Documentaries: M - S

The Music in Me

Australia 2007 — 1:03:00

Documentary Feature        

Director: Nigel Traill             

Producer: Anne Kenyon

This is the story of the Merry Makers, a group that refuses to be defeated by the enormous challenges life has dealt them. There is nothing like them anywhere in the world. Their ages range from 6 to 56 and most have some intellectual or physical disability. When the Merry Makers dance, their performances inspire even the most cynical. Anyone who's ever seen them can attest to the fact that they have an uncanny ability to lift spirits and put a smile on their audiences’ faces. But that's not all they do.

What the Merry Makers do best is perform miracles. Countless times parents bring their challenged children to class, having previously been given little hope for their personal development. It doesn't happen overnight, but they do change. Here, in a suburban Sydney hall, both the parent and the child blossom in an atmosphere of love and support and under the leadership of the dedicated Artistic Director, Lucinda Bryant.

People with disabilities have been given a place in society -- on the periphery where they can watch the world pass them by but not participate. The Merry Makers won't accept that place. The Music in Me tells of this unique group of human beings who have transcended their potential fate and found their own place in life--and that's center stage.

Screens with “Rita”

SCREENING:

Tues., Feb. 26 at 7:15 p.m. – PREVIEW NIGHT

Harkins Theatre 2

Sat., March 1 at 11:35 a.m.

Harkins Theatre 2

Na Kamalei: the Men of Hula

USA 2006 — 0:57:00

Documentary Feature

Director: Lisette Marie Flanary          

Producer: Lisette Marie Flanary                        

Na Kamalei: the Men of Hula captures the journey of legendary master teacher Robert Cazimero and the only all-male hula school in Hawaii as they prepare to compete at the world's largest hula festival. Beyond deep-rooted stereotypes of “grass-skirt girls,” the film tells a story of Hawaiian pride as the men celebrate their 30th anniversary in continuing the revival of men dancing hula.

Screens with “Shake Off” and “Validation”

SCREENING:

Thurs., Feb. 28 at 4:35 p.m.

Harkins Theatre 6

Come early! At 4:00 ... LIVE ... Authentic Hula Dancing with the Kumu Hula dancers in the Festival Pavilion!

Sun., March 2 at 11:25 a.m.

Harkins Theatre 1

Row Hard No Excuses

USA 2007 — 1:28:00

Documentary Feature

Director: Luke Wolbach       

ExecutiveProducer: Bill Wolbach

Producers: Luke Wolbach, Bill Wolbach             

Cast: John Zeigler, Tori Murden, Tom Mailhot     

John Zeigler and Tom Mailhot are among the oldest competitors to participate in a three thousand mile race across the Atlantic in a rowboat. They spend three years (and personal savings) to make their dream of winning possible, but once on the water, many obstacles arise. An inherently exciting sports-adventure story on the surface, Row Hard No Excuses is more importantly an intimate portrait of the two-man crew and a deeper exploration of their personal quest. By incorporating the unique perspective of Tori Murden, the first woman to row solo across an ocean, and the diverse chorus of other teams, Row Hard No Excuses adapts Tom and John's race into a meditation on shattered expectations and the pursuit of happiness.

Screens with “Papiroflexia”

SCREENING:

Thurs., Feb. 28 at 9:00 a.m.

Harkins Theatre 1

Sat., March 1 at 11:50 a.m.

Harkins Theatre 6

Semper Fi, One Marine's Journey

USA 2007 — 1:13:00

Documentary Feature

Director: Vince DiPersio      

Producer: Eda Godel Hallinan              

Cast: Jeff Key        

Jeff Key is a Marine—body and soul. You can tell the instant you look at him: six feet four, square-jawed with a quiet authority that is tempered by an easy Southern drawl. Born in rural Alabama, schooled in the Church Of Christ, Jeff is a true believer in God and in Country. Jeff Key is a Marine. Jeff Key is also gay. This film is Jeff's story.

This is the story of a spiritual kid, who passionately loved his church and struggled desperately with the secret he carried in his heart—a secret his pastor refers to as an 'abomination.' This is a story of how the kid from Alabama set out for Hollywood, where he found freedom, acceptance and deep friendships; and how this acceptance gave him the courage—at thirty-four—to join the Marine Corps.

