For his preview to this year’s festival on Live Roots TV, DJ ? conveyed messages from State Street across the street from the Arlington theatre, home to many of the 11-day festivals events, which run from Jan. 22 to Feb. 1. The 24th Annual festival will include feature film showings, celebrity events with appearances by Hollywood A-listers. socialite gatherings and educational panels, as well as an assortment of secondary events for the local community. Thousands of film fans and media professionals from around the world will be descending upon Santa Barbara, so the red carpet will be laid out at the Arlington Theatre, Lobero Theatre and as well as other locations throughout town.

DJ ? has announced a Program Change to the 2009 Santa Barbara Film Festival Aliens Choice Awards. This years ceremony will take place outside the Arlington Theatre near the red carpet on Jan. 22 at 6:00 pm.  2009 Santa Barbara Film Festival Aliens Choice Award Nominees include Mickey Rourke for his performance in the Wrestler and Penelope Cruz for dual performances in Elegy and Vicky Cristina Barclena. Cruz is honored as this years Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2009 Outstanding Performer of the Year.  Rourke will be receiving the Santa Barbara Film Festival 2009 American Rivera Award.

DJ ?’s Aliens Choice award ceremony and the first day of the Santa Barbara Film Festival coincide with Oscar nominations on Jan. 22, as announcements for the 81st Annual Academy Awards come out with much anticipation. Tickets for the 2009 Santa Barbara International Film Festival can be purchased at the Lobero Box Office. For more information on ticket purchases including: Mini-paks, Opening Night Gala, Kate Winslet Montecito Award, Penelope Cruz Outstanding Performer of the Year, Writers Panel, Directors Panel, Virtuosos Award, Clint Eastwood Modern Master Award, Mickey Rourke The American Rivera Award, and Womens panel, visit http://www.lobero.com/calendar/sbiff2009/ Lobero Theatre box office is located at 33 E. Canon Perdido St., Santa barbara CA 93101. First weekend and second weekend platinum passes are also available.

Live Roots TV airs every Friday at 5pm on Channel 17 Santa Barbara, as well as Mondays at 1:30 am.  Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2009 Live Roots TV Special Edition sponsored by BGP Music, Independent Music for Film and Television.

Continuing the annual tradition of highlighting a Guest Director by presenting a retrospective of their work, SBIFF is thrilled to announce David Fincher as the 2009 Guest Director. On Friday,

January 30, SBIFF will present “A Celebration of David Fincher,” where he will be joined by special friends. The evening is sponsored by Macys. One of cinema’s most dazzling visual stylists, Fincher established himself in the world of commercials and music videos before becoming

one of Hollywood’s most respected talents. He made his mark with the unforgettable thriller “Se7en” and has since gone on to create such critically-acclaimed films as “Fight Club,” “The Game,” “Panic Room,” and “Zodiac” before venturing on to the challenge of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” He’s a unique and refreshingly honest filmmaker worthy of considerable praise.

The Festival will show a retrospective of Fincher’s films.SBIFF 2008 will kick off at the historic Arlington Theatre with the critically acclaimed thriller “Nothing But The Truth” directed by Rod Lurie and featuring tremendous performances by Kate Beckinsale, Vera Farmiga, Alan Alda, Angela Bassett, David Schwimmer, Matt Dillon and Noah Wyle. “’Nothing But The Truth’ is one of the most powerful films we’ve ever had for Opening night, and we gave it that slot because it deserves to be seen,” commented Durling. The film features Beckinsale as Washington, DC political journalist Rachel Armstrong, who writes an explosive story about a government scandal in which she reveals the name of a covert CIA agent

(Farmiga). When a special government prosecutor demands she divulge her source, she refuses and finds herself behind bars struggling to defend the principles she has based her career upon. Following the Opening Night screening, which is sponsored by UGG Australia and Studio 7, the festivities will continue with a party at Paseo Nuevo in downtown Santa Barbara.  Closing Night will feature the World Premiere of “Lightbulb,” directed by Jeff Balsmeyer and stars Dallas Roberts (from “3:10 to Yuma”), Jeremy Renner (who received an Independent Spirit Award nod for his role in “The Hurt Locker”) and Ayelet Zurer (who stars opposite Tom Hanks in “Angels & Demons”), all of whom will attend. “Lightbulb” is a true and timely rags-to-riches story of two friends – a small-time inventor and a sharky salesman – who hit rock bottom before coming up with a gizmo that becomes a worldwide phenomenon. Closing Night festivities are sponsored by Qantas, Soho and the SB Independent.

SBIFF has become an important showcase for Academy-Award hopefuls, many of whom have gone on to win an Oscar. Continuing the tradition, SBIFF will feature special Tribute presentations, created by long-time fest tribute producer Paul Fagen of P. Fagen Productions, as well as Dana Morrow of RoadShow Media. This year’s complete list of honorees (in date order)

are:

 Kate Winslet will receive The Montecito Award, moderated by long-time friend of the fest, Leonard Maltin on Friday, January 23 at the Arlington Theatre.

 Penelope Cruz will receive the Chopin Outstanding Performer of the Year Award, presented by Chopin Potato Vodka and moderated by SBIFF Director

Roger Durling on Saturday, January 24 at the Arlington Theatre.

 Kristin Scott Thomas will receive the Cinema Vanguard Award, sponsored by Qantas, on Tuesday, January 27 at the Lobero Theatre.

 Virtuosos 2009 Award to Viola Davis (Doubt), Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married), Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky…pending availability), Richard Jenkins (The Visitor), Melissa Leo (Frozen River) and Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road), in recognition of this year’s emerging film artists. The evening will be moderated by Roger Durling on Wednesday, January 28 at the Lobero Theatre

 Clint Eastwood will receive the esteemed Lucky Brand Modern Master Award, moderated by Leonard Maltin on Thursday, January 29 at the Arlington Theatre.

 A Celebration of David Fincher will take place Friday, January 30, at the Arlington Theatre, where he will be joined by special friends. Sponsored by Macy’s.

 Mickey Rourke will receive the American Riviera Award, sponsored by Foundation for Santa Barbara City College School of Media Arts and moderated by Pete Hammond, on Saturday, January 31 at the Arlington Theatre.

“Our Festival motto this year is ‘Discover by Day – Dazzle by Night’.” Durling also states, “Whereas I can assure our films are full of discoveries, there’s no doubt you will be dazzled by our line-up of honorees this year.”

THE PANELS

The SBIFF has become renowned for creating smart, insightful and informative panels that feature a veritable who’s who in the world of filmmaking, including many Oscar contenders.

The series kicks off at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 24, “Directors on Directing” moderated by producer and co-host of AMC’s “Sunday Morning Shootout” Peter Bart. The panel takes place at the Lobero Theater and is sponsored by Variety Magazine.

That afternoon at 2:00 p.m., also at the Lobero Theatre, is the ever-popular “It Starts With the Script,” screenwriters panel moderated by Variety columnist Anne Thompson. The panel takes place at the Lobero Theatre and is sponsored by Pacifica Graduate Institute.

The insights continue during the Fest’s second weekend starting off with the “Movers & Shakers” panel on Saturday, January 31 at 11 a.m., bringing together top producers to discuss their craft, moderated by Los Angeles Times columnist Patrick Goldstein.

And at 2:00 pm, the next panel is composed of some of the most creative women working in film today entitled “Creative Forces: Women in the Biz,” moderated by Madelyn Hammond, Chief

Marketing Officer, Variety. The panel takes place at the Lobero Theatre and is sponsored by Sandy Stahl. Panelists will be announced shortly.

LOCAL OFFERINGS

The SBIFF takes its commitment to the young people of our community to heart and with enthusiasm. Artful cinema can educate as well as entertain. Following are just a few of the programs the Festival will offer:

10-10-10 Student Screenwriting Competition and Sotheby’s International Realty 10-10-10 Student

Filmmaking Competition – The Screenwriting Competition, sponsored by Business First Bank,

Lucky Brand, Final Draft and The Towbes Foundation, is comprised of 10 students who were

selected out of 23 submissions from Santa Barbara area high school and college students who

submitted a 10-page sample of their best fiction writing – screenplay, stage play, or short story – to

their school’s representative. The five best script samples were chosen from the high school level

and five from the college level. The finalists are then assigned a storyline and an industry

professional to mentor them during the writing of their screenplay. Finalists will meet with their

mentor throughout the process, submitting their final draft in January 2009. On Tuesday, January

20, 2pm at the Montecito Country Club will be the 10-10-10 Press Conference where Screenplays

will be assigned to selected filmmakers.

The 10 student screenplays are matched with a category-appropriate Filmmaking finalist from the

Sotheby’s International Realty 10-10-10 Student Filmmaking Competition, which consists of 10

students selected from 19 submissions. They will then produce a 10-minute film during the 10

days of the 24th Santa Barbara International Film Festival. On Sunday, February 1 at 1 pm at the

Lobero Theatre, all ten completed films will be screened and the winners will be announced. The

winning films will then be screened prior to the Closing Night film.

