The 2007 FFF Winners:
Congratulations to the 2007 FFF Winners
• Best Filmstock Film: Swimming, directed by Diane Lisa Johnson
• Best Digital Film: Last Stop For Paul, directed by Neil Mandt
• Best Documentary: Wally, directed by Bob Fink
• Best Short Documentary: Facing the Habit, directed by Magnolia Martin
• Best Student Director: Bullet Proof Vest, directed by May Lin Au Yong
• Best First Time Director: Landscape in a Portrait, directed by Dustin Thompson
• Best Animation: Everything Will Be Okay, directed by Don Hertzfeldt
• Best Skate Video: Pray For Me, The Jason Jessee Film, directed by Steve Nemsick and David Rogerson
• Audience Award: Rural Rock, directed by Jensen Rufe
Friday, July 13th, 2007
5:50-7:15
Feature Documentary
Steve Gatlin
Beauty 24
On September 1, 2005, photographer Steve Gatlin embarked on a challenge to travel around the country for 24 days, each day visiting a new state to take just one photograph until he filled a single roll of film. To complicate matters each photograph was taken at night, outdoors, using time-lapse settings, and the models were all in the nude. Follow Gatlin on his epic journey and witness first hand the models’ candid interviews after each shoot as they examine his interpretation of beauty, and also how issues of self-esteem, confidence and more are defined in American culture today.
7:30-8:45
African Films
Avie Luthra
LUCKY is a South African AIDS orphan who learns about life through an unlikely bond with a racist Indian woman.
“In the film, Lucky, a young boy, is moving from rural Zululand to Durban to live with his uncle. He is very excited until his uncle refuses to send him to school and instead gives him a tape of his mother's last message made just before she died.
The boy struggles to play this however, and manages to do so on the tape-deck of a racist old Indian woman (Padma). The message upsets Lucky so much that he runs away from home and becomes a street-child for a night. On his return Padma feels sorry for him and they bond as an unlikely mother and son.
Luthra says the aim of the film was to dramatize the effects of HIV on children in South Africa whilst looking at African / Indian relationships.
The film was shot in and around Durban in Natal, where HIV is estimated at around 40%. The story is taken from real life accounts and research of AIDS orphans and the difficulties they face. The tape idea, he says, comes from the practice of dying mothers creating memory boxes for their children.”(AIM Magizeen Media & Current Affairs, see: http://www.asiansinmedia.org/news/article.php/television/1183)
Paolo Quaregna
Le Bon Eleve: Le Mali et Nous
The images of Bancoumana, a small village in Mali, introduce the debate on the process of economic globalization in some African countries and the risks that this brings with it. The privatization of the only existing railway, the price of cotton and the ownership of the land, GM agriculture, parliamentary democracy and “traditional” democracy are some of the issues at the centre of attention.
9:00-10:11
Skate Film
Steve Nemsick, David Rogerson
Pray For Me: The Jason Jessee Film
Pray For Me, Jason Jessee' is a documentary stunt ride with legendary former skateboard pro, custom chopper builder, and full-time low-rider Jason Jessee.
Jason's family, friends (many of whom are living legends in diverse fields) and associates weave a riveting narrative on a truly fascinating, self-invented man. Jason's halting language and dozens of interviews from those who know him best and worst unveil themes of suicide, Jesus, success, failure, natural birthing, chicken make-up, esthetics, excommunication, bankruptcy, and love. The diversity and status of the interviewees in the film is staggering, as is their contribution to modern California culture - Jason's true love. The settings for most interviews is the shop, garage, studio or workspace that each of theses artisans uses, bathing them with eye candy. Juxtaposed against these are raw walking and talking scenes of Jason, enhancing the concept of dichotomy that is so rich in his life. Professional photography and page stopping quotes from dozens of skateboard and biker magazines, as well as scenes from skate films, television, and the Jessee family home movies (Super 8) round out a visually alluring story.
Some of the players featured are Skip Engblom (Dogtown/Z-Boys), world champion skateboarder Christian Hosoi, Hollywood tattooer Mark Mahoney, famed custom car builder Cole Foster, and world renowned surf pioneer Christian Fletcher.
The pace is often frantic, covering disparate topics like a train wreck...telling Jason's story in the same manner he lives it.
10:25-11:50
Animated Shorts
The 2007 lineup of Best Animated Shorts includes the Sundance-Film Festival’s Award winning existential mediation “Everything Will Be Okay”, various computer animation, claymation, stop-motion, hilarious, subversive, touching, sad, and innovative animation. From dealing with death (“Oso”), to Clerks-bad-drug trips (“Two in the AM/PM”), this lineup features 13 short films crafted by true artists and will not be screened anywhere else! Do not miss these animated films- from the U.S., South Korea, and beyond- you won’t see them anywhere else.
