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Attached is an mp3 featuring an interview with, Bernadette Armstrong, programmer for the festival. Sheila Laffey, one of the directors of "The Last Stand - Heroes at Ballona Wetlands" and Morgan Spurlock, director of "Supersize Me" and "Blue Vinyl" co-director Judith Helfand. Schedule and info in article below
These interviews were conducted on KPFK's Aware Show at 1pm today. This is billed as the first annual film festival focused on "activist" oriented documentary films screening in Los Angeles. The festival starts tomorrow, running at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. You can see the main festival information page and links to tickets and theater information here
http://www.artivistfilmfestival.org/program.html
The film schedule is listed here:
http://www.artivistfilmfestival.org/synopsis_listing.html
and here’s a listing of the films:
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4
Days
Documentary
* USA * 2003 * 25 min
Director:
Richard Hauck
Screened:
Fri. 4/23 – 2:00 PM
A
stirring documentary that follows the lives of two dogs
and one cat. Turned in, abandoned and stray, the harsh realities of our
country’s overburdened Animal Shelters are realized as these animals are
followed through a process that holds uncertainty.
A
Life of Death
Documentary
* USA * 2004 * 8 min
Director:
Dawn Westlake
Screened:
Mon. 4/26 - 7:30 PM
Throughout
the 20th Century, and now into the 21st, wars have waged
all over the globe under the banner proclamation that conflict ultimately
leads to world peace. A
Life of Death presents the cost of this irony by poetically answering the
question: What is the price of lasting peace?
A
Seat at the Table:
Struggling
For American Religious Freedom
Documentary
* USA * 2003 * 91 min
Director:
Gary Rhine
Screened:
Sat. 4/24 – 11AM
Legendary
Religious Studies Professor Huston Smith, at the 3rd Parliament of
the Worlds Religions in Capetown, South Africa,
examines
problems that contemporary American
Indian
people face in practicing religious ceremonies.
Animals
of the Pink City
Documentary
* USA * 2003 * 60 min
Director:
Shaun Monson
Screened:
Fri. 4/23 – 1:30 PM
“Help
in Suffering” is the name of an animal shelter in Jaipur, India that deals
with accidents and injuries involving animals used for transportation.
This documentary takes a deep look into a cruel world where animals are
denied rights.
Anjawa
is Me, I am Anjawa
Documentary
* India * 2003 * 71 min
Director:
Gautam Sonti
Screened:
Sat. 4/24 – 5:30 PM
This
documentary revolves around the experiences of elected female officials within
a caste in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh, India.
Through ethnography of four villages, we look at how power is
controlled and misused in private homes, communities and the outside world.
The
Art of Leaving
Documentary
* USA * 2003 * 57 min
Director:
Brian Kamerzel
Screened:
Mon. 4/26 –11:00AM
The
Art of Leaving
is a documentary about the life and
art
of Romanian born artist Florin Ion Firimita.
Based on
his
private journal entries over the past twenty years, this
portrait
explores the internal and external journeys that have influenced his life and
art.
Baked
Alaska
Documentary
* USA * 2003 * 26 min
Director:
Franny Armstrong
Screened:
Thurs. 4/22 – 2:00 PM
Temperatures
in Alaska are rising ten times faster than the rest of the world.
At the same time, the Arctic National Wildlife refuge finds itself at
the center of a heated debate: should the oil and natural gas deposits along
the refuge’s coast be opened to development?
Baseball
Kids
Documentary
Director:
Masaharu Takizawa
Screened:
Sun. 4/25 – 1:00 PM
Following
in the footsteps of a friend, Tsubasa Machida joins the Ichihara Giants
baseball team, but his constant errors result in him being ostracized by his
teammates. Machida makes an appeal to a statue of Lord Jizo, requesting that
he no longer be bullied. One day,
the naturally gifted pitcher Kenichi Kaneda joins the team, and Machida at
once begins to have new confidence.
Before
Night Falls
Narrative
* USA * 2000
Director:
Julian Schnabel
Screened:
Sat. 4/24 – 11:00 PM
Episodic
look at the life of Cuban poet and novelist Reynaldo Arenas, portrayed by
Javier Bardem in an Oscar nominated performance.
Behind
the Labels: Garment Workers on U.S. Saipan
2001
* updated 2003 * 45 min
Director:
Tia Lessin
Screened:
Sat. 4/24 – 6:00 PM
Winner
Sydney Hillman Prize for Best Television/Radio 2001. A glimpse into indentured
labor and the workings of the global sweatshop. Lured by false promises,
thousands of women pay high fees to work in garment factories in the only U.S.
territory exempt from federal minimum wage and immigration laws. Producer and
director: two-time Emmy Award nominated producer Tia Lessin. Co-Producer:
Oxygen. Narration: Susan Sarandon. Available in English and Chinese. Video and
accompanying screening manual available
Bid
‘Em In
Animated
* USA * 2003 * 2 min
Director:
Neal Sopata
Screened:
Sat. 4/24 – 8:30 PM
A
young woman’s humanity is cruelly rejected as she is placed on the auction
block of a small southern town in pre-civil war America.
