DocMiami International Film Festival

Never Stand Still' explores why dance matters as it transports the viewer into a world of non-stop dance, the daring artists who dedicate their lives to it, and the extraordinary place where it all happens. Directed by Ron Honsa, narrated by Tony Award winner Bill T. Jones, and filmed on location at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Never Stand Still features thrilling performances, revelatory conversations with world renowned choreographers and dancers, backstage access, and rare archival footage while chronicling the remarkable story of how an abandoned farm, in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, evolved into a nexus for dance throughout the world, today considered "the dance center of the nation"(The New York Times). Intimate interviews with legendary dance artists include Judith Jamison, Paul Taylor, Mark Morris, Suzanne Farrell, and Frederic Franklin, as well as one of the last interviews with the iconic Merce Cunningham. Broadway stars Bill Irwin and Rasta Thomas share their personal stories and ideas about art alongside international artists Shantala Shivalingappa, Gideon Obarzanek, Jomar Mesquita and Nikolaj Hübbe. Above all, the artists share with us their passion for the most ephemeral, physically demanding, and challenging art form, dance. Judith Jamison explains, "You have to touch the human spirit, don't you? What's the point otherwise? And as Mark Morris aptly puts it, "I like to say that my work --- it's not for everyone, it's for anyone." Never Stand Still is an inspiring film that will appeal to anyone.

What is the Electric Car? – is a new feature length documentary about Electric Vehicles (EVs) soon arriving in dealer showrooms. This film takes an inside view of an industry expected to grow to over $200 billion in revenues the next 15 years. This entertaining & educational film follows the birth of an exploding industry & looks forward to the technology available in current EVs. The film also takes a look back at Electric cars driven in the early 1900s & compare how modern EVs are 400% more energy efficient over cars with internal combustible engines. Featuring interviews with key manufacturers, vendors, drivers & pioneers in the EV industry, many who labored years to see their dream & vision come to fruition. This film is not just for EV enthusiasts or passionate “Green” consumers, but for anyone who drives a car. People who watch this film (which “stars” over a dozen models of EVs) may well end up soon driving their own electric car!



Are we all doomed to lose our minds? Or are there ways to keep our memories - and even make them better? If you can lose our memory, can you find it? 'Where Did I Put My Memory?' is a light hearted and enlightening journey into our memories - and how we can improve them.

All I Wanna Do' follows the dreams of a 48-year-old Simohamed who works as a parking guard and his 17-year-old son who acts in Hollywood films such as 'Charlie Wilson's War'. When his dreams of going to Hollywood are dashed he turns to music and forms a hip hop group with his father leaving his slum. Like fish out of water, the duo set out to meet their heroes, enter studios and radio stations for the first time in an adventure through the music industry of Casablanca.

Take a tenacious rock star, a jammin' cantina & one of the world's greatest birthday bashes and you'll get the vivacious life of Sammy Hagar. Best known for fronting Van Halen in the later years, Hagar has been shaking up Cabo San Lucas for over twenty years with his lively and successful club, Cabo Wabo.Interweaving the Van Halen days with the current animated & high-spirited Cabo life, GO THERE ONCE, BE THERE TWICE is a riveting journey of how one of the most famous names in rock nearly lost it all, but persevered, fell in love with Cabo and built his whole life around it- club and beautiful family included. Everyday is one big rockin' party in paradise...and everyone's invited.

Deep in what was once considered the darkest heart of Africa, on one of the world's largest and most pristine lakes, the MV Liemba doggedly perseveres, ferrying passengers and cargo up and down the remote eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika. For nearly one hundred years, the ship has served as the primary means of travel, and a critical avenue of commerce, for soldiers, traders, missionaries and migrants on Lake Tanganyika - the geographical link between east, central and southern Africa. The MV Liemba is many things: a physical relic of European colonialism; a vital lifeline for otherwise isolated communities; the principle means of transport for cargo and people traveling from Francophone Central Africa to Anglophone Southern Africa; a meeting place where Africans from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds come together -- a floating microcosm of Africa. The history of the Liemba, together with the present day story of her weekly odyssey from Northern Tanzania to Zambia and the testimonies of the individuals whose livelihoods depend on her, serve as a platform for discussion of the history of colonial exploitation and the legacy of this history in 21st century Africa. These intertwined narratives are told with majestic mountains as a backdrop and the shimmering turquoise waters of an awesome inland sea as the central setting. The compelling dramatic content, breathtaking visual footage and upbeat locally recorded music combine, allowing the audience to experience and understand a corner of their world that would otherwise remain unknown to them.

Mahdis is a young girl, working as a receptionist at a male modeling agency in Iran. Her goal is to become a model herself. However, modeling and fashion is frowned upon in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and female modeling is an underground activity. Mahdis, a tall and beautiful girl in her twenties, does not let the religious governance of her country prevent her from reaching her goals though. She constantly tries to learn the ways of the business through her job and by discussing her dreams with the male models she works with. First time documentary maker, Marjan Alizadeh, follows the daily life of Mahdis with her camera crew, who tries to cope with the obstacles around her. What makes things more difficult for Mahdis is that she has a highly religious father who is thoroughly against his daughter pursuing a career in the fashion industry. Her mother, on the other hand, is concerned about Mahdis' dreams and supports her in every way that she can.Through Mahdis' research and interest in the fashion industry, Alizadeh incorporates historical footage of Iran's past pertaining to the growth of fashion. The viewer sees how fashion changes from the ruling of the Kings to the Islamic revolution and the establishment of the new regime. Alizadeh shows the importance and significance of fashion in Iran through these historical scenes that had been neglected for years.

