SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival announced its full slate of films for the 2006 Festival, taking place June 13-18, 2006 in the Washington, DC area. SILVERDOCS 2006 will present 100 films from 22 countries selected from 1,687 submissions with 13 World, 12 North American, six US and four East Coast premieres. These numbers represent an increase from 2005 when 89 films were selected from 1,300 submissions. Created through an alliance between the American Film Institute and Discovery Channel, SILVERDOCS takes place at the state-of-the-art AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center. In 2005, the Festival screened sold out shows to more than 19,000 participants who viewed the best in documentary film and experienced free mid-day shorts, outdoor screenings, live music, panel discussions and special events.
Films screen in five permanent sections: Special Screenings, Sterling Award Competition, World View, Music Documentaries and Shorts. For 2006 SILVERDOCS features special “DOCS Rx: A World of Documentaries on Global Health” and Celebrate South Africa! programs. SILVERDOCS runs a concurrent International Documentary Conference which, this year, explores “The Future of Real”, with a Keynote Address by Former Vice President Al Gore. DC audiences and 500 filmmakers and industry professionals will screen highly anticipated new films from some of the world’s leading documentarians.
“Independent documentary filmmakers have an extraordinary power to bring people together across continents and cultures,” said Festival Director Patricia Finneran. “SILVERDOCS celebrates their vision. This year we look to the future of real; we invite new audiences—and the next generation of media makers—to share in the discovery of these diverse stories, and engage in a global dialogue.”
Notable filmmakers in attendance this year include the renowned Martin Scorsese (THE LAST WALTZ, BOB DYLAN: NO DIRECTION HOME) SILVERDOCS’ Charles Guggenheim Symposium Honoree and indie auteur Jim Jarmusch (BROKEN FLOWERS, DEAD MAN), who will interview Scorsese about his work; Academy Award-winning Bill Couturié (BOFFO! TINSELTOWN’S BOMBS AND BLOCKBUSTERS); Stanley Nelson (JONESTOWN: LIFE AND DEATH OF PEOPLE’S TEMPLE); and Nick Broomfield (HIS BIG WHITE SELF). Also attending with new work, emerging directors such as Christopher Quinn (21 Up AMERICA); Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg (TRIALS OF DARRYL HUNT); and Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing who screened BOYS OF BARAKA in 2005 and return this year with JESUS CAMP.
"Four years ago, we set out with the American Film Institute to create the world's premier documentary film festival. Since then, SILVERDOCS has built a reputation as a forum for some of the most important and provocative films from around the world," said Donald A. Baer, Senior Executive Vice President, Strategy and Development, Discovery Communications. "We’re proud to say that this year’s festival offers the best international films, special events and in-depth panel discussions in the history of SILVERDOCS."
SILVERDOCS 2006
SCHEDULE OF SPECIAL SCREENINGS AND EVENTS
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
OPENING NIGHT: BOFFO! TINSELTOWN’S BOMBS AND BLOCKBUSTERS by Bill Couturié examines the risky business of filmmaking. Featuring candid, often amusing interviews with industry luminaries such as George Clooney, Charlize Theron, Jodie Foster, and Paramount’s Sherry Lansing, filmmakers and stars discuss the elements that can make or break a film. Inspired by Variety editor Peter Bart’s book in celebration of Variety’s 100 th year anniversary. A post-screening discussion with Peter Bart, Variety President and Publisher Charlie Koones and Bill Couturié will follow the screening. Introduced by MPAA’s President and CEO, Dan Glickman. A Gala reception to follow at Discovery Communications World Headquarters at One Discovery Place, just across the street from the AFI Silver.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
“DOCS RX: A World of Documentaries On Global Health” presents the World Premiere of THE BLOOD OF YINGZHOU DISTRICT by Ruby Yang. Gao Jun, the child featured in the film, does not speak a word until the closing minutes of the film. Little is known about him, not even his age. Yet the AIDS orphan’s search for a home to call his own forms the dramatic center of this documentary set in rural China. Directed by noted Hong-Kong-born filmmaker Ruby Yang and produced by Academy-Award-nominated filmmaker Thomas Lennon, the film will launch a conversation about the potential for AIDS eradication, and a larger discussion about the state of global health today. Global Health Council President Nils Daulaire and notable health experts and advocates will participate in a powerful and inspiring post-screening discussion.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
The Charles Guggenheim Symposium commemorates the legacy of four-time Academy Award-winner and Washington-area filmmaker Charles Guggenheim. This year, the Symposium celebrates the legendary Martin Scorsese, one of America's most distinguished filmmakers and a master of the documentary form. The evening will include selections from Scorsese's documentary oeuvre such as MARTIN SCORSESE PRESENTS: THE BLUES; NO DIRECTION HOME: BOB DYLAN; and IL MIO VIAGGIO IN ITALIA, and an onstage dialogue between Martin Scorsese and independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch. The dialogue will be followed by an Outdoor Screening of THE LAST WALTZ, Scorsese's landmark music documentary on 'The Band,' which brilliantly captures the group's final performance after sixteen years on the road together. The film features a Who's Who of '70s musical legends: Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and more.
