it is to grow old and to come to terms with mortality. Feature 7 2:30-4:30pm Pikes Peak Center Studio Bee Minotauro dir. by Alejandro Cano, 94 min. Judas and Sara are twins, separated as children because of their mother’s vision of a future when Judas would betray her. They’re reunited, years later, when Judas journeys to Mexico to stop an imminent threat to his sister, entangling them in the conflict of old family mysteries, binds of their past, and need of redemption. Feature 8 5:00-7:00pm Pikes Peak Center Main The Bilbee Boys dir. by Mathew Nelson, 84 min. The Bilbee Boys is a comedy about three teenage brothers who deal with insecurity and social pressures when a young girl moves in next-door. Barnaby, Maxwell and Orson try to impress Rosemary in their own unique ways, but fail due to their problems with anxiety and insecurity. School starts and the boys begin to change themselves, physically and mentally, to impress Rosemary. The Bilbee Boys explores the insecurities, societal pressures and media influences teenagers and young adults face, through the eyes of three teenage brothers. Feature 9 5:00-7:00pm Pikes Peak Center Studio Bee Yesterday was a Lie dir. by James Kerwin, 63 min. Kipleigh Brown ‘exudes Bacall’ (‘Slice of SciFi’) as Hoyle, a girl with a sharp mind and a weakness for bourbon who finds herself on the trail of a reclusive genius (John Newton).  But her work takes a series of unforeseen twists as events around her grow increasingly fragmented... disconnected... surreal. With a sexy lounge singer (Chase Masterson) and a loyal partner (Mik Scriba) as her only allies, Hoyle is plunged into a dark world of intrigue and earth-shattering cosmological secrets. Haunted by an ever-present shadow (Peter Mayhew) whom she is destined to face, Hoyle discovers that the most powerful force in the universe -- the power to bend reality, the power to know the truth -- lies within the depths of the human heart. Awards Program 7:00-7:30pm Pikes Peak Center Main We will be honoring truly exceptional films from this year’s festival. Feature 10 7:30-9:00pm Pikes Peak Center Main Windcroft dir. by Evan Meszaros, 98 min. On a remote farm in the sweeping hills of Pennsylvania, three lives are torn apart by love, abandonment, deception, and murder. After the death of his father, John and his new wife, Diane, claim the estate. But, his father bequeathed to him more than just the family farm, and as John’s past catches up with him, he is forced to face a heritage of madness and violence. With John’s attention becoming increasingly distant and more focused on the farm, Diane finds friendship with his childhood sweetheart, Mindy. Soon old feelings are rekindled, family ties are tightened to a noose, and Mindy’s own secrets crack the very foundation of house and home. Horror 3 7:30-9:00pm Pikes Peak Center Studio Bee Kill Kill Faster Faster dir. by Gareth Maxwell Roberts, 93 min. Joe One-Way serves a life stretch for the murder of his teenage bride, Kimba. Inspired to write by Clinique, his cellmate and mentor, Joe writes the play `White Man: Black Hole?’. NYC film producer Markie Mann pulls strings to have Joe paroled, contracting him to write the screenplay. Fleur is Markie’s wife, a one-time hooker and ex-con, who can’t help but fall for kindred spirit Joe. Their attraction is irresistible. Fleur is Joe’s salvation. Propelled on a journey of obsession, guilt, and lust, Joe struggles between the pull of heroin, his violence and the desire to redeem himself in the eyes of his estranged twin daughters. Joe One-Way soon discovers that life on the outside may be too dangerous even for him. Downloadable PDF Format Source 1 - Source 2