 
Last Rush for the Wild West:
Tar Sands, Oil Shale, and the American Frontier
Director, Jennifer Ekstrom will introduce the world premiere and conduct a question and answer session alonmg with Jared Parkinson (Water rights attorney featured in the film) afterward.
Star Hall on Friday, September 19th, 2014 7:30 pm
Director, Jennifer Ekstrom will introduce the world premiere and conduct a question and answer session alonmg with Jared Parkinson (Water rights attorney featured in the film) afterward. |
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It's the most polluting, destructive, expensive and inefficient way to extract oil from the earth. And Utah has rolled out the red carpet for this industry to come to the United States for the very first time.
Tar Sands and Oil Shale mining would put the Colorado River watershed, which 30 million people rely on, at risk of being contaminated and dewatered. Vast landscapes would be destroyed. Air quality in Salt Lake City would be further impaired. Climate disruption would escalate.
The approval of this first United States strip mine was granted despite evidence of catastrophic effects on health, families, water and forests, caused by Tar Sands strip mining in Alberta. And despite the reality that American taxpayers would essentially be hiring wealthy foreign corporations to do it.
First on deck to be strip mined is beautiful PR Springs in eastern Utah. U.S. Oil Sands (a Canadian company), having received approval from Utah's agencies, is looking for investors in order to get started. And the only thing getting in their way is a resolute contingent of local activists, attorneys and citizens.
In Order of Appearance:
Chief Bill Erasmus – Dene First Nation, National Chief
Elder Francois Paulette – Dene First Nation, Council of Elders Chair – former Chief
Raphael Cordray – Utah Tar Sands Resistance
Zachary Frankel – Utah Rivers Council, Director
Ashley Sanders – Peaceful Uprising
Kate Anderson – Before it Starts, Co-Director
John Weisheit – Living Rivers, Colorado Riverkeeper
Jared Parkinson – Utah Water Rights Attorney
Bryn MacDonald – Former Canadian Tar Sands Employee
Rob Herbert – Utah Department of Environmental Quality,
former Groundwater Protection Section Manager
Kathy Alburg – Grandmother, Unitarian Church Member
Dr. Brian Moench – Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, President
President Barack Obama - President of the United States of America
Joro Walker – Senior Attorney for Western Resource Advocates
Christopher Hogle – Attorney for US Oil Sands
Sarah Wright – Utah Clean Energy
Scotty Stoughton – Musician, Bonfire Dub - Owner, Stand Up Paddle Colorado
Scotty Soltronic – Artist, Musician, Engineer, Event Producer
Anthony Motto – Performing Artist, Event Producer, DJ
Gaudi – Musician, Composer, Producer
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Crew:
director –Jennifer Ekstrom
editor -Dan Bosler
assistant editors -Dayna Vancott-Jonathan Judeen
cameras
-Emerson Urry
-Hekter McElliot
-Jennifer Ekstrom
-Max Wilbert
-Porter Teegarden
-Rich Wallin
-Dan Bosler
-Steve Liptay
-Tyler Smith
additional footage -dirtyoilsands.org
still photography -Hekter McElliot
-Marsha Lutz
-Max Wilbert
-Steve Liptay
consulting producer -Porter Teegarden
production assistant -Marsha Lutz
title graphics -Kenneth Hoffman
additional graphics -Dan Bosler
script -Jennifer Ekstrom
script consultant -Liz Allen
narration -Stan Clawson
audio mix -Tyler Smith
music composition -Michael Iris |
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The Act of Killing
(Director's Cut - 2:39:46)
Director:
Joshua Oppenheimer
Co-Directors: Christine Cyn & 1 Anonymous
"I have not seen a film as powerful, surreal, and frightening in at least a decade"
- Werner Herzog, who signed on as Executive Producer along with Errol Morris
Star Hall on Friday, September 19th, 2014 9:15 pm
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| The Act of Killing is about killers who have won, and the sort of society they have built. Unlike ageing Nazis or Rwandan génocidaires, Anwar and his friends have not been forced by history to admit they participated in crimes against humanity. Instead, they have written their own triumphant history, becoming role models for millions of young paramilitaries. The Act of Killing is a journey into the memories and imaginations of the perpetrators, offering insight into the minds of mass killers. And The Act of Killing is a nightmarish vision of a frighteningly banal culture of impunity in which killers can joke about crimes against humanity on television chat shows, and celebrate moral disaster with the ease and grace of a soft shoe dance number. |
Ratings and Reactions:
IMDB rating: 8.2
Rotten Tomatoes Approval Rating: 95%
Like all great documentaries, The Act of Killing demands another way of looking at reality. It starts as a dreamscape, an attempt to allow the perpetrators to reenact what they did, and then something truly amazing happens. The dream dissolves into nightmare and then into bitter reality. An amazing and impressive film.