Friday, June 16, 2006
In celebration of South Africa’s Youth Day, and commemorating the 30 th Anniversary of the Soweto uprisings, SILVERDOCS presents a free concert of South African music by MAHALA at 8:00 p.m. in the Silver Plaza followed by a world premiere screening of SOWETO BLUES just steps away on Veterans Field. The film examines South Africa’s political history through the context of the musical artists who gave voice to the struggle and engaged audiences around the globe, raising awareness about black South Africans’ battle to achieve freedom and establish a democratic society.
Addicted to Oil: Thomas L. Friedman Reporting by Ken Levis will screen Friday. Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman brought globalization to the masses with his book The World is Flat. In his new documentary ADDICTED TO OIL, he takes petropolitics — the relationship between oil prices and the power of oil-rich nations — into the mainstream. With gas prices over $3.00 a gallon and the cost of the war on terror mounting, topics like energy conservation, global warming and alternative energy have never been hotter, and Friedman’s explication of the intricate relationship between energy, national security and eco-political power couldn’t be more timely. After the screening, Friedman will discuss the film and answer questions from the audience. Book signing to follow at Borders Books & Music in Silver Spring, 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
CLOSING NIGHT: 21 UP AMERICA by Christopher Quinn, fresh from his Sundance dual Jury and Audience Awards for GOD GREW TIRED OF US. Executive Produced and inspired by Michael Apted's seminal 7 UP films, this is the third installment in a series that has recorded the same subjects at ages 7 and 14 and now turns its focus on what it is to be 21 in America today. It provides a provocative and engaging case study of the impact race and class may have on hopes for the future. All the film subjects will be in attendance seeing the film together for the first time, and participating in a post-screening discussion. Closing Night reception to follow at Gallery Restaurant Lounge, Silver Spring.
Also on Saturday, DANIELSON: A FAMILY MOVIE will screen, introducing DC audiences to one of the most unique voices in indie rock today. The film follows Daniel Smith and his family’s musically innovative Christian band DANIELSON FAMILE as they struggle to find their place in the music scene. Along the way Daniel mentors Sufjan Stevens, an unknown singer-songwriter, whose subsequent success contrasts sharply with Danielson’s complicated reception by the indie and Christian rock communities. Post-screening, all ticket holders are invited to see DANIELSON perform live.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
WORDPLAY by Patrick Creadon and a “Times Talk” with WILL SHORTZ, New York Times Crossword Editor. Featuring humorous commentary by Daily Show host Jon Stewart, Bill Clinton, The Indigo Girls and others, WORDPLAY is an engrossing, lighthearted portrait of the New York Times Crossword puzzle and its creator, Will Shortz. With fascinating insights into how the daily puzzles are created and the puzzle constructors themselves, the film also covers the intelligent and quirky community who struggle to solve these puzzles at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. A “Times Talk” Q&A will follow the screening in the theater. Afterwards, ticket holders are invited to participate in a crossword challenge hosted by Will Shortz in the Cinema Lounge! Borders Books and Music in Silver Spring will host a book signing with Will Shortz at 7:00 p.m.
WORLD VIEW
49 UP / UK (Director: Michael Apted)—The latest installment of the celebrated series. Every seven years since 1964, Michael Apted has documented his subjects’ lives, producing a revealing social history and deeply moving documentary. East Coast Premere.
5 DAYS / Israel (Director: Yoav Shamir)—The director of the critically acclaimed CHECKPOINT had unparalleled access to Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza strip in this documentary which reveals the Israeli soldier’s ambivalence at performing this difficult task on the path to peace. East Coast Premiere.
AMERICAN BLACKOUT / USA (Director: Ian Inaba)—Featuring the passionate and provocative Democratic Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and examining the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, AMERICAN BLACKOUT reveals the continued disenfranchisement of African-American voters and how it negatively affects the American population at-large. Washington, DC Premiere.
B.I.K.E. / USA (Directors: Jacob Septimus, Anthony Howard)—Two filmmakers try to infiltrate the exclusive Black Label Bicycle subculture, whose artists drive homemade “double-decker” bikes and jovially battle each other, mainstream consumer culture and rival gangs. Washington, DC Premiere.
BEYOND EYRUV / USA (Director: John Mounier)—After leaving his close-knit ultra-orthodox Hasidic community, Moshe Galan tries to support himself and deal with the temptations of the secular world as he struggles to determine where he belongs. World Premiere.
BLACK SUN / USA (Director: Gary Tarn)—Filmmaker Hugues de Montalembert was blinded by two robbers who threw paint thinner in his eyes. Montalembert shares his journey to foreign countries through “paralyzing darkness” in this highly artistic, aurally sensational film. Washington, DC Premiere.
THE BRIDGE / USA (Director: Eric Steel)—Steel captures unsettling footage of suicides off the Golden Gate Bridge, then tries to make sense of the images by uncovering the victims’ lives. Washington, DC Premiere.
CAN MR. SMITH GET TO WASHINGTON ANYMORE? / USA (Director: Frank Popper)—The upstart campaign of politically savvy and energetic newcomer Jeff Smith, run by college student volunteers, takes on the Missouri political establishment with moxie, if not money. Special discussion with filmmaker Frank Popper, featured subject Jeff Smith and other subjects including Communications Director Clay Haynes and Campaign Manager Artie Harris, introduced by WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi. World Premiere.
