2011 International Film Festival Announces its Program of 15 International Documentary Films. Film-Line-Up Includes 6 Academy Award Nominees or Winners
Just Announced, the 12th Annual International Film Festival at the Golden State Theatre will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 3rd.
- Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA (1888PressRelease) September 21, 2011 - The Monterey Bay Chapter of the United Nations Association (UNA) will be holding its 12th Annual International Film Festival at the Golden State Theatre located at 417 Alvarado in downtown Monterey. The 12th Annual International Film Festival will include a selection of 15 fascinating international award-winning documentary films that deal with critical global concerns. This year's exciting festival will include 6 Academy Award nominees or winners: four short documentaries: The Warriors of Qiugang, Poster Girl, Strangers No More (won the Academy Award) and Killing in the Name and two feature documentaries: Which Way Home and Gasland.
The films will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 3rd, continue Friday evening, November 4th at 7:00 PM, and will conclude with two sessions on Saturday, November 5th, at 1:00 pm and 7:00 p.m. For more information about UNA, check out www.unamontereybay.org or contact farflung ( @ ) redshift dot com or 831-625-9414 dot The price of admission will again be just $5 per session of 3 - 5 films, with free admission for students with student ID dot
This year's festival in Monterey is made possible through the generous support of the Arts Council for Monterey County with a grant from the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, City of Monterey, Old Monterey Business Association, Monterey County Weekly, KAZU 90.3 FM Radio, KRXA 540 AM Radio, KSBW-TV, Sotheby's International Realty, Portola Hotel & Spa, The Wild Plum Cafe and Bakery (of Monterey), Kerry Lee Remarkable Jewelry (of Carmel), Santa Catalina School and the Monterey Institute of International Studies..
According to Larry Levine, UNA Monterey Bay Chapter President, "Our Committee of 22 volunteers has been working since February to identify, preview and finally select our excellent and very diverse program of documentaries. The wide range of global issues and countries represented seems to get broader and better each year, this year with six Academy Award nominees or winners, more than ever. In 2010 the attendance at our four sessions was 2,350, and this year we hope to even surpass that."
The Monterey Bay Chapter of the United Nations Association (UNA) is an all-volunteer organization of about 800 members in Monterey County, currently the largest and one of the most active UNA chapters in the country. In addition to the International Film Festival and other community events, they have held two successful Adopt-a-Minefield Campaigns for Bosnia and Afghanistan, and work with student groups at various local high schools, colleges and graduate schools. The United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) (national organization) is one of the country's largest grassroots foreign policy organizations, and a leading center of policy research on the United Nations. It is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group designed to educate Americans of every age about critical issues tackled by the U.N. With a national membership of thousands and more than 100 affiliated organizations, UNA-USA sponsors programs and events designed to encourage participation in global issues.
More information about the local 12th Annual International Film Festival is available at the website: www.unamontereybay.org under Future Events. Journalists may call Larry Levine at (831) 625-9414 or email farflung ( @ ) redshift dot com dot
BELOW ARE DETAILS ABOUT SPECIFIC FILMS AND HIGH RESOLUTION JPEG PHOTOS FROM THESE FILMS WILL SOON BE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
Humanity Explored (7 min, many countries)
http://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentaries/watch-online/festival/openingFilm.php
In a world of many cultures, circumstances and differences, humanity still shares many common concerns and desires.
The Warriors of Qiugang (39 min, China)
www.warriorsofqiugang.com
Villagers in central China take on a chemical company that is poisoning their land and water. For five years they fight to transform their environment, transforming themselves as well. This film is an Academy Award nominee.
Benghazi Rising (53 min, Libya)
http://www.journeyman.tv/61643/documentaries/benghazi-rising.html
A revolution was born in Benghazi, Libya, in February 2011. Through personal stories told by the people of Benghazi, this film traces the conflict from its beginnings as a small protest to capture how the unarmed people of Libya rocked the police state built by Muammar Gaddafi.
