Salem Film Fest 2010 ProgramBook

February 26–March 4 COME TO SALEM, SEE THE WORLD CinemaSalem, Salem, MA

Presented by the Peabody Essex Museum Rule Boston Camera Salem Waterfront Hotel and Suites

Dear Filmgoer, Welcome to Salem Film Fest 2010. Entering its third year, the Salem Film Fest is quickly emerging as a leading documentary film festival, showcasing a rich and diverse collection of the year’s best work from all over the world.

This year, we are honored to have featured filmmaker Les Blank join us as we continue to present and salute the best in independent documentary film.

The festival finds its spirit in Salem’s history as the first great international city in America—establishing trade with the Far East and flooding this country with art, story, and culture from every continent. At this moment of unprecedented promise—and unprecedented danger—documentary film can help us form a clearer vision of our commonalities as the human family, and an understanding of how to approach an uncertain future together.

Because the Salem Film Fest focuses on well told stories with strong technical elements and interesting visual approaches, each film screened over the week-long schedule represents an immersive aesthetic experience, an opportunity to glimpse the world with fresh eyes, and leave changed as a result. About half of our films will have a discussion with the filmmaker.

This year we are proud to have partnered with Peabody Essex Museum – our main festival sponsor – to present BUILDING 173 in their Morse Auditorium.

You’ve arrived in Salem. To see the World.

Enjoy Salem Film Fest!

Rinus Oosthoek Executive Director Salem Chamber of Commerce

Join the Salem Film Fest Email List to receive updates and info on special screenings and events throughout the year!

Visit www.salemfilmfest.com and sign up.

General Info TICKETS Individual tickets are available at the CinemaSalem box office or online at CinemaSalem.com, through the link at the top of the home page.

Some showtime blocks include 1-2 films for a single admission.

Even though these blocks are identified by the longest movie, all films in the time block are included in your ticket purchase.

General Admission

Seniors, Students, Kids

Individual Screenings

$10

$8

Oscar Party

$25

$25

Three-Day Weekend Pass

$100

$75

All-Access VIP Pass – films, events and parties, including the OscarParty!

$150

$120

AWARDS AUDIENCE AWARD

Don’t forget to rate the films that are in competition. Help us select a festival favorite. Ballots will be available at each screening.

JURY AWARD

We are grateful to the distinguished members of our jury: Martha Almy, Director of New Media, Peabody Essex Museum.

Kereth Cowe-Spigai, Manager and Film Programmer at CinemaSalem, college professor and comic book author.

Mike Evers, college professor and board member of the Marblehead Arts Festival.

Mark Sargent, Provost at Gordon College, writing a book of film critique.

Trevor Smith, Curator of Contemporary Art, Peabody Essex Museum.

Kelly Tyler-Lewis, Emmy-award winning filmmaker and author of “Shackleton’s Voyage of Endurance.”

Jury and Audience Award winners will be presented an original trophy created

by Salem artist Mik Augustine and will split a week’s booking at CinemaSalem in the near future.

Image from “Footsteps in Africa”

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Festivities ONGOING DURING FESTIVAL Salem Film Fest Art Exhibit by Richard “The Hammer” Flynn (CinemaSalem lobby) Experience the Salem Film Fest through the bouncing mind and steady Sharpie of one of Salem’s most beloved artists, Richard “The Hammer” Flynn. We asked Richard to honor us with a drawing and he gave us a whole exhibit. We dare you to look and not smile.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25 7:00 pm·····················2010 Five Minute Student Film Contest Awards Presentation at CinemaSalem The Top Ten Massachusetts High School Student Films of the year. Presented by Film North and CinemaSalem as a prelude to the Salem Film Fest, this free event provides a glimpse of tomorrow’s visual storytellers.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26 5:00-7:00 pm ············VIP Reception at CinemaSalem Café A fun and casual kickoff event to the festival honoring our featured filmmaker Les Blank. Enjoy hors d’oeuvres and wine in the company of fellow film lovers and visiting artists. Sponsored by the Creative Economy Association of the North Shore and the Salem Chamber of Commerce.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26 6:10-6:50 pm ············ROCK PROPHECIES Concert in CinemaSalem’s Main Theatre Guitar Center King of the Blues finalist, 18 year old Graham Whitford, joins us from New York City to perform on the CinemaSalem stage as a prophetic prelude to the 7:00 pm presentation of ROCK PROPHECIES concert produced by Salem Sounds. Admission free to ROCK PROPHECIES ticket holders.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26 10:00 pm···················After-Party at Victoria Station (82 Wharf Street, on Pickering Wharf) Graham Whitford and Salem’s favorite cover-rocker Grateful Ted help us wind down the first day of Salem Film Fest with some slammin’ good tunes at one of Salem’s classic restaurants—overlooking historic Derby Wharf and arranged by Salem Sounds. Share drinks and nibbles with many of our visiting filmmakers as they prepare you for what the weekend brings. Cash bar.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27 9:30 am – 12:00 pm ··Family-friendly Film Fest Programming at CinemaSalem Theatre 1 & 2 Two great documentary films that will appeal to young film lovers and their parents.

9:30am OUTSIDE is a marvelous, imaginative, and childlike mashup of live action and overlaid animation comprised of 5-minute segments. Special OUTSIDE pricing: $5 for everyone!

10:00am GIRLS ROCK is a fun, engrossing, and cathartic doc about the transformative experience girls enjoy at an Oregon rock ‘n’ roll camp. Fun for the whole family and appropriate for ages 8-18.

