By day, Carter (Lukas Haas) repairs cars in a Charlottesville auto shop. He spends his nights outside the apartment of Ann Shelton, voyeuristically listening to her violin playing. Through Ann, he realizes an artistic dream that counters his mundane existence in the auto shop. That equilibrium is disrupted when he comes across an astronomy book outside his apartment and discovers that his routine is not solitary –that he is also being watched from the shadows. Slowly, Carter awakens to the world around him and discovers that the real love which had eluded him may be just around the corner.

UVA graduates Tyler Davidson (Producer) and Derek Seig (Writer/Director) brought cast and crew to Charlottesville for filming in Fall of 2005 where the film received much support from the local community. Swedish Auto will make its home-town debut at the Virginia Film Festival.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Monday, July 31st, 2006

“Faith is a torment. It is like loving someone who is out there in the darkness but never appears, no matter how loudly you call.”

Black Death strikes Europe in the middle of the 12th century. Antonius Block went to the Holy Land as a faithful young warrior, but returns to Sweden tortured by doubt and uncertainty. The thought that there might not be a God is unbearable to him. When Death suddenly stands before him, he wants proof and challenges Death to a game of chess. Before he dies, the great warrior wants to do one last meaningful thing.

Ingmar Bergman’s most memorable films deal with questions of love, memory, and faith. Fifty years later, more viewers may have seen parodies of the images that Bergman established here — most notably, Woody Allen’s hilarious Love and Death — but the original still stands as an existential exploration of intellect and humanity.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Monday, July 31st, 2006

Rebellion of Thought is a critical look at the role of faith in a post-modern culture. What is post-Modernism? How has it affected our culture? How will it impact our future? What is the role of the church in a post-modern world? Does Man truly need God or is God merely a fairytale idea leftover from past cultural experiments.

These questions are the launching point for this new film by Charlottesville brothers Brad and Kent Williamson. They began work on a documentary exploration of post-modernity, but the film morphed into a critical look at the role of the Church in a post-modern world. Along the way, the filmmakers learn that living ones faith out in the culture is very different than living ones faith out within the walls of the Church. Rebellion of Thought examines the transition from modernity to post-modernity as well as the issues surrounding this drastic shift in cultural ideology.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Monday, July 31st, 2006

Live from…the Hook is a small, compelling film about two local rock n’ roll guys who make music with their friends in and around a little Virginia college town with a big appetite for live music.  The film captures the history of the Charlottesville music scene through the eyes and voices of musicians from the Charlottesville Blues All-Stars all the way to the Dave Mathews Band.

Bob Girard and Charlie Pastorfield met at UVA many (many) moons ago and have since played together in five bands.  These two friends have flirted with stardom, taken the day jobs, nurtured families, loved and lost friends.  They have each made a good living playing rock n’ roll, sold a bunch of records, drove the girls crazy and played to packed houses of devoted fans up and down the East Coast. They inspired other local musicians who made it all the way to the top.  But Bob and Charlie never topped the Billboard charts and they didn’t win American Idol. They have experienced night after night onstage and day after day on the road, the agony of near death on the streets of Rome, and the ecstasy of resurrection back home … all for the music. For everyone who dreamed big back when our whole lives were ahead of us, who ever dreamed of being a rock n’ roll star, a painter, or a writer (in short, all of us) — Bob and Charlie’s story is an inspiration.  Their journey shows us the power of passion.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Monday, July 31st, 2006

The Monty Python troupe struggled with desert heat, reluctant financial backers, and, eventually, the denunciation of various churches, evangelists, and politicians to produce what may be their most consistent and coherent film. Funded by George Harrison after the initial backers withdrew, Life of Brian is not, as its detractors assumed, a blasphemous satire of Jesus Christ and Christianity, but a smart and, of course, achingly funny take on religious belief in general, militant politics, empire, and, most interestingly, the muddled and uncertain origins of what eventually becomes “gospel truth”Â? –all wrapped up in a parody of bloated Biblical epics.