APPLEBOX – A FREE Family Festival for Children – The SBIFF will produce AppleBox, a family

film section for children during the mornings of the two weekends that bookend the festival –

Saturday, January 24 and Sunday, January 25 and on Saturday, January 31 and Sunday, February

1. Children’s films include shorts programs and is headlined by Richard Gabai’s “Call of the Wild

3D” at the Arlington Theatre on January 24 at 11 a.m. Starring Santa Barbara’s own Christopher

Lloyd (Back to the Future, Taxi) and fellow local Timothy Bottoms (That’s My Bush, The Paper

Chase) star in this three dimensional film that is inspired by the Jack London novel of the same

name. The film will be preceded by entertainment and an actual red carpet where kids of all ages

can walk down and experience what it’s like to be a star of the Fest. Co-presented with the Santa

Barbara Children’s Museum and Sponsored by Nordstrom, Citrix Online, SBParent.com and Cold

Stone Creamery, screenings will enable children to see wonderful movies that are not easily

accessible, in a festive, entertaining and supportive environment-which shows that SBIFF is not

only about the glitz and the glam, but it’s also about the fam!

Field Trip to the Movies– SBIFF provides a fascinating and thought-provoking film, study guides,

and transportation to “Field Trip to the Movies” as part of our Reel Nature series for over 2,000

5th and 6th graders in Santa Barbara County. This educational program, which is scheduled for

January 26 and 27, includes an opportunity for students to explore intriguing facts and new

research about the natural world as they view a film, engage in discussion, and participate in an

interactive film-creating experience with industry professionals and is hosted by acclaimed nature

filmmaker Mike DeGruy. This year, we’re focusing on the multiple award winning documentary

Smalltalk Diaries, a short film about the world as seen by….minibeasts. By using a secret

invention called the Translation Lens, the myriad of creatures that live all around us are suddenly

able to tell us about their world. From cockroach to caterpillar, each has a distinct voice and is

eager to explain all about its life, from “whizpopping to metamorphosis!” The purpose of “Field

Trip to the Movies” is to inspire and excite children’s curiosity with nature and the world around

them, while at the same time introducing them to the possibilities of them being a filmmaker and

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naturalist. “Field Trip to the Movies: is sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank and Cox

Communications.

3RD Weekend –The SBIFF will continue their tradition of presenting the “3RD Weekend,” which will

feature the highlights of the 24th Festival for Santa Barbara residents. The winning films will be

screened throughout the weekend of February 6-8 at the Riviera Theatre, sponsored in part by

Horny Toad and Central Coast Wine Classic. Screenings are free and tickets are available on a

first come, first serve basis at the Riviera Theatre. Screening times will be posted on the SBIFF

website at www.sbiff.org in the days following Closing Night.

FILM CATEGORIES AND SIDEBARS

The SBIFF continues its commitment to exciting, culturally enlightening, and entertaining

programming and sidebars. In addition to presenting Independent Features, International Features,

Documentary Features and Special Presentation films, programmed by Candace Schermerhorn, the

SBIFF will also offer films from the following sidebars:

 EASTERN BLOC featuring films from Eastern Europe;

 REEL NATURE, the nature films series programmed by renowned nature

cinematographer and Santa Barbara resident Mike DeGruy, sponsored by City of

Lompoc.

 EAST X WEST, a collection of the best cinema from Asia, programmed by Emmynominated

actor and director Tim Matheson

 TO THE MAXXX, sponsored by Horny Toad and Firestone Walker Fine Ales & Red

Nectar, is programmed by Santa Barbara filmmaker Russ Spencer and features

extreme sports films and documentaries including the U.S. Premiere of Joel Conroy’s

“Waveriders,” the story of Ireland’s connection to surfing from its reinvention in

Hawaii in the early 1900s to the rapid growth of big wave surfing in Ireland today

and includes appearances by such surfing icons as Chris, Keith and Dan Malloy,

Kelly Slater and Rabbit Kekai, to name just a few.

 LATINO CINEMEDIA, sponsored by Tinta Latina Magazine and Univision, offers

a collection of films from Spain and Latin America, continuing SBIFF’s commitment

to Spanish and Latin American films, programmed by UCSB professor Cristina

Venegas;

 SANTA BARBARA FILMMAKERS, sponsored by CASA Magazine, programmed

by Russ Spencer and which includes 7 World Premiere feature films.

Attached is a preliminary list of films scheduled to screen at the 24th Annual Santa Barbara

International Film Festival; a complete list will follow soon.

SBIFF is proud to welcome the esteemed 2008 Jury: Dave Stein, Jury Chair; actor/comedian Gary

Anthony Williams, (Director of the new L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival); Academy Awardnominated

actor James Cromwell (“W.”); Academy Award-nominated director Gil Kenan

(“Monster House”); actor Hassan Sleiman (“The Visitor”); producer Lauren Moews (“Cabin

Fever”); actor Anthony Zerbe (“The Matrix”); writer and producer Leslie Caveny (“Penelope” and

“Everybody Loves Raymond”); Eddie Schmidt (President, International Documentary Assoc.); actor

Efren Ramirez (“Napoleon Dynamite”) and actor Rodrigo Santoro (“Che,” “Love, Actually”).

Select films will vie for the following awards:

THE AWARDS

The Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema – for the Best Independent film

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Juried by industry professionals

Award: camera package worth $60,000

The Best Foreign Film Award – for the best Foreign Feature

Juried by industry professionals

Nueva Vision Award – for the best Spanish-language feature

Juried by industry professionals

Best Eastern Bloc Cinema Award – for best Eastern Bloc feature

Juried by industry professionals

Best Documentary Film Award – for the best documentary film

Juried by industry professionals

Award: Tunnel Post Production package valued at $100k.

IDA one year membership.

The Fund for Santa Barbara Social Justice Award Sponsored by The Fund for Santa Barbara –

for documentary film that addresses social justice issues

Juried by a committee selected by The Fund for Santa Barbara

Award: $2,500 cash

Bruce Corwin Award for Best Live Action Short Film Under 30 Minutes

Juried by industry professionals

Bruce Corwin Award for Best Animation Short Film

Juried by industry professionals

Sotheby’s International Realty Student Filmmaking Competition – – for Best of the 10-10-10

Student Filmmaking Competitor

Juried by industry professionals.

Award: Lucky Brand will build the award recipient into their ad campaign and

play their film on their website.

Participation consideration: All participants receive a copy of Final Draft

Software.

The winning films will be screened at the Closing Night Event.

10-10-10 Student Screenwriting Competition, Sponsored by Business First Bank, Lucky Brand,

Final Draft and supported by Towbes Foundation for best screenplay.

Juried by industry professionals

Participation consideration: All participants will receive a copy of Final Draft

software.

Audience Choice Award, sponsored by The Santa Barbara Independent

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival, set to run January 22 through February 1, 2009, is a

non-profit organization dedicated to enriching local culture and raising consciousness of film as an

art form. SBIFF presents quality American and world independent films, Latin American and

Asian sidebars as well as documentary cinema within the beautiful setting of downtown Santa

Barbara, a premier tourist destination. The SBIFF is also committed to education through its 10-

10-10 Student Filmmaking and Screenwriting Competitions, Field Trip to the Movies, and

educational seminars. With a projected audience of over 70,000 viewing more than 200 films over

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its eleven-day run, the SBIFF attracts an affluent local and national consumer base, while

maintaining strong ties with the entertainment industry in nearby Los Angeles. For more

information, please visit www.sbfilmfestival.org.

Tickets for events are still available. In order to meet overwhelming demand and growing

popularity, SBIFF is not only offering new passes, but additional screening times as well, starting

at 8:00 am. In addition to the Platinum Pass, which provides admission and priority seating to all

Festival screenings and events, SBIFF now offers a 1st Weekend Platinum (Thurs-Sun) and a 2nd

Weekend Platinum (Thurs-Sun) for those who cannot be there for the entire festival. Other new

Passes include the State Street Pass, which allows admission to all “Off-Peak” screenings,

including the new 8:00 am screenings and late-night screenings, and excluding the 4:00 and 7:00

pm screenings; The Tribute Package, which provides entry to all the Tributes, Opening and

Closing Night and one 12-film MiniPak; and The Film Geek Package, which offers tickets to

Opening and Closing Nights, a 12-film MiniPak and access to all Panel events to film students of

all ages. The Cinema Pass (admission to all films and Opening and Closing night) and

Introductory Package are also available. Prices and details are available at the Lobero Theatre

box office: www.lobero.com or call 805-963-0761.

For festival information, log onto www.sbiff.org.

# # #

All press must request credentials by logging onto www.sbiff.org and click on PRESS.

PUBLICITY TEAM:

Carol Marshall, Director of Publicity

Phil Jun – Publicist

Stephenie Hope – Publicist

Beth Binker – SBIFF Publicity Assistant

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24th SANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL

FILM FESTIVAL FILM LINE-UP

OPENING NIGHT

Nothing But The Truth, USA

Director: Rod Lurie

Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Vera Farmiga, Alan Alda, David Schwimmer, Noah Wylie

Kate Beckinsale stars as Washington, DC political journalist Rachel Armstrong, who writes an

explosive story about a government scandal in which she reveals the name of a covert CIA agent

(Farmiga). When a special government prosecutor demands she divulge her source, she refuses and

finds herself behind bars struggling to defend the principles she has based her career upon.

