1000 JOURNALS (USA, 2007, 88 min.) Director: Andrea Kreuzhage

San Francisco artist Someguy became a kind of 21st century Johnny Appleseed when he released 1000 blank journals into the world with an invitation for others to fill them. The blank pages fostered both creativity and a community that has grown into the thousands as the books pass from hand to hand and country to country.  Andrea Kreuzhage's fascinating documentary 1000 Journals traces the journey of several of these journals as they circle the globe and return to Someguy filled with art, personal musings, rants, illustrations, messages, and stories by absolute strangers.

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEES 2009: ANIMATED SHORTS

We only get a brief glimpse of the nominated shorts on Oscar night, but here we see them in all their glory.  In the French film Oktabodi, two octopi fight for their lives, while in the American film Presto, a magician battles his rabbit. Romance in a restroom is found in the Russian short Lavatory-Lovestory, when a lonely toilet attendant seeks her secret admirer. Also screening are: from Great Britain, Marc Craste’s Varmints, This Way Up by Smith and Foulkes, and Matthew Walker’s John and Karen; Jérémy Clapin’s Skhizein from France; La Maison en Petits Cubes by Japan’s Kunio Kato; and from the US, Hot Dog by Bill Plympton and BLUR Studio’s Gopher Broke.

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEES 2009: LIVE ACTION SHORTS

Have you ever wondered where you can see the shorts that are nominated for the Oscars?  Here’s your chance. In Auf der Strecke, from Germany, a department store security guard's jealousy keeps him from helping his rival in love. In Grisen (The Pig), from Denmark, a fight between hospital patients erupts over a whimsical painting of a pig. France's Manon on the Asphalt asks the question: what really flashes before your eyes at the end? New Boy is about a young African immigrant's first day at an Irish school. The German film Toyland is set in 1942 Germany, where a young mother convinces her son that their Jewish neighbors are going to ‘toyland’.

ANIMATION & SHORTS SHOWCASE 

Among the local entries in this engaging shorts program are Jerri Zbiral’s loving documentary portrait Never Turning Back: The World of Peggy Lipschutz and the astonishing urban dance of Work It Out by Joey Garfield. Chicagoan Paula Froehle is represented with two visually exquisite shorts – the wistful The Collector and the mesmeric, animated The Clockmaker (el relojero). Jodie Mack's animated gem Yard Work is Hard Work is set to original songs and follows a pair of newlyweds as they learn the perils of homeownership.  Other titles include the hilarious animated Token Hunchback by Tim Reckart, Neil Ira Needleman's bittersweet Corner Delancey and the lyrical David Nowakowsky: A Forgotten Master, a testament to the enduring power of music. 

ASK NOT (USA, 2008, 53 min.) Director: Johnny Symons

Gay soldiers and vets reveal how the US military’s "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy has affected them during their tours of duty as they struggle to maintain a double life, uncertain of whom they can trust. Warmly personal and politically incisive, this compelling documentary exposes the tangled political battles that led to the discriminatory law.  The film also explores how gay veterans and youth organizers are turning to forms of personal activism to overturn the policy.

BILAL (India, 2008, 92 min). Director:  Sourav Sarangi

Slumdog Millionaire gave us the fictionalized story of children in the slums of Mumbai.  Bilal is the ‘real deal.’  He is three years old, his parents are blind, and little Bilal is the one who helps his family face the challenges of life in the slums of Kolkata.  As Sarangi’s affectionate yet unflinching camera observes the family’s day-to-day life, it reveals a poignant mix of love, fun, cruelty, and hope.  No million dollars rescues them, but they persevere through their wits and reliance on each other.

BODY & SOUL: DIANA & KATHY (USA, 2008, 56 min.) Director:  Alice Eliott

Directed by Academy Award-nominee Alice Elliott, this compelling documentary tells the story of Diana and Kathy, two people with disabilities, and their quest to live together independently.  The story of their long-lasting relationship would be dazzling enough, but they are also fearless leaders in the movement for independence for disabled people. Diana and Kathy are a dynamic duo who serve as role models for people with and without disabilities.