The story follows poor Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman), a Jewish anti-Roman activist mistaken for the Messiah through a series of coincidences (he was, for example, born in the manger next door to that more famous stable) and near-constant misunderstandings and exaggerations by his growing band of followers who blithely ignore his repeated efforts to clarify his identity. Instead, they craft a religion based on his every off-hand utterance. Brian tries to do as much good as possible, but his story does not end happily for him –nor perhaps for anyone easily offended by a musical crucifixion scene. Both intelligent and silly (familiar Python traits), Life of Brian is also warm-hearted and provocative. On its initial release in the UK, the film was banned by several town councils (some of which had no cinemas within their boundaries). The film was also banned for eight years in the Republic of Ireland and for a year in Norway (it was marketed in Sweden as ‘the movie that is so funny, it was banned in Norway!’). Life of Brian was reissued (marketed as a “Second Coming”) in 2004 to nip at the heels of Mel Gibson’s wildly successful depiction of the Christ story.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Monday, July 31st, 2006

Winner of the Israeli Oscar for Best Documentary, as well as eight international awards, Keep Not Silent boldly documents the clandestine struggle of three women fighting for their right to love within their beloved Orthodox communities in Jerusalem. All three are pious, religiously committed women. All three are lesbians, and members of a secret support group called the “Ortho-Dykes.”Â?

Though their life choices exact a devastating price, these women are committed to confronting their duality, and accept the toll with a profound compassion toward their society. Ingenious cinematic techniques underscore the excruciating pain of constant self-suppression, and provide the anonymity necessary for these women to continue living in their communities. Their courageous fight for self-realization, honesty and acceptance is an extraordinary model for those who struggle with issues of religious and sexual identity.

Accompanying Ilil Alexander’s stunning debut film is In My Father’s Church by Charissa King, a poignant exploration of the intersection of homosexuality and religion from the perspective of someone who has much at stake. Charissa is a lesbian who wants a church wedding. Her dad is the pastor of the town’s United Methodist Church. While he has been quietly supportive of his daughter’s lesbian relationship, Charissa’s father knows he would put his career at risk if he chose to officiate at her marriage ceremony. This emotionally charged story of one woman’s attempt to reconcile her love, faith and family brings to life the deep conflicts that gay marriage has caused in many churches –and for many individuals trying to maintain their faith while preserving their own identities.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Monday, July 31st, 2006

The 1970s were years of intense social and cultural tumult. To the followers of the charismatic and forceful Jim Jones, the “Peoples Temple” offered the perfect balance of spiritual fulfillment and political commitment. Jones not only preached about integration and equality, but also built an organization that provided food, clothing, and shelter to his congregation and his community. On the surface, Jim Jones and his multiracial congregation espoused the values of a model society. But in the summer of 1977 an article in New West magazine exposed the truth. Defectors and family members gave accounts of physical, sexual, and drug abuse, financial corruption,and members being held against their will.

On November 18, 1978, over 900 members of Peoples Temple died in the largest mass suicide/murder in history. Using never-before-seen archival footage and survivor interviews, Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple focuses on the issues that defined the Peoples Temple — faith and zealotry, revolution and utopia, race and class, loyalty and coercion, charismatic leadership and demagoguery — while presenting the human story of the people who followed Jim Jones from Indiana to California and finally to the remote jungles of Guyana, South America in a misbegotten quest to build an ideal society.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Monday, July 31st, 2006

Jesus Camp explores the revival in America of Christian youth taking up leadership of the conservative Christian movement. The documentary follows Levi, Rachael, Tory and a number of other young children to Pastor Becky Fischer’s “Kids on Fire” summer camp in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota. There, kids as young as six are taught to become dedicated Christian soldiers in God’s army. These campers hone their prophetic gifts and are schooled in how to take back America for Christ. The film is a first-ever look into an intense training ground that recruits born-again Christian children to become an active part of America’s political future.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Monday, July 31st, 2006

(in Danish with English subtitles)

“The opposite of faith is not doubt - the opposite of faith is knowledge.”

Anna (Ann Eleonora Jørgensen) a newly ordained minister is married to Frank (Lars Ranthe). For years they’ve desperately being trying to have a baby. Anna gets a temporary job as prison chaplain in the women’s wing. She meets Kate (Trine Dyrholm), an inmate who is believed to possess supernatural powers. When Kate spots that Anna is actually pregnant, Anna’s faith is severely tested, but Kate also conceals a terrible past which has disastrous consequences for them both.

