Films of the 3rd Annual

Petaluma International Film Festival®

All films are in English or have English subtitles

Simple

US PREMIERE

Director: Ivan Calbérac, 2010, France, 90 minutes, Cast: Bastien Bouillon, Julien Drion, Shemss Audat, Morgane Cabot, Esteban Carvajal-Alegria, Valentine Catzeflis

[Sunday, October 23, 2011 @ 6 PM - Screening with: Tete a Tete]

 

Tanguero

US PREMIERE

Director: Emanuele Persico [In Person], 2011, Italy/Argentina, 78 minutes, Cast: Omar Quiroga, Veronica Palacios, Maria Cecilia Cervini, Juan Carlos Stasi, Jorge Juanatey

[Friday, October 21, 2011 @ 7:25 PM - Screening with: Wallflower Tango]

Omar, a Tango instructor, is forced to return to Buenos Aires because of an important phone call. He discovers an unrecognizable city, meets relatives, old friends and meets Veronica, his childhood friend. They remember the time they had spent together years before and decide to take on a difficult challenge. That’s how Omar rediscovers himself in Tango.


Emanuele Persico



Born in Bergamo Italy in 1970, Emanuele graduated with a degree in Engineering at the Faculty of Polytechnic in Milan with a thesis in Artificial Intelligence. Advanced automation heuristics talents kept him busy in Brussels and London but his natural talent in cinema could not be suppressed. Unwilling to let his screenplays and dreams go unfulfilled he formed Pesca Productions and produced 4 short films in 2003. In 2006 his screenplay “Flesh of Guascony” earned him acclaim and awards from film festivals in New York and Cleveland. In 2009 his first published book, “At least one dead…except the fish” was widely distributed throughout Italy and continues to win awards. Also in 2009 Emanuele brought his talents to San Francisco to take part in the SFSU Digital Video Intensive, where he completed another short film “The Thief”, and collaborated on five other short projects. Through the years of chasing the vision of his scripts Emanuele has become a talented camera operator and production coordinator as well. 

US PREMIERE

Director: Brigitte Bertele, 2011, Germany, 70 minutes, Cast:  Florian David Fitz, Wotan Wilke Möhring, Ursina Lardi

[Friday, October 21, 2011 @ 9:15 PM - Screening with: Woman with Gray Bundle + Her Mother’s Daughters]



After an evening out, the 35-year-old, self-confident Judith is raped on her way home. She fights with all possible means to prevent her life being changed. Her lawyer advises her to press charges. But the destructive consequences force their way into her life. When the perpetrator's false statement causes her hopes of legal redress to collapse, Judith looks for another way to get justice and it almost looks like she is out for revenge. But Judith is pursuing an unusual, radical path to prove the criminal's guilt.


Brigitte Bertele
 


Born in Ulm on 4.7.1974. 1993-1997 studied acting at the Academy of Performing Art in Ulm, with master classes in New York and Moscow. 1997-2002 member of the ensemble at theatres in Eisenach, Parchim and Dresden. Since 1999 performances in various film and TV productions, since 2002 freelance actress. In 2002 Brigitte Bertele also began studying documentary directing at the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy in Ludwigsburg. Her 53-minute documentary "Roaming Around" received numerous awards.


Catalunya Über Alles

US PREMIERE

Director: Ramon Térmens, 2011, Spain, 101 minutes, Cast: Joel Joan, Jordi Dauder, Babou Cham, Gonzalo Cunill, Belén Fabra i Vicky Peña

[Saturday, October 22, 2011 @ 3:45 PM - Screening with: The Barbarians]


 
An ex-convict, an unemployed immigrant and a successful businessman are the three main characters of this portrayal of inner Catalonia. Three stories showing a conflicting society forced to reinvent itself or collapse.

Festivals: Festival Internacional de San Sebastián, Festival des Films du Monde Montréal

Ramon Térmens



Born in 1974 and native from Bellmunt de Segarra (Lleida, Spain), he graduated in Philosophy at the Universitat de Barcelona, and completed a three-year Direction Program at the Centre d’Estudis Cinematogràfics de Catalunya (C.E.C.C.) Film School. He made his debut in filming working as a Co-Scriptwriter and Co-Director of “Joves” (2005), a film that received 3 Awards for the “Premis Ciutat de Barcelona 2005” (later called “Gaudí”). He worked in Los Angeles as a commissioned scriptwriter until he managed to make his first film as a solo director, “Negro Buenos Aires”, which was released worldwide at the Mostra de Cinema Llatinoamericà de Catalunya de Lleida, in Spain. He is also the Co-Scriptwriter of “Trash”, a film directed by Carles Torras. In 2010, Ramon Térmens and Victor Hernández Torner started Segarra Films, a film production and distribution company based in Barcelona.


Cairo Exit

WEST-COAST PREMIERE

Director:  Hesham Issawi, 2010, Egypt/United Arab Emirates, 96 minutes, Cast: Mohamed Ramadan, Maryhan, Sana Mouziane, Saffa Galal, Ahmed Bidder

[Saturday, October 22, 2011 @ 7:40 PM - Screening with: Joselyn]

 

An impressively dramatic look at contemporary life in Cairo, Hesham Issawi’s Cairo Exit (El Khoroug) is a gritty and dynamic film driven by a startlingly fine performance by lead actress Maryhan as a young woman torn between following her lover who wants to leave Egypt or staying loyal to her family and background but enduring a bleak future.

When 18-year-old Amal becomes pregnant, she struggles with the choice between absconding to Greece with her beloved Muslim boyfriend and staying in Cairo with her Coptic Orthodox Christian family. But when her motorbike gets stolen and she's fired from her job, Amal must reevaluate her future options as an unmarried young mother in Egypt.

Hesham Issawi



Hesham Issawi was born in Egypt and raised in a devoutly intellectual Egyptian family. He moved to America in 1990 to study anthropology but changed his major from anthropology to art and photography. He graduated from Columbia College Chicago and directed the award-winning short films The Interrogation and T For Terrorist and the feature American East.