DARKON / USA (Directors: Andrew Neel, Luke Meyer)—We all love to identify and root for mythic heroes. The live-action role players of Darkon bring the fantasy into reality on “battlefields” in suburban Baltimore. Darkonian armies featured in the film will be descending on the Silver Plaza. Washington, DC Premiere.
DREAMING BY NUMBERS / Netherlands (Director: Anna Maria Bucchetti)—In stunning black & white photography, this warm and captivating film explores the Neapolitan superstition that numbers can interpret the past, predict the future, and of course, win the lottery. North American Premiere.
F*CK / USA (Director: Steve Anderson)—What is it about that word? Quite a lot, according to Anderson's outrageous documentary. Despite its ubiquity, the f-word still manages to be potent and shocking. Washington, DC Premiere.
THE GREAT HAPPINESS SPACE - TALE OF AN OSAKA LOVE THIEF / UK/USA (Director: Jake Clennell)—Welcome to the host clubs of Osaka, Japan, where women spend extravagantly to buy romance and beautiful young men make thousands a night. But where do these lovely young women get all that cash? East Coast Premiere.
JONESTOWN: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PEOPLES TEMPLE / USA (Director: Stanley Nelson)—Featuring never-before-seen archival and personal home-video footage, award-winning documentarian Nelson traces Jim Jones’s origins in childhood poverty and the ideologies behind his movement. Poignant interviews with survivors and defectors powerfully personalize this history. Washington, DC Premiere.
KZ / UK (Director: Rex Bloomstein)—Residents of Mauthausen, Austria, live in eerie denial about the former concentration camp located nearby, even though it generates the town’s tourist economy. A rumination on collective memory, the power of place and the desire to forget. East Coast Premiere.
LEILA KHALED, HIJACKER / Sweden (Director: Lina Makboul)—In 1969, Leila Khaled became the first woman in the world to hijack an airplane. One year and six plastic surgery operations later, she did it again. Why did she become a hijacker? And how did she get away with it twice? North American Premiere.
LOVE ME DO / Germany (Directors: Christiane Voss, Katja DringenbergThis film turns the old adage “love is blind” on its head with a penetrating, razor-sharp inquiry into what love is, what happens when we fall in love, and what we endure when it ends. North American Premiere.
LOCKDOWN USA / USA (Michael Skolnik, Rebecca Chaiklin)—Set on the front lines of the dramatic campaign to repeal the Rockefeller Drug Laws, the film follows Hip Hop Impresario Russell Simmons’ colorful, unorthodox campaign to reform the drug laws, interwoven with Wanda Best whose husband was sentenced 15 years to life as a first time non-violent drug offender. Washington, DC Premiere.
MUSKRAT LOVELY / USA (Director: Amy Nicholson)—The annual Miss Outdoors Pageant and National Outdoor Show give locals in Golden Hill, Maryland a chance to reminisce about the importance of community, tradition, and the town’s unofficial mascot, the muskrat. No muskrats will be harmed in the screening of this film. Washington, DC Premiere.
ONCE IN A LIFETIME: THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF THE NEW YORK COSMOS / USA (Directors: Paul Crowder, John Dower)—An exuberant look at the goals, glitz, and glamour of the disco-era soccer sensation that had Bugs Bunny for a mascot and Henry Kissinger as a fan. Washington, DC Premiere.
ONLY BELLE - A SERIAL KILLER FROM SELBU / NORWAY (Director:Anne Berit Vestby)—The Men! The Money! The Murders! Norwegian Belle Gunness may have murdered up to forty people in the early 1900s, but as the net closed around her, she arranged her own death—or did she disappear without a trace? North American Premiere.
PILGRIMAGE FOR THE EURO / Poland (Director: Tomasz Blachnicki)—A modern-day Don Quixote story about the meaning of friendship, the film follows three Polish miners who travel to Ireland in search of a job and a new life. North American Premiere.
ROAD TO GUANTANAMO / UK (Directors: Michael Winterbottom, Mat Whitecross)—Blurring the line between documentary and feature filmmaking, Michael Winterbottom highlights the true story of four British citizens of Pakistani descent, who embark on a wedding trip but find themselves on "the road to Guantanamo." Washington, DC Premiere.
SMILING IN A WARZONE / Denmark/Sweden/Germany/Finland (Directors: Simone Aaberg Kaern, Magnus Bejmar)—Feisty Danish pilot Simone Aaberg flies a tiny old plane from Denmark to Kabul, over high mountains and through no-fly zones, to realize the dreams of a young Afghan woman who wants to be a pilot. Washington, DC Premiere.
SPACEMAN: A BASEBALL ODYSSEY / USA (Director: Brett Rapkin)—Before being blacklisted in 1982, Red Sox pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee delighted fans and sportswriters with his brilliant left-handed pitch and his unexpectedly cerebral musings on existentialism and the curveball. World Premiere.
THE SUBSTITUTE / Sweden (Directors: Asa Blanch, Johan Palmgren)—This touching portrait of a young teacher and his attempts to connect with his junior high students in Sweden shows how little generational gaps matter when it comes to the lessons of understanding. World Premiere.
TOOTS / USA (Director: Kristi Jacobson)—Meticulously edited archival footage and contemporary interviews create a nostalgic portrayal of Toots Shor’s classic ‘40s and ‘50s New York City nightclub where Frank Sinatra, Jackie Gleason and Joe DiMaggio were regulars. Washington, DC Premiere.
