This program compiles a powerful group of short films addressing relationships between fathers and kids. The program begins with the latest short film by Charlottesville and Buenos Aires-based filmmaker Ricardo Preve, Esperanza Means Hope (2006, 10 min.) about his daughter Kristin’s Project Esperanza, and her work teaching homeless kids adrift in the Dominican Republic. Next comes San Francisco filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt’s observation of his baby daughter Ella, I Used to be a Filmmaker (2003, 10 min.). Tim LaTorre of IndieWire writes: “Rosenblatt turns what is essentially a well-structured and witty home video into a joyous, funny, and touching work of art.� We’re then off to Romania for Radu Jude’s The Tube With a Hat (2006, 23 min.), a neo-realist narrative that follows a small boy who talks his dad into journeying from their rural village into the city, to fix their broken TV set. Yoni Brook’s A Son’s Sacrifice (2006, 27 min.) is a documentary set in Queens. It follows Imran, an American Muslim reluctantly preparing to take over his father’s business—a halal slaughterhouse. Because of Imran’s mixed ethnicity and Americanized behavior, he struggles to be accepted by both his father and his customers. Finally, an Academy Award nominee for best short film, Binta and the Great Idea (2006, 30 min.) is Spanish filmmaker Javier Fesser’s film made in Senegal, about Binta, a seven-year old girl who has an enlightened father who allows her to go to school, plus a great idea that will help the development of mankind.