Love At First Sight

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA PREMIERE

Director: Michael Davies, 2010, UK, 11 minutes, Cast: John Hurt, Phyllida Law

[Saturday, October 22, 2011 @ 1:40 PM - Screening with: Worldwide Shorts]


 
Do you believe in love at first sight? When Arthur (JOHN HURT) spots Ruth (PHYLLIDA LAW) he knows in his heart that it's true...

Michael Davies



Michael Davies is an award winning writer, producer and director of drama and documentary.  Following a BA in Drama from Manchester University, and an MA in Film and Television from Bristol, Michael began his career in BBC Television Features, working on a wide range of projects, including his critically acclaimed series, Barnardo’s Children.  Michael’s work as a freelance director is equally diverse, encompassing comedy observational documentaries (Going To Chelsea), drama-documentaries (The Welsh Great Escape), dramatised adventure (Snakemaster) and factual entertainment, including his RTS award winning Oz & James Drink To Britain.

Michael has recently been enjoying success as a drama director.  His first comedy short What’s ’virgin’ mean? has been screened at over forty festivals around the world, winning six awards and attracting more than 750,000 hits on You Tube.  He directed five episodes of the first season of the hit BBC children’s drama series Tracy Beaker Returns, and is currently in post on another five for the second season.  Michael’s latest short film is Love At First Sight.


Bardsongs

US PREMIERE

Director: Sander Francken, 2010, Netherlands/India, 94 minutes

[Saturday, October 22, 2011 @ 5:45 PM]
 


Dutch filmmaker Sander Francken directed the musical feature film BARDSONGS in India and Mali. At the basis of this film are three folk tales from respectively Rajasthan, Western Africa and Ladakh, put to music by musical celebrities from those regions and interpreted by local actors who knew these tales from their youth. The film focuses on the similarities between three totally different worlds.
The world of Sahir, whose father refuses to pass judgment on his fate… the world of Bouba, a pupil at a Koran school who has to find the largest part of all knowledge… and the world of Sonam, who has to sell his dzo (a crossbreed between a yak and a cow) and therefore journeys to town through the Himalayas with his daughter. The filmed tales provide the viewer with a glance at universal wisdom and music.


Sander Francken



Sander Francken has been writing, directing and producing films and television programs since 1980. His work was awarded with approximately 35 national and international film and television awards – among which three Gold Calves (‘the Dutch Oscar’).


Beyond the Ocean

WEST-COAST PREMIERE

Director: Elaine de Latour, 2009, France/Ivory Coast/UK, 106 minutes, Cast: Fraser James, Marie Josée Croze, Djédjé Apali, Sara Martins, Kad Merad, Malik Zidi

[Friday, October 21, 2011 @ 1:45 PM]
 


In a Spanish port, Shad sells crack and Otho gets by driving a cab without a license. They both dream of one day returning to their Ivory Coast homeland as triumphant benefactors and heroes. But a police raid separates their fates. Otho, deported, returns empty handed. Shad runs from the authorities. In England, he comes across Tango, a “white and a white little sister” with whom he pursues his conquest of Europe. After wonders and misadventures, he returns to Abidjan apparently successful. But the day of the big wedding, a duel with Otho breaks out.

Eliane de Latour



Eliane de Latour, anthropologist by education, has begun her film career by the documentary genre as she alternated filming in France and in Africa. She drifted to the feature films and from one film to another she brings an inside look. 


Out of the Ashes

US PREMIERE

Directors: Tim Albone & Lucy Martens, 2010, UK/Afghanistan, 85 minutes, Cast: Taj Malik Alam, Hasti Gul Abid, Karim Saddiq, Gulbadin Naib, Nawrouz Mangal

[Friday, October 21, 2011 @ 3:45 PM - Screening with: Tasnim]

 

Against a backdrop of war and poverty, Out of the Ashes traces the extraordinary journey of a team of young Afghan men as they chase a seemingly impossible dream - shedding new light on a nation beyond burqas, bombs, drugs and devastation. This feature-length documentary follows the Afghan cricket team in their quest against the odds to qualify for the World Cup. the film reveals a more human side to this beleaguered country which has endured three decades of war and occupation. Executive produced by Oscar-winning director and cricket enthusiast, Sam Mendes.

Festivals: Edinburgh International Film Festival (selected for Best of the Fest)
Valladolid International Film Festival – In Competition
International Film Festival of India (Goa)
Victoria Film Festival
Big Pond Adelaide Film Festival


Timothy Albone &  Lucy Martens



Between 2005 and 2008 Timothy was the Afghanistan correspondent for The Times and Sunday Times. He has also reported from Iraq, India, Pakistan, Yemen and Ethiopia and has worked for Sky News, DWTV, CBC, CBS, NPR, The Globe and Mail, The Scotsman and Esquire magazine. In 2008 he was shortlisted for the Bayeux Calvados award for war correspondents. A book charting the team’s journey, written by Tim, will be published by Virgin Books in spring 2011. Out of the Ashes is Tim’s first film.

Lucy has been making documentaries in Central Asia and the Middle East for the past five years. Her most recent film, “Voices from Inside – Israelis Speak” won best documentary at the Egyptian Film Festival in Cairo and the Armin T Wegner Humanitarian Award in Los Angeles in 2009. Lucy has continued her passion for documenting the human side of storytelling by working on a new PBS series for Wide Angle on Women in War and Peace.


Fatakra

- Family Film -

NORTH BAY PREMIERE

Director: Soham Mehta, 2011, India, 15 minutes, Cast: Samrat Chakrabarti, Meena Serendib, Ritik Goyal, Raj Vats, Conrad Gonzales

[Sunday, October 23, 2011 @ 8:30 PM - Screening with: Next Exit Nirvana]

 

Naveen left India to choose his dreams in America. Today, three years and a recession later, his wife and son join him.