The 40 musicians of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen make up what is perhaps Germany's most unusual orchestra. Together with artistic director Paavo Jaervi, this extraordinary ensemble has taken on the challenge of playing all nine Beethoven symphonies in four days at the Beethovenfest Bonn. They are not only world-class musicians but also shareholders in the company that runs the orchestra, so they bear the financial risk of all their projects. And they see their work as extending well beyond the final applause: they take their social responsibilities seriously, for instance by passing on their passion for music to students at a local school.The film focuses on star conductor Paavo Jaervi and several members of the orchestra. They convey their enthusiasm for music, and they deliver insights into the internal life of the orchestra. The film crew accompanied them closely in Bremen, Tallinn and Bonn, in rehearsals, concerts and behind the scenes. How was this former youth orchestra able to reach the very top of the classical music world? How do conductor and instrumentalists see Beethoven's masterpieces? How did the orchestra develop its unique sound? What is the message of Beethoven's music in the 21st century? How is the orchestra able to perform all nine symphonies at a consistently high level over four days? The music documentary 'The Beethoven Project' answers these questions - and many others - in 90 minutes. A conductor, an orchestra, Beethoven and his music.

For ZERO PERCENT, we were given rare access within the walls of the notoriousSing Sing Correctional facility to follow the lives of several of society'sforgotten men as they experience the transformative power of education whilegoing through a rigorous college program called Hudson Link-- with astoundingstatistical results. We follow men on the inside as well as those who have finished the program and now have returned to society. Those men who have come home, feel a strong desire to serve the communities that they were formerly hurting.

A year in the life of CEO, NAACP Ambassador, Duke University Professor, Husband, Father, Son and GRAMMY award winning producer 9th Wonder.

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.From 1964 to 1969 the Cafe Au Go Go was a Beacon in the night for many a disenfranchised performer. A few obscure and relatively unknown musicians and comics like Jimi Hendrix, Steven Stills, The Grateful Dead, The Cream, Jefferson's Airplane, Blood Sweat and Tears, Mothers of Invention, George Carlin, Richard Prior, Lily Tomlin, would all get their start down at the legendary Cafe Au Go Go at 152 Bleeker Street. Many of those artists would influence a whole generation of hip, New York teenagers. In turn, those teenagers would inspire a grass roots movement to help transform the socio-political landscape and consciousness of an entire "hippie"nation during the turbulent 60's.

Based on footage shot in the early seventies and lost for more than thirty years, Esther Anderson?s film takes us on a journey to the Caribbean islands, to Jamaica and into 56 Hope Road, Kingston, to see and hear the young Bob Marley before he was famous. While exploring the powerful relationship between Esther and Marley, the film shows us the Wailers? first rehearsal, when the idea of a Jamaican supergroup like the Beatles or the Stones was still just a dream, and sits in on the launch of their international career with "Get up Stand up", "I Shot the Sheriff", and the ?Burnin'? and "Catch a Fire" albums that brought to the world Reggae music and Rasta consciousness together as one, starting a revolution that would change rock music and contemporary culture.

GRACE & MERCY is a feature documentary that interweaves the tireless work of Marie Jose Poux who runs an orphanage responsible for over 60 children and her brother, Ben Constant, who is the "Mayor"of one of the largest tent cities in Port-au-Prince. Combining unprecedented access with cinema-vérité footage, director Luis Peña paints a beautiful portrait of a brother and sister team who have dedicated their lives to rebuilding their home country of Haiti. Shot over the course of the year following the devastating January 12th earthquake, the film aims to shows how Haiti survives -- no matter what -- and will one day thrive again. TRT: 55 minutes. Produced by Parlay Media and Penabrand.

On November 4, 2008 the voters of California passed Proposition 8 revoking marriage rights for same sex couples.The next day a movement was born.INSPIRED: the Voices Against Prop 8 is a documentary film chronicling several people's lives in the wake of the passage of Prop 8. Arresting live footage follows people from all walks of life, inspired to action in ways they never dreamed. Experience the passionate rallies and defiant marches of the new gay rights movement as it swept through Los Angeles and blazed across the United States. Intimate interviews reveal all the ways the movement comes together, and the subtle and not-so-subtle ways it can be pulled apart from within.Shot in early 2009, our cast is anxiously awaiting for the California Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of Prop 8. But once they know the decision, and their planning comes to fruition, what will happen after the 'Day of Decision?' Where will these new activists go after they meet their goal? INSPIRED: THE VOICES AGAINST PROP 8 goes behind the headlines and propaganda to explore the real people who make up a movement.