Everything Will Be Okay, various computer animation, claymation, stop-motion, hilarious, subversive, touching, sad, and innovative animation. From dealing with death ("Oso"), to Clerks-bad-drug trips ("Two in the AM/PM"), this lineup features 13 short films crafted by true artists and will not be screened anywhere else! Do not miss these animated films- from the U.S., South Korea, and beyond- you won't see them anywhere else.
Marina Budovsky
Dear Alphabet
Inspired by all things absurd, "Dear Alphabet," is an experimental cartoon, which tells the story of one girl and what happens after a monster eats her mother. When our hero still cannot escape the depths of chaos, a magnificent storm washes her sadness away. (7min. 13 sec., Stop-motion & multi-media Animation).
Vanessa Woods
The Touch is a meditation on Anne Sexton’s poem of the same name. The film examines melodies within spoken, written and visual language and how they can interact. By juxtaposing text, image and sound, the viewer is asked to contemplate disparate forms of human response and emotion regarding language and imagery. In The Touch, the text from the poem is first given life through single-frame animation, then through layered audio recording and finally through visuals that reinterpret it. Language and image investigate feelings of disembodiment, isolation and absence punctuated by sound and silence. Because the subject of the poem deals specifically with the idea of touch, the film sustains a highly tactile, textural quality wherein the filmmaker’s hand is an overt presence.
Jaeyoon Park
Evocation is a visual ode influenced by the poem “evocation(??)” written by Kim So Wol. The poem “evocation” consists of strong emotional conflicts that occur from losing a loved one. And these develop Han, ironic or paradoxical emotions, which I try to illustrate in my work.
Evocation is including the concepts of the endless wheel of rebirth by connecting the beginning to the ending of the animation. Also Chrysanthemum, apricot, magnolia, and lotus symbolize fall, winter, spring, and summer respectively.There are three characters such as a fish, a bird and the moon. The fish, which is representing the soul, try to approach the moon, a symbol of Transcendence or God, and transforms into the bird. The transformation suggests the spiritual growth of soul
Jody Kramer
Pinch
The story of a woman and the ferociously adorable monster who clings to her arm. An exploration of the emotional turmoil of a rather vicious cycle, using cartoon humor and horror.
Brian Blasiak
Scaling Up
To cover his affair, Jimmy's father takes him to a local jazz club so Jimmy can practice his trumpet. With his father in another room, Jimmy sits on the stage and reads his comic book. Suddenly, his father's voice booms through the room. After a few moments of lackluster practice, Jimmy hears a muffled sound coming from a pile of old instruments. Tentatively, he investigates the noise, eventually picking up an old trumpet. As the trumpet meets his lips, something magical happens. While Jimmy gets lost in this experience, his father opens the door and reality comes crashing back. Now, Jimmy is faced with which trumpet to take home: the new uninspiring one or the old magical one?
12:00 AM
Feature
Jay Edwards
Stomp! Shout! Scream!
The beach party rock and roll monster movie Stomp! Shout! Scream! is set in 1966 and intertwines the adventures of an all-girl garage rock band with the legend of the Skunk Ape (the
Florida Everglades’ version of Bigfoot). Theodora, Jody and Carol, collectively known as The Violas, are on tour when their van breaks down in a small southern beach town. Meanwhile, the local police are investigating the disappearance of the parents of a little girl who was found walking the beach in a state of shock. But they are also trying to determine the origins of a strange pile of pungent debris that has washed up on the beach. Scientist John Patterson is called in to help investigate. Both John and a local mechanic, Hector Garcia, fall for The Violas’ lead singer, Theodora. She initially shows little interest in them, however, and seems to be harboring a mysterious past. Hector convinces the girls to stay in town when he offers to repair their van in exchange for playing at his party, but a strange and menacing creature appears to be on the loose…
Saturday, July 14th, 2007
1:20-3:00
Feature Documentary
Paul La Blanc
Millions (WORLD PREMIERE)
For many Americans, winning the lottery represents the ultimate dream come true. Rags to riches stories and their sordid flip side - tales of millions wasted by undisciplined winners - are common fodder for the tabloids and talk shows. But the public is rarely, if ever allowed more than a superficial glimpse into the world of instant, unexpected wealth. Millions (a lottery story) follows the lives of six different big money winners to show just how dramatically a life-changing experience can affect the average person.
