In the continuing afterglow of the 2008 IDA Awards, we discovered that history was made that night: By winning the Best Short Documentary Award for her and Isabel Vega's La Corona, Amanda Micheli became the first IDA/David L. Wolper Student Documentary Achievement Award recipient in the history of the IDA Awards to "graduate" by winning a higher-level award. The Harvard alum earned the Wolper Award in 1996 for her film Just for the Ride.

"I was up at this podium back in 1996 with my student film, Just for the Ride," Micheli said in her acceptance speech. "And there are countless people in this room, both then and now, that have inspired and enabled my work over the last 12 years, and I'm truly grateful for this community and its support."

 

 

I followed up a week later about what the Wolper Award meant to her. "Back then, I didn't even know what the IDA was," she admits. "But as soon as I arrived and saw the company I was in, I was blown away, and quite honestly, I was somewhat intimidated by the pressure of expectation. As I gulped champagne, people asked with urgency, "What are you working on next??" --a question that still challenges me to this day at these kind of events.

"I'm a serial monogamist with my films," she continues. "And like many filmmakers, I am wary of talking about new projects before they are ‘in the can.' But the mere idea that people wanted to see what I was up to next was exciting, and I'd like to think that I rose to the challenge, and will continue to do so on my own timeline. Because my student film was a first-person, vérité project made with short ends and a volunteer crew over a span of many years, it was daunting to try to transform that model into a viable career. But over the years I've come to accept the insanity of it all, and have been lucky enough to have had gainful employment as a DP and producer on other filmmakers' projects while I explore my own work, which has been a real pleasure, even if it is a balancing act."

And as for the Short Documentary Award? "As I said that night, it's an honor to be recognized by such an incredible group of filmmakers, and I feel as privileged as ever to call the IDA membership my peers."

 

GOOD Magazine
and
The International Documentary Association

Invite you to two special screenings

The Youngest Candidate on Dec. 16
&
Beautiful Losers on Dec. 17

The Youngest Candidate Film Screening
Tue 16 Dec 2008 at 07:00PM + Director Q&A with Jason Pollock

The Youngest Candidate is a feature length documentary film directed by Jason Pollock. It is produced by David Letterman's company, Worldwide Pants, in partnership with Oscar winner Lawrence Bender (producer of 'Pulp Fiction' and 'An Inconvenient Truth', etc..) and Balance Vector Productions.

It follows the story of 4 teens that ran for public office in America. Funny, inspiring, poignant, and ultimately uplifting, 'The Youngest Candidate' is not just a film about running for office. It is the coming of age story of four idealistic young adults who dared to confront the corrupt political systems in America. Through their journey these young candidates learn about fair play, leadership development, racism in politics, the importance of family, and many other lessons that they will carry with them throughout their lives. In the face of great adversity, these four young adults braved all the odds to make it to Election Day to show that regardless of the outcome, it didn't matter... It's all about how you play the game. RSVP NOW!

Beautiful Losers Film Screening
Wed 17 Dec 2008 at 07:00PM + Director Q&A with Aaron Rose

Beautiful Losers celebrates the spirit behind one of the most influential cultural moments of a generation.

In the early 1990's a loose-knit group of likeminded outsiders found common ground at a little NYC storefront gallery. Rooted in the DIY (do-it-yourself) subcultures of skateboarding, surf, punk, hip hop & graffiti, they made art that reflected the lifestyles they led. Developing their craft with almost no influence from the "establishment" art world, this group, and the subcultures they sprang from, have now become a movement that has been transforming pop culture.

Starring a selection of artists who are considered leaders within this culture, Beautiful Losers focuses on the telling of personal stories. It speaks to themes of what happens when the outside becomes "in" as it explores the creative ethos connecting these artists and today's youth. RSVP NOW!

THE GOOD SPACE
@GOOD Magazine
6824 Melrose Ave. (Btwn La Brea & Highland)
Both events are free and open to the public.

Most call for entries is pretty much the same: fill out your form, pay your fee and hope some judge somewhere actually looks at your submission.

Ok, you still have to do all of that if you want to enter the 13th Annual Webby Awards. But the folks who honor the best of the best in websites, interactive advertising, online film & video, and mobile web (that's the International Academy of the Digital Arts and Sciences, FYI) are actually calling on some of the Internet's most creative folks to promote the call for entries. Smart, huh?