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27 10:00 am – 12:00 pm Filmmaker Dialogue at Salem Theatre Company (90 Lafayette Street, Salem) Visit the Salem Theatre Company’s exciting new performance space and attend a free panel with visiting filmmakers discussing their experiences.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27 Approx. 8:00 pm ········SEVERE CLEAR Q&A with Mike Scotti at CinemaSalem Main Theatre Director/Editor Kristian Fraga will be joined by First Lieutenant Mike Scotti, the Marine who shot the footage in SEVERE CLEAR which depicts his experience during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq and the March to Baghdad. A rare chance to converse with both the subject of a film and the filmmaker to see how they worked together. Throughout the Festival Operation Troop Support will be collecting items for care packages to send to our troops.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28 9:00 am – 11:30 am ··Filmmaker Breakfastat at Caffe Graziani (133 Washington Street, Salem) What could be better than a delicious and relaxing breakfast at Caffe Graziani? Enjoying it with filmmakers from all over the world, that’s what! Relax and eat, while discussing what elements comprise a great documentary, should coffee be drunk black, what’s the future of internet distribution, and how to recognize the perfect scrambled egg. Cash breakfast.

THURSDAY, MARCH 4 9:30pm······················Wrap Party at CinemaSalem Café North Shore Art Throb, Dinah Cardin’s hip online arts’ journal, hosts this year’s free wrap party which follows our final festival screening. Join us to toast the end of our third festival and to consider the future. Wine provided by Salem Wine Imports.

SUNDAY, MARCH 7 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm ····Oscar Party at CinemaSalem Enjoy delicious food and drink at a private reception at the CinemaSalem Café, and then watch the world’s most prestigious cinema event on the big screen at CinemaSalem in high definition with digital sound, and in the company of people just as sophisticated and cool as yourself. Admission for this gala Oscar Party is $25, and proceeds benefit the Salem Film Fest.

Image from “Smile ‘til It Hurts”

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MAIN THEATER 1 & 2 Capacity 154

Friday, February 26

Monday, March 1

4 pm

Supermen of Malegaon

5 pm

7 pm

Rock Prophecies*

7:30 pm The Cove

The End of the Line

9:15 pm Winnebago Man

Tuesday, March 2 Saturday, February 27

5:30 pm Sons of Cuba

9:30 am

Outside

7:30 pm Mine

10 am

Girls Rock

11 am

Mamachas of the Ring*

Wednesday, March 3

1:10 pm Burden of Dreams*

5 pm

4:15 pm Good Fortune*

7:45 pm Buddha’s Lost Children Revisited

6:30 pm Severe Clear* 9 pm

Smile ‘til It Hurts: The Up With People Story*

Rough Aunties

Thursday, March 4 5 pm

The Philosopher Kings

Sunday, February 28

6:30 pm Junior

11:15am No. 4 Street of Our Lady*

8 pm

1:40 pm Automorphosis* 3:50 pm Broke* 6 pm

All in This Tea*

8 pm

Riseup*

Trimpin: The Sound of Invention

* filmmaker discussion to follow film.

At the Peabody Essex Museum 2 pm

Building 173 with Waiting on a Train*

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SCREENING ROOM Capacity 20

Friday, February 26

Monday, March 1

4:30 pm The Blues According to Lightnin’ Hopkins with Garlic Is as Good as 10 Mothers*

5 pm

Mamachas of the Ring

6:45 pm Enjoy Poverty

6:30 pm The Blues According to Lightnin’ Hopkins with Garlic Is as Good as 10 Mothers*

8:30 pm The Last Days of Shishmaref

8:45 pm In 500 Words or Less

Saturday, February 27

Tuesday, March 2

11:30 am Enjoy Poverty

5 pm

1:15 pm Mamachas of the Ring*

6:45 pm Footsteps in Africa

3:30 pm In 500 Words or Less*

8:15 pm Long Distance Love

The Last Days of Shishmaref

5:45 pm Footsteps in Africa 7:10 pm The Blues According to Lightnin’ Hopkins with Garlic Is as Good as 10 Mothers* 9:20pm

Walking the Line with La Caminata*

Wednesday, March 3 5 pm

Enjoy Poverty

6:45 pm Himalaya Alert 8:30 pm Walking the Line with La Caminata

Thursday, March 4 Sunday, Februrary 28 12 pm

The Last Days of Shishmaref

5 pm

Footsteps in Africa

1:45 pm In 500 Words or Less*

6:30 pm Walking the Line with La Caminata

4 pm

8:15pm

The Blues According to Lightnin’ Hopkins with Garlic Is as Good as 10 Mothers*

Long Distance Love

* filmmaker discussion to follow film.

6:15 pm Himalaya Alert 8 pm

Walking the Line with La Caminata

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The Festival

Why do documentary filmmakers even bother? A film takes years of humbling work: begging for funds; legal details; miserable shooting conditions; months of sleepless nights; hundreds of hours of footage that never stop repeating in your head. By the time a film is finished you have hurdled a thousand obstacles, submitted yourself to all forms of crippling criticism and are usually dead broke. Then the film festivals beckon: countless more hours submitting; thousands more in expenses; the angst of searching for a fair distribution deal.

After all those years and anxieties you promise yourself, “Never again!” Then you remember the human encounters; the explorations; the creative sparks; the people whose stories you have cradled and nurtured; the message you were privileged to project to the world; the electric feedback at a great screening.