Errol Morris
The Act of Killing won best documentary at the 2014 BAFTA awards (among many other awards and distinctions) In his acceptance of the award, Joshua Oppenheimer stated that "the United States and the United Kingdom have collective responsibility" and asserted that they participated in and have ignored the crimes. Mr. Oppenheimer's statements were omitted from the video posted on BAFTA's website.
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Starring:
Anwar Congo, Himself - Executioner in 1965
Adi Zulkadry, Himself - Fellow Executioner in 1965
Jusuf Kalla, Himself - Vice President of Indonesia
Syamsul Arifin, Himself - Governor of North Sumatra
Herman Koto, Himself - Gangster and Paramilitary Leader
Ibrahim Sinik, Himself - Newspaper Publisher
Haji Marzuki, Himself - Member of North Sumatra Parliament (as Marzuki)
Sakhyan Asmara, Himself - Deputy Minister of Youth and Sport
Yapto Soerjosoemarno, Himself - Leader of Pancasila Youth
Safit Pardede, Himself - Local Paramilitary Leader
Haji Anif, Himself - Paramilitary Leader and Businessman
Soaduon Siregar, Himself - Journalist
Suryono, Himself - Anwar's Neighbor
Rahmat Shah, Himself - Member of Parliament
Production:
Anonymous line producer / producer
Werner Herzog executive producer
Errol Morris executive producer
Joshua Oppenheimer co-producer
Torstein Grude co-producer / executive producer
Joram ten Brink executive producer / producer
Christine Cynn co-producer / producer
Maria Kristensen associate producer
Anne Köhncke producer
Lizzy Ratner associate producer
Andre Singer executive producer
Signe Byrge Sørensen producer
Bjarte Mørner Tveit co-producer / executive producer
Michael Uwemedimo producer
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Forbiddance
Runtime: 1:30 (Russian - English subtitles)
Star Hall on Monday, September 22nd, 2014 8:40 pm
Alexey Kozlov, director and script writer
Elena Gromova, Executive Producer
It is the fall of 1943. The Second World War. Russia.
The crew of an Italian military motorboat is stationed at dilapidated convent on Lake Ladoga. Italian officer Giacomo and novitiate Lora fall in love. With Russian troops advancing, the Italians are forced to leave their positions.
A Russian captain appears at the convent next morning to announce that the following day his crew would be stationed there. Mother Anna is afraid that the communists may find out about her niece Lora’s affair with the enemy officer, and she therefore decides to hide her rebellious relative. The austere nun Pelageia transports Lora by boat to the remote island hermitage of Jesusareth.
As a result, an irreconcilable foursome becomes stuck on the island amidst its northern boulders and humble hermits’ remnants: Pelageia; the Russian Captain, haunted by revenge for his children killed by fascist bombs; and Lora, with her lover Giacomo, the Italian enemy… The soul of each person on the island is opened to God. But the boat has a leak and only two can return to the mainland… Who is destined to die? Who is destined to overcome and live? |
Producer ALEXEY KOZLOV
Screenplay & Director ALEXEY KOZLOV, Director of Photography VALERII DEGTIAREV, Production Design PAVEL NOVIKOV and ANTON DEMENTIEV, Music YURI POTEENKO, Editing ANTON DEMENTIEV, Script Editor MARINA DESSIATKINA, Studio Editor IRINA EFIMOVA, Costume Design OLGA CHUDETSKAYA, Make-Up NADEZHDA SMIRNOVA, Sound KONSTANTIN ZARIN, Photography EVGENY TARAN, Set Design EVGENY ELISEENKO, Lighting GENNADY GROMOV. Starring ANNA MOLCHANOVA, NATALIA TKACHENKO, SERGEY YATSENYUK, GIULIANO DI CAPUA. Also Featuring VALENTINA PANINA (Anna). Special Appearance GEORGY TARATORKIN (Father Andrey).
