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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 2)

Better This World  More Info Directors/Producers/Writers: Katie Galloway, Kelly Duane de la Vega
Two boyhood friends from Midland, Texas–David McKay and Bradley Crowder–fall under the sway of a charismatic revolutionary ten years their senior. At the volatile 2008 Republican National Convention, the "Texas Two" cross a line that radically changes their lives. The result: eight homemade bombs, multiple domestic terrorism charges and a high stakes entrapment defense hinging on the actions of a controversial FBI informant. A dramatic story of idealism, loyalty, crime and betrayal, Better This World goes to the heart of the War on Terror and its impact on civil liberties and political dissent in post-9/11 America.

Producer: Mike Nicholson
Executive Producers: Julie Goldman, John Battsek, Nicole Stott, Sally Jo Fifer/ITVS, Simon Kilmurry/American Documentary/POV
Loteria Films
89 min. USA
Website/Trailer | Filmmaker Q&A

A Bitter Taste of Freedom  More Info Director/Writer: Marina Goldovskaya
In her fearless quest to uncover the wrongdoings of Russian authorities, Anna Politkovskaya inspired awe in some and fear in others. An investigative journalist for Moscow's liberal Novaya Gazeta, she was often the only spokesperson for innocent victims. At age 48 she was assassinated for simply doing her job. Shot within a period of 20 years this film creates an incredible story of a woman who consciously gave her life for her convictions.

Producer: Malcolm Dixelius
GoldFilms, Dixit Int.
90 min. Sweden/ USA/Russia
Website/Trailer

The Carrier  More Info Director/Producer: Maggie Betts
Told through the eyes of an increasingly empowered heroine, THE CARRIER is a powerful and moving portrait of an unconventional family, set against the backdrop of the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in Zambia. This lyrical film follows Mutinta Mweemba, a 28-year-old subsistence farmer living in a polygamous marriage. After learning she is HIV positive and pregnant, Mutinta sets out to keep her unborn child virus-free and break the cycle of transmission.

Producers: Ben Selkow, Joedan Okun, Benjamin Prager
Executive Producer: Roland Betts
Tent Full of Birds Production, LLC
88 min. USA/Zambia
Website/Trailer

Miss Representation  More Info Director/Producer/Writer: Jennifer Siebel Newsom
Like drawing back a curtain to let bright light stream in, Miss Representation uncovers a glaring reality we live with every day, but fail to see. It's clear the mainstream media objectifies women, but what most people don't realize is the magnitude of that phenomenon and the way objectification gets internalized—a symbolic annihilation of self-worth—and impedes girls and women from realizing their full potential. In a society where media is the most persuasive force shaping cultural norms, the collective message that a woman's value and power lie only in her youth, beauty and sexuality is pervasive. – Caroline Libresco/Sundance Film Festival

Writer: Jessica Congdon
Executive Producers: Geralyn Dreyfous, Sarah Johnson Redlich, Regina Kulik Scully
Girls Club Entertainment, LLC
89 min. USA
Website/Trailer | Filmmaker Q&A

Phnom Penh Lullaby  More Info Director/Producer/Writer: Pawel Kloc
Ilan Shickman left Israel dreaming of a new life. He now lives in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with his Khmer girlfriend, Saran, and their two young daughters, as he tries to make ends meet as a street fortune-teller. Ilan works at night, near bars frequented by prostitutes and drug dealers. He decides to place the older, 2-year-old daughter with Saran's family in the countryside, but the family doesn't want to care for Marie for free. Ilan and his family have to return to Phnom Penh, and he still must decide about Marie's future. Phnom Penh Lullaby is about people entrapped in their lives as they struggle to realize the dream of a happy, loving family.

Writer: Przemysław Niczyporuk
Parallax
98 min. Poland/Cambodia
Website/Trailer

To Be Heard  More Info Directors/Producers: Roland Legiardi-Laura, Edwin Martinez, Deborah Shaffer, Amy Sultan
Three Bronx teens search for their voices and an answer to the question, Can language change lives? Karina, Pearl and Anthony are precariously balanced on the edge. Inspired by three teachers in a radical poetry workshop, they set out to write their own life stories, imagining a future where fathers aren't in jail, mothers aren't abusive and college is the place where you wake up every morning instead of just dreaming about it each night. A dedicated filmmaking team follows their lives, celebrating the value of poetry, compassionate teachers, and the power that comes from mastering language and learning to write your own life story.

Executive Producers: Jill and Jim Angelo/Dialogue Pictures, Sally Jo Fifer/ITVS
To Be Heard, LLC
87 min. USA
Website/Trailer