DocLands 2018

DOCLANDS THE CALIFORNIA FILM INSTITUTE’S DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL

MAY 3-6 | DOCLANDS.COM

SPONSORS S I G N AT U R E N A N C Y P. a n d R I C H A R D K . R O B B I N S FA M I LY F O U N D AT I O N

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F E S T I VA L JENNIFER COSLET T MacCRE ADY

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C A RO L INE CR AW F O R D L A BE

MA JOR MEDIA

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WELCOME The inaugural edition of CFI’s documentary film festival received high praise from filmmakers and audiences alike last year—with comparisons to the warmth and intimacy of the early days of the Mill Valley Film Festival. As gratifying as those compliments are, we are not looking to repeat the past. Our goal is to look to the future.

Our second edition manifests that idea, not just in presentations that explore the wild, incite action, and celebrate possibility. This year, we are trying something new, incorporating CFI Education’s Environmental Youth Forum, which, for the past ten years, has served thousands of young adults by bringing them to our year-round home, the Smith Rafael Film Center. There, they experience vibrant, educational, entertaining films on subjects related to planet Earth and all the living things with whom we share it. DocLands is committed to the exciting, growing, and evolving art of documentary filmmaking. It’s well matched with EYF, which is committed to the exciting, growing, and evolving process of activating youth.

Because documentaries have a vital role in all the most pressing issues of our time, particularly in this short-attention-span era, DocLands 2018 gives critical matters the treatment they deserve. Opening Night (climate change film Anote’s Ark) features a guest appearance by the former president (Anote Tong) of an island nation disappearing into the sea. We close with the world premiere of 16 Bars, which brings inmates hope through music. And our first DocLands Honors Award goes to Louie Psihoyos (The Cove, Racing Extinction, The Gamer Changers), reiterating our commitment to a sustainable world. Throughout the 42 films of DocLands 2018, you will see that no matter the subject, these films resonate universally, emphasizing our common humanity.

Thanks you to all those who have made this festival possible; our amazing DocLands staff, led by our director of programming, Joni Cooper; our committed volunteer board of directors, our generous donors and sponsors; and, of course, our brilliant filmmakers—who bring all of us the opportunity to make discoveries through cinema that compel us to make change in the world.

Mark Fishkin

Executive Director / Founder, California Film Institute DONORS D AV I D B E R R Y a n d K A M A L A G E R O U X - B E R R Y JACQUEL INE CO RMIER | L A RRY a n d C A RIE H A IM OV ITCH C AT H Y a n d R O B E R T N O U R A F S H A N H EI D I R I C H A R DSO N a n d M I C H A EL DY E T T SUS A N a n d M I CH A EL SCH WA R T Z JAC K a n d J U DY SH ER M A N | M O N A S T EIN BERG

SU PP O RT ERS MK ANDERSON | ANONYMOUS | KERREEN BRANDT | ALEXANDER BREBNER RITA CAHILL | JOE and SUE CARLOMAGNO | JOANIE CIARDELLI | EDWARD DEROSIS SUSAN FAIRCLOUGH | DIANA GAY and DAVID CATANIA | YVONNE AND DAVID GOWDEY SHAUNA HANNAN | SUZANNE HARLE | KRAMER HERZOG BOBBIE MEYER | ABIGAIL MILLIKAN-STATES | GARY PELZNER | ANNA ROCCA KAREN RUGGLES, PRESS PLAY TRANSCRIPTION | PHYLLIS WEBER | STEVEN AND SUE WEINSWIG

New this year, DocLands joins forces with CFI Education’s 10th annual Environmental Youth Forum (EYF), a free educational program that teaches environmental awareness and activism to thousands of youth, with an emphasis on innovations and solutions.

Featuring several DocLands films and guests, EYF takes place during school hours May 2-4 and features an array of film learning screenings, discussions, live presentations, and Unique interactive experience that film to foster environmental awareness exhibits for students inuses grades 1-12.

Admission is FREE for all Bay Area schools. and activism, highlighting innovations and solutions

For more information or to getstudents, your school email education@cafilm.org.

Free to Bay Area gradesinvolved, 1-12, featuring: Screenings with discussions

Workshops

Live presentations

Interactive exhibits

Photos: Tommy Lau

FREE FOR ALL BAY AREA SCHOOLS | MAY 2-4, 2018 SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER | EDUCATION@CAFILM.ORG

In addition to more than a dozen film screenings, students can add to their EYF experience with these interactive resources and activities:

ACTIVE CINEMA ROOM A variety of interactive exhibits allow students to engage directly with activists, organizations, and issues through hands-on demonstrations and presentations— Unique interactive learning experience to foster including a mobile climate science lab andthat twouses newfilm virtual reality environmental (VR) exhibitions!

awareness and activism, highlighting innovations and solutions

ART EXHIBIT: “AFTER NATURE” Free to Bay Area students, grades 1-12, featuring: This Art Works Downtown exhibition seeks to explore a catalogue of living things with of discussions Workshops and reflectScreenings upon the future “natural” development in the Anthropocene Era, the Age of Humans.