DARK TOURISM – HOLIDAYS IN THE SUN (Canada, 2008, 72 min.)

Director: Manfred Becker

This thought-provoking travelogue takes viewers to vacation spots around the world – but there is a dark twist: all of them are places of human suffering that have now become popular tourist destinations.  From Lithuania’s Stalin World to Sarajevo, from Pol Pot’s Killing Fields to the site of Hitler’s command bunker in Poland, where Poles dress up in Nazi uniforms for the edification of tourists, director Becker quietly observes the complicated relationships between history, tourism, human suffering, and money.  A challenging, unsettling exploration into the darkness of the human soul.

DISCONNECTED (USA, 2008, 62 min.) Directed by Carleton College students.

What would happen if students who grew up with computers were suddenly forced to live without them?  In this disarming documentary, students from Minnesota’s Carleton College take on the challenge of ditching all computers: No Facebook. No e-mail. No YouTube. How will they get their work done? Will they cheat? How will they survive the massive Facebook withdrawal? Led by film professor Melody Gilbert, eight Carleton College students co-created this funny and insightful film.

NERDCORE RISING (USA, 2007, 80 min). Dir: Negin Farsad

Nerdcore is the newest, unlikeliest wave of hip-hop, born out of the internet and made possible by computer-obsessed geeks. This hilarious documentary follows MC Frontalot, the godfather of the genre, on his first national tour. Beginning in South Carolina and culminating in nerd mecca - the Penny Arcade Gaming Convention in Seattle - fans come out to take part in the funny, fascinating, and unapologetically uncool cultural phenomenon that is nerdcore. Featuring MC Frontalot & Band, Weird Al Yankovic, Prince Paul (De La Soul), Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys), J Live, MC Lars, MC Chris, Baddd Spellah, Beefy, Ultraklystron, and Nursehella.

THE GARDEN (USA, 2008, 80 min) Director: Scott Hamilton Kennedy

This gripping, Academy-Award nominated documentary takes you to South Central Los Angeles, where a lush, 14-acre community garden arose from the ashes of the L.A. riots. Now bulldozers threaten its future. If everyone told you to give up, would you? The Garden follows the plight of these urban farmers while raising questions about backroom deals, land developers, money, poverty, power, and racial discord.

GLORIA MUNDI (USA, 2008, 14 min.) ‘Antonioni meets Facebook’ in this short video art piece by director Sarah Lasley.

THE HYPNOTIC(USA, 2007, 6 min.) Director: Joey Garfield.  This high energy short features the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, a band that combines imaginative jazz arrangements with a hip-hop sensibility. Originally from Chicago, the group’s seven brass players are all sons of esteemed jazz trumpeter Phil Cohran (Sun Ra Arkestra; AACM) and have been playing music together their entire lives.

OFF OFF BROADWAY (2008, 81 min.) Director: Jeff Huston

In a witty excursion into Christopher Guest territory, this “mockumentary” follows hapless filmmaker Art Ferguson as he tries to make a film about a New York avant-garde theater production entitled “All the Wild Stallions.”  Off Off Broadway’s director Jeff Huston has fun with all the familiar aspects of a “behind-the-scenes” video: from auditions, rehearsals and on-camera interviews to the painful premiere of the play, the film nails its self-involved, power-tripping theatrical personas with comedic deftness.

PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL (USA, 2008, 72 min.)