THE TRIALS OF DARRYL HUNT / USA (Directors: Ricki Stern, Annie Sundberg)—North Carolina, 1984: a brutal murder leaves a white woman dead and a black man accused. The filmmakers capture Darryl Hunt’s 12-year struggle for justice, still elusive 40 years after the battle for civil rights. The Directors and Darryl Hunt will be in person for a post-screening Q&A. Washington, DC Premiere.
WALKING TO WERNER / USA (Director: Linas Phillips)—Inspired by his cinematic muse Werner Herzog, who walked all the way from Munich to Paris to see a dying friend, filmmaker Phillips walks 1,200 miles along the Pacific Coast Highway to meet Herzog—finding himself along the way. East Coast Premiere.
WHAT REMAINS / USA (Director: Steven Cantor)—In this follow-up to his 1994 documentary BLOOD TIES: THE LIFE AND WORK OF SALLY MANN, director Cantor reenters the world of Sally Mann over a five-year span as she confronts images of death and decay. The film offers a rare glimpse into her creative process, yet the mystery of how she makes art from everyday life remains. East Coast Premiere.
WHEN I CAME HOME / USA (Director: Dan Lohaus)—Exposing the plight of more than 300,000 homeless American veterans including featured Iraq war veteran Herold Noel, this film excoriates the government, which has abandoned them. Washington, DC Premiere.
CELEBRATE SOUTH AFRICA!
BEYOND FREEDOM: THE SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNEY / South Africa (Director: Jacquie Trowell)—The voices of the new South Africa are interwoven with contemporary music and song in this inventive mixed-media documentary featuring interviews about the ongoing efforts to achieve social justice.
THE BUSHMAN’S SECRETS / South Africa (Director: Rehad Desai)—Will the multi-million dollar weight loss industry save the way of life of the Kalahari Bushmen? World Premiere.
GLIMPSE / South Africa (Directors: Dan Jawitz, Alberto Iannuzzi)—GLIMPSE is a visual tour de force capturing the rich color palette and powerful imagery of South Africa.
HIS BIG WHITE SELF / UK (Director: Nick Broomfield)—Known for biographies of controversial characters (Biggie & Tupac, Kurt & Courtney, Aileen Wuornos), Nick Broomfield turns his camera on Eugene Terreblanche, the remorseless leader of the African Nazi Party, asking how those who violently resisted change live in South Africa today. US Premiere.
THE MOTHER’S HOUSE / South Africa (Director: Francois Verster)—Growing up in Cape Flats, teenager Miche Moses lives on the edge between poverty and opportunity, joy and anger, violence and love—pulled between her mother and grandmother. US Premiere.
SENZENI-NA / South Africa (Director: Portia Rankoane)—Soweto-born filmmaker Portia Rankoane was thirteen in 1976. Her hero was Tsietsi Mashini, the 19-year-old leader of the Soweto student uprisings. Rankoane’s film explores the movement’s roots and questions why today’s youth know so little about the man that led the charge. World Premiere.
SHORTS
THE ALUMINUM FOWL / USA/France (Director: James Clauer)—A cinematically beautiful but disturbing portrait of four brothers living on a rural Louisiana chicken farm, with too much time on their hands and too little to do.
BARBARA LEATHER / USA (Director: Seth Lind )— A lovable Greenwich Village shoemaker muses on her lifelong craft, her neighborhood, and her quirky customers, including Chiki the llama.
BUMP, TICK, SCRATCH . / USA (Directors: Micah Perta, Rob Grobengieser )— Old records are resurrected and transformed with razors and scissors, creating new rhythms with the ghosts of the original songs seeping through.
CHESTNUT SEASON / Spain (Director: Chus Dominguez )— A languid portrait of the harvest season in pastoral Spain told in beautiful black and white photography.
THE CLOWN CHILDREN / Norway (Director: Jannicke S. Jacobsen )— Street children in Guatemala perform circus acts in traffic, juggling for food and pesos in order to live.
EL CHARANGO / USA (Director: Jim Virga )— In the highest city in the world, a tiny guitar, el charango, often made from armadillo shells and twine, gives voice to the Bolivian silver miners.
A GIRL LIKE ME / USA (Director: Kiri Davis )— A young black woman adeptly examines her peers’ attitudes on blackness and the body.
THE INTIMACY OF STRANGERS / UK (Director: Eva Weber)—A story of life, love, loss and hope-told entirely through the overheard mobile phone conversations of random strangers. A people-watcher’s delight.
MAN UP / USA (Director: Arturo Cabanas)—When does a boy become a man? This harrowing short reveals a father and son at odds over what is considered best for a child.
MARTHA IN LATTIMORE / USA (Director: Mary M. Dalton)—Although Martha is the social center of her town, she isn’t able to leave her house. She’s been living in a bright yellow iron lung since she contracted polio in 1948.
MCLAREN’S NEGATIVES / Canada (Director: Marie-Josee Saint-Pierre )— An unusual documentary about the creative process behind Canadian animator Norman McLaren’s work. NEGATIVES uses McLaren’s own techniques to make a personal statement about the art of filmmaking.