We hope you’ll lose yourself in the stories that flicker on the CinemaSalem screen but when the lights come up you’ll consider what these artists might have waded through to get here. We want the Salem Film Fest to be an oasis of positive interaction for them, as well as a rewarding ride for you—our audience.

—Joe Cultrera Salem Film Fest Programming Committee

FEATURED FILMMAKER: LES BLANK Salem Film Fest is pleased to have Les Blank in attendance as an honored guest and participant. Les is the essence of independent documentary, best known for his series of intimate films about music and passionate people, including THE BLUES ACCORDING TO LIGHTNIN’ HOPKINS, ALWAYS FOR PLEASURE and SPROUT WINGS AND FLY. Among Les’s numerous awards are the British Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary for BURDEN OF DREAMS, which also received the Golden Gate Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival in 1982. IN HEAVEN THERE IS NO BEER? won the Grand Prize at the 1985 Melbourne Film Festival and a special Jury Award at Sundance.

In 1990, Les received the American Film Institute’s Maya Deren Award for outstanding lifetime achievement as an independent filmmaker. With GARLIC IS AS GOOD AS 10 MOTHERS and CHULAS FRONTERAS both being selected by the U.S. Library of Congress for inclusion in The National Film Registry, Les became one of only three documentary filmmakers to be honored with two films on this list.

Vincent Canby of the New York Times once wrote that Les Blank “is a master of movies about the American idiom...one of our most original filmmakers.”

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ALL IN THIS TEA Sun, Feb 28- 6:00 pm MAIN THEATER Filmmaker in attendance Producers, Les Blank and Gina Leibrecht 70 min China, USA

BOSTON AREA PREMIERE

In Les Blank’s most recent work, the first shot on video, worldrenowned American tea importer David Lee Hoffman journeys to remote regions of China in search of the finest handmade teas in the world. Not since Robert Fortune clandestinely made his way through the tea growing districts of China in 1843 to steal plants and seeds for the British Empire has a westerner attempted to gain access to the hidden world of tea, where farmers have been making it for generations. As the Chinese open their doors to the global marketplace, Hoffman opens their eyes to their own ancient tradition that links all of us to the distant past.

Sponsored by Treasures Over Time

AUTOMORPHOSIS Sun, Feb 28- 1:40 pm MAIN THEATER Filmmaker in attendance A Film by Harrod Blank 77 min USA

NORTH SHORE PREMIERE

What if you could morph your car into a mobile work of art, and drive it down the road for all to see? What would it look like? What would the world think of you? How would you be changed?

AUTOMORPHOSIS looks into the minds and hearts of a delightful collection of eccentrics, visionaries, and just plain folks who have transformed their autos into artworks. On a humorous and touching journey, we discover what drives the creative process for these unconventional characters. And in the end, we find that an art car has the power to change us—to alter our view of our increasingly homogeneous world.

Sponsored by Gulu Gulu Café

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THE BLUES ACCORDING TO LIGHTNIN’ HOPKINS Fri, Feb 26- 4:30 pm • Sat, Feb 27- 7:10 pm • Sun, Feb 28- 4:00 pm • Mon, Mar 1- 6:30 pm SCREENING ROOM Shown with GARLIC IS AS GOOD AS 10 MOTHERS Filmmaker in attendance A Film by Les Blank 31 min USA

The great Texas bluesman Lightnin’ Hopkins is captured brilliantly by Les Blank in this deeply moving 1969 film which reveals Lightnin’s inspiration and features a generous helping of classic blues. It includes performances at an outdoor barbeque and a black rodeo; and a visit to Lightnin’s boyhood town of Centerville, Texas. The rich 16mm photography, calm camera moves and editing, as well as the unobtrusive filmmaking would become signatures of Les Blank and influence generations of documentary makers. This powerful portrait is among Les’s masterworks and the one he calls his favorite.

Sponsored by In a Pig’s Eye

BROKE Sun, Feb 28- 3:50 pm MAIN THEATER Filmmaker in attendance Producer/Director, Rosie Dransfeld 77 min Canada

US PREMERE

For the down-and-out residents of Edmonton’s grim and unforgiving inner city, pawnbroker David Woolfson is a banker of last resort. A grouchy old Jewish immigrant from South Africa with a mushy heart, Woolfson has been running his business for nearly 16 years. He truly enjoys his customers—people full of wit and black humor. Poverty has taught them many survival skills. BROKE is a complex, powerful cinéma vérité style account of day to day life in a pawnshop. Although often darkly funny and surprising, this documentary provides an intimate and penetrating look into the world of the most economically marginalized.

Sponsored by Bewitched in Salem

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BUDDHA’S LOST CHILDREN REVISITED Wed, Mar 3- 7:45 pm MAIN THEATER Director, Mark Verkerk Producer, Ton Okkerse 90 min Thailand via Netherlands

A chance to revisit the characters from the 2008 SFF Audience Award winner BUDDHA’S LOST CHILDREN. In the hills of Northern Thailand’s Golden Triangle former Thai boxer, turned Buddhist monk, Khru Bah travels on horseback dispensing prayers and tough-love. His Golden Horse Temple is orphanage, school and clinic—a haven for the children of the region, who see him as a shaman, father figure and coach. Two years after his original visit, Director Mark Verkerk returns to see how the “Tiger Monk” and his young novices are faring. Lushly photographed, this is a sequel filled with familiar faces.

Sponsored by Cabot Money Management, Inc.