Included in the fun already are comedic pals Jake and Amir, Jerry and Orrin Zucker of the oddly wonderful It's Jerry Time site and Tony and Paul from stop-motion loving creative team Free Poster Films.

Check out some promos below and peek at http://webbys.tumblr.com for more. Oh, and you only have until Dec. 19 to get your own entry in for a Webby. Get on it here. 

The Sundance Film Festival announced its selections among the short documentaries, both US and international, including a few docs nestled among the animated shorts and New Frontier shorts.

US Documentary Shorts

575 Castro St. (Director: Jenni Olson)-Set to the original audio-cassette recorded by Harvey Milk in November 1977 to be played, "in the event of my death by assassination."

The Archive (Director: Sean Dunne)-An eight-minute documentary about the world's largest vinyl record collection, examining the man who owns them and the current state of the American record industry.

Chop Off (Director: M.M. Serra)-An exposition of the dark, fearful recesses of the human psyche by filming the body modification of performance artist R.K. who literally risks 'life and limb.' R.K.'s body is his medium and amputation is his art.

Good: Atomic Alert (Director: Max Joseph)-An examination of nuclear arms that asks, Who has them, what are their intentions, and what would happen if a nuclear weapon hit New York City?

Good: Internet Censorship (Directors: Morgan Currie, Lindsay Utz, James Jones; Screenwriter: Mattathias Schwartz)-Internet censorship can take many forms, from restricting private Internet access to blocking searches for politically volatile keywords. This film explores how different countries apply their bodies of censorship to cyberspace.

I Knew It Was You (Director: Richard Shepard)-John Cazale appeared in just five films -The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather: Part Two, Dog Day Afternoon and The Deer Hunter-and all were nominated for Best Picture. This documentary is a fresh portrait of the acting craft and a tour through the movies that defined a generation.

The Kinda Sutra (Director: Jessica Yu)-A combination of interview and animation, that explores the youthful misconceptions of a spectrum of people over the universal question: How are babies made?

So the Wind Won't Blow it All Away (Director: Annie P. Waldman)-Two and a half years after Hurricane Katrina, desiring to graduate high school with their friends, a group of students return to New Orleans despite their parents' relocation and absence.

Sister Wife (Director: Jill Orschel; Screenwriters: Alexandra Fuller, Jill Orschel)-DoriAnn, a Mormon Fundamentalist, shares a husband with her younger biological sister. During a private bathing ritual, DoriAnn explores the surprisingly universal challenges of her marriage.

SUSPENDED (Director: Kimi Takesue)-The film both documents and re-contextualizes the experience and perception of suspended time, capturing a range of evocative moments that reveal states of emotional and physical suspension.

Utopia, Part 3: The World's Largest Shopping Mall (Directors: Sam Green, Carrie Lozano)-A tour of the world's largest shopping mall, located near Guangzhou, China. Built three years ago, the South China Mall was supposed to be a celebration of consumerism and Vegas-like spectacle.

 

International Documentary Shorts

China's Wild West (UK; Director: Urszula Pontikos)-This part observational, part impressionistic study of a day in the life of a Muslim community illustrates their hopeful efforts to discover jade in the harsh conditions of a dried-up riverbed in a remote town on the Silk Road in Western China.

Lessons from the Night (Australia; Director and Screenwriter: Adrian Francis)-As dusk approaches and workers stream out of the city, Maia is about to begin her day. She reflects on life, work and toilet bowls as she goes about her nightly cleaning round through silent, empty spaces.

Ma Bar (UK; Directors: Finlay Pretsell, Adrian McDowall)-Bench-pressing isn't a hobby for 73-year-old Bill McFadyen; it's a way of life, and he is on a quest to be the best in the world.

Magnetic Movie (UK; Directors: Semiconductor: Ruth Jarman + Joe Gerhardt)-Natural magnetic fields are revealed as chaotic ever-changing geometries, as scientists from NASA's space sciences laboratory excitedly describe their discoveries.

My Surfing Lucifer (Switzerland; Director: Kenneth Anger)-Using found footage, Kenneth Anger introduces us to the short life of Bunker Spreckels, Clark Gable's stepson and surfing legend.

The Real Place (Canada; Director: Cam Christiansen; Screenwriter: Blake Brooker)-An animated poetic film celebrating the life and spirit of playwright and librettist John Murrell.

Steel Homes (UK; Director: Eva Weber)-Self-storage units are windows into human histories: the silent cells with their discarded objects and dust-covered furniture are inscribed with past dreams, secret hopes and of lives we cannot let go.