Are you a believer? Are you one of the people who knows? Well you can trust that after watching COLOR ME OBSESSED you will join the ranks of the privileged few.Director Gorman Bechard brings an extraordinary vision to a unique filmmaking challenge with COLOR ME OBSESSED, the first documentary on the influential '80s indie-rock band, The Replacements. 'I wanted to give the band god-like treatment,' he explains, 'but I didn't want to make a VH-1 where-are-they-now style documentary.' Combining the band's mystique with the passion of their fans, Bechard made a music documentary with no music and not one single image of the band. 'People believe in god without ever seeing or hearing him or her,' the director says. 'I'd like viewers to believe in the band that way.' Rockers (Colin Meloy, Craig Finn, Tommy Ramone, Grant Hart, Goo Goo Dolls), journalists (Robert Christgau, Legs McNeil, Ira Robbins), fans both famous (Tom Arnold, Dave Foley, George Wendt) and not, Bechard interviews over 135 believers, delivering the potentially true story of The Replacements, America's last best band. The most influential band you've probably never heard of. Despite containing not one note of music, COLOR ME OBSESSED is a doc that really rocks!

The documentary, 'Cartografía de la soledad' (Cartography of Loneliness), is akin to a map tracing the emotions and feelings of women who find themselves totally alone on losing their husbands in three countries, India, Nepal and Afghanistan.The choice of these three countries which are so near each other and have significant ethnic and religious differences is not by chance. India is the country with the most widows in the world, totaling over 45 million. In Nepal, half of the female population is widowed or have been abandoned by their husbands: they are called 'child widows' or baikaylas. Afghanistan has the highest proportion of widows in the world after 30 years of war.Tradition, society and religion have determined the course of their lives following their husbands' deaths. Many widows are abandoned by their families, or victim of women trafficking, or condemned to social ostracism.War, AIDS and child marriages are the main factors behind these figures.After living with them for 4 months, there have been impressive stories in a very determined historical, social and religious context, and also the medicine, human rights and education are intertwined in their lives.

EVERYDAY SUNSHINE is a documentary about Fishbone, musical pioneers who have been rocking on the margins of pop culture for the past 25 years. From the streets of South Central-Los Angeles and the competitive Hollywood music scene of the 1980's, the band rose to prominence, only to fall apart when on the verge of 'making it.' Suave but serious, Laurence Fishburne narrates EVERYDAY SUNSHINE, an entertaining cinematic journey into the personal lives of this unique Black rock band, an untold story of fiercely individual artists in their quest to reclaim their musical legacy while debunking the myths of young Black men from urban America. Highlighting the parallel journeys of a band and their city, EVERYDAY SUNSHINE explores the personal and cultural forces that gave rise to California's legendary Black punk sons that continue to defy categories and expectations.

An intriguing music documentary about world-traveled composer and conductor Joel Thome, 'Inside The Perfect Circle' provides a close personal look at Thome's career and philosophy. He collaborated extensively with Frank Zappa arranging the eccentric rock icon's elaborate music for symphony orchestra and rock band. He was awarded a Grammy for his work with Zappa and guitarist Steve Vai, and was also nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He composed the music to Pablo Picasso's only play, and completed many other projects furthering modern music. After suffering a debilitating stroke in 1998, Joel lost the use of his left arm and was forced to undergo years of recovery. Using music as a resource for healing, he was able to resume composing and returned to the stage to perform his graphically notated mandala scores. The performance was featured at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City in September 2009.Soundtracked by the brilliantly eccentric Scorchio Quartet, the film is filled with modern music captured live, emanating a meditative and serene sonic backdrop. Meanwhile, the mandala paintings of abstract artist Harry C. Doolittle swell in the background, assembling and deconstructing on a big screen in sync to the live concert. The documentary includes rehearsal footage, interviews with musicians, colleagues, and performers, archival video, and performance footage. The journey of Joel Thome is an unusual story of dedication, love, and unquestionable genius; the story of a composer who constantly strived to break the mold and explore uncharted territories in music and in life.

Stage Left: a story of theater in San Francisco is a celebration of a unique theater community. Inspired by a Western history of risk taking and exploration, a climate of political and social activism, a particular multicultural mix, and a geography that is seismically unstable, San Francisco theater artists focused on pushing the boundaries of the form. Their interest in redefining performance'where it takes place, how it is staged, and what it encompasses'has had a lasting influence on theater in the United States and around the world. The film traces the evolution of contemporary theater in the Bay Area including: The San Francisco Actor's Workshop, which premiered and staged works by the most avant-garde playwrights of its day; the SF Mime Troupe with its long history of political engagement; the Magic Theatre's relationship with Sam Shepard, one of America's most important playwrights; the Cockettes and Theater Rhinoceros, who reveled in alternative and gay culture; the groundbreaking experimentation in the 70's and 80's of George Coates, Soon 3, Snake Theater, The Blake Street Hawkeyes and Antenna Theater; and the world premiere of Angels in America at the Eureka Theater in 1991. The third largest theater community in the United States continues to flourish; creating rich and distinctive multi-disciplinary theater that inspires artists and audiences alike. 68 interviews. Directed by Austin Forbord. Produced by Rapt Productions. Narrated by Marga Gomez. Commissioned by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation.