Blood
Country
Documentary.
* USA * 2003 * 8 min
Director:
Tiff Bartlett
Screened:
Fri. 4/23 11:30 AM
In
this film, angry Texas citizens have bonded together to fight the passage of a
bill in the state capital that would allow horse slaughter for human
consumption to continue, even after the Texas Attorney General declared it
illegal in 2002.
Bloodhag:
Seattle’s Edu Core Kings
Rockumentary
* USA * 2000 * 8 min
Director:
Edu Core Kings
Screened:
Sun. 4/25 – 1:30 PM, 5:30 PM
Watch
as the heavy metal band Bloodhag brings their message of literacy back
to its roots: the silent hall of the venerable Public Library.
“The faster you go deaf, the more time you have to read!”
Blue
Vinyl
Documentary
* USA * 2002 * 90 min
Directors:
Judith Helfand & Daniel B. Gold
Screened:
Thurs. 4/22—4:30pm
With
humor, chutzpah, and a piece of vinyl siding firmly in hand, Peabody Award
winning filmmaker Judith Helfand and co-director Daniel B. Gold travel to
America's vinyl manufacturing capital and beyond in search of the truth about
vinyl, the world's second largest selling plastic.
Born
Into Brothels
Documentary.
* USA * 2003 * 80 min
Directors:
Zana Briski & Ross Kauffman
Screened:
Sun. 4/25 - 6:30 PM, Mon. 4/26 – 7:30 PM
In
Calcutta’s red light district appear a group of unforgettable children.
Feisty, courageous and wickedly funny, these children of prostitutes embark on
a transformational journey with photographer Zana Briski, who teaches them to
photograph their own lives.
Born
With HIV: Little Warriors
Narrative
* USA * 2003 * 15 min
Director:
Ash
Screened:
Sun. 4/25 – 11:30 AM
James
Woods narrates a hopeful look at brave foster children living with HIV and
AIDS, and the people who care for them.
Breakfast
at Al Safeer
Documentary
* USA * 2003
Director:
Guerilla News Network
Screened:
Sat. 4/24 – 11:30 AM
Broken
Blossoms
Narrative
* USA * 1919
Director:
D. W. Griffith
Screened:
Thurs. 4/22 – 11:00 PM
A
Chinese Buddhist missionary in London
falls
in love with the daughter of a brutal prizefighter. D. W. Griffith’s
response to critics’ charges of racism in his classic Birth of a Nation.
Pianist:
Michael Mortilla
Buffalo
Common
Documentary
* USA * 2001 * 20 min.
Director:
Bill Brown
Screened:
Thurs. 4/22 – 2:00 PM
As
the Air Force blows up its Cold War-era arsenal of nuclear missile silos, the
people of North Dakota consider the future of a state that some would like to
see converted into a wildlife preserve.
The
Buffalo War
Documentary
* USA * 2001 * 60 min
Director:
Matthew Testa
Screened:
Fri. 4/23 – 3:30 PM
The
moving story of the Native Americans, ranchers, government officials and
environmental activists currently battling over the yearly slaughter of
America's last wild bison. This
film explores the controversial killing by joining a 500-mile spiritual march
across Montana by Lakota Sioux Indians who object to the slaughter.
Bug
Narrative
* France * 2003 * 14 min
Director:
Arnault Labaronne
Screened:
Mon. 4/26 – 11:00 AM
Addressing
the issue of AIDS, this satiric film shows Sleeping Beauty as a prostitute
guided by three magical fairies who are now Drag-Queens.
Metamorphosed into a top model, she is determined to escape from the
dreadful virus that hangs over her.
Bunch
of Fives
Animation
Director:
Nick Hilligoss
Screened:
Thurs. 4/22 – 7:00 PM, Fri. 4/23–11:30 AM
Five
animated films about life, the universe, and what that fly is doing in the
soup. “Turtle World” examines
the exploitation of natural resources and the effects on the universe; “Cell
Animation” demonstrates the power of art and the active mind; “Lower
Orders” is a humorous look at the similarities between the lower stations in
life and the human stations; “Banjo Frogs” provides a different point of
view on the art of change; “Possum’s Rest” provides a look from the
other side of the issue of human encroachment.