NEW ORLEANS FURLOUGH / USA (Director: Amir Bar-Lev)—A disoriented soldier returning home from Iraq wanders New Orleans after its destruction by Hurricane Katrina.
NIGHT VISIONS / USA (Director: Kathy Huang)—A soldier, returning from Iraq physically unscathed but struggling with his brutal experiences, reminds us that the wounds of military conflict are not always visible.
ON A WEDNESDAY NIGHT IN TOKYO / Germany (Director: Jan Verbeek)—A Tokyo subway conductor packs an impossibly large number of Japanese commuters onto a train during rush hour in a film articulated through Jan Verbeek’s artistic lens and shot in a single extended take.
PROJECT: B-BOY | KUJO / USA (Director: Brad Hasse)—The resurgence of breakdance! Partially deaf dancer Kujo has a fluid, gravity-defying style, using the audience’s motion as his beat.
THE REST IS SILENCE / UK (Director: Andrew Henderson )— What happens to the body after you die? The film captures the rituals of a pauper’s internment, from morgue to cemetery, in wordless dignity.
RETURN OF THE 17-YEAR CICADA / USA (Directors: Samuel Orr, Roger Hangarter)—Glorious nature! Overcoming the creepy-crawlyness of the cicada and allowing the viewer to see the beauty and humor in its life, this is nature filmmaking at its best.
RICHARD TUTTLE: NEVER NOT AN ARTIST / USA (Director: Chris Maybach )— An elegant risk-taker, Tuttle creates art with transitory materials-tissue, rope, even shadows, challenging the viewer to see beyond the materials into the ideas.
SEEDS / Poland (Director: Wojciech Kasperski )— An achingly beautiful portrayal of a Siberian family’s secret heartaches. The sage-like father’s admirable patience and strong will seem to be the only things keeping this family together.
THE SHERIFF OF GAY WASHINGTON / USA (Director: John W. Poole)—Sergeant Brett Parson balances stereotypes and skillfully commands the Washington Metropolitan Police Department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit, dedicated to solving crimes by and against members of the queer community.
SHORT FILM ABOUT FAITH / Denmark (Director: Nikolai Ostergaard)—A personal, lyrical film that explores the loss and return of faith, and the resurgence of hope that comes with its restoration. The film plays out like a prayer of its own.
A SHORT HISTORY OF SWEET POTATO PIE AND HOW IT BECAME A FLYING SAUCER / USA (Director: Nina Gilden Seavey)—Residents at the Court Retirement Community in Washington DC agree that nothing is better than Pearl Mallory’s sweet potato pie. This tender and humorous portrait of the aged residents reveals how simple things often have the greatest meaning.
SKINNY LEG BLUES / USA (Director: Ransom Riggs )— Super-8 films found in a shoebox give glimpses of a young man; all that remain of the father the filmmaker never knew.
SMITTEN / USA (Director: Nancy Kelly )— Rene di Rosa loves art. A widower of many years, di Rosa has purchased more than two-thousand eclectic works, passionately amassing a museum-quality collection.
SWEET MONSTER / Netherlands (Director: Marco De Stefanis)—In the dark, the most harmless teddy bear can become a scary monster. But is this monster also sweet?
THE THIRD PARENT / USA (Director: Christina Frenzel )— A young girl struggles to care for her autistic brother. With eloquence, grace, and just a tinge of melancholy, the film captures her caught in limbo between childhood and her untimely adult responsibilities.
THE TRIBE / USA (Director: Tiffany Shlain )— The complete history of the Jewish people from the beginning of time...in about 15 minutes.
TURN OUT THE LIGHT / Denmark (Director: Mira Jargil)—After over four decades spent in their home, an elderly couple prepares to move out. They occupy themselves with mundane questions, like coffee or tea, rather than confront the enormity of the transition.
UNDER THE ROLLERCOASTER / USA (Director: Lila Place)—There was an old woman who lived in a... Thunderbolt? Meet Mae Timpano, a Coney Island icon raising her family in a house built under New York’s famous wooden coaster.
USELESS DOG / Ireland (Director: Ken Wardrop )— This sheep dog is the laziest, worst work dog ever—second only to her pup. An homage to lovable, useless dogs everywhere.
VÁNGELO MONZÓN / Argentina/Sweden (Director: Andréas Lennartsson )— Señor Monzón has been crafting bricks from mud and manure in the warm Argentinian sun since he was a boy. Satisfied with his labor, he continues working into old age, earning just enough to live a simple life.
WAITING FOR HAPPINESS / UK (Director: Gunhild Enger)—An honest, playful, and humorous film that explores the angst of being in one’s twenties, grappling with the question of what to do with one’s life.
THE WILD SHEEP, THE FOX AND LOVE / Norway (Director: Anne Magnussen )— Hilde and her daughter leave the city for love and sheep on a remote Nordic island. Few things turn out as expected, but spring brings new lambs and new love.
STERLING AWARD FEATURE FILM COMPETITION
During the Festival, 10 films will compete for the Sterling Award, which includes $25,000 combined cash and in-kind prizes. Diane Weyermann, of Participant Productions will chair the Feature jury. As previously released the following films will be in competition:
THE BLOOD OF MY BROTHER: A STORY OF DEATH IN IRAQ / Iraq/USA (Director: Andrew Berends)—Berends documents the Iraq war from the perspective of an Iraqi man caught between the necessity of supporting his family and his desire to join the Shia uprising to avenge his brother’s inadvertent killing by an American patrol. Washington, DC Premiere.
