Camden International Film Festival Schedule; UMaine Offers Associated Three-Credit Course

Contact Debra Tenenbaum (debra@gbritt.com)
Joe Carr (joecarr@maine.edu)

The University of Maine is one of the festival’s co-sponsors.  Its Division of Lifelong Learning offers a three-credit course in conjunction with the festival.  This is a Camden International Film Festival news release.

CAMDEN — The Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) announced its full slate of films for the Festival taking place October 1 – 4 throughout Camden, Rockport and Rockland, Maine. The 2009 CIFF will present 55 films, both features and shorts, from all across the globe. Films were selected from over 250 submissions and the festival will proudly host 3 World Premieres, 2 US Premieres, 3 East Coast Premieres and 7 New England Premieres.  Now in its fifth year, CIFF presents a snapshot of the cultural landscape through the year’s best non-fiction storytelling, connecting filmmakers and industry representatives with audiences to discuss documentary film as an art form, a catalyst for change and as an outlet for the independent voice.

“This year’s Camden International Film Festival is a celebration of non-fiction storytelling told from some of the most recognized artists working in the medium, as well as some emerging voices that are making their mark in this ever growing world of documentary film.  CIFF is honored to share this dynamic and unique program with our audiences in such an intimate environment,” says Benjamin Fowlie, the festival’s founder and director.

Virtually every film will be accompanied by a post screening Q&A by the film’s director or producer.  The festival will also host the inaugural POINTS NORTH Documentary Film Forum, an event for filmmakers to connect with industry leaders and major funders in the documentary community.  In total, nearly forty industry representatives and filmmakers will be in attendance over the course of the four day event.

CIFF 2009 FEATURES

ANIMAS PERDIDAS (LOSTSOULS)
Monika Navarro, USA, 2008, 57 mins East Coast Premiere

A young Latina filmmaker chronicles the emotional journey of her uncle, a military vet deported to Mexico, and uncovers the secrets of her family’s past.

A CHEMICAL REACTION
Brett Plymale, USA, 2009, 80 mins US Premiere

Canada has spoken and toxic lawn and garden pesticides are now banned in most of the nation. A Chemical Reaction examines how Hudson,Quebec, became the first town in North America to ban these products and inspired hundreds of others to follow suit.

BEAUTY OF THE FIGHT
John Urbano, USA /Panama, 2009, 69 mins

A powerful and beautifully photographed film that explores the effects of historic realities on two Panama barrios (neighborhoods), Barraza and El Chorrillo who suffered heavy losses when US forces invaded in1989.

BECAUSE WE WERE BORN (Puisque Nous Sommes Nés)
Jean Pierre Duret, France / Brazil, 2008, 90 mins US Premiere

Follows two young teenage boys who hang out at a service station in Pernambouc in the poor northeast of Brazil, watching trucks and travelers and hearing stories about a wider world they can only dream of.

CONVENTION (Opening Night Film)
AJ Schnack, USA, 2009, 93 mins New England Premiere

AJ Schnack assembles an all-star crew of documentary filmmakers to tell the story behind the mounting of one of the biggest events of the decade: the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

CRUDE
Joel Berlinger, USA, 104 mins

Three years in the making, this cinéma-vérité feature from acclaimed filmmaker Joe Berlinger is the epic story of one of the largest and most controversial environmental lawsuits on the planet. The inside story of the infamous “Amazon Chernobyl” case, Crude is a real-life high stakes legal drama, set against a backdrop of the environmental movement, global politics, celebrity activism, human rights advocacy, the media, multinational corporate power, and rapidly-disappearing indigenous cultures.

CRUDE INDEPENDENCE
Noah Hutton, USA, 71 mins

A compelling new documentary about the booming town of Stanley North Dakota, sitting atop the largest oil discovery in North American history.

EARTH DAYS (ClosingNight Film)
Robert Stone, USA, 101 mins

Looks back to the dawn and development of the modern environmental movement— from its post-war rustlings in the 1950s and the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson’s incendiary bestseller Silent Spring, to the first wildly successful 1970 Earth Day celebration and the subsequent firestorm of political action.

THE END OF THE LINE
Ruppert Murray, UK, 2009, 90 mins

Imagine an ocean without fish. Imagine your meals without seafood. Imagine the global consequences. This is the future if we do not stop, think and act. The End of the Line is the first major feature documentary film revealing the impact of overfishing on our oceans.

THE FISH BELONG TO THE PEOPLE
Will Hyler, USA, 2009, 79 mins World Premiere

In Port Clyde, Maine one of the last remaining fleet of family ground fishermen struggles as they develop a sustainable stewardship with the fishery in order to save their generations long way of life against counter productive government regulations and unfair markets that threaten to push them out of business forever.

GARBAGE DREAMS
Mai Iksander, USA, 90 mins

Follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world’s largest garbage village, on the outskirts of Cairo. It is the home to 60,000 Zaballeen, Arabic for “garbage people,” who survive by recycling 80 percent of the garbage they collect.  When their community is suddenly faced with the globalization of its trade, each of the teenage boys is forced to make choices that will impact his future and the survival of his community.

INVISIBLE GIRLFRIEND
David Redmon / Ashley Sabin, USA, 2009, 70 mins

Charles, a diagnosed bipolar paranoid schizophrenic, goes on a Quixotic journey through Louisiana on a big red bicycle, with by his invisible girlfriend Joan of Arc, to deliver a candle to a woman he admires.

THE LANGUAGE OF AMERICA
Ben Levine, USA, 2009, 81 mins

Three Native American families from different New England tribes journey back into nature and into a dream of a time when words had meanings so big they could not be translated into English. As they unravel the secret of the survival of their 9,000 year old culture, they confront the power of a lie that Americans have yet to question.