This made for television documentary raises compelling questions and highlights a 15 year investigation by one of America's leading and acclaimed private investigators William C. Dear, along with a team of internationally recognized scientific and medical experts in their fields. Each expert has come to the same, independent conclusion.The documentary includes references to key communication between the LAPD and agencies responsible for the original trial and lead investigator Dear, making viewers wonder, Why was the Overlooked Suspect we have identified not more vigorously pursued? Was there a cover up?We have distilled 5000 hours of detailed research and investigation into a thought provoking, viewer friendly documentary that will empower the public to decide what they feel about the biggest murder trial of the 20th century.

Follow this compelling story of The American blues rock band Canned Heat.

Five years ago, a disaster struck New Orleans. The media said it was a natural disaster and the media were wrong.In his feature-length documentary The Big Uneasy, humorist and New Orleans resident Harry Shearer gets the inside story of a disaster that could have been prevented from the people who were there. You meet the investigators who poked through the muck as the water receded and a whistle-blower from the Army Corps of Engineers, revealing that some of the same flawed methods responsible for the catastrophic levee failures during Katrina are being used to rebuild the system expected to protect New Orleans from future peril.

CHALLENGING IMPOSSIBILITY chronicles the weightlifting odyssey of the late spiritual teacher and peace advocate Sri Chinmoy. Known worldwide for his message of oneness, Sri Chinmoy dedicated his life to inspiring people to go beyond their limits by using the strength developed through meditation. In this spirit, Sri Chinmoy offered hundreds of peace concerts at venues like Lincoln Center and Royal Albert Hall, gave lectures at institutions like Harvard and Oxford, wrote hundreds of books about philosophy and peace and sponsored a number of humanitarian outreach programmes.Surprisingly, at the age of 53, the Indian-born mystic took up weightlifting. Already an advocate of the necessity of physical fitness in the spiritual life, the New York City-based Guru was inspired to demonstrate the tangible power of inner peace by performing incredible, but real feats of strength.Sri Chinmoy's lifts were featured on hundreds of newscasts globally, including on CNN, Fox, ESPN and NBC affiliates. Some were standard. Others were designed to captivate. He lifted not only plate weights, but elephants, rock stars and airplanes.CHALLENGING IMPOSSIBILITY focuses on an exhibition he held on 13 November 2004 where he lifted a total of 200,408 pounds. He was 73 years old at the time. In the audience were dozens of renowned strength athletes and bodybuilders.Featuring: Bill Pearl, Frank Zane, Carl Lewis and Hugo Girard. Appearances by Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela.

Having lost the opportunity to tell her mother that she is a lesbian, a young Indian filmmaker in search of answers, travels across India to meet with parents of other gay and lesbian South Asians. I Am is a personal and revealing film that journeys to a landscape where being gay was until recently a criminal and punishable offense. With courage, determination, and humor, families share untold stories that have thus far remained in the realm of secrecy and silence. It is a unique and groundbreaking film that defies the very genre of documentary filmmaking.

In Peru, cooking and eating go beyond the kitchen.The nation's passion for food transcends pots and pans,Peru finds in its cuisine its missing ingredient: A way to celebrate being Peruvian. A way to love, show respect and be proud.MISTURA, the gastronomic fair that happens in Lima every September, is the best example.This documentary manages to capture a slice of the immense spectrum of experiences that are simmered in Mistura every year. A place where cooks and patrons passionately teach us not only about food but most importantly about life.

In this exciting film about love and friendship, a rebellious girl Jet
and her two best friends, Birdie and Swirls have the time of their
life staying true to their childhood motto, "forever young!"
But deep inside, Jet wants love and wonders, how will she find someone
when she feels so different. Will Jet ever find her match?

**Special Screening to Raise Funds for http://brickbybrickfortanzania.org**

Voluntary donations accepted at the door for this wonderful cause.

Concert for Brick by Brick for Tanzania. Please click on the link for "Fito Espinola" to learn more about this musican. 

GRACE & MERCY is a feature documentary that interweaves the tireless work of Marie Jose Poux who runs an orphanage responsible for over 60 children and her brother, Ben Constant, who is the "Mayor"of one of the largest tent cities in Port-au-Prince. Combining unprecedented access with cinema-vérité footage, director Luis Peña paints a beautiful portrait of a brother and sister team who have dedicated their lives to rebuilding their home country of Haiti. Shot over the course of the year following the devastating January 12th earthquake, the film aims to shows how Haiti survives -- no matter what -- and will one day thrive again. TRT: 55 minutes. Produced by Parlay Media and Penabrand.

A Worldwide exploration of the notion of 'God' and Peace through Religion, Spirituality, Science, History, Politics and Arts. From India to Japan to South America to South Africa to Europe to across the USA let's take a journey through the mind and visions of world leaders inspiring us and uniting us about the notion of wholeness and oneness. This will lead to world Peace and a sustainable level of Peace. Listen to the wiseness of leaders such as Deepak Chopra, Michael Beckwith, Malcolm Mc Dowell, Stewart Copeland, The Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Dave Stewart and enjoy the music of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart.