Soham Mehta



Soham Mehta is a theatre and film artist. Born in India but brought up in Houston, Soham became interested in theatre at an early age, acting in his first play when only eight years old.  Although he continued collecting stage credits for the next twenty years, his interest gradually shifted towards writing and directing.  As an undergraduate at the University of Texas at Austin, Soham studied theater and computer science.  He spent the early part of his professional life working in technology by day and directing plays by night.  Soham founded Shunya, a Houston-based theater troupe dedicated to providing a voice to the South Asian American experience.  After leading the troupe for four years, Soham returned to school to pursue his MFA in film production where he received the Warren Skaaren Fellowship. Fatakra, his MFA thesis film was awarded a Student Academy Award and continues to screen at festivals.


The Woman with the Gray Bundle

US PREMIERE

Director: Luis Trapiello, 2011, Spain, 19 minutes, Cast: MARÍA BOTTO, CELSO BUGALLO, ÁLEX ANGULO, PABLO RIVERO

[Friday, October 21, 2011 @ 9:15 PM - Screening with: The Fire + Her Mother’s Daughters]

 

Along the Castilla plains, a woman walks looking for her prisoner husband, in an emotional journey which keep growing until the bead after war years connect finely with the actual reality of thousands of dead men that still inhabit the fields and roadsides of Spain.


Luis Trapiello



(Mieres, Spain, 1967). Studied cinematography from the Spanish masters: Fernando Fernán Gómez, Antonio Drove, Serrano de Osma or Mario Camus. He is dedicated to painting, photography, writing, theater and video. "The woman with the grey bundle" is his first film.

Awards:
GRAND OFF (WORLD OFF FILM AWARDS) (Poland)
FINALISTA AL MEJOR CORTOMETRAJE
FINALIST FOR THE BEST SHORT FILM


The Most Important Thing In Life Is Not Being Dead

NORTH BAY PREMIERE

Directors: Olivier Pictet, Pablo Martín Torrado, Marc Recuenco, Switzerland/Spain 2010, 82 minutes, Cast: Emilio Gutierrez Caba, Marian Aguilera, Merce Montala

[Sunday, October 23, 2011 @ 10:25 PM - Screening with: Charcoal Burners]

 

An esteemed piano tuner, Jacobo leads an apparently happy life with his wife, Helena. His existence is thrown into a state of confusion when insomnia creeps in, and previously repaired pianos start miraculously breaking down again. Jacobo plunges into paranoia, he hears ominous noises at night and hallucinates. The plot of the movie being set in Spain, during the difficult reign of General Franco, provides a backdrop for the tragi-comedic story of the main character. The film shows how weakness and doubt can lead to a breakdown of a seemingly coherent system of beliefs and values. Jacobo realises that his trouble-free existence is merely a curtain behind which lurks a chaotic unexplored universe.


Olivier Pictel, Pablo Martin Torrado, Mark Recuenco

 

Swiss-Spanish friends Olivier Pictel, Pablo Martin Torrado and Mark Recuenco founded the filmmaking collective Olpama in Geneva in order to create stylized films of original narrative. Each co-director has his area of specialization: Olivier takes care of the aesthetics, Pablo directs the actors, and Marc designs the sets. Since meeting at IDEP film school in Barcelona, their work includes shorts, experimental and documentary. The Most Important Thing In Life Is Not Being Dead is their first feature film.


Assassin

US PREMIERE

Director: Quim Cusó, 2011, Spain, 11 minutes, Cast: Miquel Humbert, Natascha Wiese

[Saturday, October 22, 2011 @ 1:40 PM - Screening with: Worldwide Shorts]
 


An assassin receives a new target.

 
Quim Cusó

 

Director of short films, documentaries, commercials and documentaries.


The Barbarians
 
WEST-COAST PREMIERE

Director: Jean-Gabriel Périot, 2010, France, 5 minutes, Cast: World Leaders

[Saturday, October 22, 2011 @ 3:45 PM - Screening with: Catalunya Über Alles]

 
We are scum! We are barbarians!


Jean-Gabriel Périot



Born in France in 1974. He directed several short movies, between documentaries, animation and experimental. He develops his own editing style with archives. Most of his works deal with violence and history. His last works, including «Dies Irae», «Even if she had been a criminal…» and «Nijuman no borei», were shown worldwide in numerous festivals and were honored by many awards.


7 Years Underground: A 60's Tale

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA PREMIERE

Director: Jason M. Solomon, 2011, USA, 87 minutes, Cast: Lenny Bruce, Jimi Hendrix, Steven Stills, The Grateful Dead, The Cream, Jefferson’s Airplane, Blood Sweat and Tears, Mothers of Invention, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Lily Tomlin

[Saturday, October 22, 2011 @ 12 PM - Screening with: One Moment Passes]



In 1964, after spending a one year protracted legal battle, co-club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon were finally granted a 'unique' cabaret license and the Cafe Au Go Go opened its doors on February 7. Six weeks later with mounting legal bills and depleting funds the couple were quickly going out of business. With few options, Howard and Elly made a desperate, late minute attempt to keep the club open and reached out to popular comedian, Lenny Bruce. Two days into Lenny's performance he was arrested and booked for obscenity charges, alone with Howard and Elly. That historic arrest, and the international press it garnered would put the Cafe Au Go Go on the entertainment world map.


Bani Adam (Human Beings)

NORTH BAY PREMIERE

Director: Noureddin ZarrinKelk, 2011, Iran, Animation, 10 minutes

[Sunday, October 23, 2011 @ 4:15 PM - Screening with: Flamingo No 13]

 

The need for global peace and understanding, this film brings together world leaders to recite a poem by 13th-century Persian poet Sa’adi about our common humanity.


Noureddin ZarrinKelk

 

Noureddin ZarrinKelk was born into a family of traditional Persian painters and calligraphers. He started his career at 16, drawing caricatures for Iranian magazines. After earning a Ph.D. in pharmacology, he worked as an illustrator trying to change the long-held tradition of imageless textbooks in Iran. While working at Iran’s Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, Noori saw how animated film can engage young audiences. He went to Belgium to study animation with Raoul Servais and was soon making films for children. He has since advanced Iranian animation almost singlehandedly by founding the country’s first animation school in 1974 and Iran’s branch of the International Animated Film Society in 1987.

