2010 Films

 

2010 Films (Synopses at Bottom)

1. Phantom of the Town
2. Requiem for Bobby
3. Hope
4. The Three-Body Solution
5. Business of Story
6. Woman’s Prison
7. Been A While
8. Mama’s Boy
9. Vitruvius’ Toybox
10. Old Kids
11. Retreat
12. Faith Healer
13. Les Murs Du Son
14. Divine Matters
15. Animal Drill
16. The Persephone Clause
17. Carpe Millenium
18. Fluorescent  Gray
19. Lucky Break
20. Promises
21. Stella’s War
22. Canine Instinct
23. Nothing Man
24. A Call to Arms
25. Virtual JFK- Vietnam if Kennedy Had Lived
26. No Good Reason
27. Creative Differences
28. Fairview St.
29. The Last Legend
30. When I Find the Ocean
31. A Genesis Found
32. Quick Fast and in a Hurry
33. Collecting Chloe
34. Journal of Mr. Willaby
35. Crow’s Feet
36. Still Bill
37. The Lift
38. Skylight
39. Two Hours in the Dark
40. Somewhere Only We Knew
41. Eyes in the Dark

Synopses

1. Phantom of the Town- Feature – 70 min PG Japan – World PremiereGenpei Taira is a street performer, earning money as a statue of blackness’ in a town’s central square. Though his earning is not
   sufficient, he is dedicated to helping people in trouble. And nobody knows he has a peculiar hobby: he dumps ‘trash’ on the
   street as a guardian of the town. Today as always, he is cleaning up the street, with his own sense of right and wrong…
2. Requiem for Bobby Fischer- Documentary – 64 min – G – Serbia/Montenegro World PremiereRequiem for Bobby Fischer ‘ is a documentary movie about one of the most controversial players in chess history: Bobby Fischer. His portrait is painted through the eyes of his Serbian friends. The movie reveals various aspects of his personality: from a public exponent of anti – Americanism and anti Semitism, to his private fears, obsessions and genius.
3. Hope -Short Feature -5 min – G  Russian Federation) “Hope” is a window into a life of an old Russian woman who sent her family and friends of to war and to this day prays and waits for their return.
4. The Three-Body Solution –Short feature – 12 min – G – USALike any body in motion, Prof. Delia Howell seems destined to stay in motion: She’s in line for her University’s top scientific medal, and her future as a rising star in theoretical physics is nearly guaranteed. But the upward trajectory of her career is jeopardized when a handsome young adjunct claims to have solved the “three-body problem” and is added to the shortlist for the Newton Medal. Will Delia be able to disprove her rival’s theory, or will a third “body” lead her in an entirely unexpected direction? (not judged)
5. Business of Story – Feature – 87 min PG USAAntisocial Professor Emerson has overcome great adversity, namely her mother. Now it’s publish or perish time and only one eccentric publisher is interested in Em’s book of childhood stories on the condition that Em include her mother’s account of the events alongside Em’s own. Em grudgingly agrees to include her mother’s versions, although they are disturbingly absurd; but then so are Em’s. The victim and villain are simply switched in each woman’s surreal retelling of Em’s childhood.
6. Woman’s Prison- Feature – 108 min PG USAWhen her mother is murdered by her father, Julie Ann Mabry is confronted by a life of hardship and poverty. Taken in by her Evangelical relatives, she begins to adopt new convictions in an effort to reconnect with her mother. Slowly, the threads of her new life begin to unravel and Julie is sent to prison. It is there she finds the freedom and community she had sought so long, yet it does not come without a price.
7. Been A While- Short Feature – 8 min PG Canada – World PremiereAfter a man attempts to help a prostitute being accosted by a client, he quickly recognizes her as the old high school sweetheart he had cared so much for decades ago. This sends the story into a journey of memories, guilt, unique moments and possible reconciliation.
8. Mama’s BoyShort Feature – 23 min PG – Czech Republic – World PremiereFourteen year – old Petr’s dogged obsession with a waitress at the neighborhood bar threatens to destroy his relationship with the other woman in his life: his mother.
9. Vitruvius’ Toybox  - Short Feature – 6 min G USAMy submission is a 6 – minute piece of experimental computer animation (non – narrative) that is structured around an original piece of electronic computer music that I composed on a desktop computer.
10. Old Kids – Animation – 10 min G USAThis inseparable duo is always up to something FUN. Join Son and Bobby – Ann on a bilingual adventure through SPACE, learn how to make a DELICIOUS SNACK, and just have a dang GOOD TIME OK?!?!
11. Retreat - Short Feature – 11 min. G USA – World Premiere -Dateless to her a senior prom, a young woman gravitates to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan to the monumental Picture Rocks National Park where she gets in touch with her mind and spirit.
