Friday, May 14
West Hollywood - DIRECTOR'S GUILD OF AMERICA
4:30PM
FREEDOM FROM DESPAIR
WORLD PREMIERE
preceded by A LIFE OF DEATH
6:30PM
THIRST
LOS ANGELES PREMIERE
preceded by CHILDREN
WORLD PREMIERE
7PM
DEATH IN GAZA
WEST COAST PREMIERE
8PM
IN THE SHADOW OF THE PAGODAS preceded by
ENTRENCHED ABUSE: FORCED LABOR IN BURMA and NO PLACE TO GO and BURMA REPORT: MAY 30TH INCIDENT
8:45PM
AT FIVE IN THE AFTERNOON
FREEDOM FROM DESPAIR
Director: Brenda Brkusic
2004. USA/Croatia. 90min. English and Croatian, subtitled.
WORLD PREMIERE
FREEDOM FROM DESPAIR explores the untold history of Communist Yugoslavia through first hand interviews, stock footage, news reels, and narrative recreations shot in the US and Croatia. The film portrays the incredible journey of Kruno Brkusic, who as a young man risked his life to flee from a regime that punished independent thought and suppressed Croatian culture. In exploring the atrocities committed and hidden by the Communist government of Yugoslavia, the filmmaker pieces together a shocking world that lay silent with a generation of survivors for the past 50 years. The film is a celebration of culture, democracy, and the abiding strength of the human spirit.
PLAYS WITH A Life of Death
FRIDAY, MAY 14, 4:30PM
DIRECTOR'S GUILD OF AMERICA - Theatre 3 |
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A LIFE OF DEATH
Director: Dawn Westlake
2003. USA. 8min. English.
When war after war is waged in its name, what is the price of a lasting peace? This is the question posed by A LIFE OF DEATH. Narrator and poet Donald G. Westlake has forgotten neither the effects nor the casualties of the numerous wars still in living memory. A montage of photographs from WWI to the present offers a disturbing yet painfully necessary look at ironic searches for peace through bloody violence.
PLAYS WITH Freedom from Despair
FRIDAY, MAY 14, 4:30PM
DIRECTOR'S GUILD OF AMERICA - Theatre 3 |
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THIRST
Director: Alan Snitow & Deborah Kaufman
2004. USA. 62 min. English, Spanish, Hindi, Tamil and Gujarati, subtitled.
LOS ANGELES PREMIERE
Global corporations are rapidly buying up local water supplies. Communities suddenly lose control of their most precious resource. Filmed in Bolivia, India, Japan and the USA without narration, THIRST reveals how water is the catalyst for explosive community resistance to globalization. The same battles are fought on the opposite sides of the world. THIRST is a piercing look at the conflict between public stewardship and private profit.
Filmmakers/Distributors Contact Information: Snitow/Kaufman Productions
amsnitow@igc.org
PLAYS WITH Children
FRIDAY, MAY 14, 6:30PM
DIRECTOR'S GUILD OF AMERICA - Theatre 3 |
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CHILDREN
Director: Le Sheng Liu
2004. USA. 3min. English.
WORLD PREMIERE
America is obsessed with fashion. We have countless magazines about what the latest trends are, and everyone always wants to know who the celebrities are wearing. CHILDREN is a concise, poetic look at the reality of how everyday fashions are made. Using photographs and frank narration, Le Sheng Liu confronts the exploitation of child labor by American clothing companies.
PLAYS WITH Thirst
FRIDAY, MAY 14, 6:30PM
DIRECTOR'S GUILD OF AMERICA - Theatre 3 |
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DEATH IN GAZA
Director: James Miller.
2003. United Kingdom. 77min. English, Hebrew, and Arabic, subtitled.
WEST COAST PREMIERE
After director James Miller was shot and killed during the making of this documentary, his film partner and narrator Saira Shah completed his riveting and thoughtful look at the life of youth on the streets of Gaza. Ahmed and his friends like to play "Israelis and Palestinians" on the street with toy guns carved from wood. Mohammad wants to be just like his friend and become a "martyr," though his mother would rather he attend a university and raise a family. Nailja lives near the border where Palestinian homes are routinely destroyed by armed bulldozers. Documenting a place where bullets are constantly firing, tanks roam the streets, and families search for bodily remains among the rubble of attacks, this bold and provocative film offers a raw look at life in Gaza, while preserving the memory and dignity of James Miller.
FRIDAY, MAY 14, 7PM
DIRECTOR'S GUILD OF AMERICA - Theatre 2 |
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IN THE SHADOW OF THE PAGODAS
Director: Irene Marty.
2004. Switzerland. 52 min. English, Burmese, Karen, and Shan, subtitled.
ENTRENCHED ABUSE: FORCED LABOR IN BURMA
Director: WITNESS and Burma Issues
2004. USA. 12 min. English, Sgaw Karen, Karenni and Burmese, subtitled.
NO PLACE TO GO: INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE IN BURMA
Director: WITNESS in association with Burma Issues
2002. USA. 14 min. English, Sgaw Karen and Burmese, subtitled.
BURMA REPORT: MAY 30th INCIDENT
Director: Anonymous
2004. Thailand. 15 min. English and Burmese, subtitled.
Synopses for these films can be viewed on the
Thursday, May 13th page.
PLAYS THURSDAY, MAY 13, 4:30PM
AND
FRIDAY, MAY 14, 8PM
DIRECTOR'S GUILD OF AMERICA - Theatre 3 |
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AT FIVE IN THE AFTERNOON
Director: Samira Makhmalbaf
2003. France/Iran. 105min. Dari and Farsi, subtitled.
As young Nogreh is on her way to school, she discards her clothes for a uniform and high heels. She wants to be president of her class, and secretly dreams of becoming president of her country. This ambition is shared by girls all over the world, but Nogreh lives in Afghanistan. The Taliban may be gone, but her strict father still pressures her to wear a burka. While her spirit is strong and determined, Nogreh must ultimately face the bleak reality of her surroundings, and of her place as a woman. Director Samira Makhmalbaf is frank in her telling of Nogreh's story, a story that is made astounding through Makhmalbaf's signature poetic style. This feature film won the Special Jury Prize at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.
FRIDAY, MAY 14, 8:45PM
DIRECTOR'S GUILD OF AMERICA - Theatre 2 |
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