CLOSING NIGHT

Lightbulb, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Jeff Balsmeyer

Cast: Dallas Roberts, Jeremy Renner, Ayelet Zurer

A true and timely rags-to-riches story of two friends – a small-time inventor and a sharky

salesman – who hit rock bottom before coming up with a gizmo that becomes a worldwide

phenomenon

WORLD PREMIERES

(Descriptions below in main list)

After The Last Round, USA

Amar a morir, Mexico/Colombia

Automorphosis¸USA/UK

Blessed Is The Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh, USA

Follow The Prophet, USA

Going Home, USA

Ink, USA

Inventing LA: The Chandlers and Their Times, USA

Megamall, USA

Ocean (Okean), Russia

On The Pipe Five, USA

One Track Mind, USA

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Rescuing Emmanuel, USA

Skateboard Stories, USA

Suspect X, Japan

The Invocation, USA

The Music Lesson, USA

The Oasis, Australia

The Women and the Waves, USA

Time Warp, US

War Against the Weak, USA

U.S. PREMIERES

(Descriptions below in main list)

20th Century Boys (20-seiki shônen), Japan

4BIA, Thailand

A Woman in Berlin, Germany/Poland

Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone, Japan

Havana Surf, Spain

K-20: The Legend of the Mask (K-20: Kaijin niju menso den), Japan

Kabuli Kid, France/Afghanistan

Landscape No. 2, Slovenia

Lost Islands, Israel

Mapuche Nation (Nación Mapuce, La), Argentina/Italy/Switzerland

Nobody To Watch Over Me (Dare mo mamotte kurenai), Japan

Oso Blanco, USA

Poppy Shakespeare, UK

Tandoori Love, Switzerland

Tears for Sale (Carlston za Ognjeka), Serbia

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The Demons of Eden (Los Demonios del Eden), Mexico

The Divine Weapon, South Korea

The Ghost (Domovoy), Russia

The Inheritors (Los Herederos), Mexico

The Land of the Devil (El pais del Diablo), Argentina

The Man Who Loved Yngve (Mannen som elsket Yngve), Norway

The Racketeer (􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 ), Kazakhstan

The Watercolorist (El Acuarelista), Peru

Tiramisu, Netherlands

Treeless Mountain, USA/South Korea

Vacation (Kyûka), Japan

Waveriders, Ireland/UK

Yes Madam, Sir, Australia

Zift, Bulgaria

FEATURE-LENGTH FILMS

(Please note list is subject to change.)

Independent Features Competition:

Apron Strings, New Zealand

Director: Sima Urale

Cast: Peter Elliott, Jennifer Ludlam, Laila Rouass

Food and love are intertwined in this tale of two mothers who must find the courage to confront

the secrets and misunderstandings of the past, in order to set their sons free.

Dim Sum Funeral, Canada

Director: Anna Chi

Cast: Steph Song, Kelly Hu, Bai Ling, Talia Shire

The estranged siblings of a westernized Chinese-American family discover the challenges of trying

to fulfill their mother’s last wish.

Follow The Prophet, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Drew Ann Rosenberg

Cast: Tom Noonan, Diane Venora, Robert Chimento, David Conrad, R.D Call, John Diehl, Annie

Burgstede

A young girl escaping from a Polygamist cult is aided by an Army Colonel and a renegade female

Sheriff who join forces to expose the truth that lies hidden in a town in Utah.

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Ink, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Jamin Winans

Cast: Chris Kelly, Jessica Duffy

John and Emma, father and daughter, are thrust into a fantastical dream-world battle between

forces of good and evil in this allegorical tale of love, loss and the search for redemption.

Poppy Shakespeare, UK – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Benjamin Ross

Cast: Naomie Harris, Anna Maxwell Martin

‘Catch 22′ meets ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ as two patients strike up an unlikely, moving,

funny and tragic friendship in a psychiatric hospital

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Skin, South Africa/UK

Director: Anthony Fabian

Cast: Sophie Okonedo, Sam Neill, Alice Krige

Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South

Africa during the apartheid era.

Sweet Thing, USA

Director: Joe Lia

Cast: Jennipher Foster, Beth Ison, Jacob Teixeira, Michael McFadden

Nineteen-year-old free spirit Liz is on a mission to find love in between her shifts at an espresso

drive-thru. Across town, Jody seeks answers in drugs while shuffling papers at her father’s office.

The two become friends and embark on a summer of avoiding responsibility. As they grow closer,

their lives become more complicated as issues of love, sex, and meaning bubble to the surface.

International Features Competition

A Woman in Berlin, Germany/Poland – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Max Färberböck

Cast: Nina Hoss, Tevgeni Sidikhin

A woman tries to survive the invasion of Berlin by the Soviet troops during the last days of World

War II.

Kabuli Kid, France/Afghanistan – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Barmak Akram

Cast: Hadji Gul, Valery Schatz

A taxi driver in Kabul finds a baby in the back seat of his taxi. The driver searches the city for the

mother and reveals truths about their lives in the process.

Landscape No. 2, Slovenia – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Vinko Moderndorfer

Cast: Barbara Cerar, Slavko Cerjak

While stealing a priceless painting, common thief Sergej’s greed gets the best of him when he

mistakenly takes a mysterious document that refers to some shady dealings near the end of World

War II.

Lost Islands, Israel – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Reshef Levy

Cast: Oshri Cohen, Michael Moshonov, Shmil Ben Ari

A young boy’s value that loyalty to family comes first is challenged by his father’s extramarital

affair in this drama from Israel.

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Tandoori Love, Switzerland – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Oliver Paulus

Cast: Lavinia Wilson, Vijay Raaz

Members of an Indian film crew producing the latest Bollywood extravaganza experience a clash

of cultures and culinary tastes when they encounter the unassuming and peculiar folks populating

the surrounding mountainous region in the Swiss Alps.

Tears for Sale (Carlston za Ognjeka), Serbia – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Uros Stojanovic

Cast: Katarina Radivojevic, Sonja Kolacaric

Two Serbian girls living in a village with no men leave their town and go to the city to kidnap men

and return life to their home town.

The Country Teacher (Venkovský ucitel), Czech Republic

Director: Bohdan Slama

Cast: Pavel Liska, Zuzana Bydzovska

Bohdan Sláma’s exquisite film follows the tender ties that form between a young, gay teacher, a

lonely widow and her teenaged son in a small Czech town riddled with homophobia.

The Ghost (Domovoy), Russia – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Karen Oganesyan

Cast: Konstantin Khabensky, Vladimir Mashkov, Chulpan Khamatova

Pulp detective novel writer Anton Prachenko is suffering from writer’s block. He is helped

overcome this in an extremely unusual manner by a hired assassin who goes by the nickname The

Ghost.

The Man Who Loved Yngve (Mannen som elsket Yngve), Norway – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Stian Kristiansen

Cast: Ole Christoffer Ertvåg, Rolf Kristian Larsen

A teenage boy loses his footing when he finds himself drawn to the new boy in class.

The Racketeer (􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 􀀀 ), Kazakhstan – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Akhan Satayev

Cast: Sayat Isembayev

After knocking out his opponent with one swift blow at a boxing match in Almaty, 1993, Sayan

attracts the attention of Ruslan, an up-and-coming racketeer. Faced with few alternatives in a

bleak post-Soviet environment, Sayan drops out of the institute he worked so hard to gain

entrance to, and joins Ruslan’s criminal entourage.

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Tiramisu, Netherlands – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Paula Van Der Oest

Cast: Jacob Derwig

A straight-laced bookkeeper and a devil-may-care actress past her prime teach each other lessons

about responsibility and life.

Treeless Mountain, USA/South Korea – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: So Yong Kim

Cast: Hee-yeon Kim, Mi-hyang Kim, Song-hee Kim

Set in South Korea, this uncommonly intimate film follows two sisters as they find themselves

abandoned by their mother and placed in the care of their indifferent drunkard of an aunt.

Zift, Bulgaria – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Javor Gardev

Cast: Zahary Baharov, Tanya Ilieva, Vladamie Peney

Moth is freed on parole after spending time in prison on wrongful conviction of murder. Jailed

shortly before the Bulgarian communist coup of 1944, he now finds himself in a new and alien

world – the totalitarian Sofia of the 60s.

Latino CineMedia Competition

Amar a morir, Mexico/Colombia – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Fernando Lebrija

Cast: José María de Tavira, Martina García, Alberto Estrella, Raúl Méndez

The young heir to a vast Mexico City banking empire runs away from the cold, corrupt, racist,

money-driven, super-elite, super-rich world into which he was born, takes a wrong turn down a

wrong road, and finds himself stranded in a remote beach paradise where he experiences love at

first sight with an exotic, darker-skinned local girl—one that will place him—and her—in grave

danger at the hands of a ruthless drug lord.

Before Tomorrow (Le jour avant le lendemain), Canada

Directors: Marie-Hélène Cousineau, Madeline Ivalu

Cast: Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq, Madeline Ivalu

An Inuit woman and her grandson go to an island to dry their fish and return to their camp where

they discover that their family has been wiped out by infection carried by white travellers.

Returning to the island, they confront what it means to be the last human beings on earth.

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Empty Nest (Nido vacío, El), Argentina/Spain/France/Italy

Director; Daniel Burman

Cast: Carlos Bermejo, Eugenia Capizzano, Inés Efron, Arturo Goetz, Cecilia Roth

Suddenly alone after raising their family, Leonardo and Martha are left to realize their unexplored

desires.

Insignificant Things (Cosas Insignificantes), Mexico

Director: Andrea Martínez

Cast: Paulina Gaitan, Carmelo Gomez

Esmeralda works as a waitress in Mexico City and collects the little things people leave behind.