Throughout his career, Noureddin ZarrinKelk has helped to find a distinct place for animation and graphic art in the broad field of painting. And Iranian artists are increasingly recognized and received with great respect worldwide, in large part because of Nouredddin’s persistence and hard work. His creativity in animation and graphics is interwoven with powerful peculiarities of Iranian art and soul, making him one of the most renowned representatives of his country. At the same time, his art, with universal values, designates him as an artist of the world.


Destiny to Toe

- Family Film -

US PREMIERE

Director: Yves Millard, 2010, France, 70 minutes

[Friday, October 21, 2011 @ 6 PM - Screening with: Checkpoint]

 

In Africa, football is a religion. For many children, it has become incarnation of a forlorn hope, that of social mobility for all. A billion people, only a few thousand will go to Europe. Some, a minority succeed and realize their dreams. For others, it is a path full of pitfalls and often failure.

"Destiny to Toe" is a film about the fragility witness the fate of young Africans who dream of a professional football career in Europe and who knows, become the new Samuel Eto'o. This is an opportunity to discover a piece of behind the scenes of professional football as we know only through television broadcasts and big stars of the green rectangle.

"Destiny to Toe," is both an overview of the desire for the future of an entire continent and the vision of a cruel sport now a business.


Yves Millard



Versatile, Yves Maillard has worked on diverse subject matters and formats: from documentaries and magazines, to cultural television games, from 26 minutes to 120 minutes. Nonetheless, documentaries remain his main field of work. For instance he has already focused on the daily life of French police officers, on old churches, in the Nord Pas-de-Calais (northern France), that are listed on the World Heritage of the UNESCO.


Lilly the Witch

- Family Film -

US PREMIERE

Director:  Harald Sicheritz, 2011, Germany, 80 minutes, Cast: Cosma Shiva Hagen, Anja Kling, Pilar Bardem, Pegah Ferydoni, Tanay Chheda, Michael Mendl

[Sunday, October 23, 2011 @ 12 PM - Screening with: Crazy La-La + Gabriel]

 

Lilly is an ordinary 9 year old girl – or so she thinks until the day that she stumbles upon a magic book which turns her into a witch. From then on she experiences many funny and wild adventures that take her all over the world.


Harald Sicheritz



Born 1959 in Stockholm, Sweden. He studied communications and political science in Vienna. He is not only successful as director but also as songwriter and bassist of the band “ Wiener Wunder.” Furthermore he is a lecturer for communication science and was associated professor for film and music at the departments of film and music at the University for Music and Performing Arts Vienna.

Filmography: •  2000: Zwölfeläuten  •  2000: Trautmann – Wer heikel ist, bleibt übrig  •  2002: Poppitz •  2003: MA 2412 – Die Staatsdiener  •  2005: Im Reich der Reblaus (Mutig in die neuen Zeiten 1)  •  2006: Nur keine Wellen (Mutig in die neuen Zeiten 2)  •  2006: Alles anders (Mutig in die neuen Zeiten 3)  •  2007: Darum
•  2009: Tatort: Baum der Erlösung  •  2010: 3faltig  •  2011: Hexe Lilli: Die Reise nach Mandolan


Sira - Songs of the Crescent Moon

US PREMIERE

Directors: Sandra Gysi & Ahmed Abdel Mohsen, 2011, Germany/Egypt, 77 minutes, Cast: Sayyed el-Dawwy, Ramadan el-Dawwy, Mohammed Mounir, Abdel Rahman el-Abnoudy

[Fridday, October 21, 2011 @ 5:40 PM - Screening with:  Dissection of a Storm]

 

80-year-old Sayyed el-Dawwy is the last living interpreter of the Sira, the most significant Arabian epic poem. He is the only one who knows by heart its 5 million verses. And only he keeps the stories about the people of the crescent moon alive. Now, he wants to pass the Sira down on to his grandson Ramadan, just as it has been passed down by word of mouth for generations. SIRA – SONGS OF THE CRESCENT MOON follows them touring Egypt for their concerts. And while Sayyed wants to teach the Sira to his grandson the way he knows and loves it, Ramadan is more interested in modern interpretations of the Sira, influenced by Pop music and soap operas. In the struggle of generations over the meaning of the Sira, the picture emerges of a world caught between tradition and modernity. A world in search for its respective heroes in the past as well as in the present.

Festivals: Hot docs, Toronto, Canada; DMZ Documentary Film Festival, Korea; Vancouver International Film Festival, Visions du réel, Nyon, Switzerland; DOK Leipzig, Germany

 
Sandra Gysi & Ahmed Abdel Mohsen



Sandra Gysi born 1969 in Aarau, Switzerland. Master in Social Anthropology, Film Studies and German Language and Literature at the University of Zurich. Thesis on various popular artists in Cairo (1997). Regular residencies in Egypt, studies of Arabian language. Further education in Directing, Cinematography, and Editing. Work as cultural manager, organization of exhibitions on contemporary art from Africa. Numerous films as freelance documentary filmmaker. Part-time film producer at vum Production in Zurich.

Ahmed Abdel Mohsen born 1974 in Aswan, Egypt. Media Sciences and Journalism Studies at the Faculty of Art, South Valley University, Egypt. Thesis on the Function of Political Mass Media (1996). Jobs as hotel manager in Aswan (until 1999) and as Station Manager for Midwest Airlines (until 2001). Graduate of the F+F film school, Zurich. Written and directed various feature and documentary films, among others, (Away to God) about the holy festivals in Egypt. Freelance filmmaker, project manager and translator (Arabian into German and English) and as a teaching assistant at the F+F film school in Zurich.


The Odd One Out

US PREMIERE

Director: Johan Timmers, 2010, Netherlands, 87 minutes, Cast: Wim Opbrouck, Viviane de Muynck, Jelle de Jong, Gijs Naber

[Saturday, October 22, 2011 @ 9:50 PM - Screening with: Homemade Food]

 

A family drama about three generations of butchers set in the South of the Netherlands. The youngest member of the family is born on Christmas Eve. As his brothers, Cor, Arie and Bolle, he is predestinated to become a butcher. But the child, called Jere, is different and so provokes his father. At the same time father is forced to give up his traditional butcher shop in competition with modern times.