CHAIRMAN GEORGE / Canada (Director: Daniel Cross, Mila Aung-Thwin)—Greek-Canadian statistician George Sapounidis is passionate about singing in Chinese. Determined to perform at the Olympics, George travels to Beijing where he gains popularity, self-confidence, and a true sense of belonging. US Premiere.
GUERILLA GIRL / Denmark (Frank Piasecki Poulsen)—21-year-old Isabel leaves friends and family behind for life as a fighter in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC). Moving deep into the jungle, she becomes indoctrinated into the guerilla life and mindset. US Premiere.
JAM / USA (Director: Mark Woollen)—Tensions brew when a motley crew of former roller derby stars reunite—fighting age, economic disparity, and illness to emerge together from obscurity and obsolescence. East Coast Premiere.
JESUS CAMP / USA (Directors: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady)—SILVERDOCS alumni Grady and Ewing (BOYS OF BARAKA) investigate a summer camp where fervent evangelical devotion drives daily life. JESUS CAMP explores the young followers’ faith, how adults influence it, and what it means for the future of American religion and politics. Washington, DC Premiere.
LA PERSONA DE LEO N. / Italy (Director: Alberto Vendemmiati)—Director Alberto Vendemmiati follows Venetian Nicola de Leo for five grueling years while she tries to qualify for a state-subsidized sex change operation, wrestling with emotional, physical and financial challenges. North American Premiere.
LOVE LETTERS FROM A CHILDREN’S PRISON / Norway (Director: David Kinsella)—A young convict’s poignant dilemma, torn between criminality and the young girl whose love letters urge him toward a better life, is dramatized in this film set in post-Perestroika Russia. North American Premiere.
PAPER DOLLS / Israel (Director: Tomer Heymann)—Five transsexual immigrants from the Philippines living in Israel perform together in a burlesque drag show. They spend their days caring for aging and ailing Hassids, with whom they form unexpectedly tender relationships. US Premiere.
THE RAILROAD ALL STARS / Spain (Director: Chema Rodriguez)—Surprisingly humorous and optimistic, RAILROAD ALL STARS portrays a group of Guatemalan prostitutes who form a soccer team in order to raise awareness of and provide respite from the violence which constantly threatens them. US Premiere.
TAILOR-MADE DREAMS / Germany (Director: Marco Wilms)—Indian tailor Issar faces impending retirement and mourns the loss of his life-long theatrical ambitions, until filmmaker Marco Wilms takes him on a journey across Europe, visiting faithful customers from decades past and enacting vibrant scenes out of his own Bollywood fantasies. North American Premiere.
Sterling Award Feature Jury :Diane Weyermann, Participant Productions, Jury Chair; Michelle Byrd, Executive Director, IFP; Christoph Jörg, Senior Commissioning Executive, Arte France; and Steven Markovitz, Encounters Festival Director and producer.
STERLING AWARD FOR BEST SHORT
The Festival also presents a Sterling Award for Best Short, in recognition of this increasingly acclaimed art form. Sterling Award Short Jury :Rachel Grady, Director, BOYS OF BARAKA, JESUS CAMP; John Pierson, Independent film guru and author of Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes; and David Wilson, Filmmaker and True/False Festival Director.
DOCS RX: BEST DOCUMENTARY ON GLOBAL HEALTH
BEFORE FLYING BACK TO THE EARTH / Lithuania/Germany (Director: Arunas Matelis)—A moving and poetic glimpse into the lives of children living with leukemia at a pediatrics hospital in Vilnius, Lithuania. North American Premiere.
THE BLOOD OF YINGZHOU DISTRICT / China/USA (Director: Ruby Yang)—The child Gao Jun does not speak a word until the closing minutes of the film. Little is known about him, not even his age. Yet the AIDS orphan’s search for a home to call his own forms the dramatic center of this documentary set in rural China.
THE BREAST CANCER DIARIES / USA (Director: Linda Pattillo)—Diagnosed with breast cancer at age 38, Ann Murray Paige sets up a video diary camera in her bedroom. The result is an intimate, unvarnished first-person account of “a life turned sideways,” punctuated with humor, poignancy and romance. World Premiere.
A CERTAIN KIND OF BEAUTY / USA (Directors: Liz Witham, Nancy Slonim Aronie)—Before being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at age 22, Dan Aronie was an aspiring actor—handsome, forceful, able-bodied. His story is intimately captured by his mother and the filmmaker over a six-year period from the time of his diagnosis. World Premiere.
THE DEVIL’S WATER / France (Director: Amirul Arham Sheikh)—In THE DEVIL’S WATER, three young victims work to hold the aid agencies accountable for a good deed gone tragically awry. North American Premiere.
MEMORY FOR MAX, CLAIRE, IDA AND COMPANY / Canada (Director: Allan King)—Do we become someone else when we lose our memory? Meet Max, Claire, and Ida in their sometimes humorous and continually challenging existence on an Alzheimer’s ward. Washington, DC Premiere.
