Last week, Silverdocs announced both the competition slates for its US, World and Music competitions, as well as its full line-up of features that are screening at this year's fest, which is now - holy smokes - less than three weeks away.
First off are this year's titles in the US Feature Competition (World and Music are after the break). Descriptions are from the fests:
GOOD FORTUNE
Directed by Landon Van Soest
The West has spent billions of dollars over the years on aid to Africa, yet poverty persists. GOOD FORTUNE examines two multi-million dollar international aid projects that may actually be undermining the very communities they seek to help. World Premiere.
JUNIOR
Directed by Jenna Rosher
Even though he was diagnosed with diabetes in his teens, Eddie “Junior” Belasco, now 75, has always lived life to its fullest. After a long career in show biz, Junior is on the verge of retirement. He struggles to maintain his youthfulness, taking inspiration from his 99-year-old mother. World Premiere.
MRS. GOUNDO’S DAUGHTER
Directed by Barbara Attie and Janet Goldwater
Mrs. Goundo is on a quest to spare her 2-year-old daughter, Djenebou, from the same severe act she endured as a child: genital cutting. Millions of young girls have taken part in this West African tradition, which dates back thousands of years. Mrs. Goundo and her husband settle in Philadelphia, only to face deportation and the labyrinthine US judicial system. World Premiere.
MY NEIGHBOR, MY KILLER
Directed by Anne Aghion
After Rwanda was torn apart by ethnic division, the government put into place the Gacaca Tribunals—open-air hearings with citizen-judges intended to try their neighbors and rebuild the nation. This remarkable film explores whether it is possible to live again amongst people who slaughtered your family.
OCTOBER COUNTRY
Directed by Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher
This finely crafted portrait of a family in crisis is a beautiful representation of America’s poor. The film is a haunting multigenerational story of a working-class family coping with poverty, teen pregnancy, foster care and the ineffable horrors of child molestation and war. East Coast Premiere.
OFF AND RUNNING
Directed by Nicole Opper
Avery is an accomplished African-American teenager adopted by Jewish lesbians. Her curiosity about her birth mother becomes a painful examination of race and identity that upends the family and threatens to derail Avery’s dreams.
THE PHILOSOPHER KINGS
Directed by Patrick Shen
Some people we revere, some we despise and others we simply ignore. The figure of the invisible janitor at last acquires a face, name, and personality in this probing look at the wisdom that comes from lives lived fully. World Premiere.
RACING DREAMS
Directed by Marshall Curry
In this rousing look at youth, passion and tricked-out go-karts, Oscar-nominated director Marshall Curry (STREET FIGHT) profiles three unforgettable pre-teen speedsters as they dream of professional racing stardom while competing in the World Karting Association championships.
SHE IS THE MATADOR (ELLA ES EL MATADOR)
Directed by Gemma Cubero and Celeste Carrasco
The surprising history of female bullfighters is revealed in this artful portrait of two women struggling to succeed in one of the last strongholds of Spanish machismo. As Italian-born novice Eva fights for recognition and her veteran counterpart Mari Paz contemplates retirement, the travails of both athletes illuminate this controversial blood sport. US Premiere.
SWEETHEARTS OF THE PRISON RODEO
Directed by Bradley Beesley
Once a year at the Oklahoma Prison Rodeo in McAlester, Oklahoma, an eight-second bull ride becomes the most important time in the world. Director Bradley Beesley takes us along with male and female convicts as they compete and train for slots at this unique rough-stock rodeo. East Coast Premiere.
THE WINDMILL MOVIE
Directed by Alexander Olch
Richard P. Rogers was a celebrated documentarian who, despite amassing more than 20 years’ and 200 hours’ worth of footage, was never able to complete his autobiographical magnum opus. After his death, a former student, Alexander Olchs, excavates Rogers’s archives and creates a complex portrait of an endearing and contradictory artist and man.
World Feature Competition
ANOTHER PLANET (MÁSIK BOLYGÓ) / HUNGARY
Directed by Ferenc Moldovány
This powerful globe-spanning film introduces us to children who are struggling to survive as trash scavengers, soldiers and sex workers. The children speak plainly to the camera about their work, resulting in a film that lands like a hard punch. ANOTHER PLANET offers a rare opportunity to open your heart to another—often forgotten—world. East Coast Premiere.
BLOOD TRAIL / UNITED KINGDOM/USA
Directed by Richard Parry
Follow war photographer Robert King for 15 years as he works war zones worldwide. Along the way, the brutality of the subject steadily takes its toll on King. We rely on war reporters to take us where we never want to go, but rarely do we consider the costs. East Coast Premiere.
COOKING HISTORY / AUSTRIA/SLOVAKIA/CZECH REPUBLIC
Directed by Peter Kerekes
This innovative film re-imagines Europe’s troubled past through the unheralded culinary workers who “catered” some of the pivotal armed conflicts of the modern era. Punctuated by recipes, cooking demonstrations and sometimes-fanciful interviews, this record of the quotidian details of military cuisine underscores the futility—and unfortunate persistence—of ethnic and political warfare. US Premiere.