Johan Timmers


Johan Timmers (1961) made several television series for Dutch broadcaster VPRO, among which are 'Kleine pauze' en 'Nieuwe ouders'. He also wrote and directed plays for Het National Toneel and the RO Theater. ‘The Odd One Out’ is his film debut.


Wallflower Tango

US PREMIERE

Director: Wolfram Kampffmeyer, 2011, Germany, 7 minutes, Animation

[Friday, October 21, 2011 @ 7:15 PM - Screening with: Tanguero]

 

Lonely woman Charlotte discovers that thief Kalle tries to steal her diamond. They start to fight about the valuable stone and soon the fight transforms into a passionate tango dance.

Wolfram Kampffmeyer



Born 1982, studied animation at Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg 2005-2011. Since then has been a freelance digital artist in Germany.

Filmography:

2005 "Sense der Zeit / Scythe of Time" (3D)
2006 "Das Goldene Ei / Golden Egg" (StopMotion)
2007 "Fallen" (3D, together with Sascha Geddert)
2008 "Frosch im Hals / Frog in the Throat" (3D)
2011 "Wallflower Tango" (3D, graduation Film)


Her Mothers Daughters

US PREMIERE

Director: Oonagh Kearney, 2010, Ireland, 6 minutes, Cast: Joanna Banks, Jessica Kennedy, Megan Kennedy, Deirdre Murphy, Emma O’Kane

[Friday, October 21, 2011 @ 9:15 PM - Screening with: The Fire + Woman with Gray Bundle]

 

An older woman sits before a telephone in an empty house.  Her daughters have flown the nest.  As she prepares to phone them, their memory is brought back to life. A short dance film exploring the relationship between mothers, daughters, memory and imagination.

Winner of the *Best Cinematography, PJ Dillon *Best Experimental/Dance *Best of Cork, Oonagh Kearney


Oonagh Kearney



Oonagh Kearney was born in Bristol in 1976. Raised in Cork, she studied English and Philosophy at University College Cork where she began writing and directing for the stage. She completed her Masters in Irish Theatre at Trinity College Dublin in 1999 and wrote her thesis on Samuel Beckett. In 2001, she was selected for the inaugural Rough Magic Seeds Program for emerging Irish writers. Her introduction to film began with casting Ken Loach’s The Wind That Shakes the Barley in 2005. The following year, Oonagh received a Bank of Ireland Scholarship to study at the National Film and Television School in London. Since graduating in 2008, Oonagh has written and directed award-winning shorts and shown her work at various international festivals. Oonagh is based in London.


Joselyn

US PREMIERE

Director: Factoría del Guión, 2011, Spain, 19 minutes, Cast: Eunice T. Polanco, Jaio Vergel, Wenjun Gao, José Salguero, Josefina Fiter

[Saturday, October 22, 2011 @ 7:40 PM - Screening with: Cairo Exit]


 
Joselyn is a tale with a dark shape but a bright soul. It shows the ability of love to change our perception about things through Joselyn´s eyes, a young and peculiar Dominican girl who has developed her own mechanism to fight the immense loneliness she lives in.


Factoría del Guión



After studying at Factoría del Guión, she decides to send Joselyn to the Bancaja Award with a firm request to Heaven: "if I must pursue this, send me a sign". A year later she received the news that she had won. Since then, she has shot four other shorts with her friend and director Gabriel Beitia. Three of them for Notodofilmfest. All of them have achieved some kind of award or recognition.


Elfs [Lutins]

US PREMIERE

Director: Yoann Gueret, Lucie Gardes, Etienne Abelé, Solene Planas, 2010, France, 6 minutes

[Saturday, October 22, 2011 @ 1:40 PM - Screening with: Worldwide Shorts]

 

In an old house a kind elf is the spirit of the house. He will have an awful new owner.



Elfs Creators


Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone

NORTH BAY PREMIERE

Directors: Lev Anderson & Chris Metzler [In Person], 2010, USA, 107 minutes, Cast: Fishbone, Flea, Ice-T, Gwen Stefani, Perry Farrell, Branford Marsalis, George Clinton, Tim Robbins

[Sunday, October 23, 2011 @ 2:10 PM]


 
From the shifting faultlines of Hollywood fantasies and the economic and racial tensions of Reagan's America, Fishbone rose to become one of the most original bands of the last 25 years. With a blistering combination of punk and funk they demolished the walls of genre and challenged the racial stereotypes and political order of the music industry and the nation. Telling it like it is, the iconic Laurence Fishburne narrates EVERYDAY SUNSHINE, a story about music, history, fear, courage and funking on the one.


Lev Anderson & Chris Metzler



Lev Anderson: After graduating from Beloit College, and taking just five years to design the cities of the future, Lev left the bureaucracy of Urban Planning and jumped feet first into filmmaking. As a fine art photographer with works exhibited in San Francisco, Japan, and Mexico City, he has honed his unique perspective to create dynamic images with a sharp eye for finding contradiction and beauty where least expected. His first attempt at capturing the magic of music on video was at 12 years old, when, after attending a Suicidal Tendencies concert with his father, the two produced a fully dramatized lip-sync rendition of their song "Institutionalized."

Chris Metzler: After graduating from USC with a degree in business and cinema, Chris' film career has taken him from the depths of agency work, to coordinating post-production for awful American movies seen late at night in Belgium. His film directing and producing work has resulted in him criss crossing the country with the aid of caffeinated beverages. He eventually made his way in the Nashville country and Christian music video industries, before finally forsaking his soul to commercial LA rock n' roll. These misadventures eventually culminated in him winning a Billboard Magazine Music Video Award. His feature length directorial debut was the offbeat environmental documentary, PLAGUES & PLEASURES ON THE SALTON SEA, which was narrated by legendary counterculture filmmaker and "King of Trash" John Waters. A cult favorite, the film was released theatrically in the United States and broadcast nationally on the Sundance Channel.