BUILDING 173 Sun, Feb 28- 2:00 pm PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM, MORSE AUDITORIUM Filmmaker in attendance Director, Petter Eldin Producer, Charlotte Mikkelborg 52 min China

A building is a volume of human history, holding within its pages the stories and secrets of generations. BUILDING 173 in downtown Shanghai has witnessed three quarters of a century of the most dramatic upheaval in modern Chinese history. The stories of seven families including the son of a gangster; a Western-educated diplomat; an opera star; a worker and a high standing communist party cadre allow us to be a firsthand witness to life, death and survival and shed new light on China’s turbulent recent history. BUILDING 173 uses a unique combination of contemporary footage and overlay animations to bring this building, and Chinese history, to life.

Sponsored by Peabody Essex Museum

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BURDEN OF DREAMS Sat, Feb 27- 1:10 pm MAIN THEATER Filmmaker in attendance A Film by Les Blank 94 min Amazon

For nearly five years, German filmmaker Werner Herzog desperately tried to complete one of his most ambitious and difficult films, FITZCARRALDO, the story of one man’s attempt to build an opera house in the Amazon jungle. Les Blank captured the unfolding of this production, made more perilous by Herzog’s determination to shoot the most daunting scenes without models or special effects, including a sequence requiring hundreds of native Indians to pull a full-size, 320-ton steamship over a small mountain. This extraordinary document of the filmmaking process is a unique look into the obsession of one of cinema’s most fearless directors. BURDEN OF DREAMS was honored with a British Academy Award for Best Documentary of 1982.

Sponsored by Finz

THE COVE Mon, Mar 1- 7:30 pm MAIN THEATER Director, Louis Psihoyos 92 min Japan Oscar Nominee

In the 1960s, Ric O’Barry trained dolphins for the television series “Flipper.” His close relationship with those dolphins led O’Barry to realize these sensitive, intelligent creatures should never be subjected to human captivity.

Under cover of night, in a remote, glistening cove in Taiji, Japan, fishermen driven by a multi-billion dollar dolphin entertainment industry and a market for dolphin meat, engage in an unseen hunt. With the local police hot on their trail, O’Barry helps recruit a team of underwater experts, special effects artists, marine explorers and adrenaline junkies to carry out an undercover operation to photograph the cove. This provocative mix of investigative journalism, eco-adventure and arresting imagery adds up to an urgent plea for hope.

Sponsored by Hawthorne Hotel

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THE END OF THE LINE Mon, Mar 1- 5:00 pm MAIN THEATER Director, Robert Murray Producers, Claire Lewis, George Duffield 82 min Global Settings

NORTH SHORE PREMIERE

This inconvenient truth about the devastating effect of over fishing on the world’s ecosystems challenges us to imagine a world without fish…period. This beautifully shot and edited documentary follows the indefatigable investigative reporter Charles Clover as he confronts the politicians and celebrity restaurateurs who exhibit little regard for the damage their policies—and their menus—are doing to the oceans. Taking us from the cod-depleted shores of the Atlantic to the Straits of Gibraltar, the coasts of Senegal and the Tokyo fish market, this sounds a powerful wake-up call to the world: if we continue fishing as we are now, we could see the end of most seafood by 2050.

ENJOY POVERTY Fri, Feb 26- 6:45 pm • Sat, Feb 27- 11:30 am • Wed, Mar 3- 5:00 pm SCREENING ROOM Director, Renzo Martens 90 min Congo via Netherlands

NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE

An investigation of the emotional and economic value of Africa’s most lucrative export: filmed poverty. “Director Renzo Martens undertakes an epic journey revealing the structures which inevitably keep Africa poor. Deep in the Congo he launches an emancipatory program that attempts to help the poor benefit from “their” poverty.

Mixing investigative journalism, satire and criticism, this is an ingeniously provocative and surprising film.”

“This is a tough film in every way and truly political filmmaking of the highest order—fearless, divisive, controversial, and necessary.”

—Sean Farnel, Hot Docs “One of the most critical, provocative, bold and important films on the subject of poverty and western culpability that I have seen in years.”

—Sky Sitney, Silverdocs

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FOOTSTEPS IN AFRICA Sat, Feb 27- 5:45 pm • Tue, Mar 2- 6:45 pm • Thu, Mar 4- 5:00 pm SCREENING ROOM Director, Kathi von Koerber 67 min Mali

NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE

An exciting visual narrative accompanied by a diverse musical score. Shot during a road trip in the Sahara desert of Mali, Kiahkeya performers and a camera team lived with the nomadic Tuareg/Kel Tamashek tribes and visited Tuareg Festivals. The film captures the people in their element, investigating their music, their dance, their survival skills and the rituals that the Tuareg carry within to keep their culture and heritage alive. The film allows the viewer to think and question the modern way of ‘development’, and how it differs from the simplicity of life and its cycles.

Sponsored by Kensington Stobart Gallery

GARLIC IS AS GOOD AS 10 MOTHERS Fri, Feb 26- 4:30 pm •Sat, Feb 27- 7:10 pm • Sun, Feb 28- 4:00 pm • Mon, Mar 1- 6:30 pm SCREENING ROOM Shown with THE BLUES ACCORDING TO LIGHTNIN’ HOPKINS Filmmaker in attendance A Film by Les Blank 51min USA

Les Blank’s lip-smacking foray into the history, consumption, cultivation and culinary/curative powers of the stinking rose. The SF Chronicle called this paean to garlic, “a joyous, nose-tweaking, ear-tingling, mouth-watering tribute to a Life Force” This lovingly photographed 1980 documentary is an odyssey of garlic feasts alternated with uniquely individual interviews of garlic aficionados.