On May 17, 1832 the German ethnologist and naturalist Prince Maximilian zu Wied and the young Swiss Artist Karl Bodmer set out on a long and adventurous journey into the vast prairies of North America to explore and document the Native American culture. The resulting images from Bodmer and the Prince's records are to this day the most important and original testimony of the Native Americans of North-America.We follow Bodmer's adventurous two-year journey along the Missouri River with pictures, interviews and reenactments, while we travel through nine States and visit six Indian Reservations. To conclude our historical journey, we include pictures of the current situation of the North American Indians, 176 years later.

The untouchables in India are the most oppressed social group in the planet. A Spanish Jesuit arrived in the poorest district of the country almost fifty years ago and completely changed their lives and minds through The Silent Revolution. Through their most intimate confessions, the untouchables of this part of India invite us to witness how to eradicate poverty and its consequences. It´s a spiritual and magical journey that can restore our faith in our fellow man and in the power of our own actions.

Finding Fidel tells the remarkable story of a young cameraman's 1958 journey to Cuba's Sierra Maestra mountains, to interview the little known rebel leader. A month later, Castro's band of fighters rolled victoriously into Havana. The Revolution was won, and Erik Durschmied's exclusive interview introduced the world to the charismatic new Cuban leader. "There is no Communism or Marxism in our idea,"Fidel insists. "Our political philosophy is representative democracy and social justice in a well-planned economy."Durschmied's scoop launched his 30 year career as one of the top war cameramen in the world, from Vietnam to the Congo, Afghanistan and Iraq. On the 50th Anniversary of the Revolution, Durschmied returns to Cuba on a journey back to Castro's guerrilla camp in the mountains. He arrives shortly after an ailing Fidel has handed power over to his brother Raul, and finds an island waiting for change. Award winning filmmaker Bay Weyman interweaves the rarely-seen interview of the young Fidel, with Durschmeid's reflections on the lost promise of Castro's Revolution, creating a compelling narrative that explores the hinge of fate, the vagaries of history, and the power of media in both men's lives. But Finding Fidel is at it's heart a personal journey. As his Cuban travels unfold Durschmied also considers his own life, reflecting on the significance and the burden of his career as he returns in an emotional full circle to where it all began. The journey of Erik Durschmied. What's 50 years in a man's life?

Peace Through Education: Stealing the Light tells of Dr. Mohammad Khan Kharoti's struggle to give the gifts of literacy and educational opportunity to the next generation of Afghan children. In 2001, his hard work was realized â€" he opened a school on family property in his home village of Shin Kalay, in the war-torn Helmand Province of Afghanistan. 16 Students attended that first year, both boys and girls. Success followed success and by 2008 the student body swelled to over 1200 students attending daily, over 400 of them female. And the school had grown physically, too, into a safe, walled compound with classroom facilities for boys and girls, a library and computer lab, dormitories for the staff, a well and generators. Dr. Mohammad Khan Kharoti's Green Village School became a welcomed focus for the entire community. Sadly, tragedy struck mid-October 2008; an unidentified group entered the village and at gunpoint looted the institution, bulldozed it, and destroyed everything, leaving the school a heap of rubble on the ground. Through the words of former students, teachers and local officials, Mohammad and his family, we learn of the importance of the school to students and the entire village, we witness its loss and the devastating aftermath, and follow Mohammad's emotional journey to rebuild. Stealing the Light seeks to answer the question of whether and how literacy and education promote peace and opportunity in conflict affected countries.

An ocean road movie against the odds... In 1955 Formosa (Taiwan), six young men set out on a journey to find their own version of freedom. With no boat and no prior sailing experience, they apply to enter a trans-Atlantic yacht race in an attempt to venture out of Taiwan. As luck would have it, the five Chinese-born crew find a young American Vice-Consul who agrees to issue US visas -- and who later asks to join and film the voyage. With nothing more than an old Chinese junk called 'Free China', a 16mm camera, color film stock, and their youthful courage, the crew sets sail from Taiwan to California. After various fits and starts, and a host of near-deadly obstacles (including typhoon Anna and captain overboard), the men arrive in San Francisco to a hero's welcome. Their story is 'THE FREE CHINA JUNK', a feature-length film that documents the experiences of five young men who risk their lives to journey beyond the tense environment of 1955 Formosa and the diplomat who records and befriends them. According to featured maritime historian Dr. Hans Van Tilburg the Free China junk is the oldest surviving Chinese wooden sailing junk. Now successful men in their 80s (including a retired university professor of physics in California, and a T'ai Chi master in New Zealand), 'The Free China Junk' celebrates their adventurous spirit as it challenges new generations to define their own destiny. FILM FESTIVALS: New Zealand International Film Festival 2010, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival 2010

Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) wrote the classic novel Their Eyes Were Watching God about a black woman's search for love in the gritty pioneer days of early Florida. Hurston was also an anthropologist who collected the stories of ex-slaves and filmed Southern black culture. This film tells Zora's life story, and includes reenactments of a 1941 interview with Hurston at a New York radio station.