 

US Animated Shorts

From Burger It Came (Director: Dominic Bisignano)-An animated film that recounts early 1980s-era Cold War fears of a young boy in middle America. Using a variety of techniques, the visual narrative is colorfully assembled over semi-documentary audio conversations between a grown adult recounting his fears and his mother's memory of the time and her own concerns.

Joel Stein's Completely Unfabricated Adventures (Director: Walter Robot; Screenwriter: Joel Stein)-Journalist Joel Stein takes us on an animated adventure through the waste treatment plant of Orange County.

 

International Animated Shorts

Cattle Call (Canada; Director and Screenwriter: Matthew Rankin, Mike Maryniuk)-A high-speed animation film documenting the art of livestock auctioneering.

Lies (Sweden; Director: Jonas Odell)-Three perfectly true stories about lying. In three episodes based on documentary interviews we meet the burglar who, when found out, claims to be a moonlighting accountant, the boy who finds himself lying and confessing to a crime he didn't commit and the woman whose whole life has been a chain of lies.

 

New Frontier Shorts

The Beekeepers (USA; Director: Richard Robinson)-An experimental documentary on the environmental crisis surrounding beekeeping and colony collapse disorder. It explores this ancient profession in its current crisis and the implications for our environment when millions of bees just disappear.

 

 

C. Karim Chrobog, director of War Child, winner ABCNews VideoSource Award at Q&A after DocuFest screening at Kodak Screening Room. Photo by Meg Madison.

In a wall-to-wall day of screenings that began at 9:00 and closed just after midnight, DocuFest, IDA's annual unspooling marathon of the Award-winning films, bowed to an appreciative crowd at the Eastman Kodak Screening Room. Most of the filmmakers were on hand to field questions from the audience, including Remy Burkel from Sin City Law, Karim Chrobog from War Child , David Novack from Burning the Future, Laura Waters Hinson from As We Forgive; Isabel Vega and Luis Colina for La Corona; and Maureen Ryan from Man on Wire.

David Novack, director, of Burning The Future: Coal In America, winner of Pare Lorentz Award at DocuFest Q&A. Photo by Meg Madison.

Burning the Future: Coal in America, the Pare Lorentz Award winner, addresses the environmental impact of one of America's leading sources of energy: coal. Focusing on West Virginia-coincidentally, the birthplace of Pare Lorentz-the film documents the appalling practices of Big Coal, including mountaintop removal, which is exactly what it sounds like: decimating the ecosystem on top for mining purposes; and coal slurry impoundments, a means of cleaning the coal that has resulted in toxicity and contamination in the water supply. The coal industry has created a severe health risk for much of West Virginia and the surrounding coal-dependent states. The film not only lays out the issues, with both coal representatives and environmental activists weighing in, but, but follows the activities of a corps of activists, who venture to the United Nations to have their cases heard. Novack explained in the Q&A that West Virginia Senators Byrd and Rockefeller have been silent on the mountaintop removal, a practice that started in the mid-80s and accelerated in the mid-90s. He also pointed out that the "surface miners" (those who engage in mountaintop removal) are afforded much better workplace conditions than the traditional underground miners. Finally, Novack pointed out that we on the West Coast are susceptible to pollution from coal processing plants all the way in China.

 

As We Forgive, the winner of the IDA/David L. Wolper Student Documentary Achievement Award, examines the process of forgiveness and reconciliation in Rwanda in the decade and a half since the horrific massacres there in 1994. This endeavor has proved a vital foundation on which to heal and rebuild the nation, and Hinson follows two victims and two perpetrators as they go through the painful process of reflecting on their tragic losses and their horrible crimes and then, through mediators, facing each other. IDA Interim Executive Director Eddie Schmidt remarked to Hinson how impressive the film was a student work, noting that as a student, he had made a doc about "busing trays in the school cafeteria." The key to the success of her film, she noted, was, as with countless docs, access-here, to one of the bishops who was a key player in seeing the truth and reconciliation initiative through at the grassroots level, and through her translator and driver, who, as Hinson put it "got the vision of the film." Hinson, who admitted she's "just learning about outreach in documentary filmmaking," has been screening the film at the US Congress, the State Department and the Library of Congress. In addition, she founded the Living Bricks Campaign in support of continuing the reconciliation effort in Rwanda.