Not only does the film promote garlic as our first line of defense against all forms of blandness; it also titillates. Les Blank shows again that he knows how to have a good time and share it on film.

Sponsored by In a Pig’s Eye

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GIRLS ROCK Sat, Feb 27- 10:00 am MAIN THEATER Directors: Arne Johnson, Shane King 90 min USA

At Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp, girls ranging in age from eight to 18 are taught that it’s OK to sweat like a pig, scream like a banshee, wail on their instruments with complete and utter abandon, and that “it is 100% okay to be exactly who you are.” The girls have a week to select a band, an instrument they may have never played before, and write a song. In between, they are taught by indie rock chicks such as Carrie Brownstein from Sleater-Kinney various lessons of empowerment from self-defense to anger management. At the end of the week, all the bands perform a concert for over 700 people. The film follows several campers: Laura, a Korean adoptee obsessed by death metal; Misty, who is emerging from a life of meth addiction, homelessness and gang activity; and Amelia, an eight-year-old who writes experimental rock songs about her dog Pipi. What happens to the girls as they are given a temporary reprieve from being sexualized, analyzed and pressured to conform is truly moving and revolutionary.

Sponsored by Marblehead / Salem School of Music

GOOD FORTUNE Sat, Feb 27- 4:15 pm MAIN THEATER Filmmaker in attendance Producer/Directors, Jeremy Levine, Landon Van Soest 70 min Kenya

NORTH SHORE PREMIERE

GOOD FORTUNE explores how international efforts to alleviate poverty in Africa may be undermining the communities they aim to benefit. On the outskirts of Nairobi, Silva’s home is being demolished as part of a United Nations slum-upgrading project. In the countryside, Jackson’s farm is being flooded by an American investor who hopes to create a multi-million dollar rice farm. GOOD FORTUNE examines the real-world impact of international aid and suggests that the answers for Africa lie in the resilience of its people.

Producer Jeremy Levine is a native of Beverly, MA, where his parents still reside.

Sponsored by Montserrat College

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HIMALAYA ALERT Sun, Feb 28- 6:15 pm • Wed, Mar 3- 6:45 pm SCREENING ROOM Director, Mark Verkerk Producer, Ton Okkerse 58 min Nepal via Netherlands

US PREMERE

For the past three years, the Dutch journalist Bernice Notenboom has focused on reporting from the world’s climate change hot spots—the Arctic and Antarctic—as well as getting climate change discussed in schools. This year her focus is the effects of climate change in the Himalayas. Bernice leaves with her team for Nepal on a two-month expedition to document the threats affecting the cultures and natural environments in the Everest region. The producing team that brought us SFF 2008 Audience Award Winner BUDDHA’S LOST CHILDREN is at Bernice’s side as she and her team make a dramatic ascent of Everest.

Sponsored by Living Green Fair, June 12, 2010

IN 500 WORDS OR LESS Sat, Feb 27- 3:30 pm • Sun, Feb 28- 1:45 pm • Mon, Mar 1- 8:45 pm SCREENING ROOM Filmmaker in attendance Directors, Molly Fowler, Amanda Zimmerman 95 min USA

EAST COAST PREMERE

Going to college is a rite of passage for many American high school students, but the process can be overwhelming: college fairs, tours, SATs, applications. And then there’s the personal essay. How does a 17 year old define herself to total strangers when she’s only beginning to discover who she really is? And how can she be expected to do it in an essay of 500 words or less? Four very different young people spend their last year with their families as they try to figure out who they are and who they want to be.

Sponsored by Gary Stirgwolt

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JUNIOR Thu, Mar 4- 6:30 pm MAIN THEATER Director/Producer/Cinematographer, Jenna Rosher 70 min USA

NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE

JUNIOR is Eddie Belasco, a 75 year old Italian American who seems to have jumped from the pages of a Scorsese script.

He lives with his 98 year old mother, Josephine, and their salty language and senses of humor match their levels of irritability.

They fight and laugh in equal measures as they navigate the difficulties of aging and a changing neighborhood. Eddie has always loved the spotlight—singing, acting and managing topless female rock bands but now runs a theatre for young people.

That spotlight is now on Josephine as she finally gets her high school diploma.

Director/cinematographer, Jenna Rosher, deftly captures the bond between this odd couple and crafts a hilarious and touching portrait of growing old while staying young.

Sponsored by Salem Community Arts Center

THE LAST DAYS OF SHISHMAREF Fri, Feb 26- 8:30 pm • Sun, Feb 28- 12:00 pm • Tue, Mar 2- 5:00 pm SCREENING ROOM Director Jan Louter 93 min Northern Alaska via Netherlands

NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE

For years the Eskimos of the Alaskan village of Shishmaref—just below the polar circle—have been living a nightmare: their island is slowly being swallowed by the ocean. With polar caps starting to melt, the sea now becomes frozen over much later in the year. Winter storms terrorize the island much longer, causing enormous coastline damage. Predictions are that Shishmaref will disappear in less then ten years. The Inupiaq are facing a forced move to the mainland, changing life in this isolated community and separating them from the souls of their ancestors who are buried on the island. By observing three families during their daily life, the impact of global warming becomes very palpable.

Sponsored by Abby Rockefeller & Lee Halprin and Clivus Multrum Incorporated

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LONG DISTANCE LOVE Tue, Mar 2- 8:15 pm • Thu, Mar 4- 8:15 pm SCREENING ROOM Directors, Magnus Gertten, Elin Jönsson 77 min Kyrgyzstan, Russia

NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE

Alisher, a young Muslim man living in Kyrgyzstan, has a new wife, Dildora, and a baby on the way—but what he doesn’t have is a job, an effect of the declining economy of post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan.