Does each gesture really make a difference? Can music and dance be weapons of peace? In 2003, on the eve of the Iraq war, director Iara Lee embarked on a journey to better understand a world increasingly embroiled in conflict and, as she saw it, heading for self-destruction. After several years, traveling over five continents, Iara encountered growing numbers of people who committed their lives to promote change. This is their story. From IRAN, where the graffiti and rap became tools in fighting back the regime, to BURMA, where monks acting in the tradition of Gandhi take on a dictatorship, moving on to BRAZIL, where musicians reach out to slum kids and transform guns into guitars, and ending in PALESTINIAN refugee camps in LEBANON, where photography, music, and film have given a voice to those rarely heard, CULTURES OF RESISTANCE explores how art and creativity can be the ammunition in the battle for peace and justice.Featuring: Medellín poets for peace, Capoeira masters from Brazil, Niger Delta militants, Iranian graffiti artists, women's movement leaders in Rwanda, Lebanon's refugee filmmakers, U.S. political pranksters, indigenous Kayapó activists from the Xingu River, Israeli dissidents, hip-hop artists from Palestine, and many more...

Zapata Lives is a collection of testimonies gathered from relatives, mates and friends of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, a young Cuban laborer advocate of human rights who died in a Cuban prison after 85 days in a hunger strike on February 2010. There are interviews conducted in different places in the United States, Spain and Cuba. These last recordings were done under very difficult conditions and obsolete and defficient equipments in spite of people knowing their testimonies may well legally incriminate them. This documentary revisits Zapata Tamayo's life from his infancy, his years as a boxer, his fight in favor of the defense of Human Rights in Cuba and the testimony of his prison inmates. It also includes testimonies from the Ladies in White about Zapata's death, about his beatings and how his jailers denied him water. It's a blunt description about how solid his convictions were and his decision to die in defense of his ideals without attacking others.

Boys of Bonneville: Racing on a Ribbon of Salt is about an America that has all but disappeared, when lucrative business deals were cemented by a handshake and state of the art automobiles were designed on the backs of envelopes. It tells the story of an unsung hero and self-made man, David Abbott Jenkins, who, with almost superhuman stamina and boyish charm, set out to single-handedly break every existing land speed record on his beloved Bonneville Salt Flats of Utah. Seventy years later, many of 'Ab's' records remain unbroken and the legacy lives on in his custom car. Looking like something Batman would have owned, the story comes full circle when Ab's son Marv, restores the 12-cylinder, 4800-pound "Mormon Meteor"to its glory days for a ceremonial lap on the salt. The film features pristine archival footage of Ab, Marv, and their races, as well as recently shot HD interviews with a stellar list of car and racing aficionados (including Jay Leno and Col. Andy Green, the current land speed holder). The car resides in Salt Lake City's Price Museum of Speed (www.pricemuseumofspeed.org) and will be visiting select cities as part of its Film Festival tour. Boys of Bonneville is that rare animal: an exhilarating film about an unknown American hero which leaves its audience cheering to the rafters and grabbing for their cell phones demanding to know "who is this guy and where can I see this car?”

Adham Tobail is a social assistant who works in the only mental health institution existent in Gaza. His daily work leads us to Hakim, a nine year old kid who suffers post-traumatic stress due to an Israeli attack upon his neighborhood. Or to Midhat, a family man hunted by phobias that won't let him have a normal life as he unleashes his frustrations upon his wife and kids. We also meet Ashraf, a schizophrenic who can't have regular access to medicine due to the Israel's economic blockade for civilians goods. Or Taami, a deeply depressed elderly man who's only means to survival is the support of his family. And Misho, a kid severely wounded after an attack of the Israeli troops who fights to recover in a rehab center, completing the portrait of these five characters.This documentary was shot between March and June 2008, just a few months before the Israeli Army launched an unprecedented attack on Gaza which caused 1,400 casualties 400 of which were children.

Tourists quest to Key West in search of Hemingway's home and Buffett's haunts, a laid back vibe and breathtaking sunsets. But when the sun goes down on paradise, some swear ghosts and ghouls come out to play. Leading the poltergeist pack are high-spirited, flesh and-blood characters, who are larger than life... and death. Polterguys is the hilarious documentary that takes an inside look at Key West's most popular ghost tour company. Meet the cloaked men and women who make a living telling haunted tales on shadowy streets, ghost-busting by lantern light.

After marrying Mathew, Anna ( of Polish origin) inherited a name which has historical meaning. An Armenian name with Turkish intonations which permitted Garabed , the grandfather of Mathew, to escape the 1915 genocide.For their honeymoon they went to Turkey. With camera in hand, they traced the footsteps of Garabed, they are determined to learn more about Mathew's Armenian origins.A voyage which brings them to the heart of East Anatolia, cradle of the Armenian civilization, which has lived in these lands for more than three thousand years, and of which all traces seem to have disappeared. A road trip across the country mixing Animation, investigative film and historic documentary to report a sad confirmation:Tour guides, archaeological museum directors, historians, economists, and day guides tell a hallucinating story which has lasted more than 70 years.A State denial which has become an institution in itself , has rewrote the history books pretending that there was a genocide, but a genocide committed by the Armenians against the Turks.A painful but necessary proof to expose denial : a criminal's rhetoric to show that he is not guilty.

In Peru, cooking and eating go beyond the kitchen.The nation's passion for food transcends pots and pans,Peru finds in its cuisine its missing ingredient: A way to celebrate being Peruvian. A way to love, show respect and be proud.MISTURA, the gastronomic fair that happens in Lima every September, is the best example.This documentary manages to capture a slice of the immense spectrum of experiences that are simmered in Mistura every year. A place where cooks and patrons passionately teach us not only about food but most importantly about life.