Live presentations Interactive exhibits Find complete EYF program information and film descriptions at FREE FOR ALL cfieducation.org/eyf BAY AREA SCHOOLS | MAY 2-4, 2018 SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER | EDUCATION@CAFILM.ORG

NANCY P. AND RICHARD K. ROBBINS FAMILY FOUNDATION

BRISSON FAMILY FUND THE HORACE W. GOLDSMITH FOUNDATION

OPENING NIGHT FILM + PARTY

ANOTE’S ARK

CANADA 2018, 77 min Director Matthieu Rytz

IN PERSON: Director Matthieu Rytz

Film Subject Anote Tong, former president of Kiribati CFI launches the 2018 edition of DocLands with Montreal-based photographer/ethnologist Matthieu Rytz’s exquisitely shot feature debut, a real-time climate change story. Most often a scientific abstraction that seems little evident in day-to-day life, climate change could hardly be more heartbreakingly immediate for the residents of Kiribati, a nation in the central Pacific Ocean. Kiribati’s 33 atolls sprawl over an expanse as wide as the U.S., yet barely rise above sea level—and that level is rising. As global warming generated by industrialized countries swallows Kiribati whole, this small, isolated culture is being destroyed. Lovely and mournful, Anote’s Ark chronicles the peculiarities of a population whose all-too-imminent future will be strictly as refugees. Will the Herculean efforts of former President Anote Tong stop this catastrophe? Or will it simply warn the world of the lessons that Kiribati’s struggle makes so very clear? | CALIFORNIA PREMIERE Preceded by WATER TOWN US 2017, 24 min Director Maya Craig Immerse yourself in Matthieu Rytz’s ANOTE’S ARK 9-minute virtual reality experience, which takes you on a journey to Kiribati. Sign up at the Smith Rafael Film Center throughout the Festival.

MAY 3, 7:00pm | SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER PROGRAM $35 / $30 CFI members PROGRAM & PARTY $55 / $50

OPENING NIGHT PARTY 9:00-11:00pm | ELKS LODGE, MAPLE LAWN TERRACE, 1312 Mission Avenue, San Rafael

ENVIRONMENTAL YOUTH FORUM SCREENING OF ANOTE’S ARK MAY 4 1:00pm SEQUOIA (Tickets available for purchase.)

Sponsored by The Academy of Integral Humanities and New Media 3

DOCLANDS HONORS: LOUIE PSIHOYOS The DocLands Honors Award is presented to a filmmaker in recognition of exceptional storytelling within the documentary genre, an artist whose films resonate universally, emphasizing our common humanity—no matter the subject.

Oceanic Preservation Society

The inaugural DocLands Honors Award is presented to director Louie Psihoyos (The Cove, Racing Extinction, The Game Changers) for his dogged determination and tenacity in exposing wrongs and expanding awareness. We also show our appreciation for his astounding efforts in outreach, bringing to a worldwide audience some of our most pressing environmental and social issues.

Louie Psihoyos, executive director of the Oceanic Preservation Society (OPS), is recognized as one of the top photographers in the world. An ardent dive photographer, he feels compelled to expose the decline of our planet’s crucial resource, the oceans.

Psihoyos’s first documentary film, The Cove, won the Academy Award® for Best Documentary Film of 2009.

RACING EXTINCTION US 2015, 94 min Director Louie Psihoyos Scientists believe we are in the sixth major extinction event in the planet’s history, and unlike the previous five, this one is being caused by humankind. Half of all species are threatened with annihilation by the end of this century, and this remarkable film tackles this monumental challenge by focusing on activists, scientists, and artists dedicated to saving those without a voice—the vanishing species of our globe. Louie Psihoyos has created an ode to life on our planet with a documentary that takes us on an unforgettable visual journey, one that features shocking undercover footage of illegal wildlife capture and trade, infrared camera-captured carbon monoxide emissions, the haunting underwater ballet of manta rays, and a breathtaking projection installation by Bay Area-based Obscura Digital. Glued together with careful editing, Racing Extinction raises awareness and inspires action with a masterful touch.

MAY 4, 6:30pm | CINÉARTS SEQUOIA PROGRAM $20 / $15 CFI members PROGRAM & RECEPTION $30 / $25

RECEPTION

9:00-11:00pm | Seager Gray Gallery, 108 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley 4

CLOS I N G NI G H T F ILM + PARTY

16 BARS

US 2018, 96 min Director Sam Bathrick

IN PERSON: Director Sam Bathrick, Film Subjects Todd “Speech” Thomas, Teddy Kane We celebrate DocLands’ Closing Night with the world premiere of Sam Bathrick’s transformative film 16 Bars. Todd “Speech” Thomas of activist hip-hop group Arrested Development instigates a unique rehabilitation program in Richmond, Virginia, to help prisoners write and record their own songs. Bathrick focuses on four inmates who battle cycles of incarceration and addiction. Truly gifted, the men make brilliant music that brings their stories to life and reaches out to us like prayer. “It’s a big deal to have their words come out from behind walls,” says Speech. “If that’s not freedom, I don’t know what is.”

The US boasts the highest incarceration rates in the world, and the film humanizes some of the complex issues surrounding America’s broken criminal justice system. Earning their trust, and aided by loving camerawork and superbly produced recording sessions, the director deftly captures the men’s deepest hopes and fears. Suspense builds as each man works toward freedom in the best way he knows how. | WORLD PREMIERE Special performance by Teddy Kane and Speech.