From the farms of the Midwest and the heart of the Bible belt to the hurricane riddled retirement communities of South Florida, Millions documents the true stories of people as rich in personality as they are (or once were) in material wealth.
Rather than focusing solely on the subjects? Lottery winnings, the film also uses the everyday lives of its subjects to gain insights into such diverse subjects as fame, growing old, the plight of the small farmer, and the role of evangelical Christianity in contemporary society. By comparing the experiences of very different people who share a common link, Millions paints a vivid picture of how exceptional circumstances can deeply affect one’s identity, and tells a poignant story
3:15-4:39
Best Comedic and Experimental Short Films
The 2007 lineup of Best Comedic and Experimental Short Films is a hilarious mixture of comedy and innovation. From love triangle-heavy metal bands (“I’m in the band”), to wind-up Nuns, the perils of quitting smoking, the films include playing chess as therapy, an office-race among mail delivery boys, and an Eastern European vision of music and image sure to provoke. Hilarious, silly, creative fun- it’s 8 different short films for the price of one!
4:55-6:47
Best Dramatic and Thrilling Short Films
The 2007 lineup of Best Dramatic and Thrilling Short Films includes an Australian film about the true story of a man who freezes to death in a refrigerated train car, told in flashback ("Absolute Zero"), and the wildly weird and wonderful Delicatessan-esque "Existence." These six short movies include gangsters, women dealing with mid-thirty crises, and the dangers of picking up hitchhikers. These films are not available in this lineup anywhere else, and are from the U.S., England, and beyond. A must see."
Swimming
A shy mailroom clerk's life is sent plunging into the deep end when she rescues an abandoned love letter from the trash can of a mean female executive... and decides to reply. Inter-office cat-fighting, deception and romance ensue in this entertaining comedy about the distance between the life you have and the life you want.
7:00-8:15
Music Documentaries
Jensen Rufe
Rural Rock
While the rest of the music world operates oblivious to their existence, the vibrant Humboldt County, CA underground scene makes do with limited rock resources. Six hours north of the nearest big city, these colorful scenesters pump out the catchiest tunes, for all the right reasons. 'Rural Rock' is a week-in-the-life of the best scene you've never heard of.
Gabriel Lamb
The New Grass:
In a world where pop culture dominates the music business, shining gems still exist. Come on an adventure to the city by the Bay, where Bluegrass and American Roots live and thrive. This documentary film (with appearances by: Shelby Ash, The Pine Box Boys, Kemo Sabe, and Shawn “Razor” Cymbalisty) takes a look at the current state of Bluegrass and Roots, exploring its progression, while still paying homage to those that led the way for The New Grass.
8:30-9:52
Dramatic Feature
Neil Mandt
Last Stop for Paul
Two guys travel around the world in search of answers only to discover the world is full of wacky people and experiences.
Cliff and Charlie work together selling bathroom supplies. Charlie’s the seasoned traveler, having been to over 50 countries before his 30th birthday. Cliff dreams of traveling but always finds an excuse not to go. When Charlie asks Cliff to go to the Full Moon Party in Thailand, it is no surprise to anyone when Charlie is rejected.
Things suddenly change when Cliff gets a phone call informing him that one of his childhood friends died unexpectedly. At the funeral, Cliff learns his buddy had been planning a trip around the world. Cliff decides to make sure his friend still makes that trip, even if it means carrying his ashes in a thermos to do it.
Together, all three embark on a trip of a lifetime.
Filmed all over the world, the award-winning Last Stop For Paul takes viewers on an around the world journey that is like nothing you've ever seen on the Discover channel!
10:10-11:57
Music Documentary
and
Creative Short
Rick Ernst
Get Thrashed: The Story of Thrash Metal
Get Thrashed traces the influence and evolution of thrash metal, an extreme form of heavy metal popularized in the early 1980's by bands like Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Megadeath, Anthrax etc. The film shows how these bands helped create a worldwide scene and style of music that influenced bands that followed like Pantera, Slipknot, System of a Down and many more.
Pillow Girl
Originally a sound-art work created for the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver by musician/artist Ronnie Cramer, who scanned the covers and inside pages of a number of lurid, vintage paperbacks, then ran the collected image and text data through a variety of synthesizers. The resulting sound files were then processed and remixed into the soundtrack for Pillow Girl film; the visual portion of the film makes use of the over 200 covers, with one illustrated figure morphing into the next every two seconds.
Sunday, July 15th, 2007
2:00-3:33
Short Documentaries
Becky Baumgartner
Heart of a Soul Surfer
Bethany Hamilton, a 13-year-old girl destined for a successful surfing career, lost her arm to a shark in 2003. The attack didn’t cause this determined surfer to give up. Instead, it compelled her to discover her purpose in life as she overcame her loss and got back on the board just weeks later.