Guillermo Farinas is an independent journalist and political dissident. He was ready to sacrifice and risk his own health and life as a means of pressure to achieve change in Cuba. He used hunger strikes to protest and to challenge the lack of freedom of speech in Cuba, carrying the hopes of all those who care for freedom, human rights and democracy.

Inspired both by the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9th, 2009 and August 13, 2011, the 50th anniversary of the construction of the Berlin Wall, Behind The Wall documents life on both sides of the Wall through the eyes of ordinary citizens from East and West Germany, giving an in-depth and overlooked perspective of life before, during and after the Wall. Through the eyes of a great cross-section of people from the ages of 45 to 87, Behind the Wall explodes some myths existing around the Wall and tells stories ranging from a former policeman who lost his job when the Westerners arrived to a young man risking his life to see what life on the Western side had to offer, to a woman who was unimpressed by the lure of consumerism that marked Western ways. We also experience personal stories from former Eastern Prime Ministers Lothar de Maiziere and Hans Modrow, as well as Gregor Gysi, the head of Germany's Left Party. Dr. Hope M. Harrison, professor at The Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University and author of "Driving the Soviets Up the Wall: Soviet-East German Relations 1953-1961"provides the historical perspective.

Momentum Miami students prepared for and filmed interviews twenty-seven participants of the Bay of Pigs Invasion.  Through these interviews, Momentum Miami and the students experienced first-hand how these men overcame injury, exile, imprisonment, and, in many cases, torture, to become senators, commissioners, bankers, media personalities, federal agents, military leaders and surgeons.  Though the Bay of Pigs was not a military victory, the end result was that the underpinnings of today's Miami were formed.  And, fifty years after the Invasion, these men continue to impact Miami. With the guidance of MWCC, the students produced four, five minute mini-documentaries, entitled "Stories from the Bay of Pigs: An Intergenerational Educational Experience.” The films centered on the themes of patriotism, courage, brotherhood and legacy.

John Muir in the New World is a film that follows the life of the Scottish-American naturalist and places his writing, his beliefs, and his nature advocacy in the context of late 19th and early 20th century American history. John Muir has been described by his many devoted fans as a "supersalesman of Nature,"the true founder of the national parks system and the "patron saint"of the environmental movement. This documentary creates a rounded portrait of the man, the influences on him, the historical context in which he operated and the impact Muir had on the modern environmental movement. It shows the associations that made Muir a pioneering spokesman for the conservation movement in the United States. Looking specifically at the emergent field of environmental history and new scholarship on the definition of wilderness..Because so much of what Muir experienced contributed to his worldview, a chronological rendering will allow us to compare his life experiences within the story of the American experience of wilderness. From Wisconsin to Yosemite, Alaska and California --- Muir's arc is from youthful enthusiasm for nature to a fully realized relationship with the American landscape as a naturalist writer, farmer and activist.

Land of the Rising Fastball and intrepid filmmaker Lance Miccio tell the history of baseball in Japan. From the early days of 1872 till today and as seen through the eyes of those who lived it and those who love it . A documentary team of American and Japanese filmmakers journey across the USA and Japan visting the "Castles of Baseball" such as "Hanshin Koshein Stadium" in Osaka . In Fukuoka the" Yahoo Dome" while also visiting the home of "The Baystars "in Yokohamma, the Tokyo Dome aka The Big Egg and Jingu stadium in Tokyo . The filmmakers submerge themselves in the Yakyu aka Baseball culture . During their travels, they interview Hall of Fame players Sachio Kinugasa and Sekine Junzo plus former Red Sox outfielder and World Series winner Gabe Kapler and former Baltimore Oriole and Angel slugger Doug DeCinces who hit the first homerun in the Tokyo Dome as a member of the Yakult Swallows .Those also incuded are Yale Anthropology Chair William Kelly , Japan 'Hall of Fame Curator' Miwako Atarashi, Sports writers Deanna Rubin and JapaneseBaseball.com founder Michael Westbay . The film is richly narrated by Jeffrey Buckner Ford , aka Buck Ford . Miccio's uses a rich tapestry of imagery in this well crafted project that along with a compelling score by Charlie McAlsiter is woven with Buck Ford's narration to give the viewer a new sense of the history of Japan's national pastime" "BASEBALL"

NEW CHILDREN/NEW YORK is an intimate portrait of the struggles and perseverance of young immigrants coming of age in inner-city New York. Set in a community workshop in Bushwick, a Latino immigrant and low-income neighborhood of Brooklyn, the documentary follows three young people who are studying filmmaking. Their gripping, self-exploratory films'excerpted throughout the documentary and each exhibiting a distinct voice and style'reveal the confidential perceptions of these youngsters who dramatically straddle the opposing cultures of the U.S. and their homelands. As filmmaking encourages them to reflect on their identities, their family situations and the elusiveness of the "American Dream,"the documentary poignantly portrays how dislocation often comes with hardship, isolation, despair and cultural/familial erosion. NEW CHILDREN/NEW YORK begins as the students interview their families and learn about their pasts. Confronting accounts of lost tradition, family separation and death and destitution, the youth are galvanized to explore their histories to understand who they are, where they come from and where they're going. Their bold and moving films seek to explore these personal questions: 19-year-old Patricia asks, why did my family come to the U.S.? Fausto, 21, wonders if he misses the festivities he participated in back in Ecuador. Desiree, 16, considers how she can express her individuality without offending her family and without feeling personally compromised.NEW CHILDREN/NEW YORK is a window into the hidden experience of being young, poor and Latino in 21st-century America. It is a story of discovery, hope and salvation in an increasingly globalized world.

