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3RD ANNUAL ABSOLUTE TIME FILM FESTIVAL
Presented by: SAN FRANCISCO STAGE & FILM @ ATA
World
cinema around women, people of color and under represented communities. Films from all over the world reflecting the exploitation
of women, the myth behind traditional family values and an exploration of
cross-cultural communication make-up the exciting array of films in the 3nd
Annual Absolute Time Film Festival. PROGRAM: March 17, 2005 8:00
p.m. TAHARA 17
minutes USA 2004 Directed
by Sara Rashad English and
English subtitles This
short dramatic narrative film, revolves around Amina who must decide if she
will submit to family pressure to circumcise her daughter or abandon this
age-old tradition. MARDI GRAS: MADE IN
CHINA 58
minutes, USA 2004 Directed
by David Redmon English
and English subtitles This
documentary follows the life of a Mardi Gras bead from its birth in the sweat
shops of rural china to its hey-day of trade for nudity at the climax of Mardi
Gras to its pathetic ending of discarded waste in the gutters of the French
Quarter. This film is a harsh reminder
that our decadent life-style comes at the exploitation of young women workers
for 10 cents an hour in China. March 18, 2005 8:00
p.m. WINTER SEA 25
minutes, USA 2004 Directed
by Erika Tasini English This
short film follows a secretive
woman’s intimate relationship to her brother as it is threatened when an
unexpected guest shows up for dinner at their eccentric mother’s house THE WATERSHED 78
minutes, USA 2004 Directed
by Mary Trunk English This
documentary is a reflection of seven siblings as they dissect the turbulent
divorce of their parents when they were children. March 19, 2005 4:00
p.m. GUTTERSHARK 5
minutes, USA 2004 Directed
by Eliza Chincarini, Phiyen Nguyen and Kirk MaWhinney English Animated
comedy about the terrifying danger of sharks in swimming pools BLESSING 14
minutes, USA 2004 Directed
by Suju Vijayan English This
short film explores the relationship between an immigrant mother and her
assimilated daughter and their struggle to find common ground with each other. FULFILLING ONE’S DUTY 18
minutes, USA/CHILE 2004 Directed
by Maria Jose Calderon Spanish
with English subtitles This film
follows a middle-aged security guards journey, as he must decide how far he
will go in order to keep his job. CHEERLEADER 24
minutes, USA 2004 Directed
by Kimberlee Bassford English An
exploration of the all-American pastime of cheerleading through the eyes of
8-11 year-old girls. COVERED GIRLS 21
minutes, USA 2003 Directed
by Janet McIntyre and Amy Wendell English A
bittersweet look at Muslim-American teenage girls in post-September 11th
New York. PRICES: $5.00 at door day of event. Visit our web
site at www.sfstagefilm.org or ATA web site at www.atasite.org
or call 415-401-9768 for more information. Wretched of the Earth
Other Cinema @ATA
SAT. 3/5: BRECKE'S
WITNESS IN DARFUR + SALGADO Globetrotting photog Mark Brecke is back from Sudan with a revelatory slide presentation about the situation on the ground there. A contributor to myriad journals and movie projects, Mr. Brecke has served as eyewitness in conflict zones from Cambodia to Kosovo to Rwanda. He just recently returned from Africa, bringing back this documentary evidence and his first-hand account to a Western world that can barely imagine the severity of the human catastrophe. A satellite phone-call to a rep of the Sudanese Liberation Army will outline strategies for action. Also screening is The Spectre of Hope, a long-form homage to photo-essayist Sebastião Salgado, the Brazilian visual poet for the global poor, in which he critiques globalization with British art critic John Berger. Head On @ Roxie
After a heavy night of drinking,
40-year old Cahit, on a path of self-destruction, drives his car head-on into a
building in Hamburg. He enters a psychiatric clinic where he is approached by
the young, somewhat carefree Sibel, who asks him to marry her. Desperate to
escape the constraints of her fanatic Muslim-Turkish-German family, Sibel had
already attempted suicide and now she sees a culturally acceptable marriage as
her only means of freedom. Reluctantly, he agrees to the union and the two move
in together. Against the odds, the mismatch works; with regular meals and a
clean apartment, Cahit starts to clean up his act, while Sibel relishes her new
life, going clubbing and picking up guys as she wishes. But convenience and
friendship soon turn to love, a complication that sends Cahit towards
destruction, Sibel to Istanbul and the possibility of their relationship
lasting problematic. GOLDEN BEAR AWARD WINNER! Winner of the European Film
Award for Best Film and German Film Awards for Best Picture, Best Direction,
Best Actress, Best Actor and Best Cinematography. Check out the German Website. Written
& directed by Fatih Akin. With Birol Ünel and Sibel Kekilli. In German
& Turkish with English subtitles. Runningtime: 123 mins. Showtimes: Nightly
at 6:00. Additional Wed., Sat. & Sun. mats at (2:00). In The Realms of the Unreal @ Roxie Filmmaker Jessica Yu's innovative documentary
explores the parallel lives of legendary outsider artist Henry Darger.
Reclusive janitor by day, visionary artist by night, Darger had virtually no
friends but lived a rich imaginary life. Upon his death hundreds of watercolor
paintings were discovered, along with a 15,000 page novel (bearing the same
title as the film) detailing the exploits of seven angelic sisters who lead a
rebellion against godless, child-enslaving men. Employing vivid animation and
experimental elements, Yu immerses us in Darger's world and all its strange
beauty, showing how he forged magic out of the bleakest of lives. USA. 2004.
Running Time: 81 mins. Mon - Fri Showtimes: Monday - Friday at 5:15. Sat. &
Sun. matinee (12:00 Peace,
Propaganda & The Promised Land @ Roxie Friday, March 11 -
Thursday, March 17 Americans rely on the news media for information about
events occurring around the world. News, especially television news, exerts a
powerful influence on our perceptions, telling us which events are important
and shaping our understanding of the issues. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict
currently dominates American news coverage of international issues. Given the
central role played by the United States in the Middle East conflict, and thus
the vital role played by American voters, it becomes important to examine the
stories the news media are telling and to ask the question: Does the news
coverage reflect the reality on the ground? From the director of Hijacking
Catastrophe, Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land provides a
striking comparison of U.S. and international media coverage of the crisis in
the Middle East, zeroing in on how structural distortions in U.S. coverage have
reinforced false perceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This pivotal
documentary exposes how the foreign policy interests of American political
elites-oil, and a need to have a secure military base in the region, among
others-work in combination with Israeli public relations strategies to exercise
a powerful influence over how news from the region is reported. Through voices
of scholars, media critics, peace activists, religious figures, and Middle East
experts, Peace, Propaganda, & the Promised Land carefully analyzes and
explains how-through the use of language, framing, and context—the Israeli
occupation of the West Bank and Gaza remains hidden in the news media, and
Israeli colonization of the occupied territories appears to be a defensive move
rather than an offensive one. At its core, the documentary raises questions
about ethics and role of journalism, and the relationship between media and
politics. Interviewees include Seth Ackerman, Mjr. Stav Adivi, Rabbi Arik
Ascherman, Hanan Ashrawi, Noam Chomsky, Robert Fisk, Dr. Neve Gordon, Toufic
Haddad, Sam Husseini, Hussein Ibish, Robert Jensen, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Karen
Pfeifer, Alisa Solomon, and Gila Svirsky. Produced and directed by Bathsheba
Ratzkoff & Sut Jhally. In English. 35mm. U.S.A. 2004. Running time: 80
minutes. Showtimes: Nightly at 6:30 & 8:15. Additional Saturday, Sunday
& Wednesday matinees at 2:00. |
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