MAY 5, 6:30pm | SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER PROGRAM $20 / $15 CFI members PROGRAM & PARTY $35 / $30

CLOSING NIGHT PARTY 9:00-11:00pm | ART WORKS DOWNTOWN / GREEN CHILE KITCHEN 1335–1337 Fourth Street, San Rafael

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INPERSON 16 BARS May 5 Director Sam Bathrick, Producer Adam Barton, Film Subject Todd ‘Speech’ Thomas ALBATROSS May 5/6 Director Chris Jordan Producer Victoria Sloan Jordan ANOTE’S ARK May 3 Director Matthieu Rytz Film Subject Anote Tong DEAR ERIK w/Saving Brinton May 6 Director Bryan Wetzel DRAWN TOGETHER May 5 Director Harleen Singh, Editor Tal Skloot Film Subject Keith Knight FINDING HYGGE May 4/5 Director Rocky Walls, Producer Grant Michael THE GUARDIANS May 4/5 Directors Tessa Moran, Ben Crosbie HAVE YOU HEARD FROM May 4 JOHANNESBURG: OLIVER TAMBO Director Connie Field THE KING May 4 Invited, Director Eugene Jarecki METAMORPHOSIS May 5/6 Filmmakers Nova Ami, Velcrow Ripper MR. FISH: CARTOONING FROM THE DEEP END May 5 Director Pablo Bryant Film Subject Dwayne Booth MY IRNIK w/Into Twin Galaxies May 4/5 Filmmaker François Lebeau OBJECTOR w/Wall May 4 Director Molly Stuart OLOMPALI: A HIPPIE ODYSSEY May 6 Director Gregg Gibbs, Producer Maura McCoy ON HER SHOULDERS May 6 Director Alexandria Bombach

PICK OF THE LITTER May 6 Directors Don Hardy, Dana Nachman Film Subjects (human and canine!)

PLANT w/A River’s Last Chance May 4 Directors Flavia Cassani, David Zlutnick Film Subjects Guthridge Family RACING EXTINCTION May 4 Director Louie Psihoyos THE REASON TO LIVE w/Shiners May 5/6 Director Boyoung Kim THE RESCUE LIST May 5 Directors Alyssa Fedele, Zachary Fink A RIVER’S LAST CHANCE May 4 Director Shane Anderson Producers Jason Hartwick, Jeff Thompson SAVING BRINTON May 6 Filmmaker John Richard Film Subject Mike Zahs SHINERS May 5/6 Director Stacey Tenenbaum Film Subject Kealani Lada SOUFRA May 6 Producer Gretchen Thomas SPARK PLUG COWBOYS w/Olompali May 6 Directors Kramer Herzog, L. Marcel SURVIVING INTERNATIONAL BOULEVARD May 5 w/The Rescue List Director Sian Taylor Gowan SWAN w/Ask the Sexpert May 5 Co-director J.P. Dobrin WALL May 4 Director Cam Christiansen WATER TOWN w/Anote’s Ark May 3 Director Maya Craig WRANGLING RUSSIA May 5/6 w/Valley of the Wolves Director Ilie Mitaru

Saving Brinton (p. 14)

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DOCLIFE

METAMORPHOSISJOURNEY

Friday, May 4, 3:00–4:00pm | Smith Rafael Film Center | $20 This experiential workshop led by award-winning filmmakers and certified coaches Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper, with structure inspired by their feature documentary Metamorphosis, explores transformation in the face of planetary emergency. The participants move through the stages of Chrysalis, Crisis, Catharsis, Symbiosis, and Metamorphosis, personalizing this arc and applying it to their own lives. Short films are integrated throughout the workshop.

(See page 11 for accompanying Metamorphosis film note.)

DOCPITCH

Saturday, May 5, 11:00am–1:00pm | Smith Rafael Film Center | FREE (ticket required) DocPitch is designed to connect filmmakers and their ideas to funders, distributors, organizations, philanthropists, fellow filmmakers—and future audiences. Up to five film projects currently in development have been pre-selected to present their pitches. The audience will get to vote for their favorite, which will receive a $10,000 cash award.

DOCTALK

Story Arc, Music Arc—Do They Follow the Same Beat?

Sunday, May 6, 12:30–1:30pm | Mark Fishkin Room, Smith Rafael Film Center FREE (ticket required) The story-enhancing power of music and score is palpable in the films that stick with us. But how do you achieve this sought-after influence and emotion? How and when do you choose a composer? Do you need to have a vision before you collaborate? Is it imperative to develop a second layer of narrative composed of notes that mimics your story arc? Join us for coffee and conversation with visiting and local filmmakers as they share their individual strategies for hitting all the right notes to boost the power of their films.

SECTIONS

WONDERLANDS lifts our spirits through stories of joy, wonder, and possibility.

Sponsored by Bellam Self Storage & Boxes

THE GREAT OUTDOORS transports us outside to truly appreciate, explore, and ultimately compel us to save and conserve our environment and the wilds of our one precious and precarious planet.

ART OF IMPACT engages and sparks action by sharing stories that open our eyes to the

global community and its disparate cultures, politics, personal narratives, and biographies.

Look for this icon to identify films that expand the traditional definition of

documentary form in terms of creativity and entertainment.

