11:30 am
Sunday, November 14
Castro Theatre
$8/Film Arts members $10/general
OIL ON ICE
Dale Djerassi and Bo Boudart
2004, color, dv cam, 57 min, SF PREMIERE
Co-presenters: Sierra Club SF Bay Chapter &
CA Academy of Science
 In March 2002, Senator Frank Murkowski (now governor of Alaska) held a blank white poster in front of Congress as his rendition of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to encourage the federal government to open the protected area to oil drilling. “Don’t be misinformed,” he demanded. Oil on Ice unveils a very different picture than the image of a snowbound, lifeless wasteland portrayed by Murkowski. The film is a visually stunning journey through a pristine land that is teeming with wildlife, enriched by centuries of Native American culture, and at risk of being destroyed by the oil industry.
The fate of the refuge is inextricably linked to decisions our nation makes about energy policy, transportation choices, and other seemingly unrelated matters, while the culture and livelihood of the native Gwich’in Indians and the survival of migratory wildlife are caught in the balance. Because thefilm examines both the consequences of oil drilling and alternative solutions to our energy needs, it tells the viewer, “Don’t be misinformed.”
Preceded by
GRINGOTÓN
Gregory Berger
2003, color, dvd, 17 min
During the U.S. invasion of Iraq, an expatriate gringo in Mexico City helplessly watches the atrocities through the lens of Mexican television news. His despair turns to hope when he observes some of the millions of Mexico City street vendors who fight their own daily “war” for survival. Inspired, he takes to the streets of Mexico’s capital, but with a twist—he sells chewing gum and washes car windows to raise money for a guerrilla army to oust Bush. |
Part of the Mother Jones agitators & instigators series
1:30 pm
Sunday, November 14
Castro Theatre
$8/Film Arts members $10/general
 ALIVE IN LIMBO
Hrabba Gunnarsdottir, Tina Naccache,
Erica Marcus
2004, color, dv cam, 57 min, SF PREMIERE
Co-presenter: Middle East Children’s Alliance
Alive in Limbo explores a pivotal element in the Arab-Israeli conflict: the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and their right to return to Palestine as guaranteed under international law. Over ten years, it documents the lives of five young characters, four Palestinian refugee youths and one Lebanese boy. When the filmmakers first met these children in 1993, the Palestinians played in Shatila, a refugee camp in Beirut, and the Lebanese boy Hussein lived near the Israeli-occupied zone in South Lebanon. In 1999, 2000, and 2002, the filmmakers searched for these same youths, finding them as they were entering adulthood. They still lived in Lebanon, a country that on the surface has changed dramatically. However, we see through their stories that not much has changed. Winner of the Spirit Award at the 2004 Brooklyn International Film Festival. [G]
Preceded by
 PUNJABI CAB
Liam Dalzell
2004, color, dv cam, 20 min, WORLD PREMIERE
A darker side of our liberal city reveals itself through the eyes of San Francisco’s Sikh taxi drivers in the post-9/11 Punjabi Cab. Isolation and fear are made visceral through juxtaposing scenes of the almost other-worldly cultural kaleidoscope of the turbaned and long-bearded Sikhs and the dark, mean streets of the surprisingly ignorant and oftentimes violent residents of San Francisco who climb into their cabs. Death is “100 percent immigration, no one gets refused from there,” reflects one Sikh cabbie.
 3:30 pm
Sunday, November 14
Castro Theatre
$8/Film Arts members $10/general
WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE
Clark Brigham
2004, color, dv cam, 90 min, WORLD PREMIERE
Co-presenter: SF Film Society
Haunted by his past, an unassuming painter secretly returns home after 17 years to solve the mystery of his best friend and mentor’s death at the hands of the artist’s father. Matters are complicated by an elegant and candid single mother from whom he rents a studio, discovery of his return by his abandoned childhood friends, his alcoholic mother, and a devastating confrontation with his father. The consequences of his return are at once tragic and beautiful, providing insight into the hidden reasons people have for their behavior. Set against the rich beauty of San Francisco, Water Under the Bridge is an unflinching look at the healing power of forgiveness among a family shattered by rebellion, apparent murder, and perceived betrayal.
6:00 pm
Sunday, November 14
Castro Theatre
$8/Film Arts members $10/general
TELL IT LIKE IT IS
Adriano Bravo
2004, color, dvd, 68 min, WORK-IN-PROGRESS
Co-presenter: KPOO Radio
 After a lifetime of performing professionally, Oakland blues singer and organist Lady Margaret has hit every note, high and low. As with the best blues singers, Margaret’s life has been tempered by living much of what she sings about. Now 56, after almost 40 years in dives and on concert stages, singing and playing organ with pickup players and some of the biggest names in the music business, Lady Margaret is still struggling to find the right gig for her life and her livelihood. Music is the release; struggle, pain, and poverty is the reality. Her early chances at success turned into crushing rejection. Her son, who showed great promise as a singer, was destroyed by an addiction to crack and years of incarceration. Her stack of original songs still waits to be recorded as she struggles to work and keep her family together while making room for her music...the source of her strength. Through her story and music, she provides an example of commitment and sacrifice to all who’ve given up “unrealistic” loves and “impractical” dreams for safer roads. A review of one of her shows begins with the headline, “The Lady Is Tough.” It’s an understatement. [G]
Preceded by
 LEPER
Ellen Bruno
2004, color, beta sp, 24 min,
WORK-IN-PROGRESS
Leper is a rare, intimate glimpse into a contemporary society of lepers in a remote village in Nepal. Villagers speak openly and emotionally about their relationship to their sickness, to the “healthy” community outside the village boundaries, and the myriad stigmas and misunderstandings surrounding a disease that has marked their bodies and their lives. [G]
closing night
sunday november 14 CASTRO THEATRE
8:30 pm
Sunday, November 14
Castro Theatre
Film only:
$8/Film Arts members
$10/general
Closing Night Film and Reception:
$20/Film Arts members
$25/general
THE REFUGEE ALL STARS
Zach Niles & Banker White
2004, color, dv cam, 90 min, WORK-IN-PROGRESS
Co-presenter: USA for UNHCR & JamBase
The Refugee All Stars chronicles the lives of six Sierra Leonean musicians who live as refugees in the West African country of Guinea, and who face a daily struggle to keep their hope and their music alive. A brutal, decade-long civil war (1991ñ2002) in Sierra Leone forced the band members from their homes. The war took the lives of many of their loved ones and has left them with physical and emotional scars that may never heal. However, through music, the band has found a place of refuge, a sense of purpose, and a source of power. With gorgeous cinematography, an incredible soundtrack, and unforgettable characters, The Refugees All Stars is an inspiring story of survival and rebirth in the wake of the horrors of war, and a triumphant testament to the power of music.
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closing night reception