Alisher strikes out for Moscow in hope of finding work. Away from Osh for the first time, Alisher finds himself drinking, clubbing, tangling with police and failing to provide for the folks back home.

Meanwhile, Alisher’s parents lose their flat and life is looking pretty grim. Will love be enough to overcome the challenges Alisher and Dildora face? This is an intimate look at a family in crisis, a couple in love and a society in transition.

Sponsored by Robert D. Murphy Associates, Inc.

MAMACHAS OF THE RING Sat, Feb 27- 11:00 am, MAIN THEATER Sat, Feb 27- 1:15 pm • Mon, Mar 1- 5:00 pm, SCREENING ROOM Filmmaker in attendance Director, Betty M Park 75 min Bolivia

NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE

In 2004, Carmen Rosa was at the forefront of a cholita wrestler revolution. Never before had Bolivia seen an indigenous woman take her petticoats and bowler hat into the ring, and the crowds couldn’t get enough. Along with three other women, Carmen became an international star and all four were anointed the Mamachas of the Ring. The pressures of daily living and gendered responsibilities begin to eat away at the foundation of the Mamachas, and Carmen Rosa increasingly shoulders more of the work burden. Her day job as a street vendor begins to suffer and her attention to her family dwindles, until one day her husband issues her a firm ultimatum: wrestling or your family.

Sponsored by CinemaSalem

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MINE Tue, Mar 2- 7:30 pm MAIN THEATER Director/Producer Geralyn Rae Pezanoski 83 min USA

NORTH SHORE PREMIERE

This Sundance hit has been hailed as “absorbing,” “a must see,” and “Oscar material.” MINE is a documentary about the essential bond between humans and animals, set against the backdrop of Hurricane Katrina. A gripping, character-driven story that follows New Orleans residents as they attempt to reunite with their pets who have been adopted by families all over the country, and chronicles the custody battles that arise when two families love the same pet. A compelling meditation on race, class and the power of compassion, MINE examines how we treat animals as an extension of how we view and treat each other.

Sponsored by New England Veterinary Clinic

NO. 4 STREET OF OUR LADY Sun, Feb 28- 11:15 am MAIN THEATER Filmmaker in attendance A film by Barbara Bird, Judy Maltz and Richie Sherman 95 min Poland, USA

BOSTON AREA PREMIERE

Francisca Halamajowa was a Polish-Catholic woman who rescued 15 Jews during the Holocaust by passing herself off as a Nazi sympathizer. More than 6,000 Jews once lived in Sokal, a small town in Eastern Poland. By the end of the war, only about 30 had survived, most of them rescued by Halamajowa. For close to two years, Francisca hid and fed her Jewish acquaintances in her tiny home and barn, right under the noses of German troops. In the war’s final months, she provided shelter to a German soldier who had defected—an act that nearly cost her life. Now several of those survivors reconnect on a trip back to Halamajowa’s home.

Sponsored by Jewish Journal

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OUTSIDE Sat, Feb 27- 9:30 am MAIN THEATER Producer/Director, Erik van Schaaik 44 min The Netherlands

BOSTON AREA PREMIERE

OUTSIDE is a marvelous, imaginative, and childlike mashup of live action and overlaid animation created by Dutch cinematographer and general creative genuis, Erik van Schaaik, and is appropriate for everyone of any age, but will be especially appealing to 3-7 year olds. It won a Dutch Academy Award. The film is comprised of several, independent five-minute segments, and the language is music and the universal squeals and whoops of childhood – so squirming, singing, and walking around is encouraged! Please note: special pricing for this film is $5 for everyone!

Sponsored by Spinale Automotive

THE PHILOSOPHER KINGS Thu, Mar 4- 5:00 pm MAIN THEATER Director, Patrick Shen 70 min USA

BOSTON AREA PREMIERE

“A single conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of study.” —Chinese Proverb In search of wisdom found in unlikely places, THE PHILOSOPHER KINGS takes us on a journey through the halls of the most prestigious colleges and universities in America to learn from the staff members who see it all and have been through it all: the custodians. This thought-provoking, feature-length documentary interweaves the untold stories of triumph and tragedy from the members of society who are often disregarded and ignored, and seeks out the kind of wisdom that gets you through the day and the lessons one learns from surviving hard times, lost loves, and shattered dreams.

Sponsored by The Upper Crust Pizzeria

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RISEUP Sun, Feb 28- 8:00 pm MAIN THEATER Filmmaker in attendance Director, Luciano Blotta Producers, Luciano Blotta, Darrin Holender 88 min Jamaica

BOSTON AREA PREMIERE

A journey into the heart of Jamaica and the worldwide cultural phenomenon of Reggae. In a society where talent abounds and opportunity is scarce, three distinct and courageous artists fight to rise up from obscurity and write themselves into the pages of history. With music and appearances by legends Lee “Scratch” Perry, Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, and a slew of soon-to-be superstars, RISEUP follows artists in the dangerous streets, back alleys and crowded dance halls of Kingston and the countryside. These artists demonstrate the raw power of hope and courage in a land which is largely unseen, but certainly not unsung.