Executive Producer ELENA GROMOVA, Line Producer NIKOLAY PONOMARENKO. |
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Propaganda
Prepare for Indoctrination
& Skype chat with Director, Slavko Martinov from New Zealand
Star Hall on Saturday, September 20th, 2014 7:30 pm
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Presented by an anonymous North Korean professor, this anti-Western propaganda film attacks the moral attenuation, political manipulation and hyper-consumerism that characterize the Western world. In chapters with titles like “Rewriting History,” “Advertising” and “The Cult of Celebrity,” we are treated to a lineup of the most embarrassing occidental excesses and globalization, the “psychological warfare” at the hands of multinationals, shopping-obsessed consumers and the failure of democracy. Then there’s time for the “Grab it!” culture of the one percent and additional moral deterioration in the form of Paris Hilton, unethical TV shows and violent movies and games. Toward the end of this propaganda piece, the role of North Korea in all of this becomes clear: the country would like to offer itself as headquarters for the mounting fight against consumer slavery and greed worldwide. |
Producers
Slavko Martinov & Mike Kelland
Director
Slavko Martinov
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Screenplay
Slavko Martinov
Associate Producer
Thomas Mai
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Actor
Eugene Chang
Voice-over
Susannah Kenton
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Editor
Mike Kelland
Sound Mixer
Ben Edwards
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Music
Jody Lloyd
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Art Director
Nick White
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Carl Pavletich & Nick White
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Harry Hellfire
Directed by: Jim Morrison
Star Hall on Saturday, September 20th, 2014 10:00 pm
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Harry Hellfireis the story of a great rock musician the world missed out on . Residing in a tent behind a seaside graveyard in Greenport Long Island, Harry struggles in this telling of his lifes story. This is the tale of Harrys existence; one shaped by, bullying, inner demons, and defeat.
An amazing self-taught guitarist in his adolescence, Harry continues to seek refuge through his playing. Through his own words and those who have known him since childhood, ‘Harry Hellfire’ pieces together a portrait to be left unfinished. A song yet to be sung.
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Official Harry Hellfire Website
Ningal Aranaye Kando
(Have You Seen the Arana?) Directed by Sunanda Bhat
Runtime: 1 hr., 12 min. (India)
Star Hall on Monday, September 22nd, 2014 7:00 pm |
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A traditional healer’s concern over the disappearance of medicinal plants from the forest, a farmer’s commitment to growing traditional varieties of rice organically and a cash crop cultivator’s struggle to survive amidst farmers’ suicides, offer fresh insights into shifting relations between people, their knowledge systems and the environment.
Interwoven into contemporary narratives is an ancient tribal creation myth that traces the passage of their ancestors across this land, recalling past ways of reading and mapping the terrain.
As hills flatten, forests disappear and traditional knowledge systems are forgotten, the film reminds us that this diversity could disappear forever, to be replaced by monotonous and unsustainable alternatives.
- See more at: http://www.songlinefilms.com/#synopsis
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Enemy of the Reich
Runtime: 54:15
Star Hall on Sunday, September 21st, 2014 7:00 pm
Rob Gardner,
Producer and Director
Alex Kronemer and Michael Wolfe
Executive Producers
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Narrated by: Helen Mirren,
Academy Award winning actress |
A Muslim Woman Defies the Nazis In WW II Paris.
Throughout the 1930’s, an unimaginable evil tore through Europe, as Hitler’s Third Reich terrorized its way to domination. During these tumultuous times, a young Muslim woman living in Paris found her calling. Noor Inayat Khan grew up in a home that fostered faith and hope. Leading with her heart, she overcame her quiet nature and joined Winston Churchill’s covert operation to give the Allies a new chance at victory. This is her story.
Noor Inayat Khan was the daughter of a spiritual teacher from India, Hazrat Inayat Khan, and his American wife, Ora Ray Baker. After Noor’s birth in Moscow in 1914, the family moved first to England and then to Paris, where she was raised.
In 1940, the Nazis invaded France and twenty-five year old Noor fled with her family to England. There she joined Britain’s Women’s Auxiliary Air Force and trained as a wireless operator. In early 1943, she began her assignment as a covert agent, joining Winston Churchill’s Special Operations Executive (SOE). The SOE worked with the French resistance fighters to sabotage industry and railroads in preparation for the D-Day invasions, after which they would co-ordinate attacks on the German army behind enemy lines, tying down troops and diverting the Germans from the invading Allied troops. From Paris, Noor Inayat Khan secretly transmitted critical information back to Britain.
In the next four months she was often the only link between the U.K. and the French Resistance. She was pursued by the Gestapo and finally betrayed by French collaborators. The Nazis arrested her and imprisoned her in Paris, where she fought back against her captors and escaped twice. Finally, she was sent to the infamous Dachau concentration camp in Germany where she was executed shortly before the end of WWII.
