DOCUMENTARY FEATURES COMPETITION

7:45 P.M. FRI. 10/7 @ REGAL OLD MILL - 6

10:45 A.M. SAT. 10/8 @ REGAL OLD MILL - 4

99 MIN. | USA | OREGON PREMIERE

Filmmakers are scheduled to attend

Four Seattle sex workers trapped in a never-ending spiral of addiction turn to a self-proclaimed healer offering friendship and a path to salvation from the streets. From the sanctuary of his roadside RV, he nurses all who are ready through the rollercoaster of heroin withdrawal. But just as the women begin to rebuild their lives, a shocking betrayal ripples through their world.

“This doc provides remarkable access to the lives of characters we so rarely get to meet, and offers incredible insight into addiction and a life on the streets. The flm takes twists and turns that you can’t look away from.”

—BendFilm Team

DIRECTED BY ELISA LEVINE AND GABRIEL MILLER

Elisa is a Seattle flmmaker making her directing debut, the culmination of a longtime desire to use verite flmmaking to illuminate subcultures hidden in plain sight. Elisa is a Film Independent, Garrett Scott, and Sundance Documentary Film Program Fellow. Gabriel Miller (1972 - 2019) was an award-winning cinematographer whose credits include the Oscar-nominated King’s Point and HBO’s A Dangerous Son

. Productions he worked on have been broadcast on the BBC, Sundance Channel, and PBS.

10:15 A.M. FRI. 10/7 @ REGAL OLD MILL - 1

4:15 P.M. SAT. 10/8 @ REGAL OLD MILL - 4

78 MIN. | USA | NORTHWEST PREMIERE

Director Sam French scheduled to attend Presented in Persian with English subtitles

“An unvarnished and haunting portrayal of inequality. The nuances of the story are very well-captured, and sometimes everything is expressed loud and clear in the subjects’ faces as well as their words.”

—BendFilm Team

At the height of the international occupation of Afghanistan, Gulnaz and Farida are imprisoned on charges of “moral crimes” by an Afghan justice system that is supported by billions of dollars of aid money from the European Union. These two courageous women fght for their freedom against a patriarchal Afghan society, while exposing the complicity of the European Union in censoring their voices, and how the international press (including this documentary) forever alters the course of their lives.

Preceded by The Red Suitcase | 17 min. (p. 64)

DIRECTED BY SAM FRENCH AND CLEMENTINE

Clementine is a documentary flmmaker with over nine years experience in the developing world. She has made flms for Channel Four, NBC, PBS, Current TV, the United Nations, and the Aga Khan Foundation. In addition to his documentary work, Sam wrote and directed the Academy Award nominated narrative short flm Buzkashi Boys which was the frst narrative flm since 2001 to be flmed entirely on location in Afghanistan.

8 P.M. THURS. 10/6 @ REGAL OLD MILL - 6

9 P.M. SAT. 10/8 @ REGAL OLD MILL - 1

129 MIN. | SOUTH KOREA | OREGON PREMIERE | NEON

Presented in Korean with English subtitles

“So many genuine emotions are packed into this subtle, amusing, utterly meaningful journey. We loved this must-see flm. 129 minutes is a breeze.”

—BendFilm Team

DIRECTED BY HIROKAZU KOREEDA

Sang-hyeon is the owner of a hand laundry and volunteers at the nearby church, where his friend Dongsoo works. The two run an illegal business together: Sang-hyeon occasionally steals babies from the church’s baby box with Dong-soo, who deletes the church’s surveillance footage that shows a baby was left there. They sell the babies on the adoption black market. But when a young mother comes back after having abandoned her baby, she discovers them and decides to join them on a road trip to interview the baby’s potential parents. Meanwhile, two detectives are on their trail.

Hirokazu Koreeda was born in Tokyo in 1962. He originally intended to be a novelist, but after graduating from Waseda University in 1987 went on to become an assistant director at T.V. Man Union. Since his frst feature, Maborosi, which won jury prizes at Venice and Chicago, he made many notable flms including Nobody Knows,

Like Father, Like Son,

Shoplifters and The Truth.

5:15 P.M. THURS. 10/6 @ REGAL OLD MILL - 6

12:45 P.M. SUN. 10/9 @ REGAL OLD MILL - 6

104 MIN. | BELGIUM | OREGON PREMIERE | A24

Presented in French with English subtitles

Leo and Remi are two thirteen-year-old best friends, whose seemingly unbreakable bond is suddenly, tragically torn apart in an emotionally transformative and unforgettable portrait of the intersection of friendship and love, identity and independence, and heartbreak and healing. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

“Exquisitely performed by two of the most astonishing, electric child actors we’ve seen. This frst-look access to a Cannes-winning flm is a treat for Central Oregon.”

—BendFilm Team

Lukas Dhont was born in Ghent, Belgium where he earned a degree in Audio-Visual Arts from the KASK Conservatorium. His short flms Corps Perdu and

L’Infni received numerous prizes. In 2016, Lukas participated in the Cannes Cinéfondation Residence with the script of his frst feature flm, Girl

, and was awarded the Caméra d’or for best frst feature at Cannes’s Un Certain Regard selection in 2018.

2022 NARRATIVE FEATURES SPOTLIGHT

4 P.M. SUN. 10/9 @ REGAL OLD MILL - 1

82 MIN. | ISRAEL | OREGON PREMIERE | GREENWICH ENT.

Ben and Raz are painstakingly pursuing their desire to have a child, and the migrant neighbourhood where this gay couple has set up their new fat is on the up. But a confict over a newly planted tree in the city brings deep-seated prejudices to light.

Karaoke

6:30 P.M. SUN. 10/9 @ REGAL OLD MILL - 1

100 MIN. | ISRAEL | OREGON PREMIERE | GREENWICH ENT.

Presented in Hebrew with English subtitles

A bittersweet comedy about a middle-class suburban couple in their 60s who are drawn to their new neighbor, a charismatic bachelor who has karaoke evenings at his apartment.

Tower Theatre sponsored by