Sponsored by Front Street Coffeehouse

ROCK PROPHECIES Fri, Feb 26- 7:00 pm MAIN THEATER Filmmaker in attendance Director, John Chester Producer, Tim Kaiser 80 min USA

MASSACHUSETTS PREMIERE

Imagine seeing bands like Led Zeppelin or the Rolling Stones long before they became famous. Legendary Rock photographer Robert Knight did just that, and has the photos to prove it. ROCK PROPHECIES explores Robert’s amazing career and follows him on his quest to help the bands of today become the Rock legends of tomorrow. When Robert stumbles upon Tyler Dow Bryant, a 16 year old guitar phenom from Texas, he’s convinced he may have found the next Stevie Ray Vaughan. Robert risks his reputation and career and takes a chance on Tyler. The two then set off on a journey to take their own shot at history.

Sponsored by Salem Sounds

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ROUGH AUNTIES Wed, Mar 3- 5:00 pm MAIN THEATER A Film by Kim Longinotto 103 min South Africa

NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE

Fearless, feisty and resolute, the ROUGH AUNTIES are a remarkable group of women unwavering in their stand to protect and care for the abused, neglected and forgotten children of Durban, South Africa. Despite the harsh realities of violence, poverty, and racism the portraits that emerge on screen are filled with grace, wisdom, friendship, and a deeply stirring conviction.

Neither politics, nor social or racial divisions stand a chance against the united force of these women. An intimate portrait of change from Africa, this time from post-apartheid South Africa, a nation being transformed with hope and energy into a new democracy.

Sponsored by Old Spot / Wild Horse

SEVERE CLEAR Sat, Feb 27- 6:30 pm MAIN THEATER Filmmaker and subject in attendance Producers, Marc J. Perez, Kristian Fraga 93 min Iraq, USA

NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE

Based on the memoir by First Lieutenant Mike Scotti as well as video footage shot by him and other members of 1st Battalion, 4th Marines on the outset of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. Their cameras capture the harrowing three hundred mile charge to Baghdad through hostile enemy territory. In this digital age of embedded reporters, the film truly strips the barriers between audience and soldier, personalizing the fear, moral conundrum and adrenaline rush of life on the battlefield. SEVERE CLEAR offers an unflinching look at the uncertainty, disorder and chaos of war from the remarkable perspective of one Marine.

Sponsored by Peter & Betsy Merry and John Neely & Christine Sullivan honoring active duty personnel and veterans

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SMILE ‘TIL IT HURTS: THE UP WITH PEOPLE STORY Sat, Feb 27- 9:00 pm MAIN THEATER Filmmaker in attendance Director, Lee Story Producers, Lee Story and Bari Pearlman 82 min USA

NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE

The true story of the squeaky clean, smile-drenched singing phenomenon, Up With People. Over the course of 40 years, the group emerged from a religious cult with a mission to counter the counter-culture. Backed by corporate America they performed an upbeat ideology to 20 million worldwide and four Super Bowl half-times, and eventually became a pop culture joke parodied on The Simpsons and South Park. Kitschy archival footage and the honest reflections of former members reveal what can happen when ideology, money and groupthink converge to co-opt youthful idealism. An entertaining, relevant, and evocative look behind the curtain of the American dream.

Producer Bari Pearlman returns to SFF after last year’s DAUGHTERS OF WISDOM. Sponsored by Salem Waterfront Hotel and Suites

SONS OF CUBA Tue, Mar 2- 5:30 pm MAIN THEATER Director, Andrew Lang Producers, Andrew Lang, Laura Giles, Francine Heywood 88 min Cuba

NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE

The legendary Havana Boxing Academy is a boarding school that takes 9-year old boys and turns them into the best boxers in the world. SONS OF CUBA follows the stories of three young hopefuls through 8 dramatic months of training and education as they prepare for the biggest fight of their lives so far: Cuba’s National Boxing Championship for Under-12s. But during the season Fidel Castro is taken ill and all of Cuba’s Olympic boxing champions defect to the USA. As the championship draws closer, the Cuba that the boys have been taught to believe in is at an historic crossroads.

Sponsored by Knuckles the Dog

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SUPERMEN OF MALEGAON Fri, Feb 26- 4:00 pm MAIN THEATER Director, Faiza Ahmad Khan Producers, Chung Yong Park, Junichi Katayama, Heeyah Ong 79 min India

NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE

Malegaon, a small town in India, is fraught with communal tension and under economic depression. To escape the harsh reality of their world, its people seek refuge in the fantastical world of cinema. This passion for film has spurred a group of cinema enthusiasts to make their own films—quirky, low budget spoofs of Bollywood movies. Their ambition has grown and now they are ready to take on Hollywood and SUPERMAN. Juxtaposing the frenzied production activities against a stark socio-economic backdrop, this funny, tragic, ingenious and bizarre documentary reveals the cathartic and spellbinding importance that the magic of movies has on the people.

Sponsored by Salem Cycle

TRIMPIN: THE SOUND OF INVENTION Thu, Mar 4- 8:00 pm MAIN THEATER Producer, Peter Esmonde 78 min USA, Germany

NORTH SHORE PREMIERE

TRIMPIN: THE SOUND OF INVENTION is an amusing journey through the sonic world of a wildly eccentric creative genius. We follow artist/inventor/engineer/composer (and MacArthur genius) Trimpin as he designs and builds a 60-foot tornado of more than 500 automatic electric guitars; constructs an ensemble of huge marimbas that converts real-time earthquake data into music; collaborates with the Kronos Quartet on an outrageous world premiere with toy instruments...and that’s just for starters.

TRIMPIN is sure to delight anyone interested in the mysteries, pitfalls, and sheer joy of creative experiment.