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ALBATROSS

US 2017, 97 min Director Chris Jordan Shot on Midway, a remote North Pacific atoll and home to the world’s largest albatross colony, this film captures extraordinarily intimate footage of the birds, and features a hauntingly beautiful score. Yet, as the birds feed their young, we learn of a hidden danger that implicates us all.

Watching Albatross may well change your life.

IN PERSON: Director Chris Jordan

Producer Victoria Sloan Jordan

ART OF IMPACT | THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Sat May 5 6:15pm Sequoia Sun May 6 7:30pm Rafael

Sponsored by Teresa Wolf

ASK THE SEXPERT

US 2017, 83 min Director Vaishali Sinha Gynecologist Mahinder Watsa writes a popular Mumbai sex advice column, and, at 91 years of age, he has heard it all. But whether in person or in print, he does what he’s always done: deliver witty, nonjudgmental truths about sexual health. Not everyone agrees with his usual prognosis—“it’s normal”—and India’s vocal conservatives lay bare just how much more work Watsa has yet to do.

Preceded by SWAN US 2017, 3 min Directors Laetitia Jacquart, J.P. Dobrin WONDERLANDS

Sat May 5 8:30pm Sequoia

BECOMING WHO I WAS

INDIA/TIBET/SOUTH KOREA 2017, 95 min Directors Moon Chang-Yong, Jeon Jin Padma Angdu is a rosy-cheeked young Rinpoche, or reincarnation of a spiritual master. Under the care of a local lama, Urgyan Rickzen, in the remote mountainous Ladakh region of southern India, Padma must eventually re-join his monastic order in Tibet. With delicately intimate moments and breathtaking aerial cinematography, this is a masterpiece of epic proportions.

WONDERLANDS

Berlinale Grand Prix Generation Kplus International Jury Prize, 2017 Hot Docs 2017—Top 20 Audience Favorite

Fri May 4 4:45pm Rafael Sat May 5 3:45pm Sequoia Sun May 6 12:15pm Rafael 8

DRAWN TOGETHER:

ART OF IMPACT

Sat May 5 12:30pm Sequoia

COMICS, DIVERSITY & STEREOTYPES US 2017, 52 min Director Harleen Singh From comics to cosplay, progressive artists such as Keith Knight, Vishavjit Singh, and Eileen Kaur Alden are breaking new ground in cartooning.

IN PERSON: Director Harleen Singh, Editor Tal Skloot

Film Subject Keith Knight MR. FISH: CARTOONING FROM THE DEEP END US 2017, 70 min Director Pablo Bryant One of the world’s greatest editorial cartoonists finds his acidic political critiques are too hot to handle in today’s increasingly cautious publishing marketplace.

IN PERSON: Director Pablo Bryant

Film Subject Dwayne Booth Slamdance 2018— Best Documentary Feature

DUGOUT

UK 2017, 53 min Director Benjamin Sadd The vibrant green Ecuadorian Amazon, bursting with life, is the star of this eco-adventure. With the generous help of a local Huaorani family, two young British men set out to make a traditional dugout canoe and row it down a river. It’s an arduous journey, but this duo is all charm as they encounter the taste of howler monkey, overcome G.I. woes, and evade unfriendly darts. | US PREMIERE

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Preceded by PERSON OF THE FOREST US 2017, 16 min Directors Melissa Lesh, Tim Laman THE LAST HONEY HUNTER US 2017, 35 min Director Ben Knight

Sun May 6 1:45pm Sequoia

FINDING HYGGE

US 2018, 93 min Directors Rocky Walls What is hygge? A colorful cast of characters share humorous, surprising, and often deeply philosophical thoughts about this Danish concept in a delightful, heartwarming film. Ranked among the happiest people in the world, Danes share their secrets about loving life. The moral of the story? Maybe we all have a little hygge, even if we’re not Danish.

IN PERSON: Director Rocky Walls

Producer Grant Michael WONDERLANDS

Copenhagen Film Festival 2018— Best Documentary Feature

Fri May 4 7:00pm Sequoia Sat May 5 3:30pm Rafael

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THE GUARDIANS

US 2017, 70 min Directors Ben Crosbie, Tessa Moran Every year majestic Monarch butterflies make their way on a 3,000-mile journey from Canada to their winter home in the ancient forests of Michoacán, Mexico, and it is here that the struggling community of Donaciano Ojeda strives to preserve the delicate balance between humans and nature. Like the millions of monarchs that also call this forest home, their survival depends on it.

CALIFORNIA PREMIERE IN PERSON: Directors Tessa Moran, Ben Crosbie ART OF IMPACT

Fri May 4 7:00pm Rafael Sat May 5 3:30pm Sequoia

Sponsored by Teresa Wolf

HAVE YOU HEARD FROM JOHANNESBURG: OLIVER TAMBO

WONDERLANDS

US/SOUTH AFRICA 2018, 97 min Director Connie Field A religious man heading a secular movement, a pacifist commanding its army, Oliver Tambo was a man of many contradictions who largely orchestrated a revolution that shook institutionalized racism to its core. This is a thrilling portrait of a towering yet little-remembered figure

by Berkeley-based director Connie Field, who adds an essential chapter to her original eight-hour epic series.