PERSPECPLEJIA / Chile (Director: David Albala)—PersPecPlejia is the story of what happens when life gets in the way of a film director. Chilean filmmaker David Albala becomes a paraplegic in a traffic accident and is tragically transformed into the narrator and protagonist of a filmic journey to remake his life. North American Premiere.
THE VOYAGE OF THE WOMEN OF ZARTALE / France (Director: Claude Mourieras)—Against the striking vistas of Afghanistan, women who suffer from tuberculosis must walk for hours to reach a health clinic in a story that captures the clash between traditional culture and modern medicine. US Premiere.
DOCS Rx Best Documentary on Global Health Jury : Neal Baer, MD Executive Producer, LAW AND ORDER: SVU, former Executive Producer ER; Nils Daulaire, MD, MPH, President and CEO, Global Health Council; Arlene Donnelly Nelson, Filmmaker, POSITIVELY NAKED; Don Edkins, Executive Producer, “Steps for the Future,” South Africa; Richard Seifman, Senior Advisor, World Bank AIDS Campaign Team for Africa; and Pascal Villaneuve, MD, Chief of Health for the United Nations’ Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY AWARD
AIR GUITAR NATION / USA/Finland (Director: Alexandra Lipsitz)—In their struggle for mock stardom, US competitors Bjorn Turoque and C-Ditty progress from a friendly contest above a New York strip club to the international finals in Oulu, Finland.. Air-e-oke at the Cinema Lounge on Friday, June 16th starting at 9 PM with participants from the US Air Guitar Championships in attendance and hosted by film subject, Bjorn Tuoroque. Washington, DC Premiere
DANIELSON: A FAMILY MOVIE / USA (Director: JL Aronson)—The film follows Daniel Smith and his family’s musically innovative Christian band DANIELSON FAMILE as they struggle to find their place in the music scene. Along the way Daniel mentors Sufjan Stevens, an unknown singer-songwriter, whose subsequent success contrasts sharply with Danielson’s complicated reception by the indie and Christian rock communities. Washington, DC Premiere.
PUNK’S NOT DEAD / USA (Director: Susan Dynner)—Does the original underground, do-it-yourself punk spirit clash with today’s mainstream efforts to co-opt the movement for mass consumer culture? Featuring NOFX, BAD RELIGION, GREEN DAY, RANCID, THE SUBHUMANS, and HENRY ROLLINS. World Premiere.
ROLLING LIKE A STONE / Sweden (Directors: Stefan Berg, Magnus Gertten)—In 1965, Swedish rock sensations The Namelosers and The Gonks spent an unforgettable weekend with the Rolling Stones and made a filmstrip to record the party. Forty years later, the filmmaker tracks down the aging band members, fans and groupies to record their memories and reminisce about the road not taken. North American Premiere.
WORD.LIFE: THE HIP HOP PROJECT / USA (Directors: Matt Ruskin, Scott K. Rosenberg)—Chris “Kazi” Rolle’s intensive youth program uses hip-hop as a vehicle for self-development, personal discovery and confidence building. As he helps New York City teenagers transform their life stories into powerful works of art, he comes to terms with his own troubled past through his music. Washington, DC Premiere.
Best Music Doc Jury:Peter Gabriel, musician and WITNESS founder; Tracy McKnight, co-founder and president of Commotion Records; and Keven McAlester whose first feature, YOU’RE GONNA MISS ME, won SILVERDOCS’ 2005 music award.
FESTIVAL SPONSERS
The 2006 SILVERDOCS sponsors help make the festival possible. This year’s Festival sponsors include: Silver Sponsors: Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Comcast, and The Gazette;Presenting Media Sponsor: The New York Times; Bronze Sponsor: Current; Video Design & Production: Spirit Creative; and Major Sponsors: Borders and Storehouse.
WHAT’S NEW FOR 2006 SILVERDOCS:
Guggenheim. The Festival’s signature program, the Charles Guggenheim Symposium, honors the legacy of artistic excellence, profound respect for humanity and democratic values of the late four-time Academy Award â winning Guggenheim. In 2006, the Symposium will honor the legendary Martin Scorsese in person for his extraordinary body of documentary work, ranging from his first documentary, 1974’s ITALIANAMERICAN, to A PERSONAL JOURNEY WITH MARTIN SCORSESE THROUGH AMERICAN MOVIES, to MARTIN SCORSESE PRESENTS: THE BLUES and last year’s NO DIRECTION HOME: BOB DYLAN. Auteur filmmaker Jim Jarmusch will converse with Scorsese on stage about his career.
International Documentary Conference. The 2006 Conference explores ‘The Future of Real.’ What is the future of documentary storytelling in a moment where distribution technology is radically altering the industry’s financial, marketing and distribution models? How will these new models affect the role of documentary and the ways in which stories are told? Former Vice President, documentary subject of the Sundance hit AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, and Current TV founder Al Gore will give the keynote address.
DOCS Rx. Along with the annual Sterling Award feature film competition, SILVERDOCS features special thematic programs. DOCS Rx: A World of Documentaries on Global Health showcases documentaries that illuminate complex issues in public health, using the best of cinematic storytelling. A Who’s Who of global health professionals are lending their support and advice to help guide the program and extend its impact. There will also be a Juried award for Best Documentary on Global Health within the category.