By Abigail E. Disney and Gini Reticker

This powerful new documentary chronicles the remarkable story of the courageous Liberian women who came together to end a bloody civil war and bring peace to their shattered country. Thousands of women — ordinary mothers, grandmothers, aunts and daughters, both Christian and Muslim — came together to pray for peace and protest against the corrupt Charles Taylor regime. Inspiring, and most of all motivating, Pray the Devil Back to Hell honors the strength of Liberia’s women and is a compelling testimony of how grassroots activism can alter the history of nations. Winner, Best Documentary, 2008 Tribeca Film Festival

SITA SINGS THE BLUES (USA, 2008, 82 min) Director: Nina Paley

Animation for grown-ups – what a concept!  This animated re-interpretation of the Indian epic Ramayana tells of marital woes through the ages as it switches between ancient tragedy and modern comedy.  There is the goddess Sita, who is separated from her beloved Lord and husband Rama, and then there is Nina, the animator, who carries her own share of heartache.

1. “I am enchanted. I am swept away. I am smiling from one end of the film to the other. It is astonishingly original.” Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times
   

SLINGSHOT HIP HOP (USA/Palestine, 2008, 83 min.) Dir: Jackie Reem Salloum

In a take on the Israel/Palestine debate that we rarely see in the United States, filmmaker Jackie Reem Salloum spotlights a vibrant Palestinian hip-hop scene rooted in early 80’s rap that is deeply affected by the politics of the region and decades of conflict.  Interweaving stories of young Palestinian musicians in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank, this gritty, infectious documentary portrays the hopes and dreams of a new generation of rappers finding their voice and defying the boundaries that separate them.  Featuring performances by DAM, PR  (Palestinian Rapperz), Abeer, Arapeyat, Mahmoud Shalabi, and others.

TREELESS MOUNTAIN (Korea, 2008, 89 min.) Director:  So Yong Kim  

Fresh from New York’s acclaimed New Directors/New FIlms series comes Treeless Mountain, a dreamlike tale about a six-year-old girl and her younger sister whose mother leaves them with their uncaring aunt while she searches for the husband who abandoned her. Working wonders with her child actors, director So Yong Kim tells a touching, humanistic story through the eyes of these remarkable children while creating a “neo-realist gem” and “quiet, poignant drama of abandonment and resilience" (New York Times).

SHORT FILM PROGAM

Films include Paul McComas’ ‘sweded’ homage to horror in Blood of the Wolfman (revealing Evanston’s unknown werewolf-infested past); the genuinely creepy but ultimately delightful Regentanz by John Psathas; Jodie Mack's animated gem Yard Work is Hard Work; Paula Froehle’s beguiling, mesmeric The Clockmaker (el relojero); and a surreal blend of ‘Antonioni meets Facebook’ in Sarah Lasley’s Gloria Mundi.  Also playing are:  Matt Arauz’ Urn Doctor MD, The Intruder by Mikael Kreuzriegler, and John Psathas’ King & the Bear, a fast-paced spoof on action flick trailers.

SHORTS AT BOOCOO

This program features fresh work by eight young filmmakers (age 18 or younger) mixed with some intriguing animated and humorous shorts by other filmmakers.  The power of childhood imagination is revisited in Party in Cuckoo Land by youth media-maker Sophie Boyce from Great Britain, while Evanston's Zane Scheuerlein examines the relationships between people, the environment, and consumerism in Border Crossing and The Hidden Cost of Cashmere. Other shorts by young filmmakers are:  After a Long Day’s Work by Wilmette’s Jack Klare; The Corner by Evanston’s Maya-Rose Dinerstein; Psycho Killer by Wilmette’s Eric Ricafrente; Slayer Auditions by Carey Sherman; and Division 201 from Chicago’s Malcolm Herlan.  Rounding out the program are several fun shorts that include two entries by John Psathas – the genuinely creepy but ultimately delightful Regentanz and the mock action flick trailer King & The Bear; Work it Out by Evanston’s Joey Garfield; the suspenseful The Intruder by Mikael Kreuzriegler; Popcorn by Chicagoan Mohamed Ezoubeiri; and the animated shorts How to be a Friend by Nicole Favale; Chicagoan Joe Felix’ marshmallow ‘tragedy’ Marshy, and Tim Reckart’s animated Token Hunchback, an unexpected take on the life of a movie extra.