Thursday April 2nd 6:30 pm - Doors Open 6:00

Beauty Mark - Carla Precht, Diane Israel and Kathleen Man (75 min)

Beauty Mark is for anyone who has ever felt invisible because they didn't conform to our culture's impossible, unhealthy, abnormal beauty standards. This courageous film examines popular culture's toxic emphasis on weight and looks through the eyes of Boulder-based psychotherapist and former world-class triathlete Diane Israel-- who tells her own story while interviewing other champion athletes, body builders, fashion models and inner-city teens about their experiences relating to self-image.

Q and A with filmmakers,
followed by a Special Guest Appearance by Liz Applegate, renowned UC Davis Nutrition professor and expert on athletes and body image.

Friday April 3rd 7:30 pm - Doors Open 7:00 pm

Subways - Daniel Conrad (12 min)

 Filmed in the vast, exquisite subways of Prague and choreographed by Crystal Pite, Subways is based on a poem by Rilke about a caged panther at the Jardin des plantes in Paris. With performances by Canadian and Czech dancers, the film conjures a world of humans trapped underground, organizing and reorganizing in response to captivity.

The Definition of Insanity - Robert Margolis (85 min)

 An intense portrayal of the inner workings of the marketplace called American Showbiz. It’s a character study about an actor gradually losing touch with reality in the tough acting scene of New York.

Intermission

Project Ion - Dawn Westlake (11 min)

 “Project Ion” is an insular, comedy-thriller that takes the audience inside a film script during its creation, reflecting the artist’s daily struggle with himself and his concurrent projections on the characters that surround him in his “real” life.

Strap 'Em Down - Ann P. Meredith (4 min)

 A hot documentary that offers a timely look inside today's most challenging cultural phenomenon and advocate for social change: Drag Kings. A dynamic peek at art, sex, gender and race, this record of female cross-cultural challenge along the fabulous time line of gender-bending culture continues the dialog, discourse and re-dress for genetically born females in today's society.

The Spirit of Gravity - Victor Bellomo & David Pace (6 min)

 Inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche’s “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”, “The Spirit of Gravity” is an animated mini-musical, in which Nietzsche sings his philosophy to a small town, arousing the villagers to join him in defying the forces of nature. “The Spirit of Gravity” is a visual poem that explores the meaning, beauty and mystery of Nietzsche's great work. The animation is composed of thousands of collaged photographic images, which have been animated using both traditional and digital techniques. The film's soundtrack is an original song composed by the filmmakers and is informed by the philosophy, imagery and humor of “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”.

The Pursuit of Pleasure - Maryanne Galvin (58 min)

 A lively documentary film challenging commonly held beliefs about female sexuality, gender roles, relationships and satisfaction. Seven articulate, highly diverse women discuss marriage, celibacy, sexuality, sensuality, incest, gender roles, beauty, sisterhood, community, intimacy and work.
 
Mature Content - Parental Discretion Suggested

Saturday Shorts April 4th 12:30pm - Doors Open 12:00 Noon

This Bus, Every Day - Todd Tinkham (4 min)

 "This Bus, Every Day" is a quietly powerful short film about life, remembrance, and the richness our memories can add to our lives.

The Life and Death Experiences of Young Beth Byrd
Maarit Nissila (20 min)

 Nine year-old Beth struggles for connection as she little by little loses all the important people around her, in three brief moments that become collisions between life and death.

Nothing is Fundamental - Victor Bellomo & David Pace (6 min)

 Michel Foucault sings his philosophy through a surreal collage landscape. The film is from a series of mini-musicals based on the works of the great philosophers.

Mundo Caliente - Bob Barancik (4 min)

 "Mundo Caliente" explores the industrial world's seductive and frenzied dance with fossil fuels. It incorporates sizzling Latin music, passionate paintings, and provocative documentary footage. A high resolution version of the video is available for screening at conferences, workshops, and gallery spaces.