In Your Hands is a story about what happens when trust is more fragile than mistrust, when knowledge is stronger than faith and when pain is more powerful than love. It is about daring - or not daring - to place one’s life in the hands of something or someone else.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Monday, July 31st, 2006

G.I. Jesus is the story of a Mexican citizen who joins the Military to become a legal citizen of the United States. After returning from a tour of combat in Iraq, Jesus is shocked to find how much his Mexican wife and daughter have changed in his absence. He watches his American dream turn into a nightmare as he struggles to hold his family together in a country obsessed with materialism and conspicuous consumption. Jesus soon learns that the true battle begins after the fighting stops. Provocative and intelligent, often humorous, G.I. Jesus portrays one family’s struggle to find a better life by crossing the border — back into Mexico!

An “ambitious, topical satire” (Variety), G.I. Jesus targets the exploitation of immigrant soldiers and the psychological costs of the Iraq war, among other social issues. Jesus is a Mexican citizen who joins the Military to become a legal citizen of the United States. After returning from a tour of combat in Iraq, he watches his American dream turn into a nightmare as he struggles to hold his family together in a country obsessed with materialism and conspicuous consumption. Provocative, intelligent, and funny, G.I. Jesus makes a strong case for crossing the border in the opposite direction.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Monday, July 31st, 2006

Kalikinkar Roy, patriarch of a Indian family in 1860 Bengal, is an aging widower, respected landlord, and a devotee of Kali. In a dream, he comes to the revelation that his daughter-in-law Doyamoyee is as an incarnation of the Hindu goddess. A dying child is placed at her feet and is miraculously cured. As the news spreads, the aged, sick and the poor come in hundreds, seeking cures and comfort. Her husband Umaprasad, who has received a western-based education at a Calcutta university, finds himself dispossessed of his wife who has become a “goddess.” Umaprasad unsuccessfully tries to reason with his father, but the cure seems a miracle which demonstrates the truth of the traditional beliefs. Soon, crowds of worshippers come to venerate Doyamoyee, until a child under her care dies for lack of medical treatment.

The film generated some controversy on its release in India. It was seen as an attack on Hinduism itself by a few protesters, who tried to prevent the film’s international release. Today, Devi is recognized as a thoughtful exploration of the cultural emergence of “modern woman” in the upper class of colonial India, showing with striking sensitivity the pressures this new ideal placed on individual women whose self-identities were also molded by traditional expectations.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Monday, July 31st, 2006

C. S. Lewis was a contemporary and friend of J.R.R. Tolkien at Oxford. Tolkein is best known today for his Ring trilogy, recently made into a series of Academy Award-winning films. Whereas Tolkein based his novels on a fantasy land largely of his own making, Lewis poulated his Narnia series with human children, mythical creatures, and Christian allegory. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe follows the exploits of the four Pevensie siblings–Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter–who enter the world of Narnia through a magical wardrobe while playing a game of “hide-and-seek” in the rural country home of an elderly professor. There they discover an extraordinary land inhabited by talking beasts, dwarfs, fauns, centaurs, and giants. The evil White Witch has cursed the once-charming and peaceful land with eternal winter. Under the guidance of a noble and mystical ruler, the lion Aslan, the children fight to overcome the White Witch’s powerful hold over Narnia in a spectacular climactic battle that will free Narnia from her icy spell forever.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Monday, July 31st, 2006

“I don’t believe in coincidence,” says Lila, a glamorous restaurateur in Latter Days. “These days, I believe in miracles.”