Bonsai is a story of human empowerment following the work of Muhammad Yunus from micro-credit to social business. Think of it as "enlightened capitalism"as Prof. Yunus says. Bonsai illuminates the simplicity of this complex subject.Getting on the ground with women who are living on less than a dollar a day, such as Shahnaj, who tragically lost her son to tetanus after stepping on a chicken bone. Going into debt trying to save him, they have tough choices to make: use the money to fix the roof or invest for future returns. Suffering an unexpected downpour, which turns her dirt floor to mud, one wonders if she made the right choice.We also follow Aroti, micro-credit at its finest. With financial success and her sons attending university, Aroti now gives back as a local village council member. Bonsai then expands showing social business in action. With Grameen Danone, we see local farmers sell buckets of milk then turned into yogurt and sold by local ladies in coolers going door to door, much like Avon ladies, bypassing the problem of no refrigeration.The power of social business to tackle social issues from malnourishment, healthcare, alternative energy and education, demonstrates that the possibilities are endless.

Filmmaker Sheldon Schiffer, befriends several Havaneros whose relationship with the wall provides meaning and mental subsistence in very different ways. With a 16mm Arriflex camera of a nostalgic vintage, Schiffer invites his subjects to compose a portrait of their most meaningful view on the Malecon - one that symbolizes their station in life, both personally and politically. Each of his subjects, a poet-intellectual, a musician, two prostitutes, an aging historian, and three young students with time on their hands, each connect their personal ambitions and attitudes toward Cuba as they collaborate with the filmmaker to create a cinematic 'portrait' of the seawall, and ultimately one of themselves.

In this harrowing documentary the brutal regime of the military Junta in Burma is fully exposed. Through interviews with refugees, survivors and Burma's democratically elected president and Peace Nobel Prize Winner Aung San Suu Kyi, the terrifying landscape of an ongoing genocide of the ethnic minorities that flies in the face of international law comes horribly alive. Filmed surreptitiously and under constant life threatening conditions, Burma - A Human Tragedy offers a rare glimpse into the systematic human extermination that has gone pretty much ignored.

The film follows one girl on her journey from discovery to acceptance of her Alopecia Areata (immune related hair loss.) Before she had the condition Georgia worked as a hair model, actress and comedian and relied heavily on her appearance. When she lost her hair she was forced to completely reassess the life she had chosen for herself. We go with her from doctor to doctor trying to find a cure, which she soon discovers doesn't exist. We cry and laugh with her as she comes to terms with the fact that right now her only choice is acceptance. Once she makes this choice her world turns into the world she had always hoped for â€" one of sharing, giving back and filled with amazing children. At the end of the film Georgia realizes that whether she has hair or not doesn't matter at all. The difference she can make in other people's lives by being loud and proud about her Alopecia Areata is a bigger gift than anything she could ever hope for.Although this is a documentary about a medical condition it is full of comedy and lightness; and Georgia's approach to her condition prevents the audience from taking it, or her, too seriously.The film features appearances by Alopecians of all ages, a number of comedians, two doctors who work with alopecia areata every day of their lives, a wig maker and a stylist, Georgia's family and friends and a puppet who has alopecia areata.

Mexican Suitcase tells the story of three lost boxes, found at the bottom of a closet in Mexico City in 2007. Small boxes: red, green and manila, that disappeared in the chaos of Europe at the beginning of World War II. Contained in the Suitcase were 4,500 unique negatives, the work of three friends, who met in Paris between 1936 and 1937, who would become some of the finest photojournalists of their time; exiled from their respective countries, Germany, Poland and Hungary. They were radicals who understood the dangers of fascism. They traveled to Spain together to fight fascism with their cameras. Robert Capa (23) David "Chim"Seymour (28) and Gerda Taro. Throughout the film we learn through their images the story of the war and the exile. The suitcase, a metaphor, takes us through the narrative with the voices and memories of survivors and of the next generation of exiles. This is a film about images taken in the past (1937 to 1939) recovered in our present (2007) that also looks at how a new generation in Spain is beginning to reconcile itself with its own history. Our film looks at the power of memory and asks, who owns our memories? Where do our memories live? Who has power over our narratives and how do we claim our stories and our pasts.

A Docudrama commemorating the life, times and people of Port St. Lucie, Florida. The story of one of the most unlikely cities in the United States and the people that drove the dream in spite of many odds. Including one of the most beautiful theme songs you will ever hear!

A group of baseball loving, middle aged Midwesterners were going about their lives quite contentedly, until a Hollywood movie came to town and changed everything.

Special Event X Presentation of the birth of the Town Of Surfside's Community Center.