DANCING WITH THE DEVIL / UNITED KINGDOM
Directed by Jon Blair
This gripping film by Oscar winner Jon Blair offers an intimate look at the running battle between police and drug lords in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. In the midst of staggering violence, Pastor Dione dos Santos tries to broker peace among all parties. World Premiere.
A GOOD MAN / AUSTRALIA
Directed by Safina Uberoi
Chris Rohrlach is an Australian farmer in remote New South Wales where farming is not the most lucrative profession. A GOOD MAN follows boisterous Chris and his awe-inspiring wife Rachel—who is paralyzed from the neck down—as they try to operate a brothel in the hopes that the extra income will help them make ends meet. US Premiere.
HUNTING DOWN MEMORY (JAKTEN PÅ HUKOMMELSEN) / NORWAY
Directed by Thomas Lien
Imagine waking up in a foreign country and not knowing who you are, what you’re doing there or how you even got there in the first place. For 27-year-old Øyvind Aamot, finding his way home turns out to be only the beginning of yet another journey. US Premiere.
MUGABE AND THE WHITE AFRICAN / UNITED KINGDOM
Directed by Lucy Bailey
Told through the lens of 74-year-old white farmer Michael Campbell and his family, the film explores Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s deeply controversial land seizure program, which was intended to redistribute white-owned land to poor black Zimbabweans. Instead it has led to an increase in poverty, hunger, violence and intimidation among the majority of the country’s citizens. US Premiere.
PARTLY PRIVATE / CANADA
Directed by Danae Elon
Elon faces the question "To cut or not to cut?" in this charming, heartfelt and highly personal documentary. Elon travels from her home in New York to Washington, DC, Israel, Turkey, Italy and back again in search of guidance, as she and her husband address the question of whether to circumcise their sons. Along the way, she consults rabbis, doctors, priests, parents, activists and Buster, a slightly cracked anti-circumcisionist on horseback.
RENE / CZECH REPUBLIC
Directed by Helena Teštiková
For 20 years, Czech director Helena Testíková filmed recidivist criminal René Plásil in his evolution from teen delinquent to career felon. Plásil offers an intelligent accounting of his life and nihilistic beliefs, but the whole truth is more elusive. East Coast Premiere.
SEA POINT DAYS / SOUTH AFRICA
Directed by Francois Verster
Under Apartheid, the public pools and promenade at Sea Point were reserved for whites. Today this gorgeous section of Cape Town is a lively mix of people that epitomizes South Africa’s diversity. Nevertheless, an underlying malaise permeates SEA POINT DAYS. Francois Verster ponders the state of post-Apartheid South Africa in this lyrical feature. US Premiere.
THE SOUND OF INSECTS – RECORD OF A MUMMY / SWITZERLAND
Directed by Peter Liechti
A hunter stumbles upon a ragged tent in a remote forest. Within lies a mummified corpse. A detailed journal found on site reveals that the man committed suicide by self-imposed starvation. Inspired by this true event and by Shimada Masahiko’s novella Until I Am a Mummy, Peter Liechti, known for his experimental and impressionistic style, evokes the mysterious man’s last days. US Premiere.
Best Music Documentary Award
INTANGIBLE ASSET NUMBER 82 / AUSTRALIA/JAPAN
Directed by Emma Franz
When an Australian jazz drummer embarks on a journey to find a South Korean shaman and master musician who also happens to be one of the country’s “intangible” cultural assets, the trip proves to be not only a musical exploration, but also a spiritual one.
RISEUP / ARGENTINA
Directed by Luciano Blotta
Three Jamaican musicians fight for a place in the overcrowded reggae field. Ice Anastasia hails from a posh neighborhood in Kingston, while Turbulence is from Trenchtown. Kemoy Reid, a weighty female presence, is a country girl at heart. RISEUP looks at the grit behind the glamour and explores class and gender issues in Jamaica today. US Premiere.
SOUL POWER / USA
Directed by Jeffrey Levy-Hinte
Before Muhammad Ali and George Foreman’s 1974 boxing match in Zaire, the biggest names in R&B assembled for a three-day music festival. Jeffrey Levy-Hinte takes this never-seen footage and shows us the talents of James Brown, Bill Withers, B.B. King, the Spinners and top African acts such as Miriam Makeba and Orchestre Africa International.
STILL BILL / USA
Directed by Alex Vlack and Damani Baker
Grammy-winning songwriter and musician Bill Withers stopped making albums in 1985, after a 15-year career that included such hits as “Lean on Me” and “Just the Two of Us.” STILL BILL offers a multifaceted look at the intriguing and insightful Withers, where he’s been and what’s next. East Coast Premiere.
TRIMPIN: THE SOUND OF INVENTION / USA
Directed by Peter Esmonde
In this intriguing sonic biography, Trimpin—composer, instrument inventor, installation artist and engineering savant—guides audiences through his quirky realm of acoustic wizardry, reflecting on a long career of musical innovation as he plans a new performance piece with the esteemed Kronos Quartet.
Looking forward for this..this year!
Posted by: servicio informatico | February 20, 2010 at 08:53 PM
Hope to have a collection of these films!
Posted by: Jenny | March 27, 2010 at 05:09 PM