Sponsored by Salem Arts Association

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WALKING THE LINE Sat, Feb 27- 9:20 pm • Sun, Feb 28- 8:00 pm • Wed, Mar 3- 8:30 pm • Thu, Mar 4- 6:30 pm SCREENING ROOM Filmmaker in attendance Producer/Directors, Jeremy Levine, Landon Van Soest 58 min Mexico, USA

WALKING THE LINE shows the chaos, absurdity, and senseless deaths along the U.S-Mexico border, as seen through private citizens who take the law into their own hands. The region has become one of the most highly trafficked and dangerous areas for immigrants in the world. A shift in border policy forces migrants to cross the unforgiving desert where thousands die; those who make it face volatile civilian militias. Following rancher vigilantes with semiautomatic weapons, outlaw pastors with four-wheel drives, and impoverished immigrants with dreams of a better life, the film explores the uncertain line between what is patriotic, what is moral, and what is just.

From the makers of GOOD FORTUNE—producer Jeremy Levine is a Beverly, MA, native.

Sponsored by Van Ness Creative Group

WINNEBAGO MAN Fri, Feb 26- 9:15 pm MAIN THEATER Director, Ben Steinbauer Producers, Ben Steinbauer, Joel Heller, Malcolm Pullinger 87 min USA

Jack Rebney, a.k.a. “the angriest man in the world,” has delighted and fascinated millions of viewers with the hilariously foul-mouthed and ill-tempered outtakes from a recreational vehicle sales video he made in 1989—passed hand-to-hand on VHS tapes, before the internet turned him into a full-blown phenomenon. Filmmaker Ben Steinbauer takes on the tough task of tracking down Jack. His journey turns into an exploration of viral video culture, and what it means to its sometimes unwilling subjects. This intelligent, hilarious and unexpectedly poignant look at one man’s response to internet notoriety is ultimately about how a so-called “humiliation” can become a beacon of light to many.

“The funniest documentary I’ve seen all year.”

— Michael Moore Sponsored by Wire 4 Hire

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Live Music Short Subjects

In homage to those days when a live organ played in Salem’s Paramount theatre (CinemaSalem now stands partly on that site), join us between some of our films for free live music in our main theatre. The following is a schedule of performances and artists – subject to change.

LA CAMINATA

FRI, FEBRUARY 26

SCREENING ROOM: Sat Feb 27, 9:20pm • Sun, Feb 28, 8pm • Wed, Mar 3, 8:30pm • Thur, Mar 4, 6:30pm Shown with WALKING THE LINE Filmmaker in attendance

6:10pm

Producer, Jamie Meltzer 15 min Mexico

Graham Whitford

SAT, FEBRUARY 27

3:30pm

Erinn Brown & Steven Peabody duo

TUE, MARCH 2

NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE

7:10pm

A small town south of the Mexican border decides to take control of their own community and stem the tide of migration to the US. Their unique solution to stopping the exodus from their town: the creation of a theme-park event, a simulated border crossing complete with fake ‘border patrol’ and balaclava-clad coyotes and guides. This short documentary details the effect of migration on Mexican communities and adds a fresh perspective to the ongoing immigration debate.

WED, MARCH 4

WAITING FOR A TRAIN PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM: Sunday, Feb 28, 2pm Shown with BUILDING 173 Filmmaker in attendance

7:30pm

Jason Miele Brian Donnelly

Thanks to Sara Ashodian and Matt Caruso for organizing these performances.

Hospitality Sponsors Thank you to the following sponsors for so generously providing a warm and comfortable place to sleep during their visit to Salem, MA.

Producer/Director, Oscar Bucher 21 min USA

NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE

The humorous and heartfelt true story of Japanese emigrant and bluegrass musician, Toshio Hirano, whose life was forever transformed by the music of country legend Jimmie Rodgers. Hirano’s epic journey takes him from Tokyo to Texas to San Francisco, as his love of bluegrass takes him on a mission of discovery into the heartland of America. Toshio chases a passionate dream for over 40 years and is rewarded with a life well-lived, filled with music, song and dance.

Image from “Sons of Cuba”

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The Salem Film Force The all-volunteer Salem Film Fest relies on the energy, gifts, and creative contributions of three groups of dedicated individuals: organizers (who select films, promote events, and organize logistics throughout the year); film advocates (who work to find each film an audience and increase the region’s awareness of the festival a few months in advance); and in-festival volunteers (a changing roster of people that assist on-site during the festival).

ORGANIZERS Elias Andrinopoulos Anne Armitage Mic Augustine Mary Beth Bainbridge Jennifer Bell Ethan Berry Ben Bouchard Franz Buzawa Doug Cabot Dinah Cardin Thomas Chalifour Liz Cronin Kereth Cowe-Spigai

Joe Cultrera Mike Evers Christopher Gilbert Tracy Lawrence Morris Leibovitz Elise Mankes Christine Michelini José Nieto Rinus Oosthoek Chris Peters Jeff Schmidt Paul Van Ness

FILM ADVOCATES Kissy Canela Debbie Clarke Chris Connelly Alex Crawford Jessica Doherty Adrianne Frene Angela Grabowski Tim Haber

Karen Hawthorne Gregory Kowalski Linda Langeland Talia Lozipone Dan McCarthy Erin McManus Nicole Mulvihill Gabrielle Paredes

THANKS TO ALL OUR IN-FESTIVAL VOLUNTEERS FOR HELPING MAKE SFF2010 A SUCCESS! This program is supported in part by a grant from the Salem Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

The Graphic Group

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Living Green Fair June 12, 2010

program book designed by square zero www.squarezerostudio.com