Celebrate South Africa! In collaboration with Encounters, the leading South African documentary festival, SILVERDOCS will feature the best new films from this rapidly emerging media market including three World Premieres commissioned for the 30 th Anniversary of the Soweto Uprisings.
SILVERDOCS 2006 Juries. Sterling Award Feature Jury :Diane Weyermann, Participant Productions, Jury Chair; Michelle Byrd, Executive Director, IFP; Christoph Jörg, Senior Commissioning Executive, Arte France; and Steven Markovitz, Encounters Festival Director and producer. Sterling Award Short Jury:Rachel Grady, Director, BOYS OF BARAKA, JESUS CAMP; John Pierson, Independent film guru; and David Wilson, Filmmaker and True/False Festival Director. DOCS Rx Best Documentary on Global Health Jury:Neal Baer, MD Executive Producer, LAW AND ORDER: SVU, former Executive Producer ER; Nils Daulaire, MD, MPH, President and CEO, Global Health Council; Arlene Donnelly Nelson, Filmmaker, POSITIVELY NAKED; Don Edkins, Executive Producer, “Steps for the Future,” South Africa; Richard Seifman, Senior Advisor, World Bank AIDS Campaign Team for Africa; and Pascal Villaneuve, MD, Chief of Health for the United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF). There will also be an award presented for Best Music Doc selected from SILVERDOC’s Music Strand, judged by Peter Gabriel, musician and founder of WITNESS; Tracy McKnight, co-founder and president of Commotion Records; and Keven McAlester whose first feature, YOU’RE GONNA MISS ME, won SILVERDOCS’ 2005 Music Documentary Award.
Ace Grant. Animal Content in Entertainment (ACE) grant of $10,000 and other benefits will be awarded for the creation of films that include animal issues. SILVERDOCS and ACE will select the top five treatments. The filmmakers for these selected treatments will be invited to pitch their projects to a distinguished panel of broadcast and distribution executives in an open session of the International Documentary Conference, and the winning pitch will be announced at the SILVERDOCS Sterling Awards Ceremony on June 17, 2006.
Platinum Pass. New this year, the Platinum Pass: all-access for two plus tickets for four for opening night and for four to one other special screening; no tickets needed for all regular Festival screenings; access for two to all conference programs; Cinema Lounge, the social hub of the Festival including all parties, happy hours, special receptions and the Sterling Awards ceremony; invitation for two to one exclusive VIP reception during the festival; special thanks to Platinum pass-holders in the SILVERDOCS 2006 catalogue; four regular Festival screening tickets to use as gifts; and two $50 FRIEND memberships to the AFI. Platinum Passes cost $1,000.
Film Library. This year SILVERDOCS has added a film library for press and film professionals who miss public screenings.
About SILVERDOCS
SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival brings the best new documentaries to Washington, DC, audiences, with six days of programming showcasing 100 films, plus special screenings. Now in its fourth year, SILVERDOCS is the most talked about documentary festival in the United States, called “Non-Fiction Nirvana” by Variety, the “Pre-eminent US Documentary Fest” by Screen International, and “premiere showcase for documentary film” by Hollywood Reporter. The Festival—which will take place June 13–18, 2006, at the AFI Silver Theatre just outside Washington, DC—serves as a launch pad for independent documentaries, and affords international filmmakers access to US audiences. SILVERDOCS provides business and creative connections between filmmakers, broadcasters, distributors, and funders from both established and emerging media markets at the concurrent International Documentary Conference, June 14-17. For more information, go to www.SILVERDOCS.com.
About AFI
AFI is a national institute providing leadership in screen education and the recognition and celebration of excellence in the art of film, television and digital media. AFI trains the next generation of filmmakers at its world-renowned Conservatory, maintains America's film heritage through the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and explores new digital technologies in entertainment and education through the AFI Digital Content Lab and K-12 Screen Education Center. As the largest non-profit exhibitor in the US, AFI ON SCREEN encompasses the annual AFI FEST presented by Audi: AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival—as well as year-round programming at ArcLight Hollywood and the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, including SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival. AFI AWARDS, the annual almanac for the 21st century, honors the most outstanding motion pictures and television programs of the year, while AFI's 100 Years . . . series has ignited extraordinary public interest in classic American movies. And, during the past 33 years, AFI’s Life Achievement Award has become the highest honor for a career in film. Additional information about AFI is available at www.AFI.com.
About Discovery Communications, Inc.
Discovery Communications, Inc. is the leading global real-world media company. Discovery has grown from its core property, the Discovery Channel, first launched in the United States in 1985, to current global operations in 170 countries and territories with nearly 1.4 billion cumulative subscribers. DCI’s over 100 networks of distinctive programming represent 27 network entertainment brands including TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery Kids, Discovery Times Channel, The Science Channel, Military Channel, Discovery Home Channel, Discovery en Español, Discovery Kids en Español, Discovery HD Theater, FitTV, Discovery Travel & Living (Viajar y Vivir), Discovery Home & Health and Discovery Real Time. DCI’s other properties consist of Discovery Education and Discovery Commerce, which operates more than 100 Discovery Channel Stores in the U.S. DCI also distributes BBC America and BBC World News in the United States. DCI’s ownership consists of four shareholders: Discovery Holding Company (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB), Cox Communications, Inc., Advance/Newhouse Communications and John S. Hendricks, the Company’s Founder and Chairman.