Mapuche Nation (Nación Mapuce, La), Argentina/Italy/Switzerland – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Fausta Quattrini

Displaced from their own land by landowners and exploiters of natural resources, the Mapuche

folk of Patagonia fight to make the Argentinean State respect the rights of the indigenous peoples

guaranteed, in principle, in its constitution since 1994.

Oso Blanco, USA – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Christian Suau

A documentary highlighting the Oso Blanco prison.

Our Disappeared, USA

Director: Juan Mandelbaum

A personal journey of memory and careful exploration of Argentina’s generation of “disappeared.”

Purgatorio, Mexico

Director: Roberto Rochín

Cast: Pedro Armendáriz Jr., Fidel Cerda

A beautiful black and white tapestry of errant characters in 1940s Mexico.

Tear This Heart Out (Arrancame la vida), Mexico

Director: Roberto Sneider

Cast: Ana Claudia Talancon, Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Jose Maria de Tavira

Andrés — a ruthlessly domineering general with designs on Mexico’s presidency — takes beautiful,

naive 15-year-old Catalina, as his bride. This sweeping epic traces Catalina’s growth as a woman

through 15 tumultuous years of passion, politics, power, corruption, infidelity and murder.

Mexico’s Official Academy submission.

The Dead Girl’s Feast (A Festa da Menina Morta), Brazil

Director: Matheus Nachtergaele

Cast: Jackson Antunes, Juliano Cazarré,

The living saint of a small Brazilian town reveals the underlying pain of the people around him.

The Demons of Eden (Los Demonios del Eden), Mexico – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Alejandra Islas

A documentary about the persecution of Mexican journalist, Lydia Cacho, for her exposé of a

child prostitution ring, linking politics and big business as partners in crime.

The Inheritors (Los Herederos), Mexico – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Eugenio Polgovsky

An unflinching look at the various forms of child labor in poverty stricken areas of Mexico.

The Land of the Devil (El pais del Diablo), Argentina – U.S. PREMIERE

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Director: Andrés Di Tella

El Pais del Diablo by Andrés di Tella examines an historical episode that happened in the decade

of 1870 when Adolfo Ensina, the former Minister of Defense, proposed a megalomaniac project: to

dig a gulf with a 600 kilometers extension between the Atlantic Ocean and the Andes in order to

sustain the “indigenous threat.

The Path (El Camino), Costa Rica

Director: Ishtar Yasin Gutierrez

Cast: Sherlin Paola Velásquez , Juan Borda, Morena Guadalupe Espinoza

Saslaya and her mute brother, Dario, leave Nicaragua in search of their mother in Costa Rica.

The Sky, The Earth and the Rain (El cielo, la tierra, y la lluvia), Chile

Director: José Luis Torres Leiva

Cast: Ignacio Agüero, Maité Fernández, Julieta Figueroa

Ana is a young woman struggling with loneliness and family responsibilities on a small Chilean

island.

The Watercolorist (El Acuarelista), Peru – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Daniel Rodríguez

Cast: Miguel Iza, Sol Alba

T, a clerk, wishes to fulfill his grand dream of painting a watercolor, but is thwarted by his

neighbors, for whom T’s dream seems sublimely trifle, something impractical, even immoral, and

who of course have a much better idea of how T must spend his time.

Titon, de la Habana a Guantanamera, Spain

Director: Mirta Ibarra

A look at the life and work of Cuban filmmaker Tomas Gutierrez Alea.

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Documentary Features Competition:

Art & Copy, USA

Director: Doug Pray

Cast: George Lois, Mary Wells Lawrence, David Kennedy, Hal Riney, Jeff Goodby, Rich

Silverstein, Jim Durfee, Phyllis K Robinson, Lee Clow, Dan Wieden, Cliff Freeman

ART & COPY is a film about advertising, creativity, and its profound effects on modern culture. It

features rare interviews with the most influential advertising creatives of our age and tells the

stories of their revolutionary campaigns.

Automorphosis¸USA/UK – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Harrod Blank

Automorphosis looks into the minds and hearts of a delightful collection of eccentrics, visionaries,

and just plain folks who have transformed their autos into artworks.

Inventing LA: The Chandlers and Their Times, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Peter Jones

The epic tale of Los Angeles’ most powerful family and their newspaper.

Megamall, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Directors: Sarah Mondale, Vera Aronow, Roger Grange

A story of money, power and politics in the age of sprawl, MEGAMALL is a provocative new

documentary that explores the controversy behind one of America’s biggest shopping malls, the

Palisades Center in West Nyack, New York. In 1996, the developer broke ground on a toxic dump,

one mile from the filmmakers’ homes, sparking a quest to uncover the forces buffeting a suburban

community and reshaping the American landscape. MEGAMALL documents a local struggle of

epic proportions.

Milking The Rhino, USA

Director: David E. Simpson

The Maasai tribe of Kenya and Namibia’s Himba – two of Earth’s oldest cattle cultures – are in the

midst of upheaval. Emerging from a century of ‘white man conservation’ that turned their land into

game reserves and fueled resentment towards wildlife, they are now vying for a piece of the

wildlife-tourism pie. Charting the collision of ancient ways and Western expectations, MILKING

THE RHINO tells intimate, hopeful and heartbreaking stories of people facing deep cultural

change.

Pirate for the Sea, USA

Director: Ron Colby

Cast: Paul Watson, Farley Mowat, Robert Hunter, Martin Sheen

Filmed worldwide during many campaigns, “Pirate for the Sea” is the biography of Paul Watson,

founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and the most influential ocean environmental

activist, ever.

Rescuing Emmanuel, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Len Morris

Cast: Desmond Tutu, Wangari Maathai

Emmanuel is a stinking, belligerent street boy in Nairobi, Kenya. He grabs us, demands ‘I want to

go to school right now!’ He is treated like vermin and yet his name means ‘God among us.’

Emmanuel is lost, found and rescued. But when he walks into his dream, that dream takes an

unexpected turn.

The Music Lesson, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

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Director: Virginia Galloway

A group of teenage musicians travel to Africa to learn musical traditions from a group of students

in Laikipia, Kenya.

The Oasis, Australia – WORLD PREMIERE

Directors: Ian Darling, Sascha Ettinger-Epstein

Cast: Paul Moulds

Documentary about a grimy inner-city youth refuge run by one tireless man, where tough kids from

tough backgrounds find real love in a world of chaos.

War Against the Weak, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Justin Strawhand

Based on the book by New York Times best selling author and nine time Pulitzer Prize nominee,

Edwin Black, War Against the Weak is the untold story of American Eugenics, a movement that

attempted to breed a Nordic master race through the elimination of those deemed ‘unfit.’

Yes Madam, Sir, Australia – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Megan Doneman

Kiran Bedi is arguable India’s most controversial daughter, both revered by her supporters and

reviled as a publicity seeker by her critics. But no matter what people may think of her, there is no

disputing her professional achievements.

Real-Markable Stories

After The Last Round, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Ryan Pettey

Documentary takes you inside the sport of boxing, exposing its life changing-effects on the fighters

and their families, both inspirational and tragic. The film weaves together the stories of fighters,

active and retired, while revealing the controversy and social fascination surrounding the ‘sweet

science’. ”After The Last Round” uncovers the personal triumphs and heartbreaking outcomes of

those who have chosen a life between the ropes.

Blessed Is The Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Roberta Grossman

Cast: Meri Roth, Marcella Nohynkova

Hannah Senesh parachutes into Nazi-occupied Europe to help save Hungary’s Jews, only to be

imprisoned alongside the person she most wants to save — her mother Catherine. A harrowing

account of the only military rescue mission for Jews during the Holocaust, BLESSED IS THE

MATCH is also a moving mother-daughter tale. Narrated by three-time Academy Award nominee

Joan Allen.

Going Home, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: George Dougherty

Cast: Brian Wilson

A documentary following legendary musician Brian Wilson on the creation of his latest album.

Pray the Devil Back to Hell, USA

Director: Virginia Reticker

Cast: Janet Johnson Bryant, Etweda Cooper, Vaiba Flomo, Leymah Gbowee

A group of women rise up to peace to Liberia and help bring to power the country’s first female

head of state.

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Speed & Angels, USA

Director: Peyton Wilson

Young Navy Officers, Jay and Meagan, have dreamt of becoming naval aviators flying the F-14

Tomcat since their childhoods. The film follows their journey as it takes them through dogfights,

night landings on aircraft carriers, and eventually to the biggest challenge young officers face:

wartime deployments to Iraq.

The Brothers Warner, USA

Director: Cass Warner

Cast: Dennis Hopper, Debbie Reynolds, Haskell Wexler

An intimate portrait and saga of four film pioneers–Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack who rose from

immigrant poverty through personal tragedies persevering to create a major studio with a social

conscience.

The Invocation, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Emmanuel Itier

Cast: Desmond Tutu, Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra, Mark Walhberg, Rosario Dawson, Oliver

Stone, Malcolm Mc Dowell, Stewart Copeland, Dave Stewart, songs by Annie Lennox.

An exploration of the notion of the Divine around the World and to get to a new found universal

level of Peace.

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They Killed Sister Dorothy, USA

Director: Daniel Junge

The story of Sister Dorothy Stang, a North American nun who was brutally murdered in the

Brazilian Amazon rain forest by men who opposed her attempts at land reform; this film is at its

core both a courtroom drama and the moving story of a woman who gave her life for the people

and the land she loved.