MINE
Geralyn Pezanoski, USA, 2009, 83 mins

A powerful story about the essential bond between humans and animals told against the backdrop of one of the worst disasters in modern US History.

OCTOBER COUNTRY
Donal Mosher and Michael Palmieri, USA, 2009, 80 mins New England Premiere

A beautifully rendered portrait of an American family struggling for stability while haunted by the ghosts of war, teen pregnancy, foster care and child abuse. This vibrant and intimate documentary examines the forces that unsettle the working poor and the violence that lurks beneath the surface of American life.

THE PHILOSOPHER KINGS
Patrick Shen, USA, 2009, 70 mins

THE PHILOSOPHER KINGS is a documentary film about the kind of wisdom that gets you through the day – the wisdom that comes from surviving hard times, lost loves, shattered dreams, and bad choices. The film goes deep into the most well-respected and prestigious universities to seek wisdom from the people who see it all and have been through it all – the janitors.

P-STAR RISING
Gabriel Noble, USA, 2009, 80mins New England Premiere

A documentary film about a single-father who is determined that his 9-year old daughter become a rap star and thus redeem his deferred dream. We follow the father-daughter duo for four intimate years through the grit and glamour of the music industry, the struggles of being a single dad with no means, and the sacrifices a child makes in order to make her daddy proud.

PULLING JOHN
Vassiliki Khonsari, Sevan Matossian, Navid Khonsari, USA, 2009, 72mins New England Premiere

A feature length verite documentary shot over four years, witnesses the mythical world of arm wrestling where 2 titans battle in pursuit of a living god.

RACING DREAMS
Marshall Curry, USA, 2009, 97 mins

A vérité documentary film following the lives of three young racers as they compete in the World Karting Association’s National Pavement Series. Clocking speeds up to 70 mph, Brandon Warren (13), Josh Hobson (12) and Annabeth Barnes (11) chase the National Champion title–and take one step closer toward their dream of someday racing in NASCAR.

RISE UP
Luciano Blotta,Jamaica/USA, 2009, 88mins New England Premiere

Journey into the heart of Jamaica, the island that gave birth to the worldwide cultural phenomenon of Reggae.  In a society where talent abounds and opportunity is scarce, three distinct and courageous artists fight to rise up from obscurity and write themselves into the pages of history.

THE RIVALS
Kirk Wolfinger, USA, 2009, 91 mins

High School football in small towns all across America can bring a community together, and in some cases, pit one community against another. The Rivals is the story of two towns in Maine, a stagnant mill town to the north and an affluent suburb along the southern coast… a story about the pride of place, the passion of tradition and the careful balance… between success and respect.

SHOOTING BEAUTY
George Kachadorian,USA, 2009, 62mins

Aspiring fashion photographer named Courtney Bent’s career takes an unexpected turn when she discovers true beauty in a truly unexpected place– at a center for people living with significant cerebral palsy and other disabilities.  When she begins inventing cameras her new friends can use, the photographs expose an unforgettable story that will make you rethink whatit means to live with a disability– and without one.

SNOWBLIND
Vikram Jayanti, UK, 2008, 87 mins East Coast Premiere

Rachael Scdoris is 23, and has been legally blind since birth.  She’s racing in her third Iditarod, the grueling 1,100 mile dogsled race in Alaska – the toughest race in the world.  This film follows her for the year leading up to the race, as she trains herself and her team of dogs for the epic ordeal of Iditarod 2008, fifteen days of ice and exhaustion and danger – and exhilaration.

SONS OF A GUN
Rivkah Beth Medow, Greg O’Toole,USA, 2009, 74 mins East Coast Premiere

Lance, Craig, and Ubaldo live with schizophrenia. They also live with Larry their alcoholic caregiver / ”dad”. And even though none of them is related by blood, they’ve lived together as a family for 20 years. The documentary follows this unique family as they get evicted, move into a cramped motel room, joke around, and scramble to find a new home before self-destructing.

WHAT’S ORGANIC ABOUT ORGANIC?
Shelley Rogers, USA, 2009, Work in Progress

WHAT’S ORGANIC ABOUT “ORGANIC?” delves into the debates that arise when a grassroots agricultural movement evolves into a booming international market.  As the film moves from farm fields to government meetings to industry trade shows, we see the hidden costs of conventional agriculture.

POINTS NORTH Documentary Film Forum
Crafted for the New England filmmaking community, this forum is free and open to the public.  POINTS NORTH will take place on Friday, October 2nd and will consist of two sections: A NEW WORLD: NON-FICTION FILM FUNDING, TRENDS AND PLAYERS with a roundtable of industry veterans and funders presenting the current funding process, trends and players. This will be followed by THE SURVIVOR’S GUIDE- a panel of filmmakers discussing “sustainable” filmmaking, DIY distribution and offering tips on how to make a living as a filmmaker in this unique economic climate. Panelists will include top doc filmmakers drawn from this year’s festival as well as some CIFF alums.

Sponsored in part bythe LEF Foundation, POINTS NORTH provides attendees an opportunity to connect with industry leaders in an environment conducive to discussion.  For more details on speakers and timing visit www.camdenfilmfest.org.

ABOUT CIFF

Committed to supporting and generating interest in independent documentary films, the annual festival presents a snapshot of the cultural landscape through the year’s best non-fiction storytelling.  The weekend also consists of a number of panels, photographic exhibits, musical performances and parties.

The 5th Annual Camden International Film Festival will take place October 1-4, 2009, screening nearly fifty films,both features and shorts in venues throughout Midcoast Maine.  Premiere and Major sponsors include Maine Arts Commission, Down East Magazine, Movie Maker Magazine, Camden National Bank, the University of Maine, Unity College, MPBN and Paolina’s Way.

For more information on the festival, the full schedule, or information on passes visit www.camdenfilmfest.org.