Isabel Vega, director/producer with Luis Colina, editor of La Corona, winner Documentary Short at Q&A, Kodak Screening Room at DocuFest 2008. Photo by Meg Madison.

La Corona, from Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega, followed As We Forgive, and although Micheli was not able to be there, it's worth noting that she's the first David L. Wolper Student Documentary Achievement Award winner to "graduate" to a higher honor. She earned the Wolper in 1996 for Just for the Ride, and she noted from the stage on Awards Night that many of those in the room back then who were key in helping launch her career were in the room 12 years later. La Corona covers a beauty pageant inside a Bogota, Colombia women's correctional facility. Vega said that the biggest challenge was getting the daily permission of the warden and the guards. "You're the last on the list, because no one wants to take responsibility for an American crew," she said. "You needed the warden's signature, and you had to have a guard with you at all times." They shot for four hours a day, for two months. "We would have liked to have made a longer film," Vega admitted, "but the structure was going to be the pageant, which had a built-in arc, so we decided to stay with the characters and let the narrative unfold within that structure."

Maureen Ryan, co-producer, of Man On Wire, IDA Awards Feature Documentary Winner (tie) with Eddie Schmidt, Interim Executive Director, at DocuFest Q&A. Photo by Meg Madison.

See more pictures of DocuFest 2008 on the IDA's Flickr Photostream.

The IDA Awards closed out its 2008 edition with a screening of Stefan Forbes' Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story at the new headquarters for GOOD, the media platform that produces a magazine, a website, films and live events-all in the spirit of doing good, in a progressive, innovative way. GOOD December is a nearly monthlong series of happenings from nonprofits throughout the LA community, and IDA helped inaugurate GOOD's new space with the screening and Q&A. Other films coming up include Jason Pollock's The Young Candidate and Aaron Roses' Beautiful Losers.

Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story

The ever-eloquent Forbes held court for a good hour following the screening, discussing the need to be non-partisan, how Atwater might have fared in a Web 2.0 world, the politics of fear, and the reaction from both sides of the aisle. According to Forbes, Republicans loved the film because Atwater doesn't come across as a villain, while Democrats liked the film because it affirms his villainy. "It would have been such a cop-out to say, ‘What an evil guy,'" Forbes explained. "I wanted us to be implicated."

I recall a screening of The Fog of War, and Errol Morris quoted writer Philip Gourevich, who, in referencing his extensive reports about the 1994 massacre in Rwanda, remarked, "It's easier to condemn evil than it is to understand it." Evil characters are always more interesting, whether in literature or in film, and in Boogie Man, Forbes has created a fascinating figure, informed as much by the rich and troubled history of his native South as by the take-no-prisoners bloodsports that is American politics. Here's an article about the film that appeared in the Fall 2008 issue of Documentary.

IDA’s Award weekend kicked off with a luncheon for the award winners and nominees sponsored by Kodak on Friday, December 5th. IDA’s Interim Executive Director/Board President-elect Eddie Schmidt described the intimate, casual gathering as “the Senior Class trip before graduation,” and he urged the nominees and winners to get to know one another.

Attendees of the 2008 IDA Awards Filmmaker Luncheon. Photo by Meg Madison.

Each awardee and nominee present was given the opportunity to say a few words about their project. Tom Dziedzic, director/producer of short film nominee Redemption Stone, kicked off the remarks by telling everyone that he was so surprised when he received the call about his nomination that he actually called back to double-check that the call was indeed meant for him.

Kassim the Dream director/producer Kief Davidson made fun of his own lame response to the news of his nomination. He was on the phone with his wife in Germany, and his response to the IDA’s Peggy Ellithorpe’s call was an apologetic, “Oh shit, let me call you right back.”

Davidson and I chatted for awhile about the recent whirlwind of activity surrounding his film. Kassim won both the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize at AFI Fest, as well as the Doc U Award at IDFA. Davidson had just arrived back in Los Angeles from Santa Fe, where the film screened at the Santa Fe Film Festival as part of AFI’s 20/20 Program, an international initiative designed to enhance cultural understanding and collaboration through films from the US and abroad. Davidson is now waiting to find out where his film will screen internationally with the program, but he told me he’s gunning for South Africa and Paris.

Many of the awardees took a lighthearted approach when expressing their appreciation for their honors. “I’m a virgin – this is my first major award!” joked Remy Burkel. The director was honored with the Limited Series Award for Sin City Law, along with Denis Poncet, Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, Remy Burkel, Maha Productions, Arte and Sundance Channel. 

Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega, the filmmakers behind La Corona, the winner of the 2008 IDA Documentary Award for Short Documentary. Photo by Meg Madison.

The eternally charming Marina Goldovskaya, winner of the Preservation and Scholarship Award, had the audience laughing with her when she said, “I don’t know if I deserve it, but I got it!”

Like Goldovskaya, Sam Pollard, the recipient of the inaugural Avid Excellence In Editing Award, also took a playful tone when expressing his appreciation for his career honor. He said, “I feel like I’m a little young to be getting a lifetime achievement award, but I’ll take it!”

Laura Waters Hinson from American University is just starting her career. She received the IDA/David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award for As We Forgive and was thrilled when Kodak’s Candace Chatman presented her with a surprise $1000 grant for Kodak film stock.

Several of the nominees and awardees got personal about why they had chosen to work as documentary filmmakers. Short film nominee Jenny Mackenzie (Kick Like a Girl), who was a social worker for 20 years prior to becoming a filmmaker, said that making docs has given her the chance to reach audiences and effect social change in a different way than her previous career.

Pare Lorentz Award Winner David Novack (Burning the Future: Coal in America) said that for him, “Making documentaries is like always being in grad school, just for a different thing each time. You get to learn everything about a topic you’re passionate about.” He cited the ability to meet people with whom your paths would never otherwise cross as an additional bonus.

Filmmakers look on at the 2008 IDA Awards Filmmaker Luncheon. Photo by Meg Madison.

Stefan Forbes, winner of the Jacqueline Donnet Emerging Filmmaker Award and director of Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story, eloquently spoke about the meaning of being recognized with an award. He said, “Documentaries are often treated like the red-headed step-child of the film industry. As documentary filmmakers, we grapple with the problem of how to tell a story. The very story we’re grappling with is often something that society is not yet ready to deal with.”

See tons of photos from the luncheon on the IDA Flickr photostream.

"It's a great night to have a few laughs, drink a vodka mojito and talk about documentary films," said 2008 IDA Documentary Awards host Morgan Spurlock in the lobby of the Directors Guild of America building during a cocktail reception preceding the night's show.

Ira Glass, Werner Herzog, Morgan Spurlock on the red carpet at the IDA Awards. Photo by John Shearer/Wire Image.

Mingling among the crowd were many of the nominated filmmakers, special presenters Ann Magnuson and Adrian Grenier, and honorees such as Werner Herzog (Career Achievement Award), Stefan Forbes (Jacqueline Donnet Emerging Filmmaker Award) and Sam Pollard (Avid Excellence in Editing Award).

While David Novak, the filmmaker behind Burning The Future: Coal In America who had already won the Pare Lorentz Award said, "It's great coming to an award show when you've already got it because all of the pressure's off," others had to wait to see who would take home the Feature Documentary and Short Documentary honors.

Eddie Schmidt opens the show with a little guitar tribue to Morgan Spurlock. Photo by John Shearer/Wire Image.

The Short Doc win went to the Oscar-nominated La Corona, while Feature Doc prize ended in a tie between Waltz With Bashir and Man On Wire, both of which are already collecting ample kudos around the world, with the latter taking home the Best British Documentary from the British Independent Film Awards, Best Documentary from the National Board of Review and getting shortlisted for this year's Academy Awards.

Yet Man On Wire co-producer Maureen Ryan remained humble about her film's chances as Oscar. "I think there are a lot of great films out there this year," she said.

The show kicked off with IDA Interim Executive Director Eddie Schmidt playing guitar to introduce Spurlock, who made cracks about the economy, the struggles of doc filmmakers and even the not-so-super-sized success of his latest film Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?

Danny Glover and Adrian Grenier on the red carpet at the IDA Awards. Photo by John Shearer/Wire Image.

Spurlock, who's been an IDA member since being nominated for a Pare Lorentz Award for Super Size Me in 2004, couldn't turn down the hosting gig. "I love documentary films and I'm a huge supporter of the IDA, so when Eddie called me and asked me if I would do this, how do you say no? You say no by going like this," he joked while nodding his head.

Marina Goldovskaya. Photo by John Shearer/Wire Image.

The night's sentiment shifted from humorous, to grateful to touching, especially when honorees Rob Epstein (Pioneer Award) and Marina Goldovskaya (Preservation & Scholarship Award) were on stage. Epstein reminisced about his revolutionary work with The Times of Harvey Milk (1984) and Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989), while Russian-born Goldovskaya expressed her appreciation for the U.S. as her "second motherland."