The Line - Kent Bassett (25 min)

 Alvaro has crossed the border many times, but this time is different: his son Omar is coming with him to live and work in the U.S. For Danny Jackson the Arizona borderland is home, although since his mother left he has been struggling to adjust to life there with his father Luke. The Line follows these fathers and sons as they attempt to rebuild their relationships.

Soshi - Caz McIntee (20 min)

 Soshi is based on The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon written in Japan in the tenth-century. This time traveling video, full of humor and candid insights presents over 45 women sharing opinions and reflections of their experiences living in Southern Japan. The juxtaposition of the ancient Japanese text and culture with the contemporary provides a measure of the personal, societal and familial concerns that the women face, presenting striking parallels between the ancient and modern human condition. As an experimental video it incorporates linear and non-linear narrative image sequences montaging 8mm film, hand drawn and digital animation with miniDV footage.

Intermission

Meat Love - Emma Coats (7 min)

 Boy. Meats. Girl.
Toby works at the meat counter of the Davis Food Co-Op. Lisa works at the deli counter. Toby thinks she's the most gorgeous girl he's ever seen, but he finds out that there's a minor problem - she's a vegan. "It's not like meat is my life," he assures her, but he's not so sure. Toby has to decide: MEAT . . . or LOVE?

Lost Boys of Sudan - Jared Martin (20 min)

 'Lifestories: The Lost Boys of Sudan' explores the lives of eight Sudanese refugees. Displaced from their homes in the late 1980's due to a brutal civil war, the youngest boys were forced to flee alone. Pitted against an Arab Militia, wild animals, starvation, and thirst the boys survived a trek of 1,000 miles and twelve years in refugee camps before coming to the United States. Enduring such unimaginable hardships left them with many stories to tell. In their own voices, these are their stories.

Long Distance - Colin McDaniel (27 min)

 A visceral film about fear and paranoia...

Facing Death. . .with open eyes - Dr. Michelle Peticolas (3 min)
(the trailer)

 An unflinching look at life on the edge of death. Stunned by the loss of both her parents, the filmmaker turns the camera on herself and a few wise souls to understand what it is like to face death with awareness. Writer and lecturer Ram Dass, Buddhist author Rick Fields, collage artist Robin Inman, and AIDS patient Tighe Foley share their journeys of living with dying.

Tall in the Saddle - Ann P. Meredith (7 min)

 "Tall in the Saddle" is an exciting documentary short that riotously reflects the cowgirls of the IGRA: The International Gay Rodeo Association at their Annual Sierra Stampede Rodeo at the Rio Linda Fair Grounds in Sacramento, California in 1999. The IGRA is the only rodeo circuit that allows women to compete in all events, which makes for fun and heart stopping excitement as Meredith captures the thrill and flamboyant character of these pioneering women. In true LGBTQ flair, the girls of the IGRA truly do ride "Tall in the Saddle".

Honey, I’m Home - David Branin (6 min)

 He cheated, she knows.

Director's Choice

Saturday Night April 4th 7:00 pm - Doors Open 6:00

Barstool Cowboy - Mark Thimijan (90 min)

 An unemployed Cowboy who can't find love vows to stay on a barstool for three months hoping to find some answers at the bottom of a beer bottle. Shortly thereafter, he meets a young female art student and quickly forgets his misery. The pair begin to transform each other's worlds while spending time drinking, dancing and examining the mysteries of life. Will the Cowboy finally find love or should he have just stayed on his barstool?

In This Short Life - Britta Sjogren (96 min)

 Focusing on four intertwined lives -- an elderly woman ambivalently embarking on an affair, a mentally unstable man being evicted from his home, a frustrated actor waiting for his breakthrough, and a young woman juggling personal and professional aspirations --the film portrays the small and large struggles of daily life and economic survival. The separate characters' lives connect in unexpected ways: gradually, their stories intertwine, revealing how the past grips our lives and drives us into our future, often blind to alternatives, and to the needs of those close to us.