Triangle Returns (9 min, US, Bangladesh) http://www.globallabourrights.org/campaigns?id=0033
The tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911 repeats itself a hundred years later, but this time in Bangladesh instead of New York City. Are low clothing prices worth this tragic loss?
The Price of Sex (73 min, Moldova, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Dubai)
www.priceofsex.org
This film tells the gritty story of young Eastern European women who seek economic opportunity far from their post-Soviet homelands, only to find themselves suffering the horrors of sex trafficking. Some of these women tell their own stories, through the lens of Bulgarian-born filmmaker Mimi Chakarova.
Poster Girl (38 min, US, Iraq)
www.postergirlthemovie.com
Robynn Murray was an all-American high school cheerleader who enlisted in the US Army and headed for Iraq. Returning home, she was left struggling with the debilitating effects of post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD). This film is an Academy Award nominee.
Which Way Home (63 min, Mexico, US, Guatemala, Honduras)
www.whichwayhome.net
As the United States continues to build a wall between itself and Mexico, Which Way Home shows the personal side of immigration through the eyes of children who face harrowing dangers with courage and resourcefulness as they endeavor to make it to the United States. This film is an Academy Award nominee.
Blood in the Mobile (82 min, Congo, Finland)
http://bloodinthemobile.org
We all love our cell phones, but are we aware that they contain rare minerals that fund and perpetuate the on-going conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has led to millions of deaths and hundreds of thousands of rapes? Our screening will be the West Coast premiere of this film.
The 10 Conditions of Love (54 min, China, US)
www.10conditionsoflove.com
This film tells the story of Rebiya Kadeer, exiled leader of the Uyghur people, China's oppressed Muslim minority of 20 million people, who has been twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Strangers No More (40 min, Israel)
www.strangersnomoremovie.com
In the heart of Tel Aviv, there is a school that brings together children escaping troubled lives in 48 different countries. This film is an Academy Award winner.
Killing in the Name (39 min, Jordan, Indonesia) www.globalsn.net/content.aspx?menu=main&pageid=6
Ashraf was celebrating the happiest day of his life when an Al-Qaeda suicide bomber walked into his wedding and killed his father and 26 other family members in front of his eyes. Now, he's rising from tragedy to break the silence in the Muslim community on the taboo subject of terrorism. This film is an Academy Award nominee.
Sarabah (60 min, Senegal, Germany)
www.wmm.com/filmcatalog/pages/c811.shtml
Rapper, singer and activist Sister Fa is a hero to young women in her native Senegal. She uses her art and her fame to take on a struggle against destructive traditions in her country.
The Dark Side of Chocolate (46 min, Ivory Coast, Mali)
www.thedarksideofchocolate.org
We love our chocolate, but do we realize it is produced with the use of child labor and trafficked children? Danish investigative filmmaker Miki Mistrati takes us to Mali and the Ivory Coast in search of the real story.
Sun City Picture House (27 min, Haiti)
www.suncitypicturehouse.com
Haiti's devastating earthquake of January 2010 left Port Au Prince without any standing cinema theaters, until Haitian Raphael Louigene and a team of volunteers set out to build a new picture house, on a hill overlooking a tent city housing thousands of displaced people.
Gasland (106 min, US)
www.gaslandthemovie.com
Fracking is a means of natural gas and oil extraction employed in deep well drilling. Horizontal hydrofracking taps shale deposits previously inaccessible, using a mixture of 596 chemicals and millions of gallons of water. The water becomes contaminated, must be cleaned and disposed of, but can leave toxic wastewater which appears to be damaging the health of many throughout the US. Gasland tells this story, and is an Academy Award nominee.
PUBLICITY CONTACT: WENDY BRICKMAN
(831) 633-4444 or Brickman ( @ ) brickmanmarketing dot com
###
space
space
Satisfied Users & 
Approved Press Releases
Print
Email
Report Spam