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE IN PERSON: Director Connie Field

Sun May 6 7:15pm Sequoia

INTO TWIN GALAXIES: A GREENLAND EPIC

GERMANY 2016, 52 min Director Jochen Schmoll Two pro kayakers and a polar expert set out on the “most epic expedition ever” across Greenland in this incredible real-life adventure. Their goal is an unknown river canyon they’ll run to the ocean—but first there are weeks of treacherous cross-country travel by hoof and kite-ski, in gale-force winds. It’s a perilous, visually stunning journey.

CALIFORNIA PREMIERE INVITED: Film Subject Ben Stookesbury

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Fri May 4 9:15pm Rafael Sat May 5 1:15pm Rafael

Preceded by MY IRNIK CANADA 2017, 15 min Directors Matthew Hood, François Lebeau COLORS OF CHANGE GREENLAND 2018, 21 min Director Jenny Nichols Sponsored by Jennifer Coslett MacCready

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THE KING

US/GERMANY 2018, 109 min Director Eugene Jarecki A road trip ostensibly tracing the rise and fall of Elvis Presley, The King outlines the deep fallacies in the story America tells about its greatness. Driving around the country in the singer’s 1963 Rolls-Royce accompanied by an articulate array of celebrities, musicians, and political pundits, Eugene Jarecki’s captivating documentary searches for a truer tale, one that might still allow for an American Dream.

INVITED: Director Eugene Jarecki WONDERLANDS

Fri May 4 9:15pm Sequoia

McQUEEN

UK 2018, 111 min Directors Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui This superb film traces designer Alexander McQueen’s meteoric rise to stardom from his first forays into tailoring to worldwide fame as a fashion icon. Through touching interviews and dazzling footage of McQueen’s fashion show extravaganzas, the documentary expertly weaves the tale of a tortured man whose universe of designs reflected not only the beauty he saw in the world, but his own dark side.

Sponsored by Caroline Crawford Labe

ART OF IMPACT

Sat May 5 1:00pm Sequoia

METAMORPHOSIS

THE GREAT OUTDOORS | ART OF IMPACT

CANADA 2018, 85 min Filmmakers Nova Ami, Velcrow Ripper What is our capacity for change? It’s a prescient question given a whole new spin in Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper’s striking film. The answers here are eye-opening, the visuals mesmerizing, and the sound bewitchingly portentous as it evokes Earth’s final breaths. Does the change we’re facing offer us an opportunity for transformation? This film gives us a chance to discover—and accept—the wonder of impermanence.

(See page 7 for Metamorphosis Journey workshop.)

IN PERSON: Filmmakers Nova Ami, Velcrow Ripper

Sat May 5 8:30pm Rafael Sun May 6 6:45pm Sequoia Sponsored by Jim Boyce Trust & Kris Otis

11 WWW.METAMORPHOSIS.MEDIA

MINDING THE GAP

US 2018, 98 min Director Bing Liu Set in blue-collar Rockford, Illinois, director Bing Liu’s fresh and discerning film follows a group of his skateboarding friends. In between gnarly skate scenes, Bing unearths some deeper truths affecting all three buddies. An unorthodox filmmaking style and unique access make this film about skateboarding, friendship, and acceptance as uplifting and heartwarming as it is gritty and honest.

ART OF IMPACT

Fri May 4 9:30pm Sequoia

Sponsored by Yelp

Sundance 2018—US Documentary Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking

OLOMPALI: A HIPPIE ODYSSEY

US 2018, 85 min Director Gregg Gibbs Turning on, tuning in, and dropping out, a group of kindred spirits calling itself the “Chosen Family” in the late ’60s built its base camp 30 miles north of San Francisco.

Clothing was optional, authority disdained, and weed widely distributed. Peter Coyote narrates this warmly reflective story, which crosses paths with tragedy—as well as the Grateful Dead, Hells Angels, and the Diggers—as it celebrates the spirit of invention. | WORLD PREMIERE IN PERSON: Director Gregg Gibbs

Producer Maura McCoy WONDERLANDS

Sun May 6 4:30pm Sequoia

Preceded by SPARK PLUG COWBOYS US 2017, 16 min Directors S. Kramer Herzog, L. Marcel

ON HER SHOULDERS

US 2018, 94 min Director Alexandria Bombach The plight of the Yazidi community, who face mass extermination at the hands of ISIL extremists, is told elegantly through delicately lit interviews and the selfless lobbying of 23-year-old reluctant activist, Nadia Murad.

Although the toll of retelling her own harrowing story is clearly evident in her face, Murad refuses to rest lest the atrocities continue to go unnoticed by those who may be able to help.

IN PERSON: Alexandria Bombach ART OF IMPACT

Sun May 6 7:45pm Rafael

Sponsored by Teresa Wolf

Sundance 2018— Documentary Best Directing Award SXSW 2018—LUNA® Chicken & Egg Documentary Award

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PICK OF THE LITTER

WONDERLANDS

US 2017, 83 min Directors Don Hardy, Dana Nachman In Pick of the Litter, we follow five dogs from the moment they are born through the intense two-year program that will prepare them to become working guide dogs and unite with their blind partners. The stakes are high, and not every dog will make the cut, but those who graduate will all go on to provide life-changing services for those in need.

(This film is ACTIVIEW enabled. See actiview.co.)

IN PERSON: Directors Don Hardy, Dana Nachman

Film Subjects (human and canine!)