Next Exit Nirvana

US PREMIERE

Director: Walter Größbauer, 2010, Austria/India, 90 minutes

[Sunday, October 23, 2011 @ 8:30 PM - Screening with: Fatakra]

 

5.000 gurus, 200.000 sadhus, millions of pilgrims and beggars! Every 12 years they meet in a salutary place on the Ganges. There one finds teaching, praying, singing, dancing, bathing and wondering. Bizarre bodily practices- like lifting a 30 kilo stone with the penis, deep insights-"I leave myself to existence, I trust it.", selflessness and vanity- "In India there are 7 wonders and I am one of them. " At this" spring fair of spirituality" there is room for everything.
Who are these people who attract millions of pilgrims and curios from all over the world? Are they wise, holy, enlightened or just crazy?

"NEXT EXIT NIRVANA" presents the everyday culture of India against the backdrop of the Kumbh Mela, the biggest festival of Hinduism.


Walter Größbauer



Walter Größbauer born 1957 Graz/Austria. Documentary filmmaker and Photographer

Filmography (selection):

2010 NEXT EXIT NIRVANA
2009 SHIVA`S Dance
2009 MALI und die Kunst des Teilens
2008 KAIRO All Inclusive
2008 Al-Chatt
2007 Die Schneemadonna


Dissection of a Storm

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA PREMIERE

Director: Julio Soto Gúrpide, 2011, Spain, 18 minutes, Cast: Cristina Piaget, Ferrán Terraza, Leticia Pascual, Luis Gimeno

[Friday, October 21, 2011 @ 5:40 PM - Screening with: Sira]



A woman called D, seeks shelter from a tormenting past in a sanatorium in the middle of the mountains. The obsession she runs away from is death. But death has taken for her an unusual shape: her own hair. In the sanatorium she will get to know the Director and the other patients who all share the same obsession for hair. The arrival of a powerful storm will begin to surface the fear of past memories and the inmates prepare for the storm's final assault. Will this storm be the cure that everyone is seeking or will it, on the other hand, bring the destruction that D anticipated?


Julio Soto Gúrpide



As a film director, writer and producer, Julio Soto's films have received many international awards and have been exhibited at over a hundred world class film festivals. They have also been broadcast worldwide in channels such as National Geographic, Channel 4 UK, History Channel, Aljazeera, etc. Julio Soto holds a fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts and currently lives in Madrid, Spain.
   

360

US PREMIERE

Director: Maja Djokic, 2009, Spain, 9 minutes, Cast: Anna Alarcon, Cristian Magaloni

[Saturday, October 22, 2011 @ 1:40 PM - Screening with: Worldwide Shorts]

 

A young woman walks the streets of a big city on a busy morning. Everything appears to be normal, until somebody steals her wallet. Instead of going to the police, she decides to get her revenge. But getting the wallet doesn’t seem to be the only goal of the persecution she starts…


Maja Djokic



Maja Djokic was born in Belgrade and grew up in Seville. She graduated at School for Cinema and Audiovisuals of Catalonia (ESCAC) at 2001. She has directed a number of music videos, some awarded at Spanish festivals. At 2006 she directs “In the woods”, a short film with 12 Spanish and international prizes and over 50 festivals selections. At 2009 she shoots her first 35mm short film, “360º”.


Flamingo No. 13

NORTH BAY PREMIERE

Director: Hamid Reza Aligholian, 2010, Iran, 78 minutes, Cast: Rasoul Younan, Baran Zamani, Saeed Alipour, Abdollah Amir Atashani, Alireza Ghader

[Sunday, October 23, 2011 @ 4:15 PM - Screening with: Bani Adam]

 

Set in a small mountain village in Iran, where the villagers live quietly in the majestic landscape of nature. A man obsessed with illegal flamingo hunting, the woman he loves, and another man who envies their love. The director's first work portrays the allegorical triangular relationship through surreal, beautiful imagery.

Story takes place in a neighborhood of legends in an Exile located in a mountain. One of the exile, Solaiman, who hunts a flamingo is known as a legend in the village who is spending his period of exile. Solaiman is torn between the love for Tamai and the obsession for hunting of flamingos. Even after his marriage with Tamai, he still can't give up the thought of hunting that bird. The obsession eventually leads to his disappearance. People in the village believe Solaiman is dead but Tamai doesn't agree with them.


Hamid Reza Aligholian



Hamid Reza Aligholian (Born first of July in 1980 in Tehran, educated from civil aviation technology university and after that learned cinema directing and non-linear editing , during some film making courses at SOOREH university, and ABBAS KIAROSTAMI workshop. His first feature film (FLAMINGO NO.13 – 2010) participated in Tokyo international film festival 2010 (competition section). He has made some short films: The Lust, Gray (based on Jacques Pervert Poem), miracle and The Rain.


Charcoal Burners

WEST-COAST PREMIERE

Director: Piotr Zlotorowicz, 2010, Poland, 15 minutes

[Sunday, October 23, 2011 @ 10:25 PM - Screening with: Most Important Thing In Life]

 

Every summer, Marek and Janina work as charcoal burners in the Bieszczady Mountains. Far from civilisation, in the heart of the mountains, they live according to the rhythm set by nature. We accompany the characters from dawn till dusk, observing the slow passage of time. The whole creates a story about people who chose a simple life.


Piotr Złotorowicz



Piotr Złotorowicz was born on May 22nd, 1982 in Dębno Lubuskie. In 2007 he graduated from Electrical Engineering Faculty at Szczecin University of Technology obtaining M.Sc. degree. Over the years 2001-2006 he was shooting his first amateur films. In 2006 Piotr began studying film directing at Polish National Film School in Łódź. Selected Filmography: (2005) Live through Szczecin, (2006) Memory is the Cemetery, (2006) Piece of eternity, (2007) Chris, (2007) Garsoniera, (2008) Łódź - From Dusk till Dawn, (2009) Sleuth, (2010) Charcoal Burners.