Christian (Wes Ramsey), a hunky, 20-something, West Hollywood party boy gets more than he bargains for when he tries to seduce 19-year-old Elder Aaron Davis (Steve Sandvoss), a sexually confused Mormon missionary who moves into his apartment complex. When Christian exposes Davis’ secret sexual desire, Davis’ rejects Christian for being shallow and empty, The encounter shatters each boy’s reality and draws the two into a passionate romance that risks destroying their lives. Latter Days is a charming and moving tale that will leave you believing in the transformational power of love.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Saturday, July 29th, 2006

One of Alfred Hitchcock’s lesser-known gems, I Confess casts the director’s keen eye on themes of guilt, secrecy, vows, and, of course, murder. Otto Kellar and his wife Alma work as caretaker and housekeeper at a Catholic church in Quebec, Canada. While robbing a house where he gardens, Otto is surprised by the owner and inadvertently murders him. Remorseful, he confesses to Father Michael William Logan (Montgomery Clift) at the church. But Father Logan has secrets of his own which tie him to the murder. Sworn to secrecy by the sanctity of confession, Father Logan finds himself a suspect.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Saturday, July 29th, 2006

On the eve of his campaign launch for the U.S. Senate, District Attorney Peter Miles receives word that the governor has exonerated Ronald Bradler, a death row inmate whom he prosecuted five years earlier for the murder of a local police officer. In the wake of Bradler’s release and through the lense of the media frenzy surrounding the high profile case, what unfolds is a public vetting of Peter’s record. When hard evidence of actual impropriety on Peter’s part finds it way into his possession, Bradler seeks out Peter for answers. The movie is a compelling and energetic political drama, focused on accountability, moral absolution and the consequences of political arrogance and racial inequality.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Saturday, July 29th, 2006

Words of My Perfect Teacher follows three students on a quest they hope will lead to wisdom, if only they can abide by their teacher. Soccer”“obsessed, charismatic filmmaker, and citizen of the world, Khyentse Norbu may be one of the world’s most eminent Buddhist teachers, but it’s a job description he slyly rejects at every turn.

The film’s point of view is inspired by Buddhist philosophy –which says that we can’t really change human behaviour until we learn to deal with our mind — and was made during the course of a year that included attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, months of tension as India and Pakistan went to the brink of nuclear war, multiple suicide bombings in Israel, a stock market drop that plunged the world to new depths of economic uncertainty, and the U.S. war on Iraq. If ever there was a time to inspire students to “wake up” and learn the wisdom necessary to engage in compassionate activity, this was that year. Featuring appearances by Bernardo Bertolucci and Steven Seagal, and set to a world beat with music by Sting, Tara Slone & Joy Drop, Steve Tibbets, U.Man.Tek, and Kunga 19, the film serves as a welcome reminder that change begins with the self.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Saturday, July 29th, 2006

Iraq In Fragments illuminates war-torn Iraq in three acts. First, we follow Mohammed Haithem, an 11-year-old auto mechanic in the mixed Sheik Omar neighborhood in the heart of old Baghdad. Several years behind in school and waylaid by war’s intervention, he’s torn between education and apprenticeship. Through Mohammed’s eyes we see a growing disenchantment with the U.S.-led occupation, as well as tensions between Shia and Sunni Iraqis. Shown in extreme close-up, Mohammed’s Bagdhad is a city caught between an idealized past, a dangerous present, and an uncertain future.

The second act is filmed inside the Shiite political/religious movement of Moqtada Sadr, traveling between Naseriyah and the holy city of Najaf. As tensions mount inside the country, we see the inner workings of Iraqi local politics as the Sadr movement pushes for regional elections and enforces their interpretation of Islamic law.

Act three follows Iraqi Kurds as they assert their bid for independence, rebelling against the past atrocities of Baghdad rule. We follow these developments through the eyes of brick makers and childhood friends on a farm south of Arbil.

Iraq in Fragments presents a vivid, intimate picture of a country pulled in different directions by religion and ethnicity. At this year’s Sundance Film Festival it won for Best Directing, Best Cinematographer and Best Editing.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Saturday, July 29th, 2006

(B&W in Italian with subtitles)

Director Pier Paolo Passolini, a gay Marxist atheist, produced The Gospel According to St. Matthew after his arrest on charges of blasphemy for his heretical portrayal of Jesus in his short satirical film, “La Ricotta.”Â? Four decades later, Gospel is now admired by many as a moving and powerful depiction of the life of Jesus Christ. The release of the film in the US was accompanied by a controversial change in the glowing dedication of the work to Pope John XXIII and in the removal of the scene portraying the investiture of Peter (now restored in this screening). The film won a special jury prize at the Venice Film Festival and earned three Oscar nominations. It is widely praised for applying documentary methods to a narrative story with stark and beautiful results.