Sun May 6 12:00pm Rafael Sun May 6 4:45pm Rafael

Sponsored by EO Products

Cinequest—2018 Audience Choice Award

THE RESCUE LIST

US 2018, 80 min Directors Alyssa Fedele, Zachary Fink Ghana’s Lake Volta, the most massive man-made lake in the world, is also the site of a monumental human rights failure: the selling of area children into slavery. This riveting, gorgeously photographed documentary by Bay Area filmmakers Zachary Fink and Alyssa Fedele chronicles the brave efforts to find these children, bring them to safety, and return them to their families of origin.

DOCPITCH 2017 IN PERSON: Directors Alyssa Fedele, Zachary Fink ART OF IMPACT

Sat May 5 3:00pm Rafael

Preceded by SURVIVING INTERNATIONAL BOULEVARD: DOMESTIC CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING US 2016, 22 min Director Sian Taylor Gowan

A RIVER’S LAST CHANCE

US 2017, 67 min Director Shane Anderson One of the most diverse rivers in the United States, the Eel, ran dry in 2014—for the first time in history. Once victimized by logging, damming, and drought, the Eel faced new challenges in the new century from some of California’s favorite commodities: wine and weed. This urgent and compelling documentary makes a renewed case for regulation and collaboration in protecting this vital resource.

IN PERSON: Director Shane Anderson

Producers Jason Hartwick, Jeff Thompson THE GREAT OUTDOORS | ART OF IMPACT

Fri May 4 9:00pm Rafael

Preceded by PLANT US 2017, 23 min Directors David Zlutnick, Flavia Cassani

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SAVING BRINTON

WONDERLANDS

Sun May 6 1:00pm Sequoia

US 2017, 87 min Filmmakers Tommy Haines, John Richard, Andrew Sherburne An eccentric collector and the self-appointed local historian of a small town in Iowa stumbles upon a cache of old dusty film reels that will end up consuming him for more than thirty-two years. The treasure trove he discovers in a farmhouse basement includes a collection of magical films from cinematic pioneer Georges Méliès long thought to be lost to cinematic history.

IN PERSON: Filmmaker John Richard

Film Subject Michael Zahs Preceded by DEAR ERIK US 2017, 9 min Director Bryan Wetzel

SHINERS

CANADA 2016, 78 min Director Stacey Tenenbaum Shoe-shiners from New York to Tokyo, often invisible to the disdainful eye of the public, get the spotlight in a film directed with compassion and skill. These illusive artists speak of class differences, job satisfaction, and the meaning of life. Just as the shoe-shining philosophers bring pleasure and conversation to their clientele, this entertaining and polished film has never a dull moment.

CALIFORNIA PREMIERE IN PERSON: Director Stacey Tenenbaum

Film Subject Kealani Lada WONDERLANDS

Sat May 5 6:15pm Rafael Sun May 6 3:45pm Sequoia

Preceded by THE REASON TO LIVE US 2017, 11 min Director Boyoung Kim

SOUFRA

US 2017, 73 min Director Thomas Morgan Mariam Shaar lives in a refugee camp just south of Beirut.

When she and other enterprising women refugees resolve to grow a small catering business, named Soufra, or “spread” in Arabic, obstacles emerge. As a bevy of colorful, mouthwatering food parades by, we find ourselves rooting for Mariam’s success and her courage reminds us that every refugee has a dream for a better life.

IN PERSON: Producer Gretchen Thomas

ART OF IMPACT

Preceded by LITTLE FIEL US 2017, 16 min Director Irina Patkanian

Sun May 6 2:00pm Rafael

Sponsored by Jim Boyce Trust & Kris Otis

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THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS

US 2017, 96 min Director Tim Wardle Bobby, David, and Eddy—triplets who find each other by chance in their late teens—generated heartwarming headlines in the 1980s. Their three identical smiles, moptop heads, and wide shoulders charmed the public almost as much as the circumstances of their reunification.

But we soon learn an almost unbelievable story that goes much further than their exultant initial encounter.

ART OF IMPACT

Sundance 2018—US Documentary Special Jury Award for Storytelling

Fri May 4 6:30pm Rafael Sat May 5 9:00pm Rafael

THE VALLEY OF THE WOLVES

FRANCE 2016, 90 min Director Jean-Michel Bertrand With unabating good humor and infinite patience and enthusiasm, filmmaker and wildlife enthusiast JeanMichel Bertrand keeps himself—and us—amused as he spends months amid the magnificent beauty of a remote valley in the French Alps searching for a family of wolves he believes (with all his heart) have established a den there.

Preceded by WRANGLING RUSSIA US 2017, 11 min Director Ilie Mitaru GREAT OUTDOORS

Sat May 5 9:00pm Sequoia Sun May 6 5:00pm Rafael

Sponsored by Teresa Wolf

WALL

CANADA 2017, 81 min Director Cam Christiansen Adapted from the 2009 monologue by renowned British playwright and screenwriter David Hare, Wall ruminates on the terminology, philosophy, and reality of what Israelis call a “security fence” and Palestinians “an apartheid wall.” Canadian animation filmmaker Cam Christiansen employs a largely black-and-white canvas as a malleable, clarifying backdrop for Hare’s journey of inquiry about the barrier’s implications for Middle East peace.