TO THE MAXXX

Archy, USA

Director: Bill Ballard

Cast: Matt Archbold

Spanning the 80’s, 90’s, 2000 and on, Archy’s amazing story is one of survival thru surf stardom

at an early age, fame, drugs, alcohol, sponsorships and the surf rock star lifestyle.

Everest: A Climb for Peace, USA

Director: Lance Trumbull

Cast: Orlando Bloom (narrator)

An inspirational documentary about nine “peace climbers” from seven different faiths that

overcome their differences to climb Mt. Everest.

Havana Surf, Spain – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Rodrigo Diaz McVeigh

Cast: Bob Samin, Eduardo Nunez Valdes, Brayam Ramirez Garcia

Shot on location in Cuba, documentary tells the story of six young Cuban surfers and legendary

Australian surfer, Bob Samin, who has made his home in Baracoa, Cuba.

Life as a Movie, USA

Director: Benji Weatherley

Cast: Benji Weatherley, Jack Johnson, Tony Hawk, Chad Bartie, Tosh Townend, Kelly Slater,

Shane Dorian, Ross Williams, Tom Carroll, Kalani Robb, Yadin Nicol, Rizal Tanjung, Todd

Richards, Dave Downing, JP Walker, Jake Burton

Pro-surfer Benji Weatherley takes his friends, who happen to be the world’s best action sports

pros, around the world to experience each others sports.

On The Pipe Five, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Jay Schweitzer

Cast: Robbie Maddison, Mike Mason, Ronnie Renner, Dustin Miller, Josh Grant, James Stewart,

Adam Jones, Bilko, Andre Villa and many more.

The latest in director Jay Schweitzer’s series of films about motocross racing.

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One Track Mind, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Chris Malloy

A film about the best surfers in the world.

Skateboard Stories, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Erik Hatch

Cast: Mike Pugh, Mike Kresky

Skateboard Stories are several vignettes focused on the lifestyles of various skateboarders.

The Women and the Waves, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Directors: Heather Hudson, Peck Euwer

This documentary surf film explores the lives of female surfers who, through the decades, have

chosen to paddle head first into the male dominated sport of surfing and found a place of their

own.

Truth in 24, USA

Director: Keith Cossrow

Cast: Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish, Rinaldo ‘Dindo’ Capello, Wolfgang Ullrich, Howden Haynes

High tech genius racing team ‘Audi Sport’ attempts to win a record fifth straight 24 Hours of

LeMans, the most grueling road racing event in history, against the local favorite and charging team

Peugeot.

Water Man, USA

Directors: Don King, Sonny Miller

Cast: Laird Hamilton, Dave Kalama, Gerry Lopez, Rob Machado, Chris Malloy, Keith Malloy,

Dan Malloy

Laird Hamilton and a group of professional surfers venture into the heart of Indonesia, into a

hidden paradise of colossal barrels and perfect waves.

Waveriders, Ireland/UK – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Joel Conroy

Cast: Gabe Davies, Richard Fitzgerald, Chris Malloy, Keith Malloy, Dan Malloy, Kelly Slater,

Kevin Naughton, Drew Kampion, Rabbit Kekai, Craig Peterson, Easkey Britton

The story of Ireland’s connection to surfing from its reinvention in Hawaii in the early 1900s, to the

rapid growth of big wave surfing in Ireland today.

EAST X WEST

20th Century Boys (20-seiki shônen), Japan – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Yukihiko Tsutsumi

Cast: Toshiaki Karasawa, Takako Tokiwa

A group of friends work to stop the apocalypse they predicted as children from coming true.

4BIA, Thailand – U.S. PREMIERE

Directors: Youngyooth Thongkonthun, Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom Wongpoom, Paween

Purikitpanya

Four short horror films from some of Thailand’s hottest directors.

Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone, Japan – U.S. PREMIERE

Directors: Masayuki, Kazuya Tsurumaki, Hideaki Anno

After the second impact, all that remains of Japan is Tokyo-3, a city that’s being attacked by giant

creatures that seek to eradicate the human kind, called Angels. After not seeing his father for more

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than eight years, Shinji Ikari receives a phone call, in which he is told to urgently come to the NERV

Headquarters, an organization that deals with the destruction of the Angels through the use of

giant mechs called Evas.

K-20: The Legend of the Mask (K-20: Kaijin niju menso den), Japan – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Sato Shimako

Cast: Kaneshiro Takeshi, Matsu Takako, Nakamura Toru

Set in a fictional Japanese city in 1949, a master criminal hones in on his latest victim in this epic

action-adventure film.

Nobody To Watch Over Me (Dare mo mamotte kurenai), Japan – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Ryoichi Kimizuka

Cast: Koichi Sato, Yuriko Ishida

When a heinous crime is committed in Japan, society lays the blame on the victimizer’s family,

leaving a troubled cop to protect a young girl being punished for her brother’s actions.

Our Town (Uri dongne), South Korea

Director: Gil-yeong Jeong

Cast: Seon-gyun Lee, Man-seok Oh, Deok-Hwan Ryu

While a serial killer is on the loose a struggling horror writer commits a copycat killing and, in the

process of covering his tracks, begins to find the real serial killer himself.

Suspect X, Japan – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Hiroshi Nishitani

Cast: Shin’ichi Tsutsumi, Masaharu Fukuyama

A genius mathematician and physicist match wits with one trying so pull off the perfect crime, and

the other trying to solve it.

The Chasing World (Riaru onigokko), Japan

Director: Issei Shibata

Cast: Takuya Ishida, Mitsuki Tanimura, Rio Matsumoto

A teenager is transported to a parallel world where everyone who shares his family name is being

hunted down by the dictatorial government.

The Divine Weapon, South Korea – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Yu-jin Kim

Cast: Jae-yeong Keong, Eun-jeong Han, Jun-ho Heo

An historical, epic tale of Korea’s creation of Singijeon, a variation of the Chinese fire arrow.

Vacation (Kyûka), Japan – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Hajime Kadoi

Cast: Kaoru Kobayahi, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Nene Otsuka, Ren Osugi

The imminent execution of a prisoner leaves one prison guard to reevaluate his life.

WORLD CINEMA

$9.99, Australia

Director: Tatia Rosenthal

Cast: Geoffrey Rush, Anthony LaPaglia

$9.99 introduces us to the unique residents of an Australian apartment building in this stopmotion

animated feature.

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Cliente, France

Director: Josiane Balasko

Cast: Nathalie Baye, Eric Caravaca, Isabelle Carre

Judith, a single level-headed woman, buy herself sexual services of young men from escort

websites. This way she meets Patrick, who only does it to pay the mortgage on his beloved wife’s

hair salon, while she thinks he’s a building worker.

Everlasting Moments (Maria Larssons eviga ögonblick), Sweden

Director: Jan Troell

Cast: Maria Heiskanen, Mikael Persbrandt

In a time of social change and unrest, war and poverty, a young working class woman, Maria, wins

a camera in a lottery. The camera grants Maria new eyes with which to see the world. Trouble

ensues when Maria’s alcoholic, womanizing husband, feels threatened by the young man and his

wife’s newfound outlook on life. Sweden’s Official Academy submission.

Gomorrah (Gomorra), Italy

Director: Matteo Garrone

Cast: Simone Sacchettino, Maria Nazionale, Toni Servillo

GOMORRAH effortlessly weaves together five stories of various Italian citizens and their

involvement with the brutal Camorra mafia. Italy’s official Academy submission.

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Il Divo, Italy/France

Director: Paolo Sorrentino

Cast: Toni Servillo, Anna Bonaiuto

A portrait of seven-time Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti packed with wicked wit, brilliant

cinematography and drama galore. Andreotti dominated Italian politics until undone by scandal

and the predations of the Mafia.

It’s Not Me, I Swear! (C’est pas moi, je le jure!), Canada

Director: Philippe Faladreau

Cast: Antoine L’Ecuyer, Suzanne Clement

10 year old Léon Doré learns to cope with his mother abandoning him by terrorizing the

neighborhood and falling in love with a girl down the street.

Loss (Nereikalingi zmones), Lithuania

Director: Maris Martinsons

Cast: Valda Bickute, Kostas Smoriginas, Andrius Mamontovas

LOSS is a compelling story of power, love and faith, showing how the lives of a disparate group of

people are inextricably linked through a car accident 26 years ago. Lithuania’s Official Academy

submission

Ocean (Okean), Russia – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Mikhail Kosyrev-Nesterov

Cast: Jorge Luis Castro

A heartbroken Russian fisherman moves to Cuba to get a fresh start, only to discover more

betrayals and disappointment.

O’Horten, Norway

Director: Bent Hamer

Cast: Bard Owe

Odd Horten begins his retired life on a surreal set of comic adventures around Norway. Norway’s

Official Academy submission.

The Baader Meinhof Complex (Der Baader Meinhof Komplex), Germany

Director: Uli Edel

Cast: Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu

A look at Germany’s terrorist group, The Red Army Faction (RAF), which organized bombings,

robberies, kidnappings and assassinations in the late 1960s and ’70s. Germany’s Official Academy

submission.

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The Necessities of Life (Ce qu’il faut pour vivre), Canada

Director: Benoît Pilon

Cast: Paul-André Brasseur, Natar Ungalaaq

In 1952, an Inuit hunter named Tivii with tuberculosis leaves his northern home and family to go

recuperate at a sanatorium in Quebec City. Canada’s Official Academy submission.