Accompanying Passolini’s masterpiece is The Miracle, a 2003 film by Italian director Edoardo Winspeare about a boy who awakens from a coma and discovers that he may have the power to heal the sick.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Saturday, July 29th, 2006

Eve, a precocious nine year old with an overactive imagination, was born in the year of the Fire Horse, notorious among Chinese families for producing the most troublesome children. Caught between her 11-year-old authoritative sister’s fantasies of sainthood and cultural confusion and her own sense of right and wrong, Eve faces the challenges of childhood with fanciful humor and wide-eyed wonder. Sometimes the most troublesome children are the ones that touch our hearts most deeply.

Sundance Special Jury Prize; Vancouver Film Festival Audience Award; Toronto International Film Festival Official Selection.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Saturday, July 29th, 2006

Led by either God or an excessive amount of antacid, Brian believes he is a messiah…not the Messiah, just a local One chosen to represent those within a hundred mile radius. Chris Hansen’s “unlikely documentary”Â? begins with Brian preparing to announce himself and his “higher purpose”Â? to the public at his town’s civic center. You can’t be a Messiah, after all, if nobody knows about it. Brian explains why he’s a messiah and then, seeking to raise money to rent the civic center and to pay for t-shirts, he holds a baptism-for-fee service at a nearby swimming hole. Dustin Olson’s performance as Brian is spot-on and hilarious, and you may become a believer.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Saturday, July 29th, 2006

Academy Award-winning Charlottesville film producer/director Paul Wagner releases this fresh and raw new feature documentary about religion, race, poverty, drugs and sensuality in an inner city neighborhood of Washington DC. The film examines the spiritual lives of six individuals facing the toughest challenges of life in Washington’s poorest neighborhood. The characters are amazing; their stories are edgy portraits of spirit and struggle. The film received a work-in-progress screening at the Silverdocs Film Festival this past June, and is a featured premiere at the Virginia Film Festival.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Saturday, July 29th, 2006

A Flock of Dodos is the first feature-length animated documentary to present both sides of the intelligent design/evolution clash. Filmmaker and former evolutionary ecologist, Randy Olsen, tries to make sense of the issue by visiting his home state of Kansas. At first it seems the problem lies with intelligent design, a movement labeled recently as “breathtaking inanity,”Â? by a federal judge. The advocates for Intelligent Design have a hard time making a solid case for their view, so why are they gaining so much traction in America? Because, says Olsen, they’re much nicer people to hang out with than the starched, contentious and somewhat overbearing scientists taking on the ID crowd. When a group of evolutionists convene for a night of poker and discussion, they end up sounding like “¦ a flock of you-know-whats.

Posted in 2006, Briefs, Saturday, July 29th, 2006

The pressure’s on to finish most of the programming. The Preview Guide copy has to go to the designer, Rick Montoya, on August 10. So I met yesterday with our writer, Sean McCord, to hand him a batch of titles to begin writing up. Usually, we drop in a lot of fake blurbs and give ourselves until early September to replace them with newer titles …but I’ve got this program mostly figured out. Some of the invited films have already announced their participation. Chris Hansen’s very pleased to have his Proper Care and Feeding of an American Messiah in the program, and I’m pleased we can present his hilarious and well-executed faux documentary. Avid readers of this blog will surely recognize Chris as a serial commenter here, but I swear his compliments didn’t sway me. {More}

Posted in Director, Saturday, July 29th, 2006

I’ve watched a LOT of movies these past few weeks. Like last year, the new documentaries on our theme are really strong, and there are going to be a lot of them in the program. Others have noted that the inadequacy of the mainstream news media is inspiring a renaissance of independent documentaries addressing social issues. Among the documentaries that could show up in our program are Jesus Camp, Deliver Us From Evil, Jonestown, Keep Not Silent, A Flock of Dodos, God of a Second Chance, and Iraq in Fragments.
{More}

Posted in Director, Friday, July 21st, 2006