Semper Fi is the story of how after the terrible events of 9/11—knowing he could get out by telling his superiors who he really was—he decided to go to war for the country he loved. And how, once in Iraq, his patriot's heart was broken by what he saw. It is also a story of redemption. Back home and broken-hearted, Jeff used his war journals to create a one-man show with which he travels the country--a play that never flinches from what it meant to be gay and at war.

Screens with “Say Can You See”

SCREENING:

Thurs., Feb. 28 at 6:50 p.m.

Harkins Theatre 6

Sat., March 1 at 1:40 p.m.

Harkins Theatre 1

A Snow Mobile for George

USA 2007 — 1:37:00

Documentary Feature

Director: Todd Darling

Producers: Todd Darling, Missy Goldberg, Howard Dratch, Stan Phillips

A Snow Mobile for George motors across America in search of what drives environmental policy at the Bush White House. Fired up by a question over a used snowmobile in the Sierra Nevada,  filmmaker Todd Darling visits Yurok Indians in Northern California, cowboys in Wyoming and Wall Street workers in New York City.  A Snow Mobile for George is filled with a dry humor that helps us discover the personal cost of “de-regulation,”--and thanks to a snowmobile, uncovers a sophisticated political strategy.

SCREENING:

Wed., Feb. 27 at 8:20 p.m.

Harkins Theatre 5

Fri., Feb. 29 at 9:05 a.m.

Harkins Theatre 2

Sons of War

USA 2007 — 1:00:00

Documentary Feature

Director: Doug Andonian                                     

Sons of War deals with the relationship between a World War II veteran and his son regarding the son's curiosity about his father’s war experiences and the father’s refusal to share that time of his life.

Screens with “Hejira” and “Trinity”

SCREENING:

Thurs., Feb. 28 at 1:45 p.m.

Harkins Theatre 5

Fri., Feb. 29 at 9:15 a.m.

Harkins Theatre 6

Speed & Angels

USA 2007 — 1:35:00               

Documentary Feature

Director: Peyton Wilson

Executive Producer: Mike Homer

Producers: Velvy Appleton, Michelle Hansen, Francesco Chierici, Peyton Wilson          

Director Peyton Wilson entered the world of U.S. Navy fighter pilots a couple of years ago. Thanks to unprecedented access granted by the Navy, Peyton captured and created the most intimate film ever made on fighter pilots. Epic high definition aerial footage and stunning cockpit photography provide a dramatic backdrop for the larger story of fighting for your dreams.

Inspired by the passion of two young Navy officers she encountered, Peyton followed Jay and Meagan as they chased their childhood dream of becoming naval aviators flying the F-14 Tomcat. Their 2 ½-year journey takes them through dogfights in the Nevada desert, night landings on aircraft carriers off the Atlantic coast, and eventually to the biggest challenge young officers face: wartime deployment to Iraq.

What begins as a story of realizing a childhood dream turns into a story of fighting for one's life and career as Jay and Meagan face the realities of war.

SCREENING:

Fri., Feb. 29 at 11:20 a.m.

Harkins Theatre 1

Sat., March 1 at 7:10 p.m.

Harkins Theatre 5

Standing Silent Nation

USA 2007 — 0:53:00

Documentary Feature

Director: Suree Towfighnia 

Producer: Courtney Hermann            

What does a family have to endure to create a future for itself?  In April 2000, Alex White Plume and his Lakota family planted industrial hemp on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota after other crops had failed. They put their hopes for a sustainable economy in hemp's hardiness and a booming worldwide demand for its many products, from clothing to food.  Although growing hemp, a relative of marijuana, was banned in the U.S., Alex believed that tribal sovereignty, along with hemp's non-psychoactive properties, would protect him.  But when federal agents raided the White Plume's fields, the Lakota Nation was swept into a Byzantine struggle over tribal sovereignty, economic rights, and common sense. Standing Silent Nation tells the story of Alex White Plume's efforts to pull his family out of poverty despite the obstacles of an irrational federal policy. The film transports the viewer into a world and a way of being that has nearly been erased from the general American consciousness.

Screens with “Blackbird” and “The Stone Child”

SCREENING:

Wed., Feb. 27 at 1:20 p.m.

Harkins Theatre 1

Fri., Feb. 29 at 1:45 p.m.

Harkins Theatre 5