Homemade Food

WEST-COAST PREMIERE

Director: David Casals-Roma, 2011, Spain, 14 minutes, Cast: Eduard Muntada Castán, Estefania Rius Piñol, Ares Piqué Oliva, Marta Pachón Soto

[Saturday, October 22, 2011 @ 9:50 PM - Screening with: The Odd One Out]
 


A lonely man celebrates his birthday every day in different restaurants. One night he meets a woman that does exactly the same thing. This encounter will make him realise about the worrying loneliness that people live in our current society.


David Casals-Roma



David Casals-Roma studied Film and Media at the Birkbeck University of London and followed several directing and screenwriting workshops in Spain, United Kingdom, Italy and the United States. He has directed eight short films and his work has been awarded in many festivals in Europe, Asia and America. He is now working on his feature film directional debut.


Checkout

US PREMIERE

Director: Patrice Deboosère, 2011, France, 16 minutes, Cast: François Godart , Éric Savin, Florence Masure

[Saturday, October 22, 2011 @ 1:40 PM - Screening with: Worldwide Shorts]

 

Eric is an unemployed worker who seems to have finally managed to overcome job insecurity; he works as a security agent in a supermarket. He has to take on his new responsibility, especially if he wants a permanent contract on Monday.


Patrice Deboosère




Bow Tied

US PREMIERE

Director: Fernand-Philippe Morin-Vargas, 2011, Canada, 11 minutes, Cast: Julien de Carufel, Justin Lemay, Anne Arson, Gary Boudreault

[Saturday, October 22, 2011 @ 1:40 PM - Screening with: Worldwide Shorts]



A regular morning becomes a nightmare for young Jacob when he is forced to wear a suit on school picture day.


Fernand-Philippe Morin-Vargas
 


A Ham-Nord native, Fernand-Philippe Morin-Vargas hails from the Bois-Frances region of Quebec. Following high school, he spent two years as an independent traveler in the United States, Europe and Canada. He then undertook studies in modern languages at the Cegep de Victoriaville. Having obtained his diploma, he continued globretrotting on trips to Guatemala and Morocco. Following a semester in Film Studies at Universite de Montreal, he studies cinema at Universite du Quebec a Montreal from 2008 to 2011. Intrusion, his first short fiction film was screened at the Canadian student film festival as well as Fantasia in 2009. His sescond film, a documentary short, Thetford Mines(s) was screened at the Rendez-vous du cinema quebecois in 2011.


One Moment Passes

US PREMIERE

Director: Susanne Wiegner, 2011, Germany, 3 minutes, Cast: Robert Lax

[Saturday, October 22, 2011 @ 12 PM - Screening with: 7 Years Underground]

 

Visualization of a poem by Robert Lax


Susanne Wiegner


 
Born and raised in Kempten (Allgäu). Studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich. Diploma in Interior Design - "tumulus" - Museum of Natural Elements. DAAD scholarship for USA
Studied architecture at the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York
"Vicious" - memorials to American Indian culture Agency partnership with Prof. Dipl.- Ing. Franz Xaver Lutz
Lutz and Wiegner, Munich. "Design of space, construction, equipment since 2002, working on 3d animation films about space and Literature.


Tete a Tete

US PREMIERE

Director: Virginie Boda, 2011, France, 18 minutes, Cast: Marvin Behhaim, Geromine Gouleau, Gregory Boussaud, Vanessa David

[Sunday, October 23, 2011 @ 6 PM - Screening with: Simple]

 

During the week Greg works at a garage, but also has to take care of his brothers and sisters just like a father. This is the everyday life of Greg, 17 years old. But this Sunday he affords for his girlfriend and himself a day at the beach. The weather is good, they are in love, the day starts like a dream...


Virginie Boda



After her law-studies and a diploma in communications at the university of Paris, Celsa, Virginie Boda worked for different film productions and was responsible for the development of films before she went to France 3 Jeunesse and then France 2 Fiction as a consultant for the programming. She won the price « Jeune Scenariste TV de la Foundation Lagardere » and « Les lauriers du Senat « for her first film on television Paris-Deauville shown on ARTE and TVS. After that she wrote the script of the animation - movie Cheval Soleil, which was awarded several times in France and abroad, particularly at the Festival d'Annecy and the Madrid Film Festival. She just directed the shortfilm Tete a tete, and develops her first feature film Amoureuses.


Gabrielle

- Family Film -

US PREMIERE

Directors: Perrine Lottier-Wolff & Rozenn Quéré, 2010, France, 8 minutes, Animation

[Sunday, October 23, 2011 @ 12 PM - Screening with: Lilly the Witch + Crazy La-La]

 

GABRIELLE relates the adventures of a little girl who pays scrupulous attention to words and has the power to make linguistic idioms quite literally appear. This power makes Gabrielle a kind of visionary. But these aren’t just visions because Gabrielle actually makes them come alive.


Perrine Lottier & Rozenn Quéré



Perrine Lottier and Rozenn Quéré were both born in 1981. Perrine was graduated in cinema and directed short films: INTESTINUM (2001), LES MONDES CLOS (2005), L'HOMME ENVOLÉ (2009), with Rozenn Quéré, GABRIELLE (2010), with Rozenn Quéré, Rozenn studied photography. She published books for children (works on photography and narrative). Films: HISTOIRES À RÊVER DEBOUT (2007), LE PIJAMA QUI SE PRENAIT POUR UNE TRANCHE DE JAMBON (2008).


Body Memory

US PREMIERE

Director: Ulo Pikkov, 2011, Estonia, 9 minutes, Animation

[Saturday, October 22, 2011 @ 1:40 PM - Screening with: Worldwide Shorts]


 
Our body remembers more than we can expect and imagine, our body remembers also the sorrow and pain of the predecessors. Our body sustains the stories of our parents and grandparents as well as their...


Ülo Pikkov



Graduated from the Institute of Law, University of Tartu in 2005. Graduated from the Turku School of Art and Media (Finland) in 1998. Graduated from the Tallinn Secondary School in 1994.