Calicot
Documentary
* France * 2003 * 7 min
Director:
Sarah Guerevick
Screened:
Thurs. 4/22 - 11:30 AM, 7:00 PM
This
is a documentary about the mysterious voyage of cotton, from the fields of
Burkina Faso to its ultimate destination.
Chattel
Documentary
* USA * 2003 * 50 min
Director:
Rebecca Harrell
Screened:
Fri. 4/23 11:30 AM, 7 PM
Animal
research is a subject that is often ignored by the
mainstream
media because of its unpleasant nature. This
animal
rights film includes the story of Matt Rossell’s two year undercover
investigation at the Oregon Regional Primate Center, and a student group
working to stop primate experiments held at UCLA.
Chavez
Ravine
Documentary
* USA * 2003 * 30 min
Director:
Jordon Mecliner
Screened:
Thurs. 4/22 – 2:00 PM
Narrated
by Cheech Marin, this documentary tells the bittersweet story of how an
American community was betrayed by greed, political hypocrisy, and good
intentions gone astray.
Close
to Home
Documentary
* USA
Director:
Alexandra Dickson and Vanessa Roth
Screened:
Sun. 4/25 – 3:00 PM
A
harrowing look at families experiencing child sexual abuse, their interaction
with the criminal courts and the profound effects experienced by victims later
in life.
Contaminated:
The New Science of Food
Documentary
Director:
Stephen Marshall
Screened:
Thurs. 4/22 - 11:30 AM
The
genetic engineering of food crops is the latest target of San Francisco’s
Guerilla News Network. A global
perspective on the myths and realities connecting hunger, agro-business and
science.
Copwatch
Documentary
* 8 min
Directors:
Guerrilla News Network
Screened:
4/24 – 11:30 AM
Fed
up with police brutality, the organization “Copwatch” decided to keep an
eye on big brother. The film
shows how peaceful observation of police behavior can change the way a
neighborhood and a police force deal with one another.
The
Corporation
Documentary
* Canada * 2003 * 165 min
Director:
Mark Achbar
Screened:
Wed. 4/28 – 7:00 PM
This
film offers a well-reasoned and powerful critique of the corporation as a
structure itself, rather than a criticism of any one particular organization.
Cost
of Freedom
Narrative
* USA * 2003 * 36 min
Director:
Vanessa Schulz
Screened:
Fri. 4/23 – 11:30 AM
This
narrative film examines both sides of the wolf “reintroduction” program in
North America. Director Vanessa
Schulz provides an even-handed look at the problem the program has created for
both the wolves struggling to survive and the ranchers who don’t want them
back.
Crucible
of War
Documentary
* USA * 2003 * 44 min
Director:
Leon Gerskovic
Screened:
Sat.
4/24 – 11:30 AM
Sun,
4/25 – 6:00 PM
Director
Leon Gerskovic returns home to Yugoslavia to show us the physical and
psychological displacement of the natives’ years after the war and fighting
is over. His journey takes him
and his team through Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia to speak to the refugees of a
forgotten war.
Destry
Rides Again
Narrative
* USA * 1939
Director:
George Marshall
Screened:
Sun. 4/25 – 11:00 PM
Tom
Destry Jr (James Stewart), the son of a legendary lawman, uses his wits, not
the guns he despises, to clean up a corrupt town populated by, among others,
scheming saloon girl Frenchy (Marlene Dietriech)..
Disenchanted
Forest
Documentary
* 50 min
Director:
Sarita Siegel
Screened:
Fri. 4/23 – 5:00 PM
Orangutans
are among our closest relations in the animal kingdom.
Every year, hundreds of babies are captured by poachers looking to
supply unscrupulous zoos and animal acts.
But a few brave activists are working to rehabilitate these orphans and
return them to their natural home in the forests of Sumatra.
Drug
War/ Reality Tour
Documentary
Director:
Stephen Marshal
Screened:
Thurs. 4/22 – 7:00 PM
The
Guerilla News Network takes us on a bus tour of inner city Philadelphia to
witness first hand the effects of society’s punitive approach toward drug
addiction among the underprivileged.
Earthlings
Documentary
* USA *
2003
* 120 min
Director:
Shaun Monson
Screened:
Fri. 4/23 – 5:00 PM
An
honest study of mankind’s complete commercial dependence and disrespect for
animals. The film examines five
principal areas of human interface, including daily life at home, nutrition,
clothing, entertainment and biomedical research.
El
Caballo
Documentary
* 50 min
Director:
Drury Carr
Screened:
Fri. 4/23 – 3:30 PM
Where
wild horses roam free, a debate rages over whether they can really be
considered an indigenous species, and whether they are entitled to the
protection of the endangered species act.
The Bureau of Land Management’s methods, its critics and its
advocates are profiled.