Three Monkeys (Üc maymun), Turkey

Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Cast: Yavuz Bingol, Hatice Aslan

A family suffers from a major communication breakdown during their struggle to to get through

their hardships.

Tulpan, Germany

Director: Sergei Dvortsevoy

Cast: Tolepbergen Baisakalov, Ondas Besikbasov

About a young man who can’t achieve a long-cherished dream of tending his own flock of sheep

without first acquiring a wife.

REEL NATURE

Eye of the Leopard, UK

Directors: Derek and Beverly Joubert

A poignant story of motherhood in nature.

Living With Cats, UK

Directors: Derek and Beverly Joubert

A film about the making of Eye of the Leopard, telling the story of how these two first class

filmmakers, Derek and Beverly Joubert, integrate into the African plains for years in order to reveal

the secrets of these wild animals.

Lobo: The Wolf that Changed America, USA

Director: Steve Gooder

Cast: Cling Youngreen

In 1893, a bounty hunter named Ernest Thompson Seton journeyed to the untamed canyons of

New Mexico on a mission to kill a dangerous outlaw. Feared by ranchers throughout the region, the

outlaw wasn’t a pistol-packing cowboy or train-robbing bandit. The outlaw was a wolf.

Superfish, USA

Director: Rick Rosenthal

This is the story of the fastest predator in the ocean – the giant black marlin.

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Time Warp, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

A fascinating look at nature slowed down to thousands of frames per second.

SPECIAL PRESENTATION

Elegy, USA

Director: Isabel Coixet

Cast: Penelope Cruz, Ben Kingsley, Dennis Hopper

Cultural critic David Kepesh finds his life — which he indicates is a state of “emancipated

manhood” — thrown into tragic disarray by Consuela Castillo, a well-mannered student who

awakens a sense of sexual possessiveness in her teacher.

Fight Club, USA

Director: David Fincher

Cast: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton

An office employee and a soap salesman build a global organization to help vent male aggression.

Sugar, USA

Directors: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck

Cast: Algenis Perez Soto, Rayniel Rufino

Dominican baseball star Miguel “Sugar” Santos is recruited to play in the U.S. minor-leagues.

The Informers, USA

Director: Gregor Jordan

Cast: Kim Basinger, Mickey Rourke, Brad Renfro, Rhys Ifans

A drama based on Bret Easton Ellis’ novel set in 1983 Los Angeles, where movie executives, rock

stars, a vampire, and other morally challenged character mix and commingle.

The Visitor, USA

Director: Tom McCarthy

Cast: Richard Jenkins, Haaz Sleiman, Marian Seldes, Danai Gurira

A college professor travels to New York City to attend a conference and finds a young couple

living in his apartment.

Vicki Cristina Barcelona, USA

Director: Woody Allen

Cast: Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem

Two girlfriends on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter, unaware

that his ex-wife, with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture.

SANTA BARBARA FILMMAKERS

Creature of Darkness, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Mark Stouffer

Cast: Devon Sawa, Sanoe Lake, Matthew Lawrence, Kevin Alejandro, Siena Goines, Fernanda

Romero

A horrifying biologist from another world comes to Earth on a brutal hunt of human specimens for

alien science.

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Dead Horse Opera, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Jeremy Fraye

Cast: Wil Ridge Galbraith

Dead Horse Opera follows folk rock artist Wil Ridge from Santa Barbara for eight years as he goes

from hauling away dead horses to touring Europe with his band.

Green From the Ground Up, USA

Director:

A how-to guide for environmentally friendly construction projects, a supplement to the popular

book.

Hold It Like a Baby, USA

Directors: Michael Love, Tina Love

Cast: Bink Goncharoff, Dana Halverson, Marlon Hoffman, Natasha Baker, Sandy Hacket, Jackie

Kamm, Nick Marcotti, Liz Anne Keigley, Shelly Best, Rebecca Silberman, Rose Acosta, Laura

Artolachipi, Nikole Hollenitsch, Jason Harrell, Scott Dewey, Tom Petra, Jeff Cohen, Paul Diekman,

Deborah Cristobal, Doug Dane, Maurice Janco

‘Hold your anger like a baby’ advises bipolar psychologist Wilbur Waskowicks, and in this dark

ensemble comedy he sets in motion a denouement of furiously funny proportions.

Linkin Park: The Making of Minutes of Midnight, USA

Director: Mark Fiore

Cast: Mike Shinoda, Chester Bennington

A behind the scenes look at the making of Linkin Park’s latest album ‘Minutes to Midnight.’

Luis Leal: A Journey of 100 Years, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Janette Garcia

The biography of Luis Leal, an outstanding educator, scholar and human being who has won

national and international awards and honors and continues to live a rich life at the age of 100

years.

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Mile High: How to Win…and lose…the White House, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Directors: Tod Lancaster, Cassandra Nichols

Mile High captures the intensity of the 2008 presidential election through the eyes of a 17-year-old

Obama volunteer.

Poto Mitan: Haitian Women, Pillars of the Global Economy, Haiti/USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Renee Bergan

Through five Haitian women’s compelling lives, Poto Mitan gives an insider perspective on

globalization, Haiti’s contemporary political/economic crisis, and the resilient women challenging

this system.

The Road to Fallujah, USA

Director: Mark Manning

The Road to Fallujah journeys into the heart of Iraq to find avenues of peace from the horrors of

war.

Whiz Kids, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Tom Shephard

Cast: Hermain Khan, Kelydra Welcker, Ana Cisneros

Follows five young scientists as they enter the nation’s most prestigious science competition.

APPLE BOX

Call of the Wild 3D, USA – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Richard Gabai

Cast: Christopher Lloyd, Jaleel White, Timothy Bottoms

Inspired by the Jack London novel of the same name, Richard Gabai’s CALL OF THE WILD 3D

takes the viewer on a dogsled ride of a good time in this action packed family film. Santa

Barbara’s Christopher Lloyd (BACK TO THE FUTURE, TAXI) stars as Bill Hale, a rough

outdoorsman who takes in his precocious, citified, granddaughter Ryann (Ariel Gade) while her

parents are out of the country. After a rough adjustment to the outdoor life in Montana, Ryann is

transformed after finding a wounded-wolf dog that she names Buck. Recognizing that his

granddaughter’s attitude has transformed, Bill allows her to keep the animal temporarily. All is

well until she encounters the evil Heep (portrayed by Santa Barbaran Timothy Bottoms), who,

impressed by the dog’s size and speed, has designs of his own.

APPLE BOX SHORTS:

Alex’s Halloween, USA

Director: Daniel Persitz

Cast: Jane Lynch, Robert Ochoa, Connor Kramme

Eight-year-old Alex prepares for Halloween by dressing up in different costumes and imagining

himself as those characters. More than anything, he wants to go trick or treating with his older

brother, who only agrees to go if they can acquire tons of candy and sneak it past their healthfanatic

mom…

Crema Suprema, Canada

Director: Ellenora Ventura

A stop motion animation about two bakers who are competing to win the World’s Greatest Cake

Contest. As the bakers sabotage each others’ “masterpiece” cakes, it seems as though neither baker

has a chance of winning. Only one cake can win.

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Dear Fatty, USA

Director: Hsin-I Tseng

A little girl is writing a letter to her pet hamster ‘Fatty’ and imagines its trip as it runs away from

home.

Distraxion, USA

Director: Michael Stern

An office worker’s job is made extremely difficult because of his boss’ taste in music.

Elephants, UK

Director: Sally Pearce

Cast: Jaime Rakic-Platt, Mandy Lawrence

In a totally grey world, a little girl’s life is turned upside down by an infestation of elephants.

Laura – In Action, Denmark

Director: Laerke Drews

Cast: Anna Fabricius, Gry Bay, Christiane Rohde

The cartoonist Laura Fagerholm is destined for success with her superheroine Miss Crystal. Or so

she thought. But in the tough world of publishing, talent just isnt enough!

Plain and Simple, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Merrin Marra

Cast: Trent Trent, Deborah Leydig

What’s a penguin to do? Threatened with removal from the birdhouse of a zoo run by moneygrubbing

Capitalists simply because he does not generate enough profits, a plain little penguin

named Pauly struggles to belong and along the way, learns the true value of inner beauty. Enter the

world of ‘Plain and Simple,’ a ‘children’s story come-to-life,’ combining a unique mixture of

animated creatures, sets, and props with real-life actors. This is one ticket you won’t want to

miss!

Rindin the Puffer, USA

Director: Len Simon

He’s an odd looking fish with googly eyes and no chin!

ALL SHORT FILMS

(Please note list is subject to change.)

A Room for Sarah, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Ginger Swanson

Cast: Elizabeth Kelly

A Room for Sara is a 1920′s era silent comedy about a courageous young woman left to her own

devices to claim her independence.

Acholiland, Germany/USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Dean Israelite

Cast: Christian Oliver, Owiso Odera, Roman Wyden, Jon Collin Barclay, Adrian Turner, Elijah

Kasasa

When a food delivery into a war-torn village in Northern Uganda goes horribly wrong, the leader of

a small UN contingent is faced with a terrible decision: play by the rules and watch children die,

or risk the lives of an entire refugee camp in order to save them.

AM1200, USA

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Director: David Prior

A man on the run follows a mysterious broadcast that may or may not be a distress call to a

remote radio station where he comes face to face with a dark and savage power.