Filmography:

2006 TASTE OF LIFE (11’40’’ / animation)
2007 TABLEMAT OF BALTIC SEA (2’ / animated poem from a film BLACK CEILING)
2008 BLOW (8’ / experimental film)
2008 PORTRAIT (8’ / experimental film)
2008 DIALOGOS (5’ / animation)
2011 BODY MEMORY (9’ / puppet film)


Checkpoint

- Family Film -

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA PREMIERE

Director: Ruben Amar, 2010, France/Israel, 19 minutes, Cast: El Akel Abdallah, Yasin Husin, Zaki Hinnawi, Vitaliti Friedland, Alon Rotman

[Friday, October 21, 2011 @ 12 PM - Screening with: Destiny to Toe]



Suleiman, a young eleven-year-old Palestinian, lives in a small village in Gaza. Each month, he accompanies his father on the ruins of a destroyed village. Although he does not understand the strange rite in which he is engaged,...


Ruben Amar



Ruben Amar is a multi-awarded director and screenwriter of five short films shot in London, New York, Paris and Tel Aviv. He’s currently writing two feature scripts.


Tasnim

- Family Film -

US PREMIERE

Director: Elite Zexer, 2010, Israel, 11 minutes, Cast: Estabrak Elakel, Mussa Zahalka, Nisrin Siksik, Maysa Daw, Osama Masri

[Friday, October 21, 2011 @ 3:45 PM - Screening With: Out of the Ashes]


 
Tasnim, a strong and opinionated 10-year-old, lives with her mother and siblings in a neglected Bedouin village in the Negev. A surprise visit from her father in the village forces her, for the first time in her life, to confront the conservative norms of the family tribe and the fact that she is no longer daddy's-little-girl.


Elite Zexer



Graduated from the Tel Aviv University in 2006, Elite majored both in Film and Television and in Business Management. After working on several different productions in fields such as production, casting and marketing, Elite enrolled again at the Tel-Aviv University and is studying towards an MFA degree in Film Directing, as well as managing the public affairs office for the film and TV dept.
Winner of Best Fiction Film at Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival. France.


The Last Scene

US PREMIERE

Director: Arturo Ruiz Serrano, 2011, Spain, 13 minutes, Cast: Javier Rey, Joaquín Climent, Javier Coll, Will Miller, Rocío Muñoz

[Saturday, October 22, 2011 @ 1:40 PM - Screening with: Worldwide Shorts]

 

The late 1960s. In the Almería desert, a Spanish-Italian co-production is being filmed. The lack of resources and poor communication among the different members of the crew are on verge of running the end of the film. They might just be saved by one shot/scene...


Arturo Ruiz Serrano


 
A graduate of Law at Madrid’s Complutense University, since 2000 he has carried out projects in the audiovisual world as scriptwriter, director and producer. His short films have received over 170 prizes at Spanish and international festivals as well as two nominations for film awards from the Goya Spanish Academy (Baggage 2006 and Walk 2007)

Red Shoes

WEST-COAST PREMIERE

Director: Lorenzo Recio, 2010 France, 8 minutes, Cast: Diana Regaño

[Saturday, October 22, 2011 @ 1:40 PM - Screening with: Worldwide Shorts]


 
A young dancer is rehearsing a flamenco routine but can't get it right. Disappointed, she is about to leave the dance studio when she finds a strange pair of red shoes which she puts on to try the steps again.


Lorenzo Recio



2010: Red Shoes / 2008: LISA FICTION, 35MM 19 mn. / 2005: LE MARIN ACEPHALE, FICTION 35 MM. 19 mn. / 2001: L’INFANTE, L’ANE ET L’ARCHITECTE, FICTION 35 mm 22 mn. / 1997: LE BAL DU MINOTAURE, Animation. 35 mm. 10 mn,  / 2002: GUY MADDIN - mars: PAUL DRIESSEN / 2003: L’agence du court métrage / 2004: GUY MADDIN -  / 2005: AUTOPORTRAIT (Lorenzo Recio) / 2005: MICHEL OCELOT / 2005: MICHAEL DUDOK DE WIT


Moments

- Family Film -

WEST-COAST PREMIERE

Director: Nuno Rocha, 2011, Portugal, 11 minutes, Cast: Rui Pena, Ana Ferreira, Débora Ribeiro

[Saturday, October 22, 2011 @ 1:40 PM - Screening with: Worldwide Shorts]

 

A homeless man sleeps in front of an empty store when suddenly a vehicle stops and two men start to carry cases inside. Meanwhile the man tries to understand what is going on.


Nuno Rocha



Nuno Rocha is a Portuguese director who was born on May 22, 1977 in Porto. In 2007 he finished his degree in Audiovisual Communication at the Instituto Politécnico do Porto. As a student, he wrote and directed his first short film "Stone crib", winning prizes in Portugal and abroad, with attendance at important festivals as the Fantasporto and the International Short Film Festival of Vila do Conde. Moved to Lisbon at the beginning of 2008, where he started to be also a commercial director. In 2009 he made a short film entitled "3x3" which won the grand prize "Zon Creativity in Multimedia". Currently he finishing a short film called "Vicky and Sam" in Austin, Texas.


Crazy La-La

- Family Film -

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA PREMIERE

Director: Ceci Alves, 2009, Brazil, 18 minutes, Cast: Vinícius Nascimento, Nonato Freyre, Jussara Mathias, Maurício Pedrosa

[Sunday, October 23, 2011 @ 12 PM - Screening with: Lilly the Witch + Gabriel]

 

Caetano dreams on being a radio singer in the 50's and escapes from his house every night to try, unsuccessfully, his chance in a talent show. But, one night, he decides to bet everything in a definitive performance.


Ceci Alves



Ceci Alves born April 22, 1973 in Salvador, Bahia. Graduated in Journalism ; specialized in Editing by the International School of Film and TV, Havana, Cuba; Maîtrise en Réalisation at the Ecole Superieure d'Audio Visuel La Université de Toulouse - Le Mirail, France; and Master 2 Réalisation at the Ecole Superieure d'Audio Visuel La Université de Toulouse - Le Mirail. Professor of Film Editing at the Faculdade de Tecnologia e Ciências - FTC, campus Salvador, BA (2005-2009); director of documentaries, with works aired at Cubavision (Cuba) and TV Educativa da Bahia.