Socially Relevant Film Festival New York

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! Delivers the festival's inaugural keynote address: "The impact of socially relevant films" and awards the: Rated SR Social Justice Award to one of the five films considered for this award.

Amy Goodman is an American broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter, author and host since 1966 of Democracy Now! the internationally acclaimed independent global news program broadcast daily on radio, television and the Internet. She will be presenting a key note on the role that socially relevant films play in fostering change. Goodman's investigative journalism career includes coverage of the East Timor independence movement and Chevron Corporation's role in Nigeria. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Thomas Merton Award in 2004, a Right Livelihood Award in 2008, and an Izzy Award in 2009 for "special achievement in independent media". Read more...

Tuesday March 18, 7:15 pm

OPENING NIGHT FILM

MAMAROSH / MAMAROŠ

Directed by MOMČILO MRDAKOVIĆ

Dreamy, middle-age guy Pera is film projectionist and still lives with his mother Mara in Belgrade. Pera is also film aficionado and quite content to be in his mother company. NATO’s 1999 bombing of Serbia starts and two of them become refugees. After quite surreal journey they end up in New York, of all places. That is were Pera realizes that he cannot do his old job anymore, one he loves so much. Some discarded projectors give Pera an idea. His new mission in life will be to travel around and show people the magic of the real cinema. It is the one that can only be crated by filmstrips and flickering light. The one the whole world enjoyed for over 100 years and now is being replaced by digital projection. MAMAROSH (mama's boy) had a world premier at the 2013 Moscow International Film Festival in competition.

Serbia, Hungary, Germany, 105 min. 2013. Read More

Reviews:

"Writer-director Momcilo Mrdakovic presents his life as something out of a fairy tale, surrounding him with whimsical supporting characters and a warm, dusky color scheme reminiscent of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's films. The movie might have drowned in its own cuteness if it weren't for the historical context, which imbues the genial humor with a dark undertone. I sensed the influence of Emir Kusturica (Time of the Gypsies, Underground), the most famous of Serbian filmmakers and likely one of the funniest…"

The Bleader, December 4th, 2013.

Screens on Friday March 14, following the 6:30 pm opening presentation.

Director will be present for post-screening Q&A

SPOTLIGHT ON HUMAN LOSS

I Remember, (Pamietam), by Academy Award® nominee Andrzej Wajda, 54', Poland

With special arrangement from USC Shoah Foundation
Curated by Laurence Hoffmann

The story of four survivors who were either helped or betrayed by their Polish neighbors.

Screens on Monday March 17, at 9:15 pm

The Lost Children of Berlin, Elizabeth McIntyre, 57', USA

Narrated by Anthony Hopkins

With special arrangement from USC Shoah Foundation
Curated by Laurence Hoffmann

Reclaiming their childhood: Fifty Holocaust survivors reunite

Screens on Sunday March 16, at 3:00 pm

SPOTLIGHT ON LGBTQ

Little Bi Peep

Jon Russell Cring & Anna Shields (co-director), USA, 78min, 2013

Emma is going nowhere fast, but she knows it. She's very honest with herself, but no one else. The women and men she has been sleeping with think she's a waitress, an artist or a kindergarten teacher...she actually works in an adult bookstore. At a bar one night she meets Mason, who has it all, including secrets. Will Emma settle down and live happily ever after in a little white house, or will she be alone, sitting outside the Jack Shack selling double ended dildos forever? Little Bi Peep...it's hard to find someone to love ewe.

Screens Wednesday March 19, 3:00 pm
Director will be present for post-screening Q&A

SPOTLIGHT ON IMMIGRATION

The Defector

Ann Shin, USA, 74min, 2013

Curated by Lucie Tripon

Dragon is a human smuggler who leads North Korean defectors across borders for a living. His latest undercover trip with Sook-Ja and Yong-hee takes an unexpected turn when they are left stranded in China, putting their dramatic escape plan into question.Their perilous journey reflects the reality of tens of thousands of North Koreans currently in hiding in China. Filmed undercover by a Korean-Canadian filmmaker, Ann Shin gets intimate access with these three individuals in this POV film and explores universal questions about human rights, smuggling and the pursuit of freedom.

SPOTLIGHT ON PTSD

SPOTLIGHT ON MEDITATION

Meditation, Creativity, Peace

David Lynch Foundation, USA, 71min, 2012

Curated by Aude Lambert

The David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace presents Meditation, Creativity, Peace, a documentary on David Lynch 16-country tour, which aims to transform lives by overcoming stress and raising performance through Transcendental Meditation.

With equal parts wit and passion, Meditation, Creativity, Peace, shows the director’s commitment to TM as way of changing the world, starting from within. The film also offers rare insight into Lynch’s creative process, through interviews and revealing moments from the tour.