IDA first-ever Audience Award went to Chris Taylor's Food Fight, a look at American agricultural policy and food culture. "I applaud the IDA for having this type of award," Taylor said. "Winning an audience award is exactly the reaction I want. That's what I made the film for. It's a little lighter, it's meant to be entertaining."

Someone who is no stranger to winning, Ira Glass, won the Continuing Series Award for the second year in a row for radio show-turned-Showtime doc series, This American Life. "We're trying to recreate the Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan years of the Chicago Bulls," he said. "If we can do that, we feel that we've achieved all of our goals and we can stop broadcasting forever."

Ira Glass. Photo by John Shearer/Wire Image.

Of course he's kidding, but advised documentary filmmakers that no matter where you are in your career--a winner tonight or someone who just has an idea for a doc they have yet to start--there are always challenges to face when chasing your filmmaking passion. "It's every bit as hard at the age of 49 to find a good story that's good enough to tell as it was when I was 20. I wish somebody would have told me that," Glass said. "It would have been a reassuring thing to know that it's just as hard even when you're experienced as when you're beginning."

Get links to all sorts of other coverage of the 2008 IDA Documentary Awards in our Announcements and Updates section on that page.

Following its announced competition films for the 2009 edition, the Sundance Film Festival yesterday unveiled additional programming strands in which documentaries will appear, including Premieres, Spectrum: Documentary Spotlight, Park City at Midnight and Frontier. Here are the line-ups:

Premieres

Earth Days / USA (Director: Robert Stone)-The history of our environmental undoing through the eyes of nine Americans whose work and actions launched the modern environmental movement. World Premiere. Closing Night Film

Spectrum: Documentary Spotlight

It Might Get Loud / USA (Director: Davis Guggenheim)-The history of the electric guitar from the point of view of three legendary rock musicians--The Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White. U.S. Premiere

No Impact Man / USA (Directors: Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein)-The documentary follows the Beavan family as they abandon their high-consumption Fifth Avenue lifestyle in an attempt to make a no-net environmental impact for the course of one year. World Premiere

Passing Strange / USA (Director: Spike Lee; Lyrics: Stew; Music: Stew and Heidi Rodewald)-A musical documentary about the international exploits of a young man from Los Angeles who leaves home to find himself and "the real." A theatrical stage production of the original Tony-Award winning book by Stew. World Premiere

Tyson / USA (Director: James Toback)-An intimate look at the complex life of former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson. North American Premiere

Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy / USA (Director: Robert Townsend)-Using rare archival clips along with provocative interviews with many of today's leading comedians and social critics, Why We Laugh celebrates the incredible cultural influence and social impact black comedy has wielded over the past 400 years. Includes appearances by Chris Rock, Bill Cosby, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Steve Harvey, Dick Gregory. World Premiere

Wounded Knee / USA (Director: Stanley Nelson; Screenwriter: Marcia Smith)-In 1973, American Indian groups took over the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota to draw attention to the 1890 massacre. Though the federal government failed to keep many of the promises that ended the siege, the event succeeded in bringing to the world's attention the desperate conditions of Indian reservation life. World Premiere

The Yes Men Fix the World / France/ USA (Directors: Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno and Kurt Engfehr)-A pair of notorious troublemakers sneak into corporate events disguised as captains of industry, then use their momentary authority to expose the biggest criminals on the planet. World Premiere

 

Park City at Midnight

The Carter / USA (Director: Adam Bhala Lough)-An in-depth, intimate look at the artist Dwayne "Lil' Wayne" Carter Jr., proclaimed by many as the "greatest rapper alive" World Premiere

 

Frontier

Lunch Break/Exit / USA(Director: Sharon Lockhart)-Lunch Break and Exit yield from Lockhart's timely new film and photographic series about the bleak state of US labor. In Lunch Break, a single tracking shot through a long corridor where workers take their lunch hour at the massive shipyard, Bath Iron Works in Maine, reveals how 42 workers spend their lunch break. In Exit, the frame constantly fills with teaming workers each day as they head for home after a long day's work.

O'er the Land / USA (Director: Deborah Stratman)-A meditation on our national psyche and the milieu of elevated threat, O'er the Land addresses gun culture, national identity, wilderness, consumption, patriotism and the possibility of personal transcendence.