'Heart of a Soul Surfer' digs deep into the heart of Bethany's abiding faith in God, and tackles the difficult question 'Why does God allow bad things to happen in our lives?'
Jeremy Kaller
The Recyclergy
San Francisco Bay Area recycling pioneers share their insightfully hilarious thoughts and stories on garbage collection, treasure hunting, Jack Benny, and the products we buy.
3:50-5:34
Feature Documentaries
Maryanne Galvin
What’s Going on UP There?
From hardworking scientists and environmentalists--even a college student in Kuwait who wants to be the first Muslim woman in space--to Hollywood filmmakers, entrepreneurs, psychiatrists, historians, lawyers and preschoolers, this doc offers conversations with professionals and ordinary citizens on all sides of the space debate. Introduced by Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek), who once again asks us what Earthlings will do with the final frontier.
Eliza Hemenway
Uncommon Knowledge
A unique view of privatization, Uncommon Knowledge takes place inside UC Berkeley Extension as plans unfold to shut-down its historic San Francisco campus in favor of private development. A surprisingly human story, Uncommon Knowledge is a revealing look into higher education and a hauntingly beautiful portrait of a campus and the community it served.
6:00-7:42
HIV/AIDS Documentaries
Achim Voermanek
Running for Life
This movie portraits Robert Benavidez, the head of the San Francisco AIDS Marathon Program. His personal struggle with HIV and AIDS has lasted over 24 years and he is an active athlete. The Program has trained over 17,000 runners to run a full marathon and raise millions of dollars for AIDS research and care
Gary Null
AIDS Inc
What if everything we've been told about AIDS is wrong? What if HIV is not the virus that causes AIDS? That the HIV antibody test were completely flawed? That the drugs given for it cause symptoms indistinguishable from AIDS? That many of the people working in the field of AIDS are self serving opportunists? That AIDS is the most popular, profitable disease ever? That tens of thousands of scientists and foundations are lining up to feed at this endless through? That there has been complete and total suppression of the dissident voices? That even gay activists who have spoken out against the flawed war on AIDS have been ostracized?
This is a documentary that shakes the AIDS tree to its foundation. This is the in-depth, uncensored, unexpurgated documentary that lets dozens of quality voices go on the record to share their views on AIDS.
8:00-9:34
Short Documentaries
May Lin Au Yong
Bullet Proof Vest
Welcome to Richmond California where children neither walk to school, nor go to the park; not if they want to live past the age of 18. Fed up with the gun violence decimating the city's young male population, residents took over the four most dangerous parks; camping in 'Tent Cities' in a desperate stand for peace. Let 9 year old twins Mustapha and Jyeshria explain why kids are killing kids in Richmond.
Magnolia Martin
Facing the Habit (WORLD PREMIERE)
Can a root that grows in West Africa successfully treat heroin addicts and break the cycle of addiction? Ibogaine is a derivative of the West African root Iboga; its properties have recently been reported as an effective treatment for drug addiction.
Dave is a former stockbroker whose life has spiraled out of control due to heroin addiction. A one-time millionaire, he is now reduced to petty theft as a means to supply his habit. Desperate to get help, Dave travels to Mexico for the Ibogaine treatment.
Facing the Habit is an intimate look into the struggle of addiction, as Dave's life is revealed before, during, and after the treatment.
Francesca Fini
Immortali
This is the story of a few hundred people who took arrangements to have their bodies frozen after death in “cryogenic suspension,” when dead bodies are immersed in liquid until the magic science of the future is able to bring them back to life.
9:50-11:46
Feature Documentaries
Bob Fink
Wally
This cinema verite style documentary explores issues of family loyalty in modern society. The film follows the lives of a brother and sister, tied together forever by his assumed profound disability, after his overly caretaking parents die unexpectedly. The sister has to choose between her husband and her brother. What would you do?
Amelia Kirby and Nick Szuberla
Up the Ridge
Starting in the spring of 1999 on the opening day of Wallens Ridge State Prison Up the Ridge offers viewers an in-depth look at the United States prison industry and the social impact of moving hundreds of thousands of inner-city minority offenders to distant rural outposts. Through the lens of Wallens Ridge Prison, we explore competing political agendas that align government policy with human rights violations, and political expediencies that bring communities into racial and cultural conflict with tragic consequences. Connections exist, in both practice and ideology, between human rights violations in Abu Ghraib and physical and sexual abuse recorded in American prisons with little public knowledge or concern.