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August 12 - September 1 at IFC Center

August 19 - September 8 at Laemmle Sunset 5

A Marine Corps cover-up of one of the worst water contamination incidents in US history, the glaring reality of the media's objectification of women, as well as portraits of assassinated journalist Anna Politkovskaya and the man behind Elmo are all part of the lineup of outstanding films that will be presented in the International Documentary Association's 15th Annual DocuWeeks™ Theatrical Documentary Showcase.

Download the DocuWeeks™ 2011 press release. All publicity and credential requests please contact Ashley Mariner at Dish Communications.

DocuWeeks™ Los Angeles Program & Schedule - Download
DocuWeeks™ New York Program & Schedule - Download

Plan your DocuWeeks™ Los Angeles and New York screenings with the FilmFest DocuWeeks iPhone App - Download

FEATURES (Los Angeles Week 1)

The Boy Mir—Ten Years in Afghanistan  More Info Director/Executive Producer/Writer: Phil Grabsky
Following the international hit The Boy who Plays on the Buddhas of Bamiyan, The Boy Mir tracks cheeky, enthusiastic Mir from a childish 8 to a fully grown 18-year-old over ten years in Afghanistan. This is a journey into early adulthood in one of the toughest places on earth, and a journey that mirrors the vitally important story of Afghanistan.

Seventh Art Productions
90 min. UK/Afghanistan
Website/Trailer | Filmmaker Q&A

Darwin  More Info Director/Producer: Nick Brandestini
Darwin is a documentary film about an isolated community at the end of a weathered road in Death Valley, California. Propelled from society by tragic turns, the people of Darwin (population 35) must now find ways to coexist in a place without a government, a church, jobs, or children. The near-ghost town's survival depends on a fragile, gravity-fed waterline that descends from the mountains where top secret weapons are being tested. The film tells the story of a uniquely American place and yet a place that is unique even within America.

Executive Producer: Vesna Brandestini
Producers: Sandra Ruch, Taylor Segrest
Writer: Taylor Segrest
88 min. Switzerland/USA
Website/Trailer | Filmmaker Q&A

The Power Of Two  More Info Director/Producer: Marc Smolowitz
The Power of Two offers an intimate portrayal of the bond between half-Japanese twin sisters Anabel Stenzel and Isabel Stenzel Byrnes, their lifelong battle with cystic fibrosis, their survival through miraculous double lung transplants and their improbable emergence as authors, athletes and global advocates for organ donation. Featuring expert interviews, archival footage and deeply personal testimony from the twins and others whose lives have been impacted by organ transplantation from the US and Japan, the film provides unprecedented insight into the personal and societal aspects of this modern medical miracle affecting millions worldwide.

Producer: Andrew Byrnes
Executive Producer: Chris Kelly
Twin Triumph Productions
94 min. USA/Japan
Website/Trailer

S.O.S. / State of Security  More Info Director/Producer/Writer: Michèle Ohayon
January 2001. Nine months before 9/11, Richard Clarke briefs Condoleezza Rice on a strategy to "deter, defeat, and respond vigorously to" al-Qaeda. Clarke's proposal is dismissed. In March 2004, Clarke memorably declares before the 9/11 Commission, "I failed you, your government failed you." He resigns before the Iraq War. The film exposes Clarke's dramatic 30-year experience in the White House as counter-terrorism czar and head of cyber security. Ohayon (Oscar® nominee,) gives a rare look at the people behind National Security, military generals, CIA, hackers, vets, ambassadors who are speaking out.

Producers: Gary Prebula, Len Sherman
Executive Producer: Gary Ungar
Diamond Lane Films & Sidney Kimmel Entertainment
87 min. USA
Website/Trailer | Filmmaker Q&A

Unfinished Spaces  More Info Directors/Producers: Alysa Nahmias, Benjamin Murray
In 1961, three young, visionary architects were commissioned by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara to create Cuba's National Art Schools on the grounds of a former Havana golf course. Construction of their radical designs began immediately, and artists from all over the country reveled in the beauty of the schools. But as the dream of the Revolution quickly became a reality, construction was halted and the architects and their designs were deemed irrelevant in the prevailing political climate. Forty years later, the schools are in use, but decaying. Castro has invited the exiled architects back to finish their unrealized dream.

Ajna Films
86 min. USA/Cuba
Website/Trailer | Filmmaker Q&A

SHORTS (Los Angeles Week 1)

Library of Dust  More Info Directors/Producers: Ondi Timoner, Robert James
Thousands of corroded copper urns containing the cremated remains of unclaimed psychiatric patients were discovered in 2004. A tour of the Oregon State Hospital involving the local press and a State Senator was conducted to uncover the deplorable conditions of the hospital. What they didn't expect to find was a storeroom full of human ashes dating back to the late 1800s. Photos are taken of the mysterious corrosive effect on the canisters, and several histories of these forgotten souls are revealed in this unique tale.

Producer: Kyle Parker
Interloper Films/NuReality Productions
16 min. USA
| Filmmaker Q&A

Poetry of Resilience  More Info Director/Producer/Writer: Katja Esson
Poetry of Resilience is a 40-minute documentary about six poets from around the world who survived some of the worst political atrocities of the 20th Century: Hiroshima, the Holocaust, China's Cultural Revolution, the Kurdish Genocide in Iraq, the Rwandan Genocide, the Iranian Revolution. By summoning the creative voice of poetry to tell stories of survival and witness, each reclaims humanity and dignity in the wake of some of history's most dehumanizing circumstances. With grace and humor, the film explores language as an internal means of survival—for the poet and the readers of poems.

Producers: Corinna Sager, Alison Granucci, Sabine Schenk
Executive Producer: Jan Warner
Penelope Pictures LLC
40 min. USA
Website/Trailer

Sand  More Info Director/Executive Producer: Cari Ann Shim Sham
A rhythmic and visual collage, the film Sand takes a close look at sand dance as it is passed down from a father to his son. Sand dance is a quickly disappearing American dance form that stems from turn of the century vaudevillian and traveling shows. With only a handful of people left today still performing it, this film is a rare archive of the transference of sand dance or "passin' the sand", from one generation to the next. Featuring emerging tap dance artist Kenji Igus and his father Darrow. Shot on the Canon 5dMarkii.

Executive Producer: Kyle Ruddick
10 min. USA
Website/Trailer

Sun City Picture House  More Info Director: David Darg
After watching the last of the old movie theaters get destroyed in the Haiti earthquake, a young Haitian man rallies an entire community to build a cinema and make his dream come alive on a hill above a tent city.

Producer: Bryn Mooser
Executive Producers: Olivia Wilde, Maria Bello
RyotFilms
27 min. Haiti
Website/Trailer