IN PERSON: Director Cam Christiansen ART OF IMPACT

Fri May 4 3:45pm Rafael

Preceded by OBJECTOR US 2017, 16 min Director Molly Stuart Sponsored by Teresa Wolf

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WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?

US 2018, 94 min Director Morgan Neville “Love is the root of everything: all learning, all parenting, all relationships. Love or the lack of it.” These are the wise and seemingly prescient words of Fred Rogers, the originator/host of public television’s, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. Speaking to children as equals on any topic in an open and unruffled manner, he taught tolerance above all else. He was one of a kind, a man whose teachings are even more relevant today.

WONDERLANDS

Sat May 5 6:00pm Sequoia Sun May 6 2:30pm Rafael

Sponsored by Bellam Self Storage & Boxes

CFI BOARD OF DIRECTORS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR / FOUNDER

Mark Fishkin BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Maida Brankman Kenneth Broad Lynne Hale Richard J. Idell Amy Keroes Daniel Kenyon Caroline Labe Jennifer Coslett MacCready

Cathy Nourafshan Maggie O’Donnell Jonathan Parker Susan Schwartz Dr. Joel Sklar Jann Stanley Steve Weinswig Zach Zeisler

Gordon Radley Christopher B. Smith Henry Timnick

EMERITUS BOARD

The Honorable Barbara Boxer Stewart Boxer Drusie Davis Jeff Fisher

Rita Cahill Sid Ganis Bruce Katz Gary Meyer

FOUNDING BOARD

Rita Cahill Mark Fishkin Lois Kohl Shore ADVISORY BOARD

Peter Flaxman Robert Greber Linda Gruber Peggy Haas Jessica Igoe Michael Klein Roxanne Klein KC Lauck Andrew McGuire Mary Poland Eric Schwartz Michael Schwartz Skip Whitney

DOCLANDS ADVISORY GROUP John Antonelli Mill Valley Film Group Maida Brankman Genuine Article Pictures David Eckles Filmmaker Fund

Abby Ginzberg Ginzberg Productions/ Berkeley Film Foundation Carrie Lozano Filmmaker/IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund Paola Mottura Independent Feature Project

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Minette Nelson Filmmaker Fund Will Parrinello Mill Valley Film Group Paul Zaentz Producer/Berkeley Film Foundation

TICKETS

DOCLANDS.COM | 415.552.5580 Skip Will Call by selecting Print-at-Home. Show your e-ticket on your mobile device at the door.

BOX OFFICES & THEATERS SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER: 1118 Fourth St. San Rafael April 6: open at 12:00pm for CFI Members April 7–May 2: open during regular Rafael hours May 3–6: open 60 min before first show to 15 min after start of last show CINÉARTS SEQUOIA: 25 Throckmorton Ave, Mill Valley May 4–6: open 60 min before first show to 15 min after start of last show GENERAL ADMISSION: $15 CFI MEMBERS: $12.50 SENIORS (65+) / STUDENTS: $13.50 CONVENIENCE FEES: Mail: $3.75 per order Online: $1.75 per ticket Phone: $10 per order In-person: No service fee (All fees are nonrefundable.)

WILL CALL: You must bring a valid photo ID that corresponds with the name on the credit card used to purchase the tickets.

RUSH TICKETS often become available 15 minutes prior to showtime for shows that no longer have advance tickets for sale.

All ticket orders are final. No refunds, exchanges, substitutions, or reprints. DocLands is not responsible for lost, stolen, forgotten, or damaged tickets, or tickets misdirected by the post office.

Questions? Please contact box office staff: boxoffice@cafilm.org | 415.552.5580.

FESTIVAL GUIDELINES ARRIVE EARLY: To guarantee admittance, ticket and pass holders must be in line 30 minutes prior to showtime. Doors typically open 30 minutes before showtime.

At theaters, Line is for badgeholders with an printed on them and reserved seat ticket holders. Line is for all other ticket holders.

Please do not sit in a reserved seat unless it has been arranged for you.

Seat saving is not allowed.

Outside food and beverages are not permitted.

Digital devices must be turned off prior to the program introduction.

Use of cameras and other recording equipment is strictly prohibited at all screenings.

Please remember to take personal items and trash with you.

ACCESSIBILITY: DocLands is excited to partner with the Marin Center for Independent Living (MCIL) to continually improve our efforts to ensure you have access to all Festival amenities. Please ask on-site staff for assistance with early seating and/or assisted-listening devices. If you require effective communication in the form of an ASL Interpreter, please contact us at doclands@cafilm.org at least 10 days prior to the screening you will be attending.

We welcome and encourage your feedback. For any accessibility-related questions and/or additional needs, please email doclands@cafilm.org.

CONSENT TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED/FILMED: California Film Institute and its representatives may photograph, film and/or otherwise record attendees at all Festival activities. By attending, you consent to such photography, filming and/or recording and to any use in any and all media throughout the universe in perpetuity and without compensation for the use of your appearance, voice, and name for promotional and/or advertising or any other purpose by California Film Institute and its affiliates and representatives.

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Educators are invited to sign up for this free program for school groups that teaches environmental awareness and activism. See page 2 of this DocLands catalogue for more details, and read more about the films at cfieducation.org/eyf.

THURSDAY, MAY 3

WEDNESDAY, MAY 2

To get your school involved, email education@cafilm.org.