Anatomy of Numbers, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Erin Cantelo

Cast: Tim Frank, Jessica Bennet

Patrick asks his new love how many people she has slept with and gets an answer he did not

bargain for.

Apparition, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Daniel Gruen

Cast: Heather Dawn Rally, Gavin Garrison, Bryce Bommer, Caitlyn Mahon

What happens when a ghost story around a campfire comes true?

Appassionata, Germany

Director: Mirko Echghi-Ghamsari

Cast: Sebastian Stroebel, Marcel Neumueller, Andreas Diekmann, Soenke Moehring

Based on a WW II legend: A German soldier awaiting his doom in the pocket of Stalingrad spots

an undamaged piano in the no-man’s land between the lines. The urge to play one last time

becomes irresistible….

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Beware of Bear, Greece – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Victoria Vellopoulou

Cast: Danai Skiadi, Giorgos Karamichos, Gerassimos Skiadaressis, Giorgos Nakos, Thalia

Argyriou, Despoina Moirou

Angelos, photographer for a nature magazine, arrives in a remote village in Epirus to do a story.

The inhabitants of the village are guarded towards him. And things get worse when he finds out

that a wild beast, a bear, roams the surrounding woods and has already killed one person. As

Angelos wanders in the woods he doesn’t discover the bear but things that maybe he shouldn’t

have…

Boxing Paradise, Italy – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Stefano Quaglia

Cast: Gianluca Migliarotti

‘Where have you been? In the Boxing Paradise’

Bubbles and Seashells, USA

Director: Jameson Jordan

Cast: Jameson Jordan, Henric Hemmerlind, Julie Kragen, Kristina Johnson

A screenwriter attempts to make a movie about all the things that make us happy but finds out

why he cannot.

Business, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: John McKinney

Cast: David Neher, John McKinney

Caleb inherited an office building and made a big mistake when he asked his friend Walker to go

into business him.

Charlie Thistle, USA

Director: Bragi Schut

Cast: Jon Keel, Leslie Stevens

A disillusioned worker for the Department of Normality dreams of a world that isn’t quite so

normal.

Clams with Green Onions, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Sheena McCann

Cast: Emerald Robinson

A girl’s dreamy world is threatened when her new love arrives for dinner.

Claxon (Clacson), Italy – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Takehito Kuroha

Cast: Francesca Faiella, Cristiano Di Vita

Every morning, every woman gets up and knows she will have to make her way through the traffic

to the clacson music in order to survive; every man gets up and knows he will have to be very very

patient in order to survive…

Detour, UK – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: K Akeseh Tsakpo

Cast: Simon Slater, Selina MacDonald, Malcolm Hamilton

All journeys end…

Downstream, USA – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Leslie Iwerks

The modern day David and Goliath story of ‘Big Oil.’ At the heart of the Oils Sands in Alberta,

Canada, one courageous doctor puts his career on the line as he fights for the lives of the aboriginal

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Indians living and dying downstream from one the most polluting and toxic oil operations in the

world.

En Route, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Karl Mefford

Cast: Mike Remorenko

A driver with a mysterious briefcase steers his way through the treacheries of the open road. With

time running out, he races towards his final destination.

Fertilize, Belgium

Director: Senne Dehandschutter

Cast: Carmen Lauwers

Fertilize is the graduation movie of Belgian director Senne Dehandschutter. With the help of

literally hundreds of people from all over the world (mostly students) Senne succeeded in making

the impossible possible. Fertilize became an 8 minutes movie with one of the largest amount of

visual-effect shots ever seen in a live action short film. The soundtrack has been created by Junkie

XL. Not only is this movie unique because of its visual effects. Senne also tried to give all his

attention to the movie itself. He tried to tell the story entirely through dance and fighting

choreography. To do so he created a totally new reality with direct and physical communication.

Even the environment itself changes at the influence of emotion.

French Roast, France – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Fabrice O. Joubert

In a fancy Parisian Café, an uptight businessman finds out that he’s lost his wallet and that he

can’t pay the check.To save time he decides to order more coffee…

Glock, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Tom Everett Scott

Cast: Tom Everett Scott, Michael McMillian, Ciaran Hinds, Stephen Root, Rhys Coiro, Krysten

Ritter

The story centers on a promising new spy who is given a cell phone by his agency and told to wait

for his first mission. However, the phone never rings and our hero slowly descends into a

downward spiral of heartbreak and frustration.

Gone Fishing, UK

Director: Chris Jones

Cast: Bill Paterson, Devon Murray, James Wilson, Ruth Gemmell, Lin Blakley

An old man and young boy deal with bereavement through their shared love of fishing, and the

legend of Goliath, the biggest pike ever caught.

Hakim, Germany

Director: Ismail Sahin

Cast: Joseph Sanga

The short life of a boy in Africa, who loses his mother to AIDS and finds his last home in an

orphan village.

His Good Will, Canada/USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Cayman Grant

Cast: Donis Leonard Jr., Ashley Jones, James Avery, Arita Trahan

A heart-warming story set in 1950 about a young boy struggling against poverty in a small town

and how his innocence and optimism, in the simplest of ways, touch those around him.

Hot Dog, USA

Director: Bill Plympton

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In this episode our plucky hero joins the fire company to save the world from house fires and gain

the affection he so richly deserves.

How Children Fly (De como los niños pueden volar), Mexico

Director: Leopoldo Aguilar

The imaginary universe of a child and his desire to take flight.

Hungu, Canada

Director: Nicolas Brault

Inspired by the grace and raw beauty of African rock paintings, we enter a world where humans

and nature are subtly linked.

I Am So Proud of You, USA

Director: Don Hertzfeldt

Dark family secrets cast a shadow over Bill’s recovery, in this second chapter to Don Hertzfeldt’s

‘Everything will be OK’.

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Ima, USA

Director: Jeremy Cohen

Cast: Christian Kramme, Jon Weinberg, Christopher Smith, Ellyn Stern

Shortly after the liberation of Auschwitz, two survivors meet a young Hitler Youth searching for his

mother. The irony of the situation leads one of the survivors to seek revenge, and the situation

looks dire until all find redemption in someone else’s mother.

In The Dark, USA – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Alex Fazeli

Cast: Maz Jobrani, Marsh Mokthari, Jamie Anne Allman, Ali Dean, Nina Nayebi, Sheila Vand,

Max Amini, Jivann Peoples, Alfred Adelpour, Kavon Karami, Bobby Naderi, Peter Shahriari,

Omid Zader, Sarah Fazeli

The eve of Ayatollah Khomeini’s return to Iran, a double agent, hunted by the new revolutionary

government, agrees to exchange crucial information with the CIA in return for safe passage out of

the country.

Jacinta, Mexico

Director: Karla Castañeda

Cast: Ana Ofelia Murguía

It can be so lonely aging alone. Jacinta looks out her window in hope.

Jerrycan, Australia

Director: Julius Avery

Cast: Tristan Burke, Walter Currie

Five bored kids with nothing to do decide to blow something up. Paper, scissors rocks seals the

fate of Nathan, who risks everything after he is bullied, into making a life and death decision.

Jesus Blues, USA

Director: Max Littman

Cast: Paul McCormick, Oliver Hamilton, Jillian Garnett

A restless young girl slips out of church during a sermon by her alcoholic pastor to follow a guitarclad

Jesus and a homeless sax performer on a musical adventure.

La Grande Maladie, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Shane Atkinson

Cast: Ashley Ivory, J.R. Boyce

A tale of sorrow, success and unrequited love.

Love You More, UK

Director: Sam Taylor-Wood

Cast: Harry Treadaway, Andrea Riseborough

Two teenagers are drawn together by the Buzzcocks’ single ‘Love You More’ in the summer of 1978.

Produced by the late Anthony Minghella.

Make My Day, Denmark

Director: Pelle Møller

Cast: Mathias Mandrup Larsen, Jakob Weble, Claes Bang

Peter is injured after being bullied at school. At the hospital Peter faces the man who bullied his

father when they were kids.

Medusa, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Directors: Catherine Bennett, Robin Bisio

A multimedia event combining live dance and music with video.

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My Friends Call Me Miss Chase, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Shelley Bookspan

Through her own words, the memories of those close to her this film tells the story of Pearl Chase,

one of Santa Barbara’s most influential 20th Century figures.

Next Floor, Canada – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Cast: Jean Marchand, Simone Chevalot, Ariel Ifergan

Eleven pampered guests participate a ritualistic gastronomic carnage.

No Corner for Old Mime, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Jordan Riggs

Cast: Don Baldaramos, Darron Johnson, Kyle Cowgill

Just because you can’t make a sound doesn’t mean you can’t go out with a bang!

On The Road to Tel-Aviv, Israel

Director: Khen Shalem

Cast: Guy Arieli, Amos Lavie , Dana Kabesa

In the wake of a terrorist attack, a young Israeli and his fiancée find themselves in a tricky

situation when a suspicious-looking Arab woman boards their bus.

Pascal’s Bike, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Jacob Seigel-Boettner

For the average American, the bike is just an expensive toy. For a coffee farmer in Rwanda, it is a

way up and out.

Pawn, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Jeremiah Friedman

Cast: William Russ, Lionel D. Carson, Nick Hoffa

In the aftermath of Presidential assassination, a young federal agent must interrogate the gunman

to learn the truth behind the assassination. But once the truth is discovered, who will be ready to

hear it?