The British and French subsequently awarded her their highest civilian honors. |
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Open Sesame: The Story of Seeds
Runtime: 1 hr, 23 min
Star Hall on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2014 7:00 pm
Director:
M. Sean Kaminsky
Stars:
Vandana Shiva, Diane Ott Whealy, Bill McDorman
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Open Sesame: The Story of Seeds is Screening Tuesday, September 23rd at 7:00 pm. Skype chat live with Director, Sean Kaminsky after the film.
"One of the world’s most precious resources is at risk and most people don’t know that is happening or what to do. This groundbreaking film will help others learn what is at stake and what can be done to protect the source of nearly all our food: SEEDS.
While the price of gold and oil skyrockets the fate of our most priceless commodity is ignored. Seeds provide the basis for everything from fabric, to food to fuels. Seeds are as essential to life as the air we breathe or water we drink…but given far less attention. Over the past one hundred years, seeds have steadily shifted from being common heritage to sovereign property.
- Biopiracy:Large corporations are stealing seedvarieties from under us by slowly patenting them. The fruit and vegetablevarietieswe enjoy todayexist because of choices our ancestors made. People saved seed from one healthy plant versus another and new varieties were created. This meansyourgrandparents, great grandparents or perhaps much further back depending on your family history. We share ownership of more than ten thousand years of collective agricultural blood, sweat and toil that has allowed civilization to flourish. This is our agricultural Commons.
In the past, seeds were communal. They were a shared resource not unlike the water we drink or the air we breathe. One hundred years ago things started to change. Today, corporate-owned seed accounts for 82% of the world-wide market. Seeds are no longer ‘free’ or open source, they are proprietary." - film synopsis |
Special Feature, in Cooperation With:
The Gadabout Film Festival
Star Hall on Sunday, September 21st, 2014 8:20 pm
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The Gadabout was born in 2002, with the idea of creating a film festival that operates more like a DIY punk band, an alternative to the money focused, commercial film festivals. We bought a van, got a projector, screen and PA then took a program of independent shorts films out on the road. We screened in basements, art houses, music venues, collective spaces, warehouses, parking lots, parks etc. Each year since, we’ve continued to create a new program and taken it on tour.
We have been fortunate enough to receive and share incredible short films from all around the world, screening them in 45 states, 8 different countries and over 100 cities during the past 12 years.
Over that time we’ve seen filmmaking and the way in which we watch films change and progress. We have gone from receiving VHS submissions in the mail to transferring digital files from filmmakers online that live thousands of miles away. From a time when “youtube” didn’t exist to a world where people can watch anything the want at the click of a button. All this being said the essence of the gadabout hasn’t changed. Things have become even more exciting, especially now that filmmaking has become more accessible. The ethics of the gadabout are still going strong. We believe in representing honest filmmakers and showcasing a program of entertaining and thoughtful short films. We aim to bring film to non-film settings, screening the films to audiences that wouldn’t necessarily be exposed. We want to show that filmmaking can be fun, and amazing content can come out of low-to-no budgets.
This year we are touring extensively throughout the US, Canada and Europe. Check out our tour dates to see when we are coming to a town near you!
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Selected Short Films
Star Hall on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2014 9:00 pm
Ruprecht (Comedy from Germany - English, 10 min. from Gerold Wunstel)
Dr. Ruprecht Rummel recently retired from his career as an Urologist.
Looking forward to peace and tranquility in his adopted home town of Los
Angeles, he gets terribly annoyed by illegal leaf blowers.
A Cassette (Argentina 12min. 17 sec. from D Marcial Valverdi)
The director thinks he could get his mother´s memories through
photographs and objects … Would she remember her own death? And what if
her memories were different from his?
Among the Innocent (USA - 6 min. 28 sec. from Christine McDermott)
A little girl is confronted with total annihilation by a world beyond her understanding.
Still Life (USA 12 min. 13 sec. from Chris Esperl)
Based on a quote by Ira Glass, "Still Life" tells the story about a photography student who struggles with his thoughts about his creativity and talent.
Sarah de Warren - I Dared (Official Music Video) (4 min.49 sec. from Arran Green)
This is a narrative based music video that's about a girl’s relationship
with a boy who had previously left her. She is left alone after
splitting up with him. The whole narrative is based around the lyrics of
the song ‘I Dared.’
Pint (Australia - English, 9 min. 26 sec. from Nic Barker)
Nobody at the wedding likes Jackson. So he probably shouldn't drink too much... |
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