10:00AM LOOKING FOR THE WILD (UNAI’S JOURNEY) (English-subtitled version) 10:30AM RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE 11:00AM LOOKING FOR THE WILD (UNAI’S JOURNEY) (Spanish-language version) 12:00PM SEA OF LIFE 12:30PM DUGOUT + THE NATURE OF MAPS

LOOKING FOR THE WILD (UNAI’S JOURNEY)

10:00AM BEAVERS AND TURTLES AND BEARS—AND MORE! 10:30AM EARTH SEASONED – #GAPYEAR 11:15AM METAMORPHOSIS 12:00PM WASTED: THE STORY OF FOOD WASTE 12:30PM SAVING THE WILD (ONE SPECIES AT A TIME)

BEAVERS AND TURTLES AND BEARS— AND MORE!

FRIDAY, MAY 4

10:00AM INVENTING TOMORROW 10:30AM KIDS CAN SAVE THE PLANET 11:30AM ALBATROSS 12:30PM YOUTH V GOV 1:00PM ANOTE’S ARK (at the CinéArts Sequoia)

INVENTING TOMORROW

EYF programs are open to school groups only.

Find complete program information at cfieducation.org/eyf.

DOCLANDS

RAFAEL

SUNDAY, MAY 6

SATURDAY, MAY 5

FRIDAY, MAY 4

THU 5/3

7:00 OPENING NIGHT ANOTE’S ARK

SEQUOIA

3:45 WALL

1:00 ANOTE’S ARK

4:45 BECOMING WHO I WAS

6:30 DOCLANDS HONORS LOUIE PSIHOYOS

6:30 OLIVER TAMBO 7:00 THE GUARDIANS 9:00 A RIVER’S LAST CHANCE 9:15 INTO TWIN GALAXIES

9:15 THE KING 9:30 MINDING THE GAP

12:30 DRAWN TOGETHER/MR. FISH

1:15 INTO TWIN GALAXIES

1:00 McQUEEN

3:00 THE RESCUE LIST

3:30 THE GUARDIANS

3:30 FINDING HYGGE

3:45 BECOMING WHO I WAS

6:15 SHINERS

6:00 WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?

8:30 ASK THE SEXPERT

9:00 THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS

9:00 THE VALLEY OF THE WOLVES

12:00PM PICK OF THE LITTER

1:00 SAVING BRINTON

12:15 BECOMING WHO I WAS

1:45 DUGOUT

2:00 SOUFRA

3:45 SHINERS

2:30 WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?

4:30 OLOMPALI: A HIPPIE ODYSSEY

5:00 THE VALLEY OF THE WOLVES 7:30 ALBATROSS 7:45 ON HER SHOULDERS

9:00 DOCLANDS HONORS RECEPTION SEAGER GRAY GALLERY

6:15 ALBATROSS

8:30 METAMORPHOSIS

4:45 PICK OF THE LITTER

3:00 DOCLIFE WORKSHOP METAMORPHOSIS JOURNEY SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER

7:00 FINDING HYGGE

11:00am DOCPITCH

6:30 CLOSING NIGHT 16 BARS

OTHER

9:00 OPENING NIGHT PARTY SAN RAFAEL ELKS LODGE

6:45 METAMORPHOSIS 7:15 THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS

9:00 CLOSING NIGHT PARTY ART WORKS DOWNTOWN GREEN CHILE KITCHEN 12:30 DOCTALK STORY ARC, MUSIC ARC MARK FISHKIN ROOM @ SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER

CALIFORNIA FILM INSTITUTE

Photo: Tommy Lau

Photo: Brian Lehman

TIVAL | CHRISTOPHER B. SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER | CFI EDUCA

MILL VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL

CFI EDUCATION

DOCLANDS

Photo: Tommy Lau

SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER

JOIN US FOR THE 41ST MILL VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL THIS FALL! SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING SPONSORS FOR THEIR VISIONARY COMMITMENT TO MVFF41.

S I G N AT U R E C H R I S TO P H E R B . and JE ANNIE MEG SMITH

MAJOR

OFFICIAL AIRLINE

PREMIER MEDIA

MAJOR F O U N D AT I O N

MA JOR MEDIA

S I LV E R C I R C L E

F E S T I VA L C I R C L E

To join this community of businesses, contact Beau Blanchard at bblanchard@cafilm.org.

CFI Green Initiative DocLands strives to be a net-zero energy festival with a series of sustainability programs and practices including:

recycled paper for the printed program guide

paperless technology, including electronic tickets

carbon offset purchases for filmmaker guests’ airline travel reusable signage and materials recycling services at all venues

Please join our efforts by recycling this program or passing it along to a friend.

Learn more about CFI’s Green Initiative at cafilm.org/green-initiative SPONSORED BY

CALIFORNIA FILM INSTITUTE 1001 Lootens Place, Suite 220 San Rafael, CA 94901

locally sourced food and beverages

YOUR TICKET TO FILM EXPLORATION Film has the power to inspire, educate, entertain, and bring us together.

BECOME A CFI MEMBER

TOMMY LAU

at cafilm.org or pick up a brochure at the Rafael!

CALIFORNIA FILM INSTITUTE DOCLANDS | SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER MILL VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL | CFI EDUCATION