Premature, USA

Director: Rashaad Ernesto Green

Cast: Zora Howard, Suzette Azariah Gunn, Stephen McKinley Henderson

After Tisha, a streetwise teenager from the Bronx, discovers she’s pregnant and receives no

support from her community, she has no where to turn and is faced with the most difficult

decision she will ever make.

Rattus, USA

Director: Carlos Barbot

A film about rats… and the people who love them.

Resolution, Russian Federation

Director: Pavel Oreshnikov

Cast: Dimitry Podnozov, Dimitry Petrushkov

A day in the life of a small Russian village where one man’s frustration with disrespecting

neighbors forces him to see his life from a different angle.

Ripple, UK

Director: Paul Gowers

Cast: Ben Crompton , Bill Thomas, Lucy Holt, Tony Bluto

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A black comedy. One small random act of malice forces an ordinary man off the safe road and on

to a dark journey that he’ll never forget.

Run, New Zealand

Director: Mark Albiston

Cast: Nic Sampson

A Samoan brother and sister live in fear of their over-protective widowed father who rules with a

military regime in order to protect his children from a bleak future. The children learn that only

together can they show him that he is their biggest obstacle.

Santa Cruz Island: Restoring Balance, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Michael Hanrahan

An island off the coast of California endures massive shifts in its ecological balance as a result of

ranching an unforeseen circumstances. Dedicated scientists study the problem and attempt to

restore balance to this delicate island ecosystem.

Sanza Hanza (King Surfer), South Africa

Director: Nadia Hallgren

Sanza Hanza follows V.I.R.U.S a group of young Train Surfers on their journey thru Soweto, South

Africa

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Sarah, USA

Director: Rashi Bahri Chitnis

Cast: Megan Boone

With the deep desire to connect with her mother, Sarah decides to tackle her hydrophobia by

learning to swim, only to discover, that there are deeper hidden secrets in the water than just her

fear of it!

Showing Disaster: Tea Fire Reflections, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Ethan Turpin

While recording a wild fire and the homes it has destroyed, the filmmaker grapples with the ethics

of photographing the ruins of peoples’ lives.

Sikumi (On The Ice), USA

Director: Andrew Okpeaha MacLean

Cast: Tony Bryant, Olemaun Rexford

An Inuit hunter drives his dog team out on the frozen Arctic Ocean in search of seals, but instead,

becomes a witness to murder.

Stolen Youth, UK

Director: Leon Chambers

Cast: Perry Spencer, Simon Poland, Jade Williams

A delinquent’s rampage on a small town is not as horrifying as the secret he discovers.

Ten Minutes to Ithaca, USA

Director: Zac Palladino

The Odyssey: compressed, mashed, twisted, and animated into a ten minute frame.

The Beholder, USA

Director: Roxanne Teti

Cast: Caroline Teti

Follows the routine of an anorexic teenager who soon discovers a loss of individuality when she

realizes the face in the mirror is literally not her own.

The Dark Side of the Loon, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Gail Osherenko

The eerie calls and striking black and white plumage of the Common loon captivate those of us

who spend time on northern lakes and ponds between April and October. Then the loons

disappear. Quiet descends. Where do they go? How do they survive in winter?

The Early Worm, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Ray Pivato

Cast: David Zanolini

A chain reaction of misfortune befalls a young professional whose only crime is waking an hour too

early.

The Fisherman, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Jason Hallows

The tale of a poor fisherman who accidentally pulls his destiny from the sea.

The Future of the Gaviota Coast, USA – WORLD PREMIERE

Directors: Shaw Leonard, Marc Mirabile

A short documentary film focusing on the coastal preservation of the Gaviota Coastline in

Southern California.

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The Glasses (Las Gafas), Spain

Director: Albert Garcia Martin

In a deserted place, two guys chat dressed under the asphyxiating sun. They have to carry out a

mission from a boss whom they have never seen. The mission: to recover a pair of glasses.

The Last Confession, USA

Director: Chandler Landon

Cast: Brandon King

A priest goes overboard while taking gods work into his own hands.

The Necktie (Le Noeud Cravate), Canada – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Jean-Francois Lévesque

The Necktie is fifteen years in the life of Valentin, a faithful employee working a useless task in a

dead-end job.

The Stars Don’t Twinkle in Outer Space, UK – U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Peter Thwaites

Cast: Janos Orsos, Anna Sefel

A 1940′s space adventure story in which two children, ‘Starman’ and ‘the Princess’ struggle to

escape their doom. As the truth of their situation becomes clear we realize the terrible nature of

their predicament.

The Surf Magazines Don’t Talk About Lapsed Catholics, USA

Director: Todd Stewart

A short memoirumentary surf film about an often unreported crux of the surfing experience.

The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306, USA

Director: Adam Pertofsky

Cast: Samuel ‘Billy’ Kyles

With every truth there bears a witness. And it is with this thought that we hear Reverend Samuel

‘Billy’ Kyles story. In 1968 on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel Rev. Kyles stood next to Dr.

Martin Luther King as he was shot down in cold blood. With support from Maxine Smith and Dr.

Benjamin Hooks we hear why Dr. King was in Memphis and what went on in the last hour of his

life.

This Way Up, UK

Directors: Adam Foulkes, Alan Smith

Laying the dead to rest has never been so much trouble.

Tongzhi in Love, China/USA

Director: Ruby Yang

Cast: Frog Cui

‘Frog’ Cui and his friends navigate the dilemmas of being gay in modern China, torn between the

lures of city life and the unyielding traditions by which they were raised.

Toyland (Spielzeugland), Germany

Director: Jochen Alexander Freydank

Cast: Julia Jäger

What happens when a German kid believes that his Jewish neighbors are going to Toyland? A

story about lies and guilt.

Verlaine, USA

Director: Nick Lentz

Robert Seay, Ingo Neuhaus, Katrina Cameron, Heath Michaels

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James is on the run and desperately needs to disappear. He arranges a meeting with an eccentric

man named Verlaine who may be able to help. But when Verlaine is reluctant to negotiate the

terms, James must decide if a new identity is really worth the price.

We Have Lost our Wings, But Still We Dream of Flying, USA

Director: Elia Vargas

Cast: Kate Polakiewicz

The unraveling of consciousness. A dreadful fantasy.

Honorees at the Santa Barbara Film Festival 2009 include Penelope Cruz, Clint Eastwood and Mickey Rourke

 Events and festival schedule at http://www.lobero.com/calendar/ or available at Lobero box office

Hosted by DJ ?, Live Roots TV Special Santa Barbara International Film festival episode bids official welcome to the festival from various locations in town. This year’s festival runs Jan. 22 to Feb 1., an 11-day event that brings Hollywood A-listers, thousands of film buffs, media from national and international press organizations. The 24th annual festival will feature film showings, celebrity events, educational seminars, panels and a variety of events coinciding with the events that span two weekends. Tickets can be purchased at lobero.com/calendar/sbiff2009/ Past honorees include Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Helen Mirren, Jodie Foster, George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio. This year’s award winners include Penelope Cruz, Clint Eastwood, and Mickey Rourke. Santa Barbara’s close proximity to LA has made this festival a star powered event. Also, the first day of the festival (Jan.22) is also the same day Oscar nominations come out. The Academy Awards will air the 81st edition on February 22.

This year’s official first welcome to the festival presented on Santa Barbara Channel 17 Live Roots TV, previews the SB Film festival 09 and features live music performances.  BGPMUSIC artist features include storyboards, live art, as well as reggae legends Michigan and Smiley, The Goodland at Soho, Coyotes and Bourbon and rapper C-Los.  DJ Questionmark hosts the show. 

The 24th annual festival will not disappoint this year, featuring movies galore, celebrity appearances from Hollywood A-listers, tributes, education panels, seminars and various events throughout Santa Barbara.  Star power is this year’s fortay, as the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2009 honors several distinguished actors including Penelope Cruz for Outstanding Performance. The 2009 Virtuosos Award honorees are Viola Davis, Rosemarie DeWitt, Richard Jenkins, Melissa Leo and Michael Shannon. The Award presentation will take place Wednesday, January 28 at the 24th edition of the Fest. Kristin Scott Thomas will receive the Cinema Vanguard Award. Multiple Academy Award winning director, producer, actor and composer Clint Eastwood has been selected to receive the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s highest honor, The Lucky Brand Modern Master Award Tribute will take place on Thursday, January 29, at the historic Arlington Theatre.

A serious buzz has been created by Mickey Rourke’s performance in The Wrestler as well. He will receive The American Rivera Award.  The festivals close proximity to Oscar nominations make it a highly anticipated event. The 81st Academy Awards will air Feb. 22. Oscar nominations come out the same day as the festival opening, which is Jan. 22. 

For more information on ticket purchases including: Mini-paks, Opening Night Gala, Kate Winslet Montecito Award, Penelope Cruz Outstanding Performer of the Year, Writer’s Panel, Director’s Panel, Virtuosos Award, Clint Eastwood Modern Master Award, Mickey Rourke The American Rivera Award, and Women’s panel, visit http://www.lobero.com/calendar/sbiff2009/

Tickets can also be purchased through the Lobero Theatre box office, 33 E. Canon Perdido St., Santa barbara CA 93101. First weekend and second weekend platinum passes are also available.

Festival dates are Jan. 22 to Feb. 1