12. Faith Healer  Short Feature (G) (23m, U S A)This is the story of an alleged healer, Jefferson Bull Fermor, who sat for two interviews of a documentary before unexpectedly fleeing. Shortly after, the filmmakers found an old box was found, the contents of which allowed them a glimpse into his mysterious life.
    The film unravels the documentary form while searching for truth in a manipulative and illusory medium. Fact becomes blended together with fiction, and facades begin to crack. The result is an engrossing mystery, a reflection on form, and, most compellingly, a love story.
13. Les Murs Du Son- Documentary – 52 min PG Canada – World PremiereThe Walls of Music shows the ups and downs of young Montreal musicians striving to make a name for themselves. It will change the way you view punk rock and the people who create it.
14. Divine Matters- Short Feature – 6 min G USA – World Premiere -The hour before someone changes the world. For the worse.
15. Animal Drill- Short Feature – 24 min PG – World Premiere -A son must prove his manhood to his father by trying out for a high school basketball team.
16. The Persephone Clause- Short Feature – 11 min PG USA – World PremiereImmediately following their wedding, Franklin lets Alice in on a secret about their new life together that threatens to rock the foundation of all she believes. As the couple comes to grips with their new, bizarre reality, a chance encounter with a delivery man puts everything in perspective and allows Alice to have the upper hand.
17. Carpe Millenium- Short Feature – 18 min R – World Premiere -This is a comedy about a guy who wants to lose his virginity on the eve of the year 2000. In order to do this, he starts telling lies about knowing a famous celebrity. As the lies get bigger and bolder, more and more women are interested in him. Just as he’s about to get lucky, the celebrity shows up and things take a turn for the worst! ‘Carpe Millennium’ is a story about telling the truth to oneself, and overcoming one’s fear of the unknown…
18. Fluorescent Gray- Short Feature – 8 min R – World Premiere -Something bad is happening in the house of marriage. They promised not to know.
19. Lucky Break- Short Feature – 20 min PG – World PremiereTravis begins seeing unique messages inside fortune cookies. The fortunes help Travis at first, but all is not what it seems. The fortunes soon turn menacing. Now, Travis must do as the fortunes ask, or risk the consequences.
20. Promises – Feature – 93 min PG – World Premiere – Rolando Dominguez who became a self made millionaire finds himself living homeless under a South Florida fishing pier. His dirty appearance is scary and grotesque. His spontaneous erratic actions may cause some to think he’s crazy, but in reality he is re – living bits from his past as he realizes that the very thing he worked so hard for in order to achieve happiness for him and his family is the very thing that has destroyed his life. Rolando’s Post Traumatic Stress Disorder does not allow him to realize that there is a nationwide search for him and his missing son.
21. Hand of Fatima - Documentary – 75 min G USAMore than a documentary about Rolling Stone music critic Robert Palmer’s trip to Morocco, this is a true film about one daughter’s search for her real father.
22. Stella’s War- Feature – 90 min. PG Bulgaria – World PremiereWhen terrorists acquire a new deadly virus that threatens mankind, a beautiful young CIA agent – Stella – is all that stands in their way.
    What follows is a true war – secret meetings, chases, shootings and death on the streets of Varna, Bulgaria, the ruins of Athens, the rocky shores of the Azure Coast, in the German country, the Sahara Desert, and under the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
23. Canine Instinct– Documentary – 60 min G USAHe’s not afraid to jump into the middle of a dog fight to bring order from chaos. He runs in the woods through brambles, streams, and over rock – faces training his dogs in Search & Rescue techniques, because as Kyle Warren himself will tell you: “If I can teach my dogs something that can save lives, I can’t think of a better way to spend my time.” Join Kyle as he takes you through his customized training sessions and discover why some people call him the Dog Man of Ulster County, NY in this home – spun portrait of an American original.
24. Nothing Man- Short Feature – 20 min PG USA – World PremiereAfter finding out his job is going to be outsourced for cheaper labor, John Cleary decided to rally his men and fight. The Great Depression provides the setting for this tale of one mans guest to save his family and the lengths he would go for the America he was promised. This piece shows the courage of human will and the lengths it will go for survival.
25. A Call To Arms – Short Feature – 19 min PG USA – World PremiereAnxious to win another presidential term, President Julia Sulaco (Antoinette Armande) hopes that the answers to the nation’s energy crisis have fallen from the sky in an unknown craft. Desperate to find answers, Sulaco assigns Giles to investigate the wreckage of the downed spacecraft, Giles, on the brink of solving the nation’s energy problems, has no idea he is about to embark on a journey of lies, cover – ups, and deceit that extend out of this world. Politics meet the Twilight Zone in A Call to Arms.
26. Virtual JFK – Vietnam if Kennedy had lived– Doc., 80 min GCombining footage from numerous Kennedy press conferences, in – depth interviews and a close reading of the documentary record, the film argues that critical decisions about the use of restraint and coercive diplomacy often require greater acts of courage than the use of force, and that character matters greatly in Presidential leadership.
27. No Good Reason- Short Feature – 12 min G USAMusicians and singers from around the country, people who have never met and who are currently or recently homeless, gather in Boston to record a song written by a 15 – year girl who was homeless when she wrote it. Natalie Merchant (formerly of 10,000 Maniacs) has less than three days to arrange and record the song – in a process that normally takes weeks or months. Working with several artists who have never set foot in a recording studio, Ms. Merchant completes the track, which winds up on a new CD featuring artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Jewel, Bonnie Raitt and many others partnering with unknown artists who are currently or recently homeless. The goal: to increase awareness of homelessness in America.
28. Creative Differences- *Feature (85 min) – G USA (*not judged)An aspiring filmmaker strikes it lucky when he meets a millionaire who will invest money in his next film. There’s a string attached, though. The producer’s good – for – nothing deadbeat son Junior has to be in it.
29. Fairview St.- Feature – 110 min – PG USASometimes you want to forget your past…Sometimes your past won’t let you. FAIRVIEW ST. is a bleak black and white noir drama shot on a budget that most Hollywood movies would spend on donuts for a week. 
30. The Last Legend –  Short Feature – 12 min – G USAHistory is never really dead, nor is the voice of one of Jessica’s ancestors. She follows the riddle of a rhyme taught by her grandmother on a journey to a place she’d never seen, and nearly thought didn’t even exist. A score to settle, left echoing though the generations since the Old West, collide with present-day as a young woman seeks to restore a storied place to her family’s name, and learn the truth of The Last Legend.
31. When I Find The Ocean - *Feature – ALABAMA SHOWCASE – 104 min PG (*not judged)A little girl leaves home with her pet dog and rabbit to escape abuse and find the ocean in the hopes of feeling closer to her father who has passed away.
32. A Genesis Found – *Feature – 118 min PG USA – Alabama (*not judged)
    Seventy years ago, anthropologist John Patton Jr. made an intriguing discovery. He dug up a skeleton that looked to be part human, part extraterrestrial at historic Moundville Archaeological Park near Tuscaloosa. The novel that Patton wrote about the astounding discovery and its implications ruined his career as an anthropologist and shamed his family. But now, Patton’s grandson, anthropology student Gardner Patton, and his filmmaker cousin are determined to vindicate their grandfather and his unpopular theories.
33. Quick Fast and In a Hurry- Short Feature – 17 min PGA comedy short film about traffic school. Kevin attends traffic school which has an overzealous and overbearing instructor, who wants to reform all the students into model drivers.
34. Collecting Chloe- Short Feature – 15 min PGSet in the 1970′s, a young woman is just on her way
    home from a long trip. Unfortunately, she stumbles upon a familiar and creepy town. Just when she thinks she’s gotten away, she is pulled back into the darkness.
35. Journal of Mr. Willaby- Short Feature – 26 min PG USAThe story depicts the helter-skelter life in a New Mexico foster home and, through the relationship between a boy and a decorated veteran, the unexpected impact of knowing too much, or too little, about one’s own future.
36. Crow’s Feet- Short Feature 8 min PG AustraliaWhen an old man disposes of a bothersome crow in the backyard, he could never dream to predict the consequence that follows.
37. Still Bill- Documentary 77 min G USA“You know the music. Now meet the man”.This is an intimate portrait of soul legend Bill Withers, best known for his classics “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Lean On Me,” “Lovely Day,” “Grandma’s Hands,” and “Just the Two of Us.” With his soulful delivery and warm, heartfelt sincerity, Withers has written the songs that have stood the test of time.

     

38. The Lift- Animation 5 min G USAEveryone has been guilty of small misdeeds at one point or another. The Lift explores the consequences of one all too common act of not holding the elevator door open for someone eager to get on or worse, pushing the close button. An elevator interaction goes wrong, prompting a young woman to learn about being insensitive and to hold open the elevator door the next time around.
39. Skylight- Animation 5 Min G CanadaAn animated mock documentary about the ecological plight of penguins in the Antarctic, possibly foretelling cataclysmic results for the rest of the world.
40. Two Hours in the Dark – Short Feature – 35 min G USA
    Blindsided by the success of his comedy, ‘It Happened One Night,’ which swept the 1935 Oscars, director Frank Capra became crippled with fear. Convinced his next film would fail, he soon was having high fevers, losing weight, and baffling doctors. He deteriorated to the brink of death – - until the day a mysterious stranger showed up and chastised him. Capra had been blessed with talents, the man said, including the ability to speak to millions of people for “two hours in the dark.” Shaken by the man’s visit, Capra recovered to make such classics as ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,’ ‘Mr. Deeds Goes to Town,’ and the beloved, all – time favorite, ‘It’s A Wonderful Life.’ Though his mysterious visitor was never identified, Capra told the story of the man’s life – changing visit throughout his life.
41. Somewhere only we know – Short feature – 12 min. PG
    Rachel Smith, a young lawyer, decides to end a relationship with Tom Scott, a young prosecutor, because she is worried about her career and thinks this relationship is an obstacle. After that, they reunite in court from opposite sides. In this trial they fight not only to win this case but to get over their personal differences.
42. Eyes in the Dark – Feature – 78 min PG USAShot hand – held in the first – person POV style, “Eyes in the Dark” is an independent film that follows a group of college kids to a weekend cabin in Washington State. The film – making team contrasts the kids’ compulsive self – documentation and laid – back humor with the raw terror they find after crossing paths with an ancient evil. The filmmakers blended the improvisational talents of the actors with the beautiful but brooding locations to create a vision that plays on the fear of the unknown. Set in a fictionalized area of the Cascade Range with a long history of legends and mysterious disappearances, the film